Effective Leadership Course Analysis

To open my discussion on how I will become a stronger leader, it is first important to note what makes an effective leader. After completing this course, I have a new perspective on what makes an effective leader. Therefore, I would like to spend the opening of this development plan documenting my deeper understanding of some of the qualities effective leaders possess. First, leaders must be adaptable. One of the ideas I initially learned from the required book for this class is that there is no one great way to lead. I have always tried to figure out the “best” qualities I need to be a better leader. While I think it is still important to always search to be better and continuously evolve, this book stated that “a good leadership style is dependent on certain variables, such as, the culture, followers, strategy, and resources” (Rosenback, Taylor, & Youndt, 2012). As a leader, it is more important to find that unique mantra pertaining to your environment and develop and adapt your leadership abilities to your culture. In addition, we live and operate in an ever-changing environment. Thus, a leader must be able to adjust to certain situations. We learned from Susan Heathfield in her article that as we …show more content…
Learning how your team will react to certain events should be a large factor in determining your leadership style. Another take away from this course is the article by Daniel Goleman on “What Makes a Good Leader” and his ideas on emotional intelligence. According to him, an effective leader has “self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills” (Goleman, 1998). A large part about being an effective leader is, are you relatable to others? Therefore, three new perspectives on how to be an effective leader is the ability to adapt to change, successfully communicate the changes, and be relatable to the people in an