PA910: Organizational Behavior and Leadership

Self-Reflection and SWOT Analysis

INTRODUCTION

Personal development is a fundamental step in improving oneself and pushing toward self-fulfillment. Individuals are most likely to succeed if they know and understand their strengths and weaknesses and can exploit opportunities or address threats in their external environment. People have unique talents that they should exploit to the full extent and weaknesses that impact realizing their full potential. Understanding individual strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats is a significant quality of an effective leader because they know what to work on and what to take advantage of to improve their leadership qualities. Notably, these aspects of internal strengths and opportunities display in various circumstances, affecting a leader’s approach in various situations. Therefore, leadership is not static, and there is no one approach to addressing all situations that require leadership. This belief aligns with Fidler’s Contingency Theory which posits that non one best style of leadership exists. According to Fiedler, an individual’s environment and circumstances influence the approach to leadership and leadership effectiveness.

DISCUSSION

Impact of Leadership Style

Fiedler’s contingency theory has significantly influenced my approach to and understanding of leadership. It also aligns with my beliefs and take on leadership because I have grown to understand that there is no one particular way a leader responds to all situations they face or all employees they encounter. The approach is different because different circumstances demand different leadership qualities, and flexibility is key to successfully addressing every situation.² Leaders lead a group of people with different personalities and experience levels in the working environment, demanding different leadership styles when dealing with different types of team members.¹ The contingency theory believes that the best way to lead relies on the circumstances and there is no one way to lead a team.

Fielder’s theory stresses that there is no one particular leadership style that fits all situations. Fred Fielder studied a leader’s personality and character and determined that a leader’s style has to match a specific situation to maximize effectiveness. Situations or events are contingent on someone or something, and leaders cannot structure their organization or lead their teams in one particular way.² Based on the theory, leaders should identify their natural leadership style, often influenced by life experiences. The Least-Preferred Co-Worker (LPC) scale, which asks leaders to rate their feelings about working with specific people, can help determine the natural leadership style.³ I was rated 55-72 on the PLC scale, implying that I am a blend of a relationship-oriented and a task-oriented leader. This understanding is critical because I know how to respond to different types of employees with varying qualities and traits.

Also, Fielder’s Contingency Theory has impacted my situational control capacity and ability.³ I have improved how I relate with team members, the tasks assigned, and the power attached to my position in the team. I tend to focus on the trust level between the team and the leader because I understand that trusting the group influences a leader’s effectiveness. I also understand the importance of clearly communicating tasks and particularly elaborating on tasks’ strengths to bolster my situational control. I utilize a considerate amount of authority based on my positional power in the team to be in a better position to respond to situations and decide between reward and punishment. Generally, I strive to match my leadership style to different circumstances and events.

SWOT Analysis

A SWOT analysis is a method for analysis that aids in identifying both internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats.¹ Self-analysis, regarded as one of the most difficult jobs yet essential for personal development, is guided by SWOT analysis.¹ An individual can discover more about themselves and create a plan to find direction in life by building on their strengths and minimizing their shortcomings by using the personal skills and traits of SWOT analysis.¹

Strengths

Various strengths relate to my leadership style and work environment, including self-awareness, situational awareness, and good communication skills. Self- and situational awareness are particularly useful while adopting Fielder’s Contingency theory because they help respond to different situations effectively. I also possess effective negotiation and conflict-resolution skills that allow me to work with employees of varying personalities and traits. I have developed my ability to work with various personal styles and approaches.

Weaknesses

I have individual weaknesses I need to work on to become a more effective leader, including a lack of trust in some team members, excessive connectivity, and failure to set expectations early in the encounter. I have issues trusting particular team members, which prompts me to keep monitoring their activities and requesting feedback constantly. This trait is bolstered by the traits of these employees, including a lack of self-drive. Constant monitoring is a weakness because I lose focus on other events occurring in the team. I am too connected with team members, making me omnipresent, which does not fit well with some members, especially the autonomous ones.

Opportunities

I can exploit various opportunities available to become a more effective leader, including new career paths that bolster leadership skills, knowledge and competencies. Adopting technologies, especially job monitoring and communication technologies, can unlock new opportunities because the work environment is highly digitized, hence the need to respond by adopting new communication technologies. There are many leadership conferences and networking events I can attend to build on my strengths and eliminate weaknesses.

Threats

Many obstacles prevent me from being an effective leader, including poor communication between the team and other teams or management, lack of alignment between some team members’ goals and the organization’s vision and goals, poor performance, and entitled attitudes within the team. Having these traits and personalities within the team is a threat to my leadership and affects the effectiveness of the group. The job environment is also changing drastically technology-wise, which, although is an opportunity, can threaten my leadership because of the need to adapt quickly to the changes.

Future Goals

In the next 2-3 years, my primary aim is to build on my strengths, work on my weakness, take advantage of new opportunities, and address threats in my working environment to become a more effective leader. I also aim to become a better mentor and build stronger, healthier connections with team members that align with various personalities and preferences. In the next 5-10 years, I seek to be more adaptable to change and growth and develop confidence and competence to make smarter decisions. Additionally, I want to enhance my emotional intelligence to help work with dynamic teams and team members. The best approach to realize these goals is continuing to learn to expound my leadership knowledge and skills and gaining experience by engaging in more leadership tasks and taking more leadership roles when working with teams and when opportunities present.

CONCLUSION

Leadership requires relationship-building, agility, adaptability, effective decision-making, critical thinking, problem-solving, and negotiation skills. These skills help a leader respond to various situations effectively because I believe that situations impact a leader’s approach. The contingency theory has been more impactful in my life and my understanding of leadership because it aligns with my belief that no particular leadership style fits all circumstances. I plan to build on my strengths, address my weaknesses, take advantage of opportunities around me, and transform weaknesses into opportunities or address those threatening my leadership effectiveness.

References

Herman M. Creating a Personal SWOT Analysis. MRH Enterprises LLC. Fecha de consulta, 20. 2019.
Popp, M., & Hadwich, K. (2018). Examining the effects of employees’ behaviour by transferring a leadership contingency theory to the service context. SMR-Journal of Service Management Research, 2(3), 44-62. https://econpapers.repec.org/RePEc:nms:nomsmr:10.15358/2511-8676-2018-3-44:contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}:contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}
Shala B, Prebreza A, & Ramosaj B. The contingency theory of management as a factor of acknowledging the leaders-managers of our time study case: The practice of the contingency theory in the company Avrios. Open Access Library Journal, 8(9), 1-20. 2021.

PA910: Organizational Behavior and Leadership