6293 week

There are various ways in which I can improve my leadership skills in the office setting where I work. One is to practice discipline. Good leaders are disciplined. In order to become an effective leader I therefore need to be disciplined and inspire other people as well. I will demonstrate discipline in my workplace by keeping appointments, meeting deadlines and getting to work on time. I will also improve my leadership skills by taking on more projects. Taking more responsibility could allow me improve my leadership skills. This will involve doing more than what is covered in my job description.

I will also be ready to learn how to follow. No one knows everything and learning is a continuous process. Being ready to learn, will help me to learn important leadership skills from fellow employees. This will involve keeping an open mind. I will also improve my leadership skills in the office by developing situational awareness. This will involve anticipating problems before they occur. This is very important especially when working on complex projects with strict deadlines. This skill will help me recognize opportunities that can improve my performance and working environment. This is one of the key tenets of successful leaders.

I will also improve my leadership skills by inspiring others and keeping learning. One of the main responsibilities of a leader is to motivate and inspire those people he/she is leading. I will do this by providing guidance and encouraging employees that seem to be unable to accomplish their tasks efficiently. I will also keep learning new things by enrolling on various educational programs either provided by the organization I work for or other external educators. This will keep my skills fresh and my mind sharp. This will help me come across many challenges learning how to handle them.

I will empower my team mates by delegating duties. This will allow me to do things that are more important and also allow other members of my team gain experience of handling some tasks. It is will also help the people I lead to develop skills needed for leadership. I will also learn skills for solving conflict. I will solve inter-personal skills by engaging into private conversation with those involved. This will help me to get into the bottom of the matter and come up with long term solutions. If conflict will not be solved by conversation them I will also be ready to reassign team members.

Activity 3D

1. What is the overall problem that you have identified?  

The problem that I have identified is dealing workplace conflict as a leader. There are two ways in which workplace conflict may arise. One is when two parties do not get along and two when employee’s perspectives and ideas in the workplace differ. Conflicts in the workplace could be productive if the people involved are willing to work together towards a common goal. Personal clashes on the other hand may yield negative results for the organization. Such a dispute may originate from a dislike of some businesses practices then escalate (Lee et al., 2017).

2. What are the dimensions of the problem that others have found and written about?  

Numerous studies have been conducted in this area to establish the main cause of workplace conflict and how it can be solved. Most studies show that the main cause of workplace conflict is poor communication. Personality differences among employees may also cause disputes in the workplace. For instance, a certain employee may be outspoken thus speaking their mind even when it is not appropriate. This type of personality may offend other employees or team members who are more economical with their words.

3. Why is this problem important? 

This topic is very important as conflict in the workplace results in work disruptions, destroys healthy relationships and leads to decreased productivity. This is because employees are not able to work together as a team. This may also lead to absenteeism, project failures and turnover. Based on these negative impacts of conflict in the workplace, it is important to discuss how it conflict can be resolved. This would allow employees to work together as a team towards a common goal and help each other when need be thus increasing their performance.

4. What is your most persuasive argument for why your readers should care about this problem?

I believe this topic will help many readers to understand the importance of conflict resolution in their places of work. It will also offer insights as to that may happen both to employees and employers when conflict prevails in the workplace. The topic will also help employees to avoid engaging in actions that may lead to work place conflict. Guidelines are also provided as to how they can resolve workplace conflict to allow the development of healthy relationships and better performances.

5. Evidence helps others be convinced-- What evidence can you offer for the importance of this problem?

Multiple studies show that conflict resolution helps workers reduce tension that affects their working relationships negatively. By resolving conflict in a respectful and professional manner, employees are able to work as a team and reduce disruptions. Conflict resolution skills are one of the important qualities of a good leader. Developing these skills puts one in a better position to climb up the radar in their career. People who always cause conflict in the workplace are deemed and considered poor leaders hence difficult to advance in their careers.

Activity 4A

Where is your action research taking place? Describe the physical setting. There is the immediate setting, say a classroom or an office, and there is the larger context of the school or type of business. You don’t have to provide the names of the place, just the characteristics.

My action research is taking place in the office where I work from. Each department in our organization has been given an office. The head of department has his desk in one corner of the office while the rest of employees have desks facing each other. Each member of the department has their own computer that is positioned in a way that they are not disrupted by the movement of other people in the office.

Who will be involved (community roles- leaders) –both the people you will be working with directly and those that might be involved indirectly. What are the norms and expectations patterns of interaction at this time? Describe the basic demographics of the community you will be working with and how do you fit in. What are the roles and responsibilities of the people with whom you will be working?

There are various people who will be involved in this action research. All employees in my department will take place in this research. Individual from other departments from the organization will also take part. Our organization serves the immediate community directly and therefore community leaders will also take part in the research. People are willing to interact and share knowledge in the community. Most people in the community are educated and middle income earners. The employees will be responsible for gathering information from the people around our organization. They will be assisted by the organizational leaders who are taking part in the research.

What are the resources and assets you have available and what have you done up to this point. Is this going to be a new effort or a refinement of something you have been working? What is likely to happen if nothing is done?

The organization that I work for has provided enough financial resources to help us in the action research. This is not the first time this research process is happening; I have done it several times before in the military and it was a great success with significant benefits to both the organization and the people. If nothing happens then there will be work disruption, project failure and decreased productivity.

What is the history of the problem… new, ongoing, urgency? Are there regulations or rules that set boundaries that the reader should understand. Are there economic or political issues that need to be mentioned.

Workplace conflict has been an issue in the organization since I have been here and even before that. Employees always find themselves in conflicts as a result of ideological differences. There are various regulations that have been developed to address the issue of workplace conflict. Managers have been trained to be mediators whenever a conflict arises in the organization. The organization has also clarified priorities whenever conflict arises in the workplace. A lot of money is needed to train mangers how to become mediators. Political views within the organization are some of the major factors that cause conflict within the organization.

Activity 4B

Section 1

Multiple studies have outlined ways in which people can improve leadership skills. According to Allen, Grigsby & Peters, 2015), one way to improve leadership skills is to inspire others. Leaders need to be able to motivate and inspire those people they are leading. Another way to improve leadership skills is to keep on learning. One of the best things to do to become a good leader is to keep on learning. This can keep your brain sharp and help you acquire new knowledge. Conflict resolution is also an important element of a good leader. One can improve as a leader by learning ways of dealing with conflict in the workplace.

According to Ebrahimi Mehrabani & Azmi Mohamad, (2015), one needs to develop situational awareness to become a good leader. Good leaders are able to anticipate problems long before they occur. This becomes an important skill when dealing with projects that have very strict deadlines. One can also improve their leadership skills by learning how to follow. Great leaders have no issue being controlled by another person when appropriate. Good leaders keep an open mind and are willing to accommodate differently ideas from the people they are leading. You can also improve your leadership skills by taking on more projects. This involves taking more responsibility and handling tasks that have not been covered in your job description.

Section 2

According to Allen, Grigsby & Peters, 2015), one can improve their leadership skill by being passionate and modeling great leadership for others to follow. People respect someone who does what they talk about. If you do want to encourage your employees to do then they will follow without questions. These findings support the results of a study carried out by Ebrahimi Mehrabani & Azmi Mohamad, (2015), which show that an important characteristic of a great leader is the ability to be a role model. This involves adopting behaviors that you want those who you lead to have. Leaders need to understand their strengths and use them to influence the people they are leading.

However, not all findings support this position. Hackworth et al., (2018) and Herman, (2016) both present evidence that suggest that leadership skills cannot only be improved by being a role model. The studies show that one can become a great leader first by developing the ability to listen to the people they are leading. This allows you to understand the grievances of the people you are leading and develop better strategies to deal with them. According to them you can also improve your leadership skills by continuous learning. This involves enrolling in some leadership programs to acquire new knowledge on leadership.

Section 3-X

Organizations are always looking for ways in which they can improve the leadership skills of their employees. Those employees who are willing to take course that can improve their leadership skill are at a pole position of taking such positions in the future. Leaders who are able to improve their leadership skills then they succeed. When people who do not have leadership skills take such positions then they are bound to experience extensive challenges that they are unable to handle. It is therefore important for leaders to always endeavor to improve their leadership skills.

Assumptions and Theories of Change

There are various assumptions that have been made in these studies. The first assumption is that the individual attempting to improve their leadership skills are natural leaders according to the great man theory. The great man theory states that some individuals are born with traits that distinguish them with other people and which are responsible for their assuming of authority and power. Based on this theory, a leader is a person who is able to achieve a certain goal despite the challenges they may face on the way. The other assumption made is that people are ready to acquire more knowledge to improve their leadership skills.

Logic Model

Based on the findings I have created a logic model as follows.

Summary

There are many ways in which I can improve my leadership skills including inspiring others, enrolling in leadership programs, developing situational awareness and learning how to follow. Leaders need to be able to motivate and inspire those people they are leading. Also one of the best things to do to become a good leader is to keep on learning. This can keep your brain sharp and help you acquire new knowledge. Good leaders are able to anticipate problems long before they occur. This becomes an important skill when dealing with projects that have very strict deadlines. Great leaders have no issue being controlled by another person when appropriate. Good leaders keep an open mind and are willing to accommodate differently ideas from the people they are leading.

References

Allen, N., Grigsby, B., & Peters, M. L. (2015). Does Leadership Matter? Examining the Relationship among Transformational Leadership, School Climate, and Student Achievement. International Journal of Educational Leadership Preparation, 10(2), 1-22.

Ebrahimi Mehrabani, S., & Azmi Mohamad, N. (2015). New approach to leadership skills development (developing a model and measure). Journal of Management Development, 34(7), 821-853.

Hackworth, J., Steel, S., Cooksey, E., DePalma, M., & Kahn, J. A. (2018). Faculty Members' Self-Awareness, Leadership Confidence, and Leadership Skills Improve after an Evidence-Based Leadership Training Program. The Journal of pediatrics, 199, 4-6.

Herman, R. D. (2016). Executive leadership. The Jossey-Bass handbook of nonprofit leadership and management, 167.

Lee, J. C. K., Law, E. H. F., Chun, D. W. S., & Chan, K. N. C. (2017). Cultivating self-management and leadership skills among Hong Kong students. Curriculum and Teaching, 32(1), 5-24.