Leadership Portfolio

Management Leadership Portfolio

Personal Leadership Portfolio

Mikenna Kossow

William Jessup University

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Table of Contents

I. Leadership Style

Analysis…………………………………………………………………………………

………3

II. Leadership Trait

Analysis…………………………………………………………………………………

………4

III. Leadership

Vision……………………………………………………………………………………

………………6

IV. Personal Leadership Code of

Conduct………………………………………………………………………8

V. Classroom Biography-Peer

leadership……………………………………………………………………….9

a. Reading Response to Classroom

Biography……………………………………………………10

VI. Summary of Leadership

Learnings……………………………………………………………………………11

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Leadership Style Analysis

Consider your leadership laboratory environment as the context for the following questions. Answer the questions to the best of your understanding and ability.

1. Leadership behaviors are generally classified into two categories: consideration and initiating structure. Identify one activity in each category that is present in your leadership laboratory. Explain your choice.

a. Consideration: In my laboratory when it comes to people needing a day off due to mental reasons, I will talk with the person and see what I can do to help him/her renew the mind. Also, I will cover sessions and classes for the person needing a break.

b. Initiating Structure: I delegate daily tasks to the employees. Those tasks may be cleaning the gym floor, wiping down equipment, or doing data entry. It is important to keep a sterile environment where germs are easily shared. It is up to the leader to make sure employees are cleaning each day. I help each employee establish a goal to accomplish on his/her shift and then I make sure it is completed.

2. Most leadership is situational to a certain degree; that is it benefits from one particular behavior or the other at a given point in time. Considering your specific laboratory environment, do you think the situation calls for initiating structure or consideration behaviors, or some balance of the two (assign a percentage)?

The environment of Wheatland Fitness is very relational on both employee-to-client and employee-to-employee levels. In order to retain clients and employees in a gym of that size a leader must be considerate and relational. However, administrative and other company-related tasks must get done in order to have a clean and organized place of business. In that case Wheatland Fitness needs to be 60% consideration and 40% initiating. I assigned those percentages because the major component that will retain employees and customers is the high level of consideration. Yet

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like stated above, a good amount of initiative structure needs to be present.

3. Given your current understanding of your leadership capabilities, in which quadrant do you think you are most comfortable operating in at this point? Is that different from the behavior balance you would like to achieve?

Low structure and high consideration

High structure and high consideration

Low structure and low consideration

High structure and low consideration

I am both considerate and initiative. In other words, I am very relationship-oriented but at the same time task-oriented. I am comfortable being highly considerate because that is a part of who I am. I am also comfortable with making sure people stay on task and accomplish the daily tasks needed to be done. This is the behavior balance I want to achieve. It is also important to note that some people may need more of one over the other and I am okay with executing that as well.

4. Given the role that you play, identify the leadership style that you think is most appropriate for your responsibilities: participative, autocratic, or entrepreneurial. Why did you select the style that you did? What evidence did you use to make the selection?

The leadership responsibility I deem most appropriate for the role I am in is a participative. In the employee relations side there is not a lot major decisions where one person is the decider. Most are little decisions and can be decided in a group setting. On a trainer/client level, it is very much participative. Even though I am giving them the tools to exercises my decisions and responsibilities towards my client has to do with the goals and desires they have. If I were to dictate in my sessions then my clients are not going to feel comfortable with me as their leader.

Leadership Trait Analysis

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Trait Description Strength (1, 2, 3)

Desirability (1, 2, 3)

Self-confidence 3 1Humility 1 1Core self-evaluations 1 1Trustworthiness 1 1Authenticity 1 1Extraversion 3 2Assertiveness 2 1Enthusiasm 2 2Optimism 2 1Warmth 1 1Sense of humor 2 3

Proactive personality 2 2Passion 1 1Emotional intelligence 2 1Self-awareness 2 1Self-management 2 1Social awareness 1 1Relationship management 1 1Flexibility and adaptability 1 1Courage 2 1

Need for power 3 3Drive 1 1Need for achievement 1 2Tenacity 1 1Resilience 2 1Strong work ethic 1 1

Cognitive or analytical intelligence 1 1Practical intelligence 2 1Knowledge of the business 1 1Creativity 2 2Insight into people and situations 1 1Farsightedness 1 1Conceptual thinking 2 2

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In the space provided below, summarize the findings noted above, identifying at least one area of strength that you can leverage in order to become a more effective leader, as well as one area of weakness you would like to work on. Be specific in action plans for both your strength and weakness.

One area of strength I have is my insight into people and situations. The fitness industry is more than just trying to make money. It is a people-person business about trying to help people. My insight into people and situations enables me to the best trainer and employee because I can use my insight of clients to figure out how to help them the best. My insight into situations allows me to decipher whether I should stay away from something particular or not. Those are not the only reasons but some of the important ones.

My biggest weakness is self-confidence. I allow my lack of confidence to hold me back from taking risks, making decisions and being the best I can. I would like to keep working on this because I know I have value but at times it is hard to believe. If I could be more assertive and more confident in myself then I would make more impact in my work and in my relationships.

I found from this assessment, a few of my “weaknesses” are not necessarily important for my ability to lead; such as need for power. I do not want all the power; I would rather share it. I tend to be more collaborative than anything. Extraversion is another weakness of mine but in some situations I am able to step out of my comfort zone and be somewhat outgoing.

Leadership Vision

Draft a leadership vision statement for yourself that addresses the factors listed below. Describe your ideal end-state, but consider the realities of your personality and capabilities.

Factors to Consider

1. Which characteristics best describe you as a leader?

Coach and Motivator Team Builder

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Team Entrepreneur

Strategic Planner

2. Do you tend toward introvert or extrovert behavior?

My behavior is very introverted. Sometimes the attributes that come with being an introvert can be a little extreme and prevent me from doing certain things such as talking in groups, introducing myself to new people, and going places I do not know anyone.

3. What type of communications are you most comfortable with – formal or informal; written or spoken; storytelling or “just the facts”?

I am most comfortable with informal, written (sometimes spoken), and “just the facts” forms of communications. Informal is more comfortable because of the easy-going feel to it. It is hard for me to communicate in a formal light such as a presentation or an interview due to the pressure that can be felt. Written and spoken can both be hard. However, when it comes to speaking about important matters, it is easiest for me to articulate those matters through words. Yet sometimes writing is hard and it is easier for me to explain things through speaking. I am a terrible storyteller; I miss main points, stutter, and take a long time to tell a story. My best bet is to tell key facts and figures.

4. Which leadership styles best reflects your current self-evaluation? Shared Collaborativ

e

Consultative

Consensus

5. Is your leadership style more focused on initiating structure or consideration? Which would you prefer?

My leadership style focuses more on consideration. Because I am so relational and empathetic towards others, I lead with consideration towards people and situations. I would prefer

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having more consideration than initiating structure because of my desire to connect with others.

6. Do you desire to be managerial, charismatic, or transformational?Transformational is the leadership style I would prefer to be as I continue to be in leadership roles. I do not care about my own glory and gain. I care about helping others grow and doing things for the good of the organization. As a transformational leader should do, I want to transform people and the organization I am in.

Write your leadership vision below in 2-3 complete sentences

My vision is to guide people to a healthier life physically, mentally, and spiritually. Through coaching and motivating people of this world, deteriorating health will transform to stronger health. Using my team player characteristics in this vision, health problems will be solved in creative and practical ways.

List the specific actions (highest priority) you believe you need to take to achieve your leadership vision

1. Build a team of people who care about creating a world dedicated to health and fitness.

2. With that team, come up with a strategic plan for bringing health and fitness to the community.

3. Strengthen my assertiveness and confidence to step out and take the risk.

4. Go out and stress the importance of living in a healthy manner; those efforts should be done first to my clients (my closest reach).

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Portfolio ConductValues – List the most critical values that you would want to serve as the underlying infrastructure for your formal code of conduct.

1. Transparency2. Integrity3. Relationship Investment 4. Selflessness5. Excellent Performance6. Accountability7. Social Responsibility8. Teamwork

Behaviors – List the behavioral expectations you would have of employees, consistent with your Christian worldview, but in the context of a for-profit business.

1. Consider the needs of others before your own.2. Personalize relationships.3. Do what’s honest and right no matter the circumstance.4. Listen to others.5. Confront issues as they arise.6. Be tenacious.7. Be willing to put in the time.8. Be prepared.

Code of Conduct

Transparency, integrity, empathy and accountability are at the core of who I am. I lead by example through telling the truth, being open, and listening to others. These traits are most essential as I continue to grow as a leader. I will consider the needs of others above my own as the success of others is my priority. Integrating these values and behaviors I have the ability to lead with love, compassion, and

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excellence. I strive to be someone who listens to others as people are more committed when they feel heard. These are the values I live by and the ways I share those values.

Peer Leadership Biography

Leadership Biography of Jennifer

Introverts tend to be viewed in a negative way when in reality introversion is very much a positive characteristic just as much as extroversion. Jenna happened to overcome the introvert stigma. Being the quiet girl through grade school, Jenna had difficulties with public speaking and even speaking out in class. Due to her quietness many people did not even know who she was. Yet with the help of God she slowly started to break out of the “quiet girl” image. Her junior year she prayed to God about wanting to become comfortable talking to people, especially in group settings. God was really patient with Jenna as she began to work through the uncomfortableness of stepping out of her shell. These past moments of growth have shaped Jenna into the leader she is today. “As I do leadership now, I look back on that and remember where I came from and why I am still constantly trying to improve” states Jenna. There is still a lot of improvement to be done but because of God Jenna has come such a long way.

God and faith have not been the only contributors to Jenna’s growth as a leader. A few heroes have been major influences on how Jenna views leadership. First, Jamie, a youth group leader at Lakeside Church, is the image of emotional intelligence. Jenna saw skills and traits in Jamie that displayed what it looks like to be a good leader and a good person. Jamie was intuitive as she was able to read into people and be empathetic with it. Jenna was impacted the most by her ability to put aside things for others. For example, Jenna was having trouble one night and she did not know who to talk to or even what to do. Jamie was who she called in which she set a side whatever she was doing right then to go meet with Jenna in person to help with the situation. Leaders are able to put aside what they are working on to meet the needs of their team. Jenna views empowerment as a factor in emotional intelligence. A leader empowers the people he or she is helping.

Brene Brown is researcher that focuses on four topics: courage, vulnerability, worthiness, and shame. Jenna is intrigued by this leader because she applies what she learns from her research. Leaders take what

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they learn and apply it their own lives. Jenna has shaped herself to be someone that does not exempt herself from applying lessons such as Brene Brown. Jenna strives to be transparent in the way that she is vulnerable with her faults. This type of vulnerability can help others gain confidence and continue their leadership journey.

Jenna wants to be a leader that helps people. Specifically, she wants to help people get past illnesses and live healthy. She wants to help others find the answers to chronic illnesses and how to overcome them. Jenna went through a period where doctors could not figure out what was wrong. The doctors finally found the answer, a chronic disease. Jenna was able to learn how to deal with it and not let it take over her life. She wants to help others find the knowledge needed to deal with their illnesses such as diets that may help. Personal health concerns motivates Jenna to help others.

Jenna finds the most important leadership skill that will help her succeed is relationship management. A lot of things stem from relationship management such as authenticity, trustworthiness, or emotional intelligence. In order to grow those other traits you need to be able to put effort in relationships, manage those relationships, and be open and available. Leaders and supervisors in Jenna’s life have not even tried to build a relationship with her. That lack of relationship or even trying to build a relationship has caused her to not want to be engaged in the company. Relationships helps Jenna and others be motivated to do their best work. In other words, commitment in the organization goes up when leaders build relationships with their subordinates. Looking at the poor leadership Jenna has experienced in her life has showed her how not to be when it comes to leading a group of people. Jenna believes observing others and seeing the areas they lack, you can apply it to your personal life. Seeing the lack of skills needed to be a good leader helps Jenna see how it would pan out without those areas as well.

Jenna cares about being a good leader. She is aware of other people and wants to look out for others. She strives to be someone that is approachable for others. Through influential and uninfluential people and experiences, Jenna strives to be an emotional intelligent leader who also seeks to build relationships with her subordinates and those around her. She has grown to be assertive in how she presents and leads. She is intuitive and prides herself in applying what she learns to her life. Jenna is growing to be a powerful leader and is succeeding in her efforts.

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Response to My Personal Biography

Reading about myself from someone else’s eyes is very enlightening. The way my leadership life was articulated has brought a deeper understanding about myself in some ways. Despite my current job title, I had not necessarily thought of myself as a coach in my leadership style. In our discussion, I never once even mentioned leading with a coaching style. However, Jenna gathered it from the way I spoke of my experiences. I classify myself as a transformational leader with a participative style. I also lead with a relational style and Jenna tied on all of those while adding new styles (coach). Her assessment of my background was mostly accurate.

Jenna pointed out that I am facing a leadership crisis. I would to clarify I do not call it a crisis. The closing of the studio was a decision that was made, it was not in any way an emergency for the company, in my opinion. The managers no longer saw the need for that building anymore so a decision was made and it affected me. It was an adverse situation. The problem with this situation had more to do with the lack of leadership by the CEO and the managers. There was not a lack of decisiveness because the managers made a decision. However, what they did lack was the ability to empathize with employees and to keep their words. On the other hand, she did explain how that situation shaped me and the way I hope to lead.

A positive to reading about yourself from someone else’s eyes is the chance to see what strengths and weakness you possess. Need for achievement as a driving force is something I see as a flaw. Jenna spoke of this motive in a positive manner and as a gauge of my success. Need for achievement could be positive but at times it is negative. In my case I must be careful with allowing it to be the main motivation. First, my need for achievement sometimes turns in to a need for control. Sometimes as I am trying to succeed or reach a goal, even with my clients, I tend to become a little controlling and that can cause clients/others to lose their motivation. Too much control leads to losing commitment from those who work with me or are friends with me. Second, my need for achievement causes stress on myself. Although some stress could be good in order to get things done, too much stress can have serious implications on my mental health. If I experience setbacks or bumps in anything, I become frustrated and overwhelmed which in turn can keep me from reaching my goals. I would like to be motivated by something else rather than my need for achievement. Jenna touched on another motivation factor which I see as more positive:

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impacting others. This motive ties into my desire to be a transformational leader.

The applications I hope to pursue from this biography has to do with my weaknesses and the poor leadership skills I have encountered in my work. In the future I hope to limit my need for achievement. It should not be my only motive in my ability to lead. Earlier I gave reasons for why it is a weaknesses; in future leadership roles I will come up with ways I can use it as a strength. Second, an ongoing list has been forming on how not to lead. This comes from the poor leaders I have experienced in the past. In some ways this is positive and Jenna pointed out the lessons I learned. I seek to build my leadership with not only the skills and attributes Jenna listed but with skills and attributes learned in the course and in other experiences. After reviewing several times the words Jenna wrote, I realized I tend to focus on the negative sides of leadership. I did not have much to tell her about good leaders that influenced my life. I believe that is not because good leaders have not invested in my life but because I pay closer attention to the bad leaders in my life. I let the evil over power the evil. I am sensing I could have more growth if I do not only look at the negative as how to lead but also look at the many great leaders I have encountered in my life. Most importantly, this biography showed me that you shouldn’t focus on one area to teach you how to be a leader. Everyone teaches you something, and you can choose to listen or not. I tend to listen to the bad leaders (not to lead like them) to determine how not to lead rather than look at the good leaders to determine how to lead.

Summary of Leadership Learnings

Leadership is such a simple word, so one would think. Leadership is much more complex compared to management, in my opinion. I say

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this because leadership can be done at any level, any time, and any place. Management to my understanding is a position in which creates order and consistency with in a group of people. Management has much more to it than that as well but the topic I want to focus on is leadership. I found the fundamentals presented in the course to be very crucial in understanding me as a leader as well as viewing others as leaders. By fundamentals I mean all the different components under leadership addressed: attributes, roles, styles, and theories. Some of these aspects of leadership are learned and some are genetically intertwined within us. For example, under traits I am very much an introvert, I believe it is in my genetic make-up. However, I have learned through my time in college how to be extroverted in some situations. The different kinds of leadership styles stuck out to me and brought me to realize that some followers need transactional leaders and some need transformational.

Transformative leadership is the most intriguing out of all of the styles discussed. It is referred to as the Simon Peter model of leadership. It essentially is a conglomerate of a bunch of other leadership styles: charismatic, transformational, Level 5, covenantal, and principle-centered. This leadership style seeks to transform people and achieve goals in the organization but does it in a way that shows value and standards. There is not one style that is most effective; each has its positives and negatives. In order to be effective leader, we have to find a balance between extremes. For example, task-orientation and relationship-orientation are too extremes. One leader who is task oriented is focused on getting the tasks and assignments done right and on time. It’s like checking off a list. Relationship-orientated leaders tend to focus on interpersonal relationships and influencing people in that way. Taking a look at the dimensions of consideration and initiating structure, task-orientation and relationship-orientation are components of this dimension. Task-oriented is a part of initiating structure and relationship-oriented is consideration. There is a happy medium and by finding that balance a leader, like myself, will be more effective in leading a team of people. It is also important to remember that one person might need more of consideration over initiating structure. In all aspects of leadership balance is important.

On a vulnerable level, I have always felt like no one understood me and therefore I did not understand myself. Yet through the

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leadership course that has drastically changed. I have come to realize who I am and who I can be. My desires have heightened through figuring out my style and my ability to lead. I learned that one of my roles of leadership is a coach and motivator. Now in my current job those roles would clearly be obvious but I never would have guessed it was a part of leadership. I have also learned even more, I see into people and situations. This trait has become heightened as I have learned more about effective leadership in comparison to my current job. Effective leaders are clear communicators, integral, able to inspire change, empathetic, and visionary. These are not the only traits of a successful leader but ones I find most important, especially in myself as a leader. I have seen what poor communication, dishonesty, and lack of empathy can do to a team, an organization, and a leader. It destroys people and businesses. In my leadership journey I hope to display the more positive characteristics and methods of a good leader, not only for myself but in order to create other ethical, effective leaders.

As I begin to head into my future, lessons about leading have stuck in the forefront of my mind. Communication has been a continual trait through this concept of leadership. Poor communication can destroy successful businesses, relationships, and people. In a leadership role, I plan to clearly and concretely communicate to those under me and above me in order to bridge the gap between levels. By adequately communicating with others, I will display my empathy and understanding of the people and the organization. My style of leadership is still in the developing stages and I know a style can always change. A transformative leader is a great balance of different styles. My hope is to develop myself into this style of leadership. A vision I have is to transform people to being healthy and fit. I believe the best way to do that is through this style.

My traits and characteristics are always developing and sometimes changing. The good traits get stronger and the negative ones start to fade out as I grow and transform. Education and mentorship is a big part of it. I hope to pursue those types of relationships. Mentors can help develop people through guidance and support. A mentor could point out what I need to do better to reach the goals I have because they have had the experience. On the other hand, seeking out people to be a mentor to can help strengthen my

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ability to lead not only one person but a whole team. Education will not make someone a leader but it can help one become more knowledgeable in the area of leadership. I plan to continue to educating myself whether through online studies, readings, courses and discussions about leadership. I will seek after more leadership development opportunities.

I realize that leadership styles do not always fit with certain situations. The Contingency Theory of Leadership developed by Fred Fiedler. In my understanding, certain leadership styles are only effective in certain roles. Using this model to measure leaders will help place them in the best roles for their style. In my mind this means put people where they will succeed. What does this mean for me? I am going to do my best to find roles that I know my style will excel in. I do not want to put myself some where I know that I will fail in. If I ever find myself in a situation where my style does not work I will do one of two things. First, I will try my best to adapt my style to the particular situation. If that cannot happen then the next thing I will do is step out of that leadership situation. My leadership has developed a lot over the course of four months. The list of practical applications keeps growing and I am going to do my best to act on those applications.

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Documents

Leadership Portfolio