Leadership

          Motivation is a key factor when trying to get the most out of your team, when your team is motivated to do good work the results will show. Many managers see the benefits of having a motivated team and will give motivational speeches to their team, other managers have been known to bring in motivational speakers to get their employees going.

            Along with managerial motivation comes other traits that contribute to leader effectiveness, one trait which I find very important is High energy level and stress tolerance. “High energy level and stress tolerance help managers cope with the hectic pace, long hours, and unrelenting demand of most managerial jobs”( Yukl 2013, pg. 143). This in my opinion is very important, I find a leader that can work hard and not be phased by the demands of a managerial position can motivate employees to work harder. I think that employees for the most part see when a manger cares about their work and it can be contagious, on the other hand if a manger is very lazy and cannot handle stress then subordinates might take advantage of the situation.

            A manger cannot look weak and stressed out, I feel that a manger needs to have “moderately high self-confidence”. “Without strong self-confidence, a leader is less likely to make influence attempts, and if an influence attempt is made, it is less likely to be successful” ( Yukl, pg. 144). I think that we have all had those leaders at some point in our lives where a leader is lacking self-confidence, I have seen that these leaders prove to be ineffective. Subordinates can feel weakness and walk all over mangers, once this has occurred it is hard to gain the respect that you need back from subordinates. “At the end of the day, leadership is about having the confidence to make decisions. If someone is afraid to make and commit to decisions, all of the communication and empowerment in the world won't make a squat of difference” (Inc).

            There are many traits which make a leader who they are amongst their peers but I think the one trait which cannot be overlooked and probably the most important one is “personal integrity”. “Personal integrity means that a person’s behavior is consistent with espoused values, and the person is honest, ethical, and trustworthy” (Yukl, 2013 pg. 147). Many leaders do not realize the influence that they have over their subordinates, if an employee see’s that their manager is unethical they will surely follow suit. I have seen it far too many times that usually a new employee will come in motivated and ready to do a good job but lack of leadership will change their attitudes very quickly. Usually if the manager is unethical, with in a matter of weeks the new employee’s attitude has changed and they begin to take on the unethical actions of their manager.

            When I think about what kind of leader I am I like to think that I am a fair leader. I like to think that I do show very strong ethical behaviors and I believe that I can motivate and inspire people. I know that I must continue to push through my sometimes lack of authority and show self-confidence. I would say that I feel I am a good leader but if I had a weakness it would be my tendency to find it hard to say no. A leader must be strong and find that at times they will have to say no to people, I also feel like that is a part of having moderately high self-confidence. The thing about being a leader which I find the hardest is not always being a friend to subordinates, a leader has to find a balance between being a manager and also being understanding.

            As a leader at work nowadays I do feel that I am good a certain things which make my company stronger. As a manager I do have a high energy level and stress tolerance which is key for the job I do. Stress is a huge factor when you are dealing with transportation safety, many people become overwhelmed and let the job take over them. If you cannot handle stress in my line of work you are putting many lives at risk, I feel like my stress management skills bring a calmness and safety oriented atmosphere which at times is missing when I am not around. Safety is huge amongst today’s top companies, with so many lawsuits and company regulations safety is a big cause for profit loses.

References:

Yukl, G. A. (2012). Leadership in organizations. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.

Dao, F. (2008, March 1). Without Confidence, there is No Leadership. . Retrieved June 26, 2014, from http://www.inc.com/resources/leadership/articles/20080301/dao.html