Prior to MGMT 615, I knew relatively little about leadership. Up until this point, I felt leadership potential was something you were born with, not something you could learn. However, MGMT 615 has showed me that by applying certain techniques, one can improve their leadership ability. For one, be learning the OCEAN model, one can find strengths and weaknesses in their personality which they can then leverage to better improve their leadership skills. Furthermore, by simply following certain techniques, such as the science of praise, and learning conflict resolution skills, one can improve their leadership effectiveness regardless of their personality traits.
The OCEAN model states that our behavioral tendencies can be broken up into 5 major …show more content…
One way to do this is to understand the science of praise, which fulfills and employees need for competency. My biggest takeaway from this concept is that praise must be immediate, focused on the behavior, and should add a positive. Many times, managers wait to praise their employees until reviews, or they may never praise them at all. By praising my subordinates the moment I see they are doing a good job, I can motivate them to continue doing a great job. Additionally, praise should be focused on the behavior. While in the past I have praised people for “being a hard worker”, I realize now that may have not been all that effective. Instead, I should have praised their performance on a specific task, and I will be sure to do this with subordinates in the future. Finally, I have often thought that the best way to praise someone for their hard work was to give them less work. However, research shows that giving an individual more responsibility will motivate them to perform better. Knowing this will allow me to motivate employees to work harder while also not falling behind in work. Also, this will prevent my employees from developing the mindset that work is a punishment or something that should be avoided. In the past, I have largely refrained from praising people because it is not something I require in order to work hard. However, I …show more content…
This will greatly benefit me in the future when dealing with team conflict. In the past, I usually dealt with conflict by threatening people with punishment and then leaving them to come up with the solution themselves. This was ineffective because if people knew how to resolve the conflict themselves, it would not have come to my attention. This class has taught me that a leader needs to take a more active role in conflict resolution. By using a technique like the similarity method, I could have more quickly solved some of these issues, and the team could have been more productive. The similarity method is applicable to a wide range of conflicts and knowing how to apply it will make me a more effective leader in the future. Additionally, employees are more apt to respect you if you don’t threaten them with
The OCEAN model states that our behavioral tendencies can be broken up into 5 major …show more content…
One way to do this is to understand the science of praise, which fulfills and employees need for competency. My biggest takeaway from this concept is that praise must be immediate, focused on the behavior, and should add a positive. Many times, managers wait to praise their employees until reviews, or they may never praise them at all. By praising my subordinates the moment I see they are doing a good job, I can motivate them to continue doing a great job. Additionally, praise should be focused on the behavior. While in the past I have praised people for “being a hard worker”, I realize now that may have not been all that effective. Instead, I should have praised their performance on a specific task, and I will be sure to do this with subordinates in the future. Finally, I have often thought that the best way to praise someone for their hard work was to give them less work. However, research shows that giving an individual more responsibility will motivate them to perform better. Knowing this will allow me to motivate employees to work harder while also not falling behind in work. Also, this will prevent my employees from developing the mindset that work is a punishment or something that should be avoided. In the past, I have largely refrained from praising people because it is not something I require in order to work hard. However, I …show more content…
This will greatly benefit me in the future when dealing with team conflict. In the past, I usually dealt with conflict by threatening people with punishment and then leaving them to come up with the solution themselves. This was ineffective because if people knew how to resolve the conflict themselves, it would not have come to my attention. This class has taught me that a leader needs to take a more active role in conflict resolution. By using a technique like the similarity method, I could have more quickly solved some of these issues, and the team could have been more productive. The similarity method is applicable to a wide range of conflicts and knowing how to apply it will make me a more effective leader in the future. Additionally, employees are more apt to respect you if you don’t threaten them with