Leadership Development 2500 words

Suggested Leadership Diagnostic Tools Complete Three of the following diagnostic tools to assess your leadership strengths and weaknesses: 1. Self-Confident Test 2. Team Leadership Skills

3. Emotional Intelligence Test

4. Locus of Control: Self-assessment

5. Diversity Management Capability: Self-assessment

6. Cultural Intelligence: Self-assessment

7. Ability to Work under Ambiguity/Uncertainty/Change: Self-assessment

How Self-Confident Are You? Indicate the extent to which you agree with each of the following statements. Use a 1-to-5 scale: (1) disagree strongly; (2) disagree; (3) neutral; (4) agree; (5) agree strongly.

DS D N A AS 1. I frequently say to people, “I’m not sure.”

5 4 3 2 1

2. I have been hesitant to take on any leadership assignments.

5 4 3 2 1

3. Several times, people have asked me to be the leader of the group to which I belonged.

1 2 3 4 5

4. I perform well in most situations in life.

1 2 3 4 5

5. At least several people have told me that I have a nice, firm handshake.

1 2 3 4 5

6. I am much more of a loser than a winner.

5 4 3 2 1

7. I am much more of a winner than a loser.

1 2 3 4 5

8. I am cautious about making any substantial change in my life.

5 4 3 2 1

9. I dread it when I have to learn a new skill, such as reading a foreign language.

5 4 3 2 1

10. I freely criticize other people, even over minor matters such as their hair style or word choice.

5 4 3 2 1

11. I become extremely tense when I know it will soon be my turn to present in front of the group or class.

5 4 3 2 1

12. Speaking in front of the class or other group is a frightening experience for me.

5 4 3 2 1

13. When asked for my advice, I willingly offer it.

1 2 3 4 5

14. I feel comfortable attending a social event by myself.

1 2 3 4 5

15. It is rare that I change my opinion just because somebody challenges me.

1 2 3 4 5

Scoring and Interpretation: Calculate your total score by adding the numbers circled. A tentative interpretation of the scoring is as follows: 65–75: Very high self-confidence, with perhaps a tendency toward arrogance 55–64: A high, desirable level of self-confidence 35–54: Moderate, or average, self-confidence 15–34: Self-confidence needs strengthening Source: DuBrin, A. (2015) Leadership: Research findings, practice and skills, Cengage Learning, US

Assessing your team leadership skills Answer the following questions on the basis of what you have done, or think you would do, in response to the team situations and attitudes described. Check either mostly true or mostly false for each question.

Mostly True

Mostly false

1. I am more likely to handle a high-priority task than to assign it to the team

T F

2. An important part of leading a team is to keep members informed almost daily of information that could affect their work

T F

3. I love communicating online to work on tasks with team members T F 4. Generally, I feel tense while interacting with team members from different cultures

T F

5. I nearly always prefer face-to-face communications with team members over email

T F

6. Building trust is very important for building a team T F 7. I enjoy doing things in my own way and in my own time T F 8. If a new member were hired, I would expect the entire team to interview the person

T F

9. I become impatient when working with a team member from another culture

T F

10. I suggest ways each team member can make a contribution to the project

T F

11. I am uneasy interacting with people from different ethnic or racial groups

T F

12. If I were out of the office for a week, most of the important work of the team would get accomplished anyway

T F

13. Delegation is hard for me when an important task has to be done right

T F

14. I enjoy working with people with different accents T F 15. I am confident about leading team members from different cultures T F

Scoring and interpretation The answers for effective team leadership are as follows: 1. Mostly false 6. Mostly true 11. Mostly false 2. Mostly true 7. Mostly false 12. Mostly true 3. Mostly true 8. Mostly true 13. Mostly false 4. Mostly false 9. Mostly false 14. Mostly true 5. Mostly false 10. Mostly true 15. Mostly true If your score is 12 or higher, you understand the ingredients to be a highly effective team leader. If your score is 6 or lower, you might have an authoritarian approach to leadership or be uncomfortable with culturally diverse team membership or virtual team communications, such as email. Questions 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12 and 13 pertain to authoritarian versus participative team leadership. Questions 4, 9, 11, 14 and 15 pertain to cultural differences. Questions 3 and 5 pertain to virtual team communications. Which aspects of team leadership reflect your leader strengths? Your leader weaknesses? Team leadership requires that the leader learn to share power, information and responsibility, be inclusive of diverse members and be comfortable with electronic communications. Source: Daft and Pirola-Merlo [2009] The Leadership Experience, 4e, Cengage Learning, Australia

Emotional Intelligence Test • How well a person manages his or her emotions and those of others influences

leadership effectiveness. • Emotional intelligence refers to qualities such as understanding one’s feelings,

empathy for others, and the regulation of emotions to enhance living. • Four key factors are included in emotional intelligence:

• (1) self-awareness helps you understand your impact on others; • (2) self-management is the ability to control one’s emotions and act with

honesty and integrity in a consistent and adaptable manner; • (3) social awareness includes having empathy for others and having

intuition about organizational problems; • (4) relationship management includes the interpersonal skills of

communicating clearly and convincingly, disarming conflicts, and building strong personal bonds

Take a test @ • http://globalleadershipfoundation.com/geit/eitest.html

Locus of Control: Self-assessment

This questionnaire is designed to measure locus-of-control beliefs. Researchers using this questionnaire in a study of college students found a mean of 51.8 for men and 52.2 for women, with a standard deviation of 6 for each. The higher your score on this questionnaire, the more you tend to believe that you are generally responsible for what happens to you; in other words, higher scores are associated with internal locus of control. Low scores are associated with external locus of control. Scoring low indicates that you tend to believe that forces beyond your control, such as powerful other people, fate, or chance, are responsible for what happens to you. For each of these 10 questions, indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree using the following scale: 1 _ strongly disagree 2 _ disagree 3 _ slightly disagree 4 _ neither disagree nor agree 5 _ slightly agree 6 _ agree 7 _ strongly agree 1. When I get what I want, it is usually because I worked hard for it. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 2. When I make plans, I am almost certain to make them work. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 3. I prefer games involving some luck over games requiring pure skill. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 4. I can learn almost anything if I set my mind to it. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 5. My major accomplishments are entirely due to my hard work and ability. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 6. I usually don’t set goals because I have a hard time following through on them. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7. Competition discourages excellence. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8. Often people get ahead just by being lucky. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 9. On any sort of exam or competition, I like to know how well I do relative to everyone else. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 10. It’s pointless to keep working on something that’s too difficult for me. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Scoring and Interpretation To determine your score, reverse the values you selected for questions 3, 6, 7, 8, and 10 (1 =7, 2 = 6, 3 = 5, 4 = 4, 5 = 3, 6 = 2, 7 = 1). For example, if you strongly disagree with the statement in question 3, you would have given it a value of 1. Change this value to a 7. Reverse the scores in a similar manner for questions 6, 7, 8, and 10. Now add the point values for all 10 questions together. Your score ________ Source: https://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test

Diversity Management Capability: Self-assessment

For each of the following questions, circle the answer that best describes you. 1. Most of your friends

a. Are very similar to you b. Are very different from you and from each other c. Are like you in some respects but different in others

2. When someone does something you disapprove of, you

a. Break off the relationship b. Tell how you feel but keep in touch c. Tell yourself it matters little and behave as you always have

3. Which virtue is most important to you?

a. Kindness b. Objectivity c. Obedience

4. When it comes to beliefs, you a. Do all you can to make others see things the same way you do b. Actively advance your point of view but stop short of argument c. Keep your feelings to yourself

5. Would you hire a person who has had emotional problems?

a. No b. Yes, provided the person shows evidence of complete recovery c. Yes, if the person is suitable for the job

6. Do you voluntarily read material that support views different from your own?

a. Never b. Sometimes c. Often

7. You react to old people with a. Patience b. Annoyance c. Sometimes a, sometimes b

8. Do you agree with the statement, “What is right and wrong depends upon the time, place, and circumstance”?

a. Strongly agree b. Agree to a point c. Strongly disagree

9. Would you marry someone from a different race? a. Yes b. No c. Probably not

10. If someone in your family were homosexual, you would

a. View this as a problem and try to change the person to a heterosexual orientation b. Accept the person as a homosexual with no change in feelings or treatment c. Avoid or reject the person

11. You react to little children with a. Patience b. Annoyance c. Sometimes a, sometimes b

12. Other people’s personal habits annoy you a. Often b. Not at all c. Only if extreme

13. If you stay in a household run differently from yours (cleanliness, manners, meals, and other customs), you

a. Adapt readily b. Quickly become uncomfortable and irritated c. Adjust for a while, but not for long

14. Which statement do you agree with most? a. We should avoid judging others because no one can fully understand the motives of another person. b. People are responsible for their actions and have to accept the consequences. c. Both motives and actions are important when considering questions of right and wrong.

Scoring and Interpretation Circle your score for each of the answers and total the scores: 1. a = 4; b = 0; c = 2 2. a = 4; b = 2; c = 0 3. a = 0; b = 2; c = 4 4. a = 4; b = 2; c = 0 5. a = 4; b = 2; c = 0 6. a = 4; b = 2; c = 0 7. a = 0; b = 4; c = 2 8. a = 0; b = 2; c = 4 9. a = 0; b = 4; c = 2 10. a = 2; b = 0; c = 4 11. a = 0; b = 4; c = 2 12. a = 4; b = 0; c = 2 13. a = 0; b = 4; c = 2 14. a = 0; b = 4; c = 2 Total Score 0–14: If you score 14 or below, you are a very tolerant person and dealing with diversity comes easily to you. 15–28: You are basically a tolerant person and others think of you as tolerant. In general, diversity presents few problems for you; you may be broad-minded in some areas and have less tolerant ideas in other areas of life, such as attitudes toward older people or male/female social roles. 29–42: You are less tolerant than most people and should work on developing greater tolerance of people different from you. Your low tolerance level could affect your business or personal relationships. 43–56: You have a very low tolerance for diversity. The only people you are likely to respect are those with beliefs similar to your own. You reflect a level of intolerance that could cause difficulties in today’s multicultural business environment. Source: https://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test

Cultural Intelligence: Self-assessment

The job of a manager demands a lot, and before long your activities will include situations that will test your knowledge and capacity for dealing with people from other national cultures. Are you ready? To find out, think about your experiences in other countries or with people from other countries. To what extent does each of the following statements characterize your behavior? Please answer each of the following items as Mostly True or Mostly False for you.

Mostly True

Mostly False

1. I plan how I’m going to relate to people from a different culture before I meet them.

2. I understand the religious beliefs of other cultures. 3. I understand the rules for nonverbal behavior in other cultures.

4. I seek out opportunities to interact with people from different cultures.

5. I can handle the stresses of living in a different culture with relative ease.

6. I am confident that I can befriend locals in a culture that is unfamiliar to me.

7. I change my speech style (e.g., accent, tone) when a cross-cultural interaction requires it.

8. I alter my facial expressions and gestures as needed to facilitate a cross-culture interaction.

9. I am quick to change the way I behave when a cross- culture encounter seems to require it.

SCORING AND INTERPRETATION: Each question pertains to some aspect of cultural intelligence. Questions 1–3 pertain to the head (cognitive CQ subscale), questions 4–6 to the heart (emotional CQ subscale), and questions 7–9 to behavior (physical CQ subscale). If you have sufficient international experience and CQ to have answered “Mostly True” to two of three questions for each subscale or six of nine for all the questions, then consider yourself at a high level of CQ for a new manager. If you scored one or fewer “Mostly True” on each subscale or three or fewer for all nine questions, it is time to learn more about other national cultures. Hone your observational skills and learn to pick up on clues about how people from a different country respond to various situations. Source: https://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test

Ability to Work under Ambiguity/Uncertainty/Change: Self-assessment

Take a moment to fill out the instrument below to see your own tolerance for ambiguity. Read each of the following statements. Rate each of them in terms of the extent to which you (dis)agree with the statement using the following scale: Completely Disagree to Completely Agree 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Place the number that best describes your degree of agreement in the blank to the left of each statement. 1. ______An expert who does not come up with a definite answer probably does not know much. 2. ______I would like to live in a foreign country for a while. 3. ______The sooner everyone acquires similar values and ideals the better. 4. ______A good teacher makes you wonder about your way of looking at things. 5. ______I like parties where I know most of the people more than ones where all or most of the people are complete strangers. 6. ______Teachers or supervisors who hand out vague assignments give a chance for one to show initiative and originality. 7. ______A person who leads an even, regular life, in which few surprises or unexpected happenings arise, has a lot to be grateful for. 8. ______Many of our most important decisions are based upon insufficient information. 9. ______All problems can be solved. 10. ______People who fit their lives to a schedule probably miss most of the joy of living. 11. ______A good job is one where what is to be done and how it is to be done are clear. 12. ______It is more fun to tackle a complicated problem than to solve a simple one. 13. ______In the long run, it is possible to get more done by tackling small, simple problems rather than large and complicated ones. 14. ______Often, the most interesting and stimulating people are those who do not mind being different and original. 15. ______What we are used to is always preferable to what is unfamiliar. Scoring: For odd-numbered questions, add the total points. For even-numbered questions, use reverse scoring (7 means 1, and 1 means 7), and add the total points. Your score is the total of the even-numbered and odd-numbered questions. A tolerant person would score 15 and an intolerant person 105. Scores ranging from 20 to 80 have been reported, with a mean of 45. Company managers had an average score of about 45, and non-profit managers had an average score of about 43 though scores in both groups varied widely. Typically, people who tolerate ambiguity (low score) will be comfortable in organizations characterized by rapid change, unclear authority, empowerment, and movement toward a learning organization. People with low tolerance for ambiguity (high score) are comfortable in more stable, well-defined situations. However, individuals can grow in the opposite direction of their score if they so choose. Source: https://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test