Running Head: LEADERSHIP m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m
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7-2 Milestone Two: Adaptive Leadership Toolkit
MBA 530
November 28,2021
SNHU
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Business Problems
The issue that the organization is facing currently revolves around the leadership
approach. The year’s employee engagement survey has revealed that the employees of the
organization are not satisfied with some of the leadership practices. Researcher Simiyu (2015)
has identified in his research study that the leadership approach that is adopted is a critical
component that has the potential to influence the entire organization and the employees that
function in it (Simiyu, 2015). In the organization that is involved in making prosthetics, the
leadership area is a major source of concern as it has adversely affected the satisfaction level
of the organizational personnel. One of the major issues that exist in the organization relates
to the limited focus on recognition and praise. Similarly, another area that has led to
dissatisfaction in the employees is related to limited support by supervisors. Thus, the core
issues that need to be addressed in the entity revolve around the adoption of a better
leadership approach so that the employee satisfaction level can be improved.
Current Strengths
On the basis of the employee engagement survey, there are certain skills and behaviors
that can be considered as the current strength of leadership. A vital area of strength that has
been revealed is the commitment to help the employees to fulfill their family and other
responsibilities. It acts as a major factor that improves the professional relationship between
the leaders and the employees. It enables their employees to strike a balance between their
personal and professional life and increases their level of satisfaction in the work setting.
Another important strength that has been identified in the survey revolves around the high
commitment of the employer to provide value to the clients as well as the customers. The
high level of commitment shows that there exists a major link between the organizational
LEADERSHIP m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m
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goals and the individual objectives of the employees. According to Dirani (2020), leadership
competencies and skills play an integral role in the prevailing organizational landscape. Some
of the key leadership elements that the researcher has identified include sharing a common
vision, enabling others to act, and encouraging the heart (Dirani et al., 2020). By focusing on
these elements, it is possible for leaders to play a proactive and influential role to help the
employees and the employer work in a cohesive manner to reach the business objectives.
Current areas of weaknesses
The results of the employee engagement survey have helped to identify a number of
areas of weaknesses for leadership. A key weakness is that there is limited focus on the
training and development needs of the employees. Based on the survey, many employees feel
that their supervisors do not engage with them and make an attempt to identify their training
needs. It acts as a key aspect that not only diminishes the level of engagement in the work
setting but also restricts the ability of the organizational personnel to grow and learn in the
organizational context. Another major weakness relating to leadership that has been identified
in the organizational setting is the limited focus on recognition and praise. The leaders do not
go out of their way to acknowledge and appreciate the employees for their efforts and hard
work. This weakness has a spilling effect as it negatively affects the morale of the employees
and diminishes their level of satisfaction. According to Jain (2019), leaders can play a key
role in keeping the employees motivated and satisfied in the organizational environment (Jain
et al., 2019). However, in the specific organizational context, it has been observed that the
leaders lay little emphasis on recognition, rewards, and praise. It negatively affects the
motivation of the employees and hampers their contribution and quality of performance in the
business setting.
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Importance of including a Personal Development Plan
While working on the adaptive leadership toolkit, it is necessary for a leader to
integrate a comprehensive Personal Development Plan (PDP). It can be defined as an action
plan that encompasses the individual goals that an individual intends to achieve in the future
(Putter, 2021). It plays an instrumental role for each and every individual to grow and learn in
both his personal and professional lives. While working on the leadership style, the existence
of a Personal Development Plan is considered to be highly valuable as it can help to work on
various kinds of skills by taking necessary steps and measures. According to Avadhani
(2016), there is a vital connection between leadership development and personal development
(Avadhani, 2016). A thoughtful and well-planned PDP could act as the pathway that would
enable individuals to work on the behavioral areas that need to be strengthened in the future.
By adopting the SMART goal-setting approach, it would be possible to remain focused on the
exact goal that needs to be accomplished and the exact steps that must be taken to accomplish
the same. While improving leadership skills and competencies, the adoption of the SMART
goal-setting approach can be highly beneficial as it can help to plan suitable actions and
activities, measure the progress towards achieving the goal, and determine whether the goal
has been met or not (Chen & Decary, 2020).
Impact of Personal Development Plan and SMART goals on leadership styles
In the specific organizational context, the Personal Development Plan, as well as
SMART goals, could play an instrumental role in filling the existing leadership gap. The PDP
plan would serve as the catalyst and help to identify the area that needs to be improved in the
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future. For example, one of the key aspects that could be identified for improving personal
development relates to communication and interpersonal skills. By focusing on this aspect, the
supervisors in the business setting would be able to play a proactive role to engage with the
employees and identify their exact training and development needs. By working on the area,
they would be able to strengthen professional bonds in the work setting (How to create a
personal leadership development plan. Bachelor's Degree Completion, 2021). The PDP would
act as the main tool that could be used in the organization to improve the leadership style by
taking necessary steps and actions. The designing of SMART goals would be of paramount
importance to work towards the intended target. By setting up specific, measurable, attainable,
relevant, and time-bound goals, it would be possible for individuals to work on their
leadership style in a methodical and strategic manner. The creation of such detailed and
narrow goals would ensure that the leaders can focus on the exact skill or behavior that they
need to work on to improve their leadership style. In the particular organizational setting, both
Personal Development Plan and SMART could be used to address the leadership gaps and
increase the level of satisfaction of employees.
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References
Avadhani, A. (2016). Leadership Development and Personal Development: Is there a
Connection?. SM Journal of Nursing. 2. 10.36876/smjn.1004.
Chen, M., & Decary, M. (2020, January). Artificial intelligence in healthcare: An essential
guide for health leaders. In Healthcare management forum (Vol. 33, No. 1, pp. 10-18).
Sage CA: Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications.
Dirani, K. M., Abadi, M., Alizadeh, A., Barhate, B., Garza, R. C., Gunasekara, N., ... &
Majzun, Z. (2020). Leadership competencies and the essential role of human resource
development in times of crisis: a response to Covid-19 pandemic. Human Resource
Development International, 23(4), 380-394.
How to create a personal leadership development plan. Bachelor's Degree Completion. (2021,
April 8). Retrieved November 24, 2021, from https://www.northeastern.edu/bachelors-
completion/news/personal-leadership-development-
plan/#:~:text=Benefits%20of%20a%20Personal%20Leadership,that%20you%20hope%20t
o%20complete.
Jain, A., Gupta, B., & Bindal, M. (2019). A study of employee motivation in organization.
International Journal of Engineering and Management Research (IJEMR), 9(6), 65-68.
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Putter, M. (2021, October 5). What is a personal development plan? CPD Online College.
Retrieved November 24, 2021, from https://cpdonline.co.uk/knowledge-
base/business/what-are-personal-development-
plans/#:~:text=A%20personal%20development%20plan%2C%20which,develop%20to%2
0meet%20your%20goals.
Simiyu, N. A. (2015). Role of leadership in organizational development. Journal of
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