HR9737 Leadership and Management
Introduction
Acquiring a substantial number of relevant interpersonal skills and capabilities is extremely important for managers in the contemporary age to assure that they are extremely capable of managing and developing a team successfully within the competitive world. Hence, in this essay, the aspect of all the types of capabilities managers are required to have along with the extent to which they are required to be extremely self when they are managing a multicultural team will be discussed with extreme validation.
The evaluation of my personal stream and weaknesses would also be analysed in this curriculum to further complement the skills that are required to be developed and the skills I might already have to become a better manager. Modules that would be discussed in this essay are giving and receiving feedback and motivating others and one cell given that it is perceived that these two prospects are extremely capable of allowing a leader or manager to be significantly better in managing a multicultural team.
Part A – Academic Essay
Define and explanation of self-awareness
The concept of self-awareness is the capability of an individual to focus on oneself and how the actions, emotions and thoughts do or do not align with the internal standards of an individual. It is safe to mention that safe awareness is an extremely relevant attribute for individuals to have since it enables them to critically evaluate all the actions taken by them and further rectify the same to become better individuals in their personal or professional life.
It has also been established by research that a person or more specifically managers with a great amount of self-awareness are relatively more capable of change as they get to evaluate their inner personalities and how that is reflected in the actions conducted by them in the professional arena (Crook, Alakavuklar and Bathurst, 2021).
In addition to that, it might also be stated that people with relatively better attributes of self-awareness are also capable of not making as many mistakes as others since they are always evaluating the actions they are taking and for that managers in the contemporary age are also required to have these trade to help an organisation sustain within an intense competitive race. According to the theory of emotional intelligence by Goleman, it has also been suggested that leaders with relatively better self-awareness skills are capable of managing a team more effectively As these leaders make decisions that do not rely on buried values having the potential of creating any kind of inner turmoil (Issah, 2018).
It needs to be mentioned that having self-awareness is even more important when it comes to managing a multicultural team given that it comprises people coming from different backgrounds and managers or team leaders must have such capabilities to successfully evaluate the perspectives of all individuals to develop an extremely resilient team.
The findings of another study have also mentioned that the aspect of self-awareness is based on the idea of how an individual sees oneself and the impacts of the actions taken by them to become the person they want to be (London, Sessa & Shelley, 2023). To be precise the types of benefits that might be derived from having significantly more self-awareness could be identified as the capability of building better communication traits with the team members, enabling a person to make the right decisions the majority of the time, having and also offering job satisfaction to others and more such positive aspects.
A self-aware leader is also capable of assuring that the organisation is free from any types of barriers and challenges that might negatively impact its business ventures given that these individuals are always aware of the types of decisions they must adopt as they continuously evaluate their inner-self and the emotions that are driving their actions. In the second part of this essay, two of the core modules that have been studied would be further analysed to discuss how those capabilities might also be extremely important in effective team management and also for becoming a better leader or manager.
Giving and receiving feedback
It is safe to mention that whenever a manager or leader is handling a team it fundamentally consists of a substantial number of people and the effective way they might do this is by creating a significantly better relationship with all the individuals within the group. Research has also mentioned that the relationship that exists between a leader and team members is extremely imperative for the effectiveness of a project and also to identify the potential strengths and weaknesses of each member to further enhance the outcomes delivered by the team (Giudici, M., & Filimonau, 2019). In that context, it might be stated that creating such a relationship could be possible through the means of receiving and giving feedback to all the team members which would improve the process of transparent communication between the managers and team members and subsequently help the projects to become significantly more successful. It has also been established by research that the concept of feedback is known to improve the effectiveness of teamwork and enables individuals to become relatively more collaborative when conducting their respective jobs in completing a project (Sridharan & Boud, 2019).
It is safe to mention that giving and receiving feedback is fundamentally related to the concept of performance evaluation given that by offering feedback leaders or managers enable the individuals to assure that they are being relatively more productive and improving their work in case it was found that the individual was experiencing certain challenges that might have had a negative impact on the overall effectiveness of the teamwork. According to research, the concept of constructive feedback is an extremely imperative source of resilience that employees might experience as it would help them to improve their professional performance, development, self-awareness and collaboration within the team (Altmiller et al., 2018).
Similarly, by asking for feedback the leaders or managers might also be capable of evaluating their performances better and rectifying the mistakes they might have made which subsequently had created any types of conflicts or dissatisfaction among the team members. By adopting this approach they would successfully represent the fact that they are also taking the emotions and perceptions of the team members into consideration which would result in the development of a relatively better relationship among them. It is safe to mention that such an approach undertaken by leaders is significantly efficient in assuring better working engagement and also improving employee retention rate in an organisation and along with that also better managing a team with diverse team members (Lee, Idris & Tuckey, 2019).
It needs to be mentioned that in the contemporary age, the concept of 360-degree feedback has also emerged as one of the most valuable ways through which individuals are capable of evaluating their performances by asking for feedback from their colleagues and subsequently improving their performances based on the same. Research has also mentioned that the implementation of the process of 360-degree feedback is extremely crucial in ensuring that individuals are accessing constructive criticism regarding their work and based on that they are capable of evaluating their performances to make it relatively better at the workplace (Ramdhani, Prasetio & Alamsyah, 2021).
Motivating self and others
It is safe to mention that the prospect of motivation is one of the most important aspects of assuring that individuals working in a team are receiving extreme job satisfaction which subsequently enables them to perform their tasks better. The two-factor theory has also mentioned that acquiring a substantial amount of motivation from leaders is one of the main sources of ensuring that employees are being extremely productive and that would help the organisations to create better teams and also derive the best performances from them (Hur, 2018). In that case, it might be established that an effective leader or manager would be extremely capable of motivating the individuals who might be working under their guidance and that would subsequently lead the entire team to become significantly more easily and offer better performances. Research has also confirmed that the motivation provided by leaders is extremely important for employees to feel valued and appreciated at the workplace and these are some of the most relevant determinants of assuring more productivity and also commitment towards the organisation (Graves & Sarkis, 2018).
However, it also must be established that along with motivating others leaders or managers and also required to motivate themselves within the workplace to maintain positive participation and behaviour toward the team members and guide them positively under all circumstances even if any difficult situation occurs. It is safe to mention that motivating oneself is also another form of self-awareness through which individuals maintain a steady behaviour towards their work commitment and that further leads the individuals to make significantly fewer mistakes (Luo & Hancock, 2020). For example, leaders are required to always keep themselves motivated during any type of challenging situation that might create a negative impact on the business and derive the best possible solution to be implemented in such a scenario for further improvement and achieving all the organisational objectives.
It needs to be mentioned that the approach of motivating the team members and keeping one self-motivated will also help the individuals to establish a significantly better relationship with the subordinates and that is also another determinant of assuring successful team and collaborative work (Driskell, Salas & Driskell, 2018). For example, if any individual within the team is feeling depressed or less productive, then an effective leader would always motivate the individual by either communicating with the person or by any other relevant measure that would help the individual to become more productive again.
Part B – Establishing the Possession and the Positional: A Self-analysis
Overview of the Retail context and analysis of the requirements for development
Overview of the Retail Sector
In the present report, the sector of the retail industry has been selected because of its increasing importance in today’s world of digitalisation and increased demands. The retail sector may be responsible for manufacturing and selling of goods and services to its customers. The retail sector has been considered to be a powerhouse all around the globe that has experienced 3.8% since the year 2008 and the revenue is expected to rise by US$ 28 trillion within the year 2019 (Naidoo & Gasparatos, 2018). Therefore, the importance of the retail sector in the present times is immense and therefore serves as an extremely influential sector for being undertaken in the present report. The total value of sales in retail, both online and offline, amounted to about 25.8 trillion U.S. dollars globally (Statista.com, 2023).
Figure 1: Global Retail Sales
(Source: Statista.com, 2023)
Required development
To become a successful manager of the retail sector, I am therefore required to undertake proper measures for the development of certain skills that will help me to grow personally as well as professionally. In this respect, I am required to be able to boost my confidence level and thereby help in facilitating the motivational level of the entire workforce. Furthermore, I am required to undertake strategies that will help me in improving the quality of work even in the event of a time crunch. This will help in facilitating the satisfaction of the employees and thereby increase the profitability of the company comprehensively. The performance level of the firms may get positively affected due to the development of a motivation system that in turn helps in facilitating job satisfaction among the employees (Pang & Lu, 2018). Furthermore, I also lack the ability to interact efficiently with a cross-cultural workforce and thereby it may be considered as one of the most crucial weaknesses that will pose a challenge in my development as an efficient manager of the retail sector.
A Report on Self-analysis
| Toolkit | Strengths | Weaknesses |
| CEME | 1. Having determination in the work being done
2. Commitment towards the work undertaken 3. Increased level of achieving Ambition The trait of being determined will enable me to be focused on the goals and targets that I want to achieve, in addition to helping me gain the motivation that will facilitate the attainment of the same. Furthermore, the increased level of commitment towards the work being done will positively influence my work quality |
1. Decreased level of confidence
2. Low belief in the self 3. Lack of clarity in knowledge and networks The low levels of confidence that I experience may be responsible for negatively affecting the overall performance of any organisation. Furthermore, my moderate knowledge regarding the goals and networks that may help in goal achievement may pose certain challenges to my ability to positively influence the workforce. |
| Honey and Mumford | 1. Being able to analyse taking into consideration different viewpoints
2. High power of observation 3. Attaining in-depth knowledge before reaching conclusions Being a reflector learner, I will be able to analyse the rise of any problem from different perspectives and thereby reach a conclusion that may be beneficial for the overall firm. Furthermore, my inheritance of high observatory power will help me in undertaking decisions that will facilitate the growth of the company |
1. Forced in taking up the role of a leader
2. Lack of time in preparing adequately 3. Inability to maintain work quality due to rush for deadlines The occurrence of deadlines in any task may affect my performance level and the quality of the work due to the rush and time crunch that will prohibit me from observing all the ends of a situation. Moreover, the role of leadership that may be forced upon me will affect my decision-making ability and thereby negatively impact the firm’s productivity |
| Cultural Intelligence | 1. Careful planning of ways to approach meeting a culturally different individual
2. Providing cross-cultural individuals with equal opportunities and importance in the workplace I am able to plan in the event of meeting people belonging to different cultures to gain knowledge regarding the topics and ideas that may be discussed. Furthermore, my ability to facilitate the development of equality in a culturally diverse workforce will positively impact the company’s performance. |
1. Lack the skills of being able to efficiently interact with inter-cultural people
2. Having extensive knowledge regarding the different perceptions of gender roles in different cultures I lack the skill of effectively communicating with diverse cultured people despite palling ahead, and that may be detrimental to both my personal and professional growth. Furthermore, my lack of knowledge regarding the gender roles of different cultures may also negatively impact the overall work culture of an enterprise. |
| Goleman’s EI model | 1. Empathetic feelings
2. Social skill Being extremely empathetic, I am able to understand the feelings and emotional state of others and thereby help in understanding the requirements of my colleagues. In addition to this, my high social skills will enable me to establish an effective communication system that will facilitate the company’s growth. |
1. Awareness of the self
2. Level of motivation The decreased level of motivation that I experience may adversely affect the entire workforce and thereby be responsible for causing the decline in the firm’s productivity level. Furthermore, my ability of self-awareness is also low and thereby has a high priority among all the skills that I am required to develop. |
| 3-Minute Motivation Checklist | 1. Team membership
2. Helpful towards others Being a team player, I am more prone towards the development of teams that will help in improving the overall performance level of the firm. Additionally, I also help other team members that facilitate satisfaction and motivation level |
1. Facing challenges in the workplace
2. Balance established between skills My inability to adequately and efficiently handle any challenge that may arise in the workplace may be regarded as one of the primary challenges that may affect my professional development. Furthermore, I also lack the skill of maintaining a balance between my skill and the level of job that I undertake. |
| Big Five | 1. Highly dependable and organised
2. Facilitating teamwork I have the ability to initiate teamwork and thereby become an effective team player, which will help in the enhancement of the entire organisation’s performance level. In addition to this, I am also highly organised and dependable which allows me to work and make others work in an efficient and effective manner |
1. Highly conservative in approach
2. Extremely practical Being extremely conservative in my approach does not allow me to undertake innovative and experimental ideas whereby the modernization of the company may get adversely affected. Furthermore, being practical makes me unable to take into account the emotional factor that may negatively affect the satisfaction level of the staff members. |
Table 1: Self-Analysis using results of RToolkits
(Source: Self-illustrated)
The theoretical framework of the Johari Window may be referred to as the tool that helps in examining the dynamic of a group, especially an individual’s position and interaction with the other members of the group (Spennemann, 2023). Therefore, the strengths and weaknesses that have been identified from the above table may be illustrated by the utilisation of this framework
.
From the results obtained from the CEME questionnaire, it may be asserted that low confidence and self-belief are the weaknesses that I require to develop and additionally, it belongs to the facade dimension according to the Johari’s Window. Furthermore, the results of the Honey and Mumford test suggest that I am unable to maintain the quality of my work in case of deadlines and that may belong to the arena dimension of the framework. In addition to this, according to the results of the 3 Minute Motivation Checklist and Goleman’s EI model, it has been concluded that my work tends to crumble in the event of facing challenges in the workplace and also I am associated with having a low motivational level. This in turn may be responsible for decreasing the overall motivational level of the personnel and thereby negatively affect the performance and productivity level of the company. In addition to this, the Big Five personality test has helped me to gain insight regarding the fact that I am extremely conservative which adversely impacts my professional development and may be regarded as belonging to the dimension of the unknown, in accordance with the Johari’s Window Framework.
Part C – What Next: Establishment of the Areas for Development
The use of self-determination has involved the process of developing personal weakness in considering both the personal and professional realms which has gone through the process of planning and improvement in the skills to attain the long-term goals. I have considered giving 6 self-development and learning tests which have allowed me to identify my failings in certain areas. In the context of CEME, I have observed my weakness in being lack of confidence, in the area of Big Five tools, I have analysed my weakness in having a conservative approach. The use of the CEME tests has led me to analyse the main weakness in confidence which has directly influenced my lacking in the majority of interpersonal skills impacting my overall chance of employability. In the context of having an aspiration to be successful in the retail industry building confidence is the key to directing an effective leadership role and maintaining effective relationships with team members and employees. It is analysed that due to the ever-changing retail sector and consumer behaviour, the skills are required in obtaining a better understanding of the market and conduct effective decision-making for front-end retail activities (Jocevski et al., 2019). I have analysed the impact of a lack of certain skills may lead to increasing miscommunication among the employees and impact further on the retail organisation’s competitiveness.
I have analysed my lacking of balancing skills and motivation which may lead to a failure in sharing the skills required among employees for increased performance and productivity. To improve my team motivation skills and confidence I have planned to join an online course in management to obtain professional insight into developing effective skills in management and ensure success in business operations. The individual needs which are highlighted in the professional gap may impact the overall team performance which may lead to facing a problematic situation in being a team leader. The imposition of honesty and diligence in leadership roles may enable obtaining trust among team members and employees resulting in increasing communication and eliminating the risk of miscommunication. It analysed the impact of effective leadership skills fostering confidence allows in the development of self-confidence among employees which enables the creation of high productivity in the organistional culture (Turkmenoglu, 2019). I have analysed that the change in the market and business environment has contributed to the development of scope for improvement in both employee skills and employability due to the sphere of increased competition.
Conclusion
Encapsulating the current report, it may be stated that the first part of the present report deals with defining self-awareness and additionally the importance of the skills that are required for the development of a leader has also been discussed. Furthermore, the second part of the report is concerned with providing a detailed report on self-analysis whereby an evaluation and illustration of the strengths and weaknesses have been made according to the results obtained from the different toolkits. Moreover, the final section of the present report is associated with providing a set of recommendations for improving the overall skills thereby facilitating professional growth and development.
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