The leadership style which I like to follow is that of a Trust Builder. “The leader as a Communicator book” subscribed to us in the course on Leadership style details down various Leadership style as is followed by different industry leaders, and this is one of them. When leading people in a team, I like to keep everyone at the same level. To me, for a team to actually work successfully (with everyone content), I like to foster a healthy environment and be very approachable.
To have a difficult, unapproachable and not supportive person as a leader of a team can be very demotivating. It could not only make working in a team difficult but also restrain individual growth. A leader is supposed to lead his team, and not hamper growth. By being understanding and approachable, a leader can motivate his/her team members to come up to him/her with any problem professional and even sometimes personal (only if they come in the way of professional growth). It will encourage team members to speak their mind, participate freely in group discussions and be open to criticism. In some sense, being a trust builder also helps a leader. It helps him put things as they are in front of his/her team members, if conditions are bad, he/she can paint the correct picture more precisely for the team.
A team is comprised of people coming from different sill sets, different backgrounds and, in today’s fast shrinking world, of different cultures. In such a scenario understanding cultural differences, working styles and other differences becomes all the more important for a leader. By understanding these small differences and acting precisely on them he can bring the team even more together and hence gain trust of his/her team member for leading them in the right direction.
From all the facets of “Leader as a trust builder”, I am not a big fan of being informal. In my last company, I was supposed to lead a group of 4-5 individuals and things got pretty bad. The problem was most of 3 of these people used to be my friends from my last job and when I changed jobs to join a start-up, I got promoted and these guys followed me to join the company with me as their leader. The first few months went quite smoothly as we all knew each other’s strengths and weaknesses. However, as time passed, situations/scenarios expected me to be strong handed with 1-2 of them occasionally. My team mates (being also my friends) did not take things as seriously as they were supposed to, ending in creating more problems than solutions. There were frequent heated discussions and arguments which really spoiled the working environment and made it toxic. Eventually I had to put my foot down and roll over as the manager of his group. The learning I got from this experience was never treat your team members as your friends. One should be informal to an extent, but never ever try to be friends with people who he/she will eventually be leading.
Priyansha,
The purpose of the Communication Blog is to offer students a platform to comment on their performance with class projects and assignments. For many of my students, the blog provides a forum to verbalize and understand their individual concerns. Specifically, you have a safe environment to say what you want, express your concerns, and receive feedback.
On this point, I will comment on the content and suggest some changes. Since blogs are not as formal as many of the assignments, I will neither edit nor suggest re-writes.
A. If I see recurring errors in grammar, usage, mechanics, spelling, etc., I will make you aware of the problem and expect you to work toward correcting the mistake in future assignments. For example, in this blog there are several structural errors which could be eliminated by thoroughly proofreading your message.
B. You would do well by reviewing Munter’s guidelines for white space and skim value. Writing large blocks of information could cause a distraction to your reader. Don’t forget that you are writing to a specific reader.
Although there are run-on sentences, sentence fragments, etc., you do an adequate job in clarifying your thoughts and reactions. In the future, you should make time to thoroughly proofread each assignment for grammar, spelling, and content. By making this a regular practice, you will begin to see dramatic improvement in your work.
It’s apparent that you have developed your own writing style; however, you must consider your audience with each assignment. Be cautious not to let your need to “express yourself” overpower the true content of your message.
Thank you,
Emmett Green