Results:

On the emotional bank account I am good which shows that I show kindness and consideration towards others though I am not out standing on this factor. I keep promises and honor commitments.

I am very good in balancing my work life, family and friends. I do value the concerns and needs of others. I am fairly in control of my life and I take responsibility for my moods and actions rather blaming others for the circumstances. I am not very clear about my goals and what I want to accomplish in life, though I try to organize my work plan to avoid any crisis situation. I am very good and disciplined with my plans. I am a people person and try to take every one along with me.I care about the success of my peers as well as my own. In conflict situations I try to find a solution that benefits all and not an individual so as to create a win-win situation.

I am very good in understanding the concerns of other people and sensitive to their feelings. I am not the person who is pushy and try to force my ideas on others.

In a nut shell the above results show that my leadership style is Participative in nature which values the inputs given by team members and peers. It helps to boost the morale of the employees since all are equally involved in the decision making process.

Strengths of leadership practice

Based on the Leader Member exchange theory from Tredway & Stephens (2012), I can evaluate my following three strengths:

1. As the theory appeals in developing a positive relationship with you subordinates, I too strive to make a connect with the team, work hand in hand with them, understand their opinions and concerns and then eventually try to create a win-win situation at all times.
2. I maintain my leadership position by building a core team on which I can share responsibilities and can be trusted at all times. To reward them for their responsibilities I make sure they are rewarded properly which gives others a target to reach to this inner circle and contribute positively toward the growth.
3. Cooperation is the most efficacious way of obtaining an objective in any leadership style. I tend to be as much co-operative as I can to ensure the tasks at hand are delivered with the best quality and within the timelines.

Weakness of leadership practice

The leader member exchange theory is more concerned with the relationship that exists between employees and the relevant leader. There is a development of relationships that helps in attaining the best results possible for the organization. Most of the relationships developed are based on respect and trust (Bauer & Erdogan, 2015). There is also an emotional attribute involved that goes beyond the employment scope. Based on the insight of this theory, I can identify several weaknesses in my leadership practice.

1. I normally have a poor relationship with Out-Group team members. These include people that do not show utmost competence at the workplace. I have a tendency of not trusting them with activities that I would deem extremely important to the organization. I only seem to trust the people that come out as being competent. This is a bad leadership practice since there is no way the Out-Group team members will grow without being accorded some reasonable responsibilities.
2. I have a problem with respecting less productive employees. Respect is a paramount requirement for the leader-member exchange theory to operate effectively. I have realized that I have the tendency of talking negatively about the less productive people when they are not around. This practice tends to make them appear more redundant to the organizational activities. It brings about a negative aspect hence reducing efficiency at the workplace (Bauer & Erdogan, 2015).
3. I have a weakness on matters regarding conflict resolution at the workplace. I tend to stand with the people that are deemed more important to the organization. Maybe it is due to the fear of losing them as a result of the conflict at hand. This is not a favourable practice since it ruins the trust with the other team members. In case there is something that needs immediate attention, they will always keep quiet since they are not sure whether I would give them a listening ear.

Changes to maximize success

Based on the cannons of the leader-member exchange theory there are various changes that I can make in order to maximize the organization’s success. These changes are in accordance with the best practices of the theory. The recommended changes include:

1. Re-establish favourable relationships with Out-Group team members. These are the employees that I might have fallen out of favour with based on the roles that they play in the organization or the success that they have actualized thus far. It is upon me as a leader to start trusting them regardless of their capacity in the organization. Winkler (2010) asserts that employees experiencing favourable relationships with their leaders tend to experience increased productivity and higher morale. This means that the organization will benefit as a result of establishing better relationships.
2. Developing relationships that go beyond the employment scope would also help in the successful management of an organization. The form of emotional relationship that I would desire to establish is that of ensuring that I understand my employees beyond the issues that pertain to the workplace. This is because employees tend to struggle with other things in their lives that are likely to influence their performance. Connecting with them emotionally would help them to share their issues, and this would help in the development of solutions (Winkler, 2010). Such aspects make them feel like members of the team and hence work towards ensuring that the organization remains as a going concern for as long as possible.
3. Respecting all the employees will also help in moving the organization forward. When a leader shows his/her team some level of respect, there is an element of increased self-esteem. The employees believe in themselves, and this helps them to work towards making valuable improvements in the workplace (Bauer & Erdogan, 2015). Respect should be shown to all the employees regardless of the roles that they play in the organization. Assuming that some employees are more important than others can be detrimental to the team members’ performance.

Short Term SMART goals

My two short term SMART goals that will help me improve my leadership practice are:

1. Deliver all critical components of the project on time for next quarter ensuring there is no late stay in office by the team members.
2. Conduct one to one session with complete project team to understand their concerns and develop a robust working practice I the team within 2 months.

Actions to achieve SMART goals

Actions for First Smart goal:

• To achieve first smart goal I would involve more and more with the project team. This would include weekly or fortnightly connect with the team and understand the project progress and bottlenecks if any.
• To achieve the first smart goal I would take a stock of the situation and take necessary decisions which would ease the way for the team to go ahead. This will include action point list maintenance where each critical task, its responsible and progress can be tracked.

Actions for Second Smart goal:

• To achieve this I would ensure a plan is set up with each individual of the project on different date and time of the day. This plan has to be diligently followed. A one to one meeting with agenda as Concerns and suggestions will be discussed. This will also serve as a platform to share what management feels about the individual team member and how they can be motivated to take additional responsibility and contribute more.
• Suggestions from each member will be recorded and the ones which can really boost the working atmosphere will be though over with possible solutions with the HR team. This will be implemented in the working policies to give employee the best working atmosphere and boost productivity.

References

Bauer, T. N., & Erdogan, B. (2015). The Oxford handbook of leader-member exchange. New       York: Oxford University Press.

Gonos, J., & Gallo, P. (2013). Model for leadership style evaluation. Management, 18, 157-          168.

Tredway, L., & Stephens, D. (2012). A Tripartite Framework for Leadership Evaluation.             University of California, Berkeley  Graduate School of Education.

Winkler, I. (2010). Contemporary leadership theories: Enhancing the understanding of the            complexity, subjectivity and dynamic of leadership. Heidelberg: Physica-Verlag.

Do you need an Original High Quality Academic Custom Essay?