WL Module B Leadership Essentials Reflection

#2
Dear Students,
Think about our three WL Module B sessions and the topics we explored together, then
answer the following questions. I will assess your responses based on the scale
indicated below, and offer some feedback to help guide your continued learning in the
course. This assignment is weighted at a maximum of 40 points, out of a maximum 100
points possible for Module B.
Please be aware:

 no group work; this is an individual assignment

 no deadline extensions

Jody
DUE: 23:59 on Tuesday, December 3, 2019
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Q1 and Q2 each are weighted at 20 points maximum each, with each of your responses
graded on the following scale:

 0-7 points: Non-completion; Lacking coherence of thought

 7-10 points: Brief and/or vague, showing little effort
 11-14 points: A reasonable attempt to answer, but ideas are undeveloped
 15-18 points: A serious, reflective effort that is helpful for your leadership development
 19-20 points: Shows deep reflection, generating insights that advance your leadership
development

Q: You state that top managers rely purely on intuition and personal sense. I would weaken
that statement a bit but, even if it were true, it’s now time to think about where intuition
comes from. How did they get it? Hint: Experience is only part of the answer. (Do you think they
would say themselves that they rely purely on intuition?)
Q1. Discuss three ideas or insights from our Leadership Essentials sessions that
resonated with you personally as a developing leader. Tell why each of these was
impactful for you: how did they either confirm or change your thinking about
good leadership? (For reference, you might want to read your submitted
response to Q1 in the Module B Reflection #1 assignment.) (500 words maximum;
20 points)
The biggest take away from our Leadership Essentials session is that leadership should
emanate from myself, my personal sense of mission, vision and values.
The discovering of self-awareness and personal core values with the help of the Johari
Window model was inspiring. When we were requested to discard the things that we
value in life from the less and less options in hand, especially under the limited time
constrain, I felt stressful and relieved at the same time. The stressful feeling comes from
the hesitation that I had to make choices among the values I appreciated, whereas
relieved because I did not know that I value those things left that much. What’s more
inspiring is that, when we had the discussion with the classmates around us, I found
that most of us shared common values, such as family, health, and happiness in life.
That actually related me back to my previous introduction about the authentic leadership
role model in pre-module refection. Most people in this world actually share some
common core values, that’s how we, as the leader in an organization, connect with
people, resonate with others, and ultimately, influence and motivate people around us.
The second biggest takeaway is the understanding that management and leadership
are different activities and require different skillsets.
I said in the pre-module reflection that I used to thought the top management are
making decisions based on pure intuition and personal sense. That’s not the truth
because I mixed the concepts of management and leadership. People can make
intuitively decisions for management activities base on their experience and knowledge,
but they cannot apply the same methodology to leadership activities, because
management is aiming as short-terms results whereas leadership is more about change
innovation and creating shared purposes. In that sense, leadership cannot be the
personal trait that some people are born with, but a set of skills that can and should be
practiced purposely.
Build on the impacts above, the whole course confirmed and strengthened my thinking
about good leadership, which should be a relationship, an interaction between people,
that can be developed.
Those who follow the leader, they all have their core values, as we have experienced
with the help of Johari Window model. Therefore, they are not there for fluffy stories
about how you can transform their personal lives, instead, they need to experience the
authenticity of the leader and to resonate with the core value of the leader, and they can
only be motivated only if the shared purposes have been identified. That ‘s where the
communication and interaction between people will play an important role. Recall the
story of Sven, the global brand owner of Gaggenau, and his subordinate, the
international trainer, Ricardo, who wanted to quit job in a tough time of the industry.
What Sven said in his personal yearly letter is the prove that he has been remembering
even tiny details of every interpersonal communications he had before and that required
long-time practice. That makes a difference.
(Word Count: 500)
Q2. At this point in your MBA program, share some thoughts about how you
envision a role for your leadership in the world going forward, in both short-term
and longer-term horizons. "Short-term" means starting now; longer-term means
in your future career and life. Be as specific as you can, drawing examples from
learning discoveries, situations, or interactions to illustrate your ideas. (500 words
maximum; 20 points)