Leadership Capabilities Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Leadership Capabilities Assignment - Essay Example To succeed in today’s workplace and achieve a successful career goal, leadership skill is essential. This exercise has enabled me to understand my capability as a leader and see which areas I need to work on more to become a better, more effective leader. The first step of this exercise was to take a number of tests (questionnaires) that revealed my true leadership skill. Based on these skills, I created a leadership profile for myself, recognizing the styles I am most likely to use when in a leading position. Finally, I have identified key strengths and weak areas, based on which I have created a doable recommendations plan for myself. Results of Leadership Questionnaires 1. Leadership Traits Questionnaire The first questionnaire tested my leadership traits: fourteen important leadership traits have been indentified in this test and I was required to ask others (mostly friends and acquaintances) to rate me on those traits, followed by a self rating. The results compared my se lf-rating with the average rating that others gave me. Trait Raters    Self Rating 1 2 3 4 5 Average Articulate 2 3 5 4 3 3.4 5 Perceptive 4 3 5 3 4 3.8 2 Self confident 3 3 5 4 3 3.6 5 Self assured 4 3 5 4 4 4 4 Persistent 5 3 5 4 5 4.4 4 Determined 5 3 5 4 4 4.2 4 Trustworthy 5 4 4 5 3 4.2 4 Dependable 4 5 5 4 4 4.4 5 Friendly 3 5 5 5 5 4.6 5 Outgoing 4 5 5 4 5 4.6 5 Conscientious 5 5 4 5 5 4.8 5 Diligent 4 5 5 4 5 4.6 5 Sensitive 4 4 5 5 4 4.4 5 Emphatic 4 5 5 5 3 4.4 5 My self-rating and the average rating by others had a margin of  ±0.6 points on eleven of the traits, including outgoing, emphatic, sensitive and dependable. The ratings perfectly matched only once for self-assured. However, there were marked differences in three traits: for articulate and self-confident, my self-rating was 5 (highest possible), whereas the average scores given by others were 3.4 and 3.6, which fall in the average category. On the other hand, my self-rating for perceptive was 2, whereas others gave me an average score of 3.8 on this specific trait, markedly higher than my self-perception. Based on the results, I realize that most of my perceptions about my leadership traits are similar to what others think of me. 2. Skills Inventory The second test was for Skills inventory which measures three important leadership skills in a person, namely technical, human and conceptual skills. Based on my answers, my scores were: Skill Score Technical 19 Human 12 Conceptual 21 My scores for conceptual and technical skills are significantly higher than the score on my human skills. It is important to mention that in lower management, technical and human skills are most important. In middle level management all three are of equal importance. In upper level management, technical skills aren’t as important as human and conceptual skills. Based on the test results and this interpretation, I have a weakness in human skill. Human skill is one key skill that is required at every phase in one’s career as well as personal relationships. This area represents a key weakness that I need to proactively work on. 3. Style Questionnaire The style questionnaire tested which leadership style I predominantly use between task and relationship styles. Style Score Range Task 42 High Relationship 43 High My scores for both styles ranked ‘high’, displaying my tendency to use a combination of the styles with emphasis on both tasks and relationships. I prefer to