My Personal Leadership Goals/Beliefs

I am convinced that to be a productive manager, one must also be a good leader. However, not all managers are leaders and most leaders do not become managers. A leader should listen to ideas from different sources and try to direct the team or organization to perform its best. According to the leadership theories that I have studied, my personal leadership style includes participative, contingency and path-goal theories (Iwasaki, 2003). I believe that as a leader I am able to apply the style that is most effective for each situation as it arises. I have always operated by developing a relationship of trust among followers or team members. Trust increases individual involvement in decision-making and improves the understanding of the issues involved by those who must carry out the decisions.
When making decisions in a group, I prefer to get consensus from each member before carrying out any decisions. I have found that people are more committed to following a course of action when they have actively participated in the decision-making process. Additionally, people are less competitive and more collaborative when they are committed to common goals. Further, when decisions are made on a collective basis, as opposed to that of one person deciding for the group, the end result is usually a successful one. I believe that many of the a available leadership styles must work in tandem with one another. Our goal should be to be a successful leader and not an autocratic failure.