Individual Analysis: Assessing and Developing Yourself as a Manager
Organisational Behaviour 550 Assessment 2: Individual Analysis: Assessing and developing yourself as a manager 1. 0 Introduction Self-assessment can be described as the means of examining oneself, the team or organisation that they working in, against certain aspects that are significant to one’s personality, team or work structure. Self-Assessment tools can be a very useful way to test personal, management and organisational abilities, performance and goals. They can be used as guidance to assist in implementing change or in the development of a team or an organisation, or even to help a manager grow and improve as a leader.
However, there are several disadvantages which together with the advantages will be examined. Furthermore, in this assignment the areas of individual behaviour and processes, team processes and organizational processes self-assessments will be discussed and reviewed. An overview of motivational leadership is assessed using relevant academic literature. An assessment of the applications, advantages, limitations and disadvantages of self-assessment tools resulting in a conclusion with emphasis on motivational leadership and self-assessment tools is also included. 2.
0 Self-Assessments
These are the six online self-assessment tests that have been undertaken for this assignment: Emotional Intelligence Test (Queendom. com 2012) – Emotional intelligence is the ability to identify, evaluate and control emotions and is an important part of self-assessment. This test was taken to assess and manage personal and other people’s emotions and feelings and how best to motivate oneself. This test indicated that I am fairly good at identifying emotions in myself and others, and that I can recognise and express my own emotions. It also showed me that there is room for personal growth in this area.
I did not find these conclusions surprising, as I generally do see myself as being in touch with my emotions, and feel that I am good at perceiving other people’s emotions and feeling.
Personality Test (Personalitytest. org. uk 2012) – A personality test is a tool used to examine individuality and character. This particular test is used to assess an individual’s personality against five major traits identified by experts in the field as being of key importance and significance – the Five Factor Model (these being extraversion, friendliness, conscientiousness, neuroticism and intellect).
It needs to be seen as an overall picture and not looked at for any particular scores in individual fields.
This assessment revealed that I am an extravert to a degree and that I am fairly friendly and outgoing. This did not surprise me at all because this how I generally see myself. The test also revealed that I am not very well organised or persistent, have negative thoughts and am not very creative or imaginative. However, this result did surprise me. I do see myself as well organised, persistent and positive, and strongly disagree that I am, at times, insecure.
Although I am somewhat interested in certain aspects of culture, I do accept that I am not very creative or imaginative. Leadership Motivation Assessment (MindTools 2012) – This test assesses how much a person wants to be a manager, or if they are in this position how to develop their leadership and management skills, and how hard they are prepared to work to achieve these goals. The ability to motivate others is an integral part of being a good leader and manager, so this test is very important in this regard. I found from the results of this test that I have a strong motivation and desire to lead, and this backs up how I feel about myself.
I am already a leader and enjoy being one, although I do feel that I still have much to learn and need to keep developing my skills as a manager.
Leadership Style Assessment (Legacy 2012) – This evaluation allows the person taking the test to see the type of manager that they are (or want to be), and to assess and evaluate their managerial and leadership ability against six key points. I do see myself as being able to diffuse difficult situations, and I am always respectful towards the feelings and emotions of others. Indeed, I see this as one of my strong points.
In addition, I agree with the result that I am good at listening to others and am able to see their viewpoints. I think that I am very good at spotting talent, nurturing and motivating, so I am somewhat surprised that I didn’t score higher in this aspect of the test. I have always seen myself as being fair, neutral, level-headed and very competent at what I do, so my very average score on this question was somewhat disappointing.
I acknowledge that creativity and vision are not my strongest points and that I lack some entrepreneurial tendencies so a low score as a ‘creative builder’ was not surprising.
Preferred Organisational Structure Assessment (Essentials 2012) – This test measures and evaluates three types of management structure, tall hierarchy, formalisation and centralisation, that a manager would prefer to work in. My ideal work structure would have only few layers in the chain of command and a small team structure, so I am not surprised that I scored very high in the ‘Tall hierarchy’ category. I am amazed though that my score for a ‘Mechanistic structure’ was fairly high.
I thought the result would have identified a preference for an ‘Organic structure’, as I rather work in an organisation with little formality and centralisation.
My score in ‘Formalization’ shows this, but my average score in ‘Centralization’ is a contradiction Change Readiness Assessment (Library 2012) – A manager would use this test to assess and measure the readiness of the company or organisation that they work for, or are evaluating, to be able and ready to change. My score in this assessment shows that the organisation that I work in is moderately ready to change.
I am somewhat surprised at this as I feel that they actually have a low readiness for change due to the fact that they are very successful, and profitable, at what they do, and probably feel that they do not need to change their organisational structure. 3. 0 Overview of Literature Motivational leadership can be defined as the skill to inspire and is one of the most important areas of being a successful leader (Bass 1998, quoted in Vidic and Burton 2011, 281). The conventional style of leadership has a single leader as the pivotal role making the final decision.
This provides a focus: delivering aims, characteristics and motivation (Solansky 2008, 339). One method of motivation in the context of conventional leadership is through remuneration and holds crucial leaders responsible for success or failure (Gandossy and Guarnieri 2008, 67). The conventional style of leadership has some drawbacks in relation to motivation. According to a study by Carroll, Parker and Inkson (2010, 1032), leaders have expressed the problem of being bored during discussions with their colleagues contributing to a low job satisfaction.
Additionally, Takala (2010, 60) argues that leaders are reluctant to relinquish power and responsibility, even when they realise that they are no longer up to the challenge.
A contributing factor to this situation may be that the leaders may feel that their achievements that they have been credited with will be diminished. As a consequence they remain in their position which then has a knock on effect of negatively affecting the careers of potential younger replacements which may result in damage to the group and its members and its ability to achieve effective leadership succession.
In contrast to conventional leadership is the theory of transformational leadership. Transformational leadership is defined as actions, activities and performance of a leader that motivates team members to achieve more than they believe of themselves and overcome their own egotisms for the benefit of the team (Bass and Avolio 1995, quoted in Fu et al. 2010, 222).
Likewise, motivation by a leader to get team members to overlook their personal interests for the benefit of the team is central to the concept of transformational leadership (Bass 1990, quoted in Peng Wang and Rode 2010, 1108).
Likewise, transformational leaders motivate their team members to exceed their individual direction in the workplace (Bass 1985, quoted in Oreg and Berson 2011, 636). Moreover, transformational leaders, through the ideas that they express, contribute to a motivational anchor for the organisation or team (Zohar and Tenne-Gazit 2008, quoted in Oreg and Berson 2011, 636). In addition, transformational leadership employs sentiments, passions and feelings to inspire team members (Ashkanasy and Tse 2000, quoted in Ying, Victor, and Hui 2011, 321).
Transformational leaders exhibiting inspirational motivation encourage team members to realise the team’s goals and aspirations and to appreciate their role in making them happen (Bass 1990, Bass and Avolio 1994, quoted in Peng Wang and Rode 2010, 1108).
Others (Shamir et al. 1993, quoted in Peng Wang and Rode 2010, 1108) state that transformational leaders improve intrinsic motivation, this being a vital part of innovation. Moreover, transformational leaders give team members an improved view of their abilities and duties, leading again to improved intrinsic motivation (Shin and Zhou 2003, quoted in Peng Wang and Rode 2010, 1109).
Keeping leaders and groups motivated can be difficult at times. Hosie, Willemyns, and Sevastos (2012, 279) argue it is doubtful that good leaders will be motivated by mundane, repetitive and regular duties, and unlikely that groups lacking a leader will be motivated to achieve group objectives (Sivasubramanian et al, quoted in Solansky 2008, 334).
Furthermore, groups that fail to do the required work in order to finish a job are not going to be motivated (Zaccaro, Rittman, & Marks 2001, quoted in Solansky 2008, 333). Shared leadership may contribute positively to increased motivation.
Solansky (2008, 334 and 338) states that groups with shared leadership are advantageous to a certain extent as additional leaders look after the group’s evolvement and operation, mainly for its motivational function. Furthermore, Solansky (2008, 334) argues that groups with shared leadership have a motivational edge over groups that have just one leader. Harding et al.
(2011, 936) contend that the unqualified concept of leadership proposes that there is a distinct difference between managers and leaders; that leaders have something special that mangers will never have, namely a quality that comes from them just being there.
A manager can issue instructions but their absence would not have a negative effect on motivation. Furthermore leaders have the gift of motivating though their ability to impart ideas and concepts that can easily be picked up by others. In addition, Ying, Victor, and Hui (2011, 324) state that a person handling and exploiting their emotions is liable to be a motivated leader. Likewise, Kelloway et al. (2012, 40) maintain that to motivate team members to go beyond what they believed that they were capable of requires the leader to have considerable inspirational motivation.
Charisma may also play a part in motivational leadership because leaders who have charisma motivate their team members and subsequently gain their support (Bass 1990, quoted in Ying, Victor, and Hui 2011, 321). 4. 0 Application and Limitations Self-assessment tools and tests can be very useful at a personal level and to assess team performance and organisational structures. They are easy to undertake, inexpensive, informative and are a good aid for evaluation and assessment. Moreover, personal experience of the areas covered by self-assessment tools is beneficial to understanding the results of these tests.
On the other hand, results of personal assessments may be mixed as it may be likely that the evaluation of oneself will only be in a positive light and will omit to see one’s negative points, therefore self-assessments can be very subjective. Self-assessments may provide revelations and extra insight into your personality or the team or organisation that you work in but they may also be inaccurate. One of the main disadvantages of self-assessment is the lack of accountability. Any weaknesses or negative points identified do not need to be acted upon as there is no-one else involved.
Therefore if the person taking the test does not want to change there is no responsibility or requirement to do so. To be taken seriously, management self-assessment results need to be reviewed by a competent person or group, within the organisation.
In a work organisation, self-assessment tools could be used in the staff recruitment and performance review areas, to evaluate and grade team reliability, performance and goals as well as identifying organisational restructuring needs.
As long as any results are thoroughly appraised, they can provide a very good overview of staff performance and satisfaction and can have major organisational benefits. At a personal level, I feel that self-assessment tests could be beneficial to my development as a manager and a leader as long as the results can be seen in the light of the fact they are my own opinions about myself and others. I have found some of the results of the tests that I have taken somewhat surprising as I have always viewed myself as the opposite of the results. Other outcomes have been very insightful and have shown me that there are reas of my personality and work life that I will need to grow and develop in order to become a better manager. I also think I would need to take more tests, from different sources in order to get a better overall view of myself.
In the future taking new tests, or even redoing the tests that I have undertaken, may be a successful method of seeing if I have actually changed or improved as a person and as a manager. One of the reservations that I have about self-assessment tools in general is that the some tests may be developed and promoted by people or organisations that are not competent in the field of expertise which is being evaluated.
Any test that one takes needs to be assessed to find out if the source of the test is reliable and proficient in the area being tested. I feel that the tests that I have done are from reliable sources but would need to undertake further research to confirm this. 5.
0 Conclusion Motivation in leadership is a very important area of management. The ability to inspire is vital if one wants to get the best results out of an individual, team, group or organisation. A conventional leadership style can work well, especially in small teams or in organisations and group that are strongly focused on achieving a limited goal or set of goals.
One of the problem with this structure is that if the leader is not motivating the team due to lack of competence, or the reluctance to give up power, then the team’s aim will not be achieved, and leadership succession in the team will not happen effectively. A better management style that provides good motivational inspiration is transformational leadership.
This is where a leader motivates a team to achieve more than they ever thought possible, and to inspire team members to rise above their own limitations and shortcomings for the good of the team.
Transformational leaders provide a motivational focus point to the team or organisation and use their passions and feelings to inspire the team. Shared leadership of a team may be a good way to increase motivation and overcomes the limitations of conventional leadership. On the other hand, shared leadership can only really work effectively where the leaders or managers of the team are prepared to share the management of the team and not to try and dominate it. There can also be a distinct difference between leaders and managers. A manager may be a good leader but this is not always the case.
Some leaders motivate their team just by their presence. A leader with charisma can also be a good motivator and it is easy for them to gain the backing of team members. I feel that I am currently a conventional leader. I manage quite a small team and feel that this style works well in this context. In future, as I develop as a manager and get more responsibility and start to manage larger teams, I would like to become a transformational leader. I feel that this is the best leadership style to achieve increased motivation of the team and to fulfill team aims and goals.
