Leadership development report (Leading for Change)

Introduction

The Central Michigan University (CMU) leadership model consists of 5 dimensions with several

core competencies which describes the areas in which a successful leader is required to perform

well in. As an undergraduate majoring in business management, I have keen interest in joining

the hospitality industry, aspiring to take on the role of hotel manager within the next 5 years.

However, being a fresh graduate with negligible working experience in this fast-paced industry, I

would face tougher challenges such as performing under stress, adaptability and working with

diverse teams. Hence, the aim of this report is to review my personal leadership competencies

and to devise a development plan based on the CMU competencies model. The report also

outlines insights on future career challenges and the adequateness of my current competencies.

Current Challenges

According to Testa and Sipe's (2012) service-leadership competencies study for hospitality

management, they have identified 3 broad leadership factors namely; Business Savvy, People

Savvy and Self Savvy. The factors are focused on managing the business, interacting with others

and managing self. In the context of the CMU model, the competencies are aligned with the

above mentioned service-leadership factors. Based on current industry trends, organizations are

heading towards flatter hierarchies and managers are given more autonomy over decision making

and resources. Adversely, that would also mean that managers tend to experience a lack of

control and responsibilities pushing beyond their capabilities and expertise (Bal, Campbell &

Mcdowell-Larsen 2011). Additionally, hotel industry faces challenges in manpower stabilization,

where the backbone of the issue lies in employees’ commitment (Wu et al. 2006). In my opinion,

the lack of control is likely to be caused by poor self-management and task-management. The

ability to work and communicate with a diverse group of employees and customers is also

crucial because the manager acts as a boundary spanner in the dynamic environment of the

hospitality industry where incredible amounts of information needs to be absorbed, processed

and utilized. Hence I find it very relevant to base on the dimensions of self-management, leading

others and task management to formulate my development plan.

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Strengths and Weaknesses

My first strength is the competency in managing stress. I deem it necessary to have the ability

not to crumble under pressure or negative emotions at work, which will affect performance

adversely and the morale of team members working with me. Stress often occurs inevitably in

the nature of work when demands and limitations are acting as push and pull forces in the

environment. Reflecting on my past achievements, I have endured 2 years of National Service in

the diving unit and it has taught me the ability to work under stress and tough dive conditions

where my teammates and my life depended on it. In face of an equipment malfunction

underwater, we were trained to remain calm and not let fear cloud our judgment while attempting

to remedy the fault.

My second strength comes from the competency in learning and interpersonal awareness. Brown

and Posner (2001) suggest that leaders work in a quick-paced and ever-changing environment

with a complexity of choices where continuous learning is the only way to survive. In my

opinion, effective learning takes place extrinsically and intrinsically, where extrinsic learning is

mainly guided by externalities such as personal profession, organization and society

expectations, whereas intrinsic learning takes place from an inside-out perspective and the

motivation to engage in self-directed learning comes from within. Based on my past experiences

of working as a banquet server in a 5-star hotel for 2 years, I took great interest in learning the

ropes from senior staff in matters ranging from the basics of opening and pouring of wine to the

ability to "read" our guests mind so as to deliver the best dining experience to them, what it takes

to bring a smile to their faces. There was also the occasional blunder where I would receive an

earful from an angry customer or my manager but I was not fazed and took it as learning "the

hard way" because even negative feedbacks is crucial to the learning process.

Due to my negligible experience in managerial or supervisory roles, there are certain weaknesses

in the “Leading Others” and “Task -Management” dimensions that I am keen to rectify as well to

improve my overall capabilities. Without a doubt, communication skills are vital for any leader

to facilitate information. My key weakness in communication is my lack of public speaking

skills and confidence. Although I took up additional cross-disciplinary subject in public speaking

which helped a great deal during my years in college. After graduation, I soon realized that

public speaking needs to be practiced consistently before one can be really adept at it. My

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foremost barrier to speaking confidently is my speech articulation because I tend to speak too

fast, which might disengage my audience if the pace is not right. The second area for

development is my tendency to get enmeshed in data and information analysis at the expense of

quick decision making. I tend to be caught up in the methodological pace of analyzing and

solving the issue and do not recognize the need to adjust my priorities and pace accordingly to

the environment. My interest in getting a deeper understanding of data may potentially lead to

paralysis of analysis which is a dysfunctional element in decision making behavior.

My Leadership Development Plan

A brief guidance for the content of the columns are as follows:

Column 1 Organizational Objectives - Based on the broad organizational strategies and

requirements, these are the desired outcomes which hotel managers are expected to deliver.

These objectives are not within my immediate control.

Column 2 Personal Objectives - A translation of objectives from Column 1 into immediate

concerns for developing my leadership role.

Column 3 Development Strategy - The methods which I will use to develop and grow my

leadership objectives as stated in Column 2.

Column 4 Criteria for Evaluation - Indicators which I can use to provide measurements to my

performance and progress.

Column 5 Timeframe - A time scale to depict the frequency and estimated time required to

complete the objective

Column 6 Professional Feedback - Ms. Carol Goh, a degree holder in management studies who

is currently working as McDonald's outlet manager with 2 years of experience will review my

development plan and provide relevant thoughts and suggestions.

Organizational Objectives

Personal Objectives Development Strategy

Criteria for Evaluation

Timeframe

Capable of receiving, Learning 1. My learning 1. Do periodic self- 1. Daily practice

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analyzing, synthesizing incredible amounts of information regarding guests and internal operations. Role of an information manager

1. Adopt a "transformational learning" technique (Brown & Posner 2001)

Solving Problems 2. Adopt precision in

analyzing data and quick decision making. Refrain from paralysis of analysis

would be focused on the cognitive process where I would adopt the mental constructions of experience, inner meaning and reflections after critical triggers or events which will help to shape my learning into a change process

2. Start by addressing my fear of making a wrong decision and subsequently learn to make decisions with incomplete information using the help of intuition and past experiences.

assessments after an event and determine the learning changes I have made through critical reflection and experience. Seek advice from a mentor and ensure that the change is positive

2. Do periodic self- assessments and seek feedbacks from co-workers regarding my pace and quality of decision-making. Ensure that co- workers are satisfied with my judgments and simplicity of presentation

2. 4 years on-the-job development

Maintain level of Stress Management 1. Read a self-help 1. Do periodic self- 1. 1 year

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professionalism and approach problems calmly and rationally even in hectic situations

1. Develop self- control over emotions in challenging situations

2. React and adapt to dynamic situations

book about controlling emotions and start practicing control through daily stressful situations. Patience would be the key trait to possess

2. Learn to do a quick self- assessment (SWOT) when encountered with a situation to be aware of myself and the environment I am in. Resistance to change needs to be managed by moving acting outside the comfort zone

assessments and observe for improvements in situations that I would otherwise react negatively due to emotions

2. Seek feedback from a mentor and co-workers regarding my response to change

2. 3 years on-the-job development

Energy and enthusiasm to serve and willing to take the initiative to help customers and co- workers. Excellent interpersonal skills, especially when dealing with a diverse

Interpersonal Awareness 1. Exercise empathy

at work 2. Improve my

psychological knowledge of different ethnic groups

1. Start putting myself in position of another person, allowing me to see things from a different perspective and approach the problem with tact and understanding

1. Seek honest feedback from friends and co- workers and do periodic review and adjustments if necessary

2. Achieved positive feedback and satisfaction from

1. Daily practice 2. 1 year 3. 1 day

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ethnic groups of people

2. Do continuous research and readings on cultural and ethnicity differences starting mainly on Asian and western cultures

3. Attend a cross- cultural awareness workshop

friends or customers of different cultural backgrounds

3. Complete and achieve a pass for the quiz at the end of the workshop

Excellent communication and interaction skills to facilitate information between co-workers and when dealing with customers

Communication 1. Be a confident and

persuasive public speaker

2. Be an active listener

1. Attend the Toastmasters club public speaking workshop to grasp the necessary skills

2. Adopt the basics of engaging audiences through eye contact, gestures and body language

3. Adopt the basics of effective listening by refraining from interruptions, expressing interest and being attentive

1. Complete the workshop

2. Seek honest feedback from friends and co- workers and make necessary adjustments

1. 1 day 2. Daily practice 3. Daily practice

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Leadership Style

A study conducted by Wu et al. (2006) based on Taiwan’s international hotels, examines how

leadership styles affects organizational commitment. It was discovered that managers who adopts

participating style (Hersey-Blanchard’s) tend to promote the highest level of value, effort

retention and overall commitment in employees than other leadership styles. A participating

leadership style focuses more on relationship and less on tasks. The leader would seek to share

decision-making responsibilities with the team mainly for motivational purposes where followers

are highly able, but lacks in willingness. In conjunction with what Carol has suggested, it is

important for leaders to ensure employee's sense of identity and commitment is aligned with the

organization's values in order to achieve optimal performance. It is especially crucial where the

most valuable intangible asset of hospitality industry is customer service and mangers are

heavily dependent on the employees who are working on the frontline to deliver the exact

commitment willingly. Therefore, I have decided to lean towards a participative leadership style

where my utmost concern is to motivate my team, because I believe that the best customer

service is the care that comes from within.

Conclusion

Arguably one of the most highly regarded trait of a leader is the willingness to take risk; one who

is prepared to venture into uncharted territories in the face of fear of change. I believed that

through maximizing the leader's exposure to the environment, all experiences gained will serve

as valuable learning experiences because effective leadership is not learned, but rather it is a

constant learning process.

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References

Bal, V Campbell, M & Mcdowell-Larsen, S 2011, 'Managing Leadership Stress', Wiley, US

Brown, L Posner, B 2001, ‘Exploring the Relationship Between Learning and Leadership’, The

Leadership and Organizational Development Journal, viewed 18 August 2013,

<http://integrativeleadership.ca/resources/articles/article_1.pdf>

Testa, M.R. & Sipe, L 2012, 'Service-leadership competencies for hospitality and tourism

management', International Journal of Hospitality Management, vol. 31, issue 3, p 648-658,

viewed 16 August 2013, ScienceDirect database

Wu, T.F. Tsai, M.H. Fey, Y.H. Wu, T.Y. 2006, 'A Study of the Relationship between Manager’s

Leadership Style and Organizational Commitment in Taiwan’s International Tourist Hotels',

Asian Journal of Management and Humanity Sciences, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 434-452, viewed 28

August 2013

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