This paper focuses on developing leadership capacity, or bench strength, in an
organization. I started by reviewing my development goal and outlining the changes required to
make the goal attainable. The outcomes achieved and the learnings I got from the course have
further been highlighted along the trail of the paper. The papers also explain the methods I used
in reviewing my development goal, the research methods I used to gather my information, and
the specific actions taken to accomplish my goal. I also summarized the coaching strengths and
development opportunities I implemented. The roles of individuals, leaders, and organizations
and how they impact and affect future leaders have also been discussed. At the end of the paper,
I concluded by explaining how my leadership model has kept on evolving at different stages of
my learning.
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Reviewing My Development Goal
Every year, year, vast sums of money are allocated to cater for leadership development forums.
Despite the efforts, leaders are still considered to be out of touch with their employees and the
teams working under them. My future career aspiration is to be a departmental manager at one of
the financial firms. This means that I will have to equip myself with proper leadership skills to
make a significant impact on the company I will be working for. Based on the low scores I got, I
decided to focus on innovation as my development plan. In layman's terms, innovation refers to
the process of creating and implementing new business ideas and procedures to deliver top-notch
products. As a results-oriented person, I decided to focus on innovation because it is a known
crucial factor leading to the success of a business. (John H. Zenger & Joseph R. Folkman, 2009)
Changes made while reviewing my development goal.
Based on my strengths and competencies, I chose to implement the situational approach
and transformational leadership while managing a team. This is because of my excellent
analytical and problem making skills and the ability to form healthy relationships with people.
Situational approach is a method where a leader can guide his followers and adapt different
leadership methods depending on the different situations. (Northouse, 2018) One of my greatest
strengths is problem-solving and quick to action. I can identify a problem and make a smart,
rational decision for the benefit of the organization. On the other hand, transformational
leadership is a form of leadership style whereby leaders actively interact with their employees to
inspire, motivate, and encourage employees to partake in the change the organization needs.
(Sarah, 2018) My ability to communicate and relate to people with the same vision and goals is
unmatched. This makes me believe that I will make a very efficient transformational leader as I
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am open and welcoming to change. I also am results-oriented. This means that I work well in
adopting new tactics and methods to fuel the change the team craves to achieve their goals.
Outcomes achieved and learnings.
Based on the self-assessment of business on leadership competencies, I believe that I can
thrive in an organization that follows the C.O.P. model. In the C.O.P. model, C is Competencies,
O is Organizational needs, and P is Passion (John H. Zenger & Joseph R. Folkman, 2009, p.112).
It is said that great leaders do not focus on fixing their weaknesses, but rather, they should build
their strengths. To be able to become an extra-ordinary leader, I had to make a compilation of all
my best attributes and continue working on them to accomplish my goal. These processes I have
mentioned above will help increase the performance and productivity of the organization I will
be working for.
Research methods and specific actions taken to complete goal.
With the help of my learning partners, I was able to do exhaustive research on my
development plan. I collected materials and data from the books and journals in the school
library, scoured the internet for a global and more updated perspective of leadership
development, and I did a personal self-assessment test based on my day to day life. The self-
assessment covered my relations with the people I work together with, and this has helped me
identify skills that I could apply as a leader. As an organizational leader with a set goal, I used
my analytical skills to do extensive research on the most efficient method to use to achieve my
goal of innovation. I then presented my ideas to my team, who brainstormed and helped me
create a plan. The goal was broken down into several milestones to make it more achievable and
track its progress. The rest of the employees were finally informed, and as a leader, I was their
guide through every step. I ensured everyone was aware of how the change in the organization
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was critical and how they each had a role to play. The organizational structure encouraged and
supported the new creative ideas, and with time, innovation was a culture. People embraced
change. (Deep, 2018)
Coaching strengths and Development Opportunities.
Working at an organization where people keep faulting you because of your weaknesses
can make the working experience horrible, thus reducing your productivity performance.(Cite)
As a leader, I was able to coach my learning partner with the sole purpose of making them feel
useful and appreciated at work, increase their performance productivity, and keep them
committed and passionate about their job. Some of the reasons coaching are important in
organizations include; it strengthens the existing skills of employees, thus building resilience
when faced with an unexpected challenge. In the process of coaching, I also had an observer look
into my coaching ways, and together with the person I was coaching, they gave feedback on
what I should improve on. Earlier on, I had mentioned that I have impeccable relationship
building skills with people, and this helped closed the employer-employee relationship distance,
thus making it easy for me to coach him.
I started by reviewing my coachee's performance before scheduling a one on one meeting
where we could have a sit-down. The employee's performance was above average, but that did
not mean there was no room for improvement. The observer was also present as a silent
participant in the first meeting. As a leader, patience is an important virtue, especially when
dealing with people, and I had to try not to be to squeeze out information. I was not able to break
the ice during the first meeting as there was some tension majorly because of our rankings at
work. At the end of the session, the observer suggested that maybe I should try another method
of approach to succeed in the coaching I intended to do.
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The next step of action I took was calling for a team meeting, where everyone working
under me in my department attended. I then engaged their minds with a short speech on the
company's vision and mission and their role in it. After some time, I handed out blank notes for
them to anonymously write on about any changes they need. The responses to those pieces of
paper were both overwhelming and alarming at the same time. Someone even suggested a short
break where one could sleep then resume work later on in the day as they felt this would help
refresh your mind, thus boosting productivity. During the next departmental heads meeting, I
raised some of the issues and informed them of my plan to coach my team.
Due to the pressure at work, I was not able to resume coaching my first coachee until
later on the week. This time, I gave him a questionnaire to fill out and hand it back to me the
same day. The survey has different questions ranging from their attributes and hobbies to their
career goals. This helped me assess the situation and come up with a different coaching strategy
in the next one on one meeting I scheduled. When we finally had that sit-down, I made him fully
aware of what was going and what I intended to achieve in my coaching. My intentions were not
only work-oriented but also for the personal growth and development of my employees. This
helped spark a conversation that had us listing his greatest strengths at work and how he utilizes
them. We discovered a few areas and skills that would boost his productivity at work, thus
increasing the entire company's profitability. For instance, this particular coachee happened to be
a great public speaker and part of a non-profit charitable organization dealing with the homeless.
I promised to help him secure a spot as a guest speaker in the company's nearing end of year
party to speak on philanthropy and its importance in society. He later gave me feedback on how
he felt his confidence shoot up when someone believed in his minor skills and gave him a
platform to develop them. At this point, I was delighted with the slow but sure progress I was
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making while coaching. I aimed to guide my employees through the process of unlearning and
learning new skills that would benefit everyone as this would take me a step nearer in
accomplishing my goal of innovation.
Change is said to be an inevitable process, but it takes a lot of effort and zeal to be able to
change ways you are accustomed to and adopt new habits. (John H. Zenger & Kathleen Siinnett,
2009). Therefore, it was crucial for me as a leader to keep on involving my team and listen to
their insights, thus making my coaching easier. The coaching sessions continued, and with time,
I was able to see a slight improvement in our department's performance records. This made me
summon the group together to give them my feedback and opinions on their performance. This
time, I could sense the comfort everyone felt around me as they freely shared their ideas on how
else they could boost that performance. I had managed to see the results of my efforts regarding
coaching and its possible positive outcomes together with my long term goal of making
innovation and organizational cultural practice. Coaching is a continuous process, but the time
came for the coaching practice to end. My coachee and observer both gave positive remarks on
my methods of coaching and how impacting they are in people's lives. This gave me some sense
of triumph, knowing that I am on the road to becoming an extra-ordinary leader benefiting my
organization immensely.
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References
John H. Zenger & Kathleen Siinnett. The Extra Ordinary Coach: What Business Coaching Is and
Isn’t. 2000.
Sarah. K. What is transformational Leadership? A model for motivating innovation. Retrieved
from: https://www.cio.com/article/3257184/what-is-transformational-leadership-a-model-
for-motivating-innovation.html
Northouse, P. G. Leadership: theory and practice (7th ed.). Los Angeles, Calif.: SAGE. 2016
Deep Patel. Entrepreneur: 16 actions to Take to achieve Any Goal. Retrieved from:
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/318347 . August, 2018
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