Leadership Self Assessment Week Two Essay Gretchen L. Blake LEAD 580 Problem Solving for Today s Organizations Dr. Sara Garski Summer 01 2013
Gretchen Blake - LEAD 580 2 Abstract In learning and understanding Kouzes and Posner s essential characteristics of honesty, forward-looking, inspiring and competency, a leader is able to take these four fundamental traits and develop a roadmap for understanding truly authentic leadership. This paper will provide a self assessment and tribute of my personal traits and establish my credo on leadership qualities as I strive to further understand myself and develop a strong voice for my leadership brand.
Gretchen Blake - LEAD 580 3 My Leadership Brand In discussing the fundamentals of leadership, our textbook The Leadership Challenge explains that in order to establish integrity, it is first imperative to understand who you are as a person and as a leader (Kouzes, Posner, 2007). To become a well respected and trusted leader, one must first fully understand those core beliefs, values, principles and ideals that drive that individual and which are freely and honestly chosen as a part of their authentic being and what guides decisions and actions. Understanding and defining these characteristics is half of the equation; as Max Dupree so eloquently stated in Chapter Four during his defining moment A leader must be able to connect one s voice to one s touch (Kouzes, Posner, 2007, p. 57). As a graduate student in the study of leadership, it is vital I understand and am able to articulate what my unique values and beliefs are that represent me. This paper will act as an exercise to clarify my values by reflecting on my ideal image and how I would like to be seen by others, and secondly, I will establish my leadership credo. In both my professional and personal life, I believe in honesty and integrity in my actions which not only affect me, but others as well. I take time and effort to think through the process when a decision must be made to make certain I am making the right choice and without regret. Caring about others and taking time to get to know them allows me additional information that is imperative in decision-making. The things that bring me suffering and which I am discontented about are when I feel I have not been heard or when a decision is made above me that I do not believe it the right choice. Often I feel powerless in these situations which make me wish I had a stronger leadership role so that my voice could be heard on issues I clearly have the most knowledge and understanding of. The things that excite me and which I am most passionate about are imparting positive change and transformation whether it be programmatic or within single initiatives; I believe in
Gretchen Blake - LEAD 580 4 evidence-based practices that allow healthcare to be delivered in a way that is safe, is at the highest quality and cost effective. When I am a part of that process, this is powerful and rewarding. Being able to mentor and lead my staff to this same level of passion is equally rewarding and often times contagious. When I see this spread, I feel that I am an effective leader. When this spreads to other departments and other leaders; I feel I have succeeded in transformational leadership the ultimate goal and personal passion. Those things that keep me up at night are the deadlines, the ever increasing amount of work and not having the resources to delegate or the ability to gain footing of the needs and requests within the scope of quality and patient safety. I continually feel I do not have enough time in the day to truly take the information and data and be able to drive initiatives that are pressing. Seeing incident reports, learning of adverse events, reviewing quality outcomes data; there is always more that needs to be done, yet I am constrained with mandatory requirements often leaving time for these other initiatives to be completed in the evening hours and the weekends when I should be spending time with my family. Finally, what I really want for my life is a balance between a rewarding career in which I have the opportunity to be a visionary leader, yet, I have the time to spend with my family where I feel I have quality time to nurture, guide and relax with my children and when they are adults they will remember the time we spent and believe that I was a key leader in their lives. That to me is truly being successful. My Credo Certainly leaders set the tone for organizational culture and great leaders know that integrity is measured by how well our actions support our stated beliefs. The following is my personal credo which I will refer to often throughout my career and as a leadership student:
Gretchen Blake - LEAD 580 5 My Leadership Credo: I believe that leaders must be honest and strike integrity in their every action. I believe that passionate leadership is about the people not about the money or products. I believe it is important to first seek to understand, than be understood. I believe that change is constant and failures or missteps are opportunities for improvement I believe everyone has something unique and special to offer. I believe it is my responsibility to find those unique qualities within people and mentor growth. I believe a leader must have a clear vision and roadmap. I believe that accepting the status quo is a journey toward failure. I believe that leaders must continue to read and learn. I believe that leaders are unselfish. I believe leaders see their projects from start to end and then ensure sustainability. I believe leaders treat everyone with respect. I believe that leaders are skilled at listening. I believe leaders are dedicated to ethical and moral values.
Gretchen Blake - LEAD 580 6 References: Kouzes, J., Posner, B. (2007) The Leadership Challenge, 4 th Edition. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA. Retrieved May 19, 2013 from http://ebookbrowse.com/215196-2-the-leadershipchallenge-kouze-posner-pdf-d379593326