Leadership and Management Persuasive Essay

ILM Level 3 Award in Leadership and Management: |Centre Number: |R31609 | |Centre Name: |Leeds Metropolitan Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) Centre | |Student Name: |Alexandra Hunt | |Leeds Met Student ID: |33251825 | |Student Date of Birth: |15/01/1991 | |Student Email Address: |a. unt2229@student. leedsmet. ac. uk | |Gender: |Female | |Assessment Summary | | | |This task requires you to develop and demonstrate your skills or potential skills in leading and building an effective team.

In order to gain the ILM 3 | |Award in Leadership and Management you will need to complete and pass a number of questions in this short question test. | | | |Note: To complete the task you will need to draw upon your personal experiences in, for example; a part-time job, voluntary work, other groups (e. g. sports| |teams), and leadership you have observed, are familiar with or have read about. |Understanding Leadership Styles | |Assessment Criteria: |Describe the factors that will influence the choice of leadership styles or behaviours in workplace situations | |Question 1: |Describe 2 factors that will influence the choice of leadership styles or behaviours in workplace situations (approximately 100 | | |words) | |If the person is in a situation where a decision needs to be made fast for example a paramedic may use an autocratic leadership style due to being in an | |emergency and needing to work objectively and quickly. | |During my 12 months placement I was working as recruitment consultant, a paternalistic leadership style on reflection was what I used when speaking to | |potential candidates, as it involved me using a lot of enthusiasm and persuasion. I need to use perceptive skills in order to pick up how the candidate was| |reacting and if it was a warm lead or a dead cold call. | | | | |Assessment Criteria: |Explain why these leadership styles or behaviours are likely to have a positive or negative effect on individual and group behaviour | |Question 2: |Following on from the previous question, please explain why these leadership styles or behaviours are likely to have a positive or | | |negative effect on individual or group behaviour (approximately 100 words) | |A con of using autocratic leadership style would mean that you may miss good ideas, and does not encourage team work, so often taking on a heavier work | |load yourself as you put the team in a position where they are needing constant supervision and approval from the autocratic leader. |A con of paternalistic leadership is that the selling only lasts as long as you are on the phone or are around for, and some candidates/people are not easy| |selling targets, you also may waste your time persuading them without gaining any commitment – which came across me time and time again when working as a | |recruitment consultant. | | | | | |Assessment Criteria: |Assess own leadership behaviours and potential in the context of a particular leadership model, using feedback from others | |Question 3: |Assess your own leadership behaviours and potential in relation to a leadership model discussed on the programme.

Your reflection | | |should be based on what previous team members have fed back to you (approximately 100 words) | |At university currently we are participating in a module called consultancy project, whereby as group we have to write a report, research and offer | |recommendations to a real life client. Over the 4 months we have had 2 peers assessments and my feedback fits into the empowering leadership style, I have | |gained 100% commitment from the client and my team, I have motivated all my team members giving them guidance and reassurance when writing the report and | |they do trust my decisions that I have made. | | |Assessment Criteria: |Describe appropriate actions to enhance own leadership behaviour in the context of the particular leadership model | |Question 4: |Describe at least 2 appropriate actions to enhance your own leadership behaviour in the context of a leadership model discussed on | | |the programme (approximately 100 words) | |To enhance my leadership skills I think I firstly need to take a more asking approach instead of getting so stressed myself without even consulting the | |other group members. Sometimes I tend to take it all upon myself without building the rest of the teams effort. | |Sometimes also using an autocratic style might be worth it, due to recently working with a team member who does not seem to put as much effort in as the | |others, to improve the group and work on my leadership styles he may respond to getting things done and meet objectives if I set them for him, this is | |something I will take with me and use to improve my group work with. | | | | | | | | |Understanding the Communication Process in the Workplace | |Assessment Criteria: |Explain the importance of effective communication in the workplace | |Question 1: |Explain the importance of effective communication in the workplace (approximately 100 words) | |If communication in the workplace is bad it can have several effects such as decreased productivity, low morale and mistakes made. Communication is the key| |to running a successful business or project, it dismisses the pportunity for any important project to jeopardised (Allen Webster) | |High Productivity: the goal of any business, poor communication causes a breakdown in productivity resulting in profit loss or time loss. | |Morale: Not understanding a task causes low morale, as it makes employees feel confused and question wether they can contribute to the job role or not | |which leads to low self esteem. Tasks must be received in a clear concise manner focusing on the manager or the leaders communicative skills when | |surpassing important information. | |Mistakes: Written communication is essential and when writing emails which are now such a frequent task, you must be careful in choice of wording to ensure| |the email is not misunderstood or it can lead to unnecessary mistakes in the workplace. | | |Assessment Criteria: |Describe the stages in the communication cycle | |Question 2: |Describe the stages in the communication cycle (approximately 100 words) | |The basic flow of communication: | |Sender –> Message –> Transmission –> Recipient –> Receiver | | | | | |In this flow the sender sends a message to the receiver and then they can share feedback on the communication process. | | |Assessment Criteria: |Identify possible barriers to communication in the workplace | |Question 3: |Describe two possible barriers to communication in the workplace (approximately 100 words) | |Environmental Barriers: The things that surround us, which prevent us from receiving the speaker’s message for example, other peoples conversation, time | |pressures, the weather, physical discomfort in the room you are sat in. – External barriers. | |Environmental barriers are related to the listener such as how the listener is feeling at the time. |Attitudinal Barriers: The thoughts and feelings going on inside our heads which prevent us from listening, for example boredom, you do not like the person | |who is speaking, – internal barriers. | |Attitudinal Barriers have a lot to do with the mood and beliefs of the listener. | | | |Assessment Criteria: |Explain how to overcome a potential barrier to communication | |Question 4: |Explain how to overcome a potential barrier to communication (approximately 100 words) | |Effective communication requires listening and strong concentration.

So it is important when receiving information, to ensure that the conditions are | |conducive to listening. ILM 3 has taught me that when important conversations are taking place and you are not in the right frame of mind due to | |attitudinal barriers be prepared to take them offline. You can also use the 6 steps to hearing attention, to improve your communication when needed most. | |For example an improved step I should take is be aware when it is getting to deep for me, and I tend to switch off when it gets to complicated or complex. | |This is something I need to work on to improve my communication skill set and follow through on challenging tasks that I need to complete. | | | | | | |Assessment Criteria: |Describe the main methods of written and oral communication in the workplace and their uses | |Question 5: |Describe the main methods of written and oral communication in the workplace and their uses (approximately 100 words) | |Written Communication: This should be used when needing to provide detailed information, such as figures and facts. Written communication is useful during | |briefs, it is useful when conducting a presentation to send extra written information out, the main use is when needing to refer back to it throughout a | |project or at a later date you can do, without having to ask the same questions again or repeat yourself. | |Oral Communication: This can be used during presentations, over the phone and is main form off communication. It is verbal, vocal and visual. You can | |convey the information you want to surpass on with passion and conviction and can be sure to get your message across clearly without any errors by using | |the tones in your voice. | | | | |Assessment Criteria: |Identify the main advantages and disadvantages of written methods of communication | |Question 6: |Identify the main advantages and disadvantages of written methods of communication (approximately 100 words) | |Advantages: Can store and be used at a later date. | |Easy to provide detailed information such as facts and figures | |Easy to pass on information from a third party. | | | |Disadvantages: Do not know if the information as been received unless a reply is needed. | |Writing skills are often difficult develop | |Poorly written documents can cost money. | | | | | | | | | | | | |Assessment Criteria: |Identify the main advantages and disadvantages of oral communication | |Question 7: |Identify the main advantages and disadvantages of oral communication (approximately 100 words) | |Advantages: Easy and quick | |Can communicate your point without much room for misunderstanding. |Can be given constructive feedback after a presentation from managers or vies versa | | | |Disadvantages: Need effective listening to be active and cannot always predict | | | | | | | |Assessment Criteria: |Explain how non-verbal communication can influence the effectiveness of oral communication | |Question 8: |Explain how non-verbal communication can influence the effectiveness of oral communication (approximately 100 words) | |A mixed message can occur when a persons body maybe ‘talking’, and when people do speak their bodies sometimes can say different things. For example eye | |contact is sign of confidence which much be used when attending interviews. | |At times a persons body maybe talking when they are actually sitting in silence. | | |Assessment Criteria: |Explain the value of feedback in ensuring effective communication | |Question 9: |Explain the value of feedback in ensuring effective communication (approximately 100 words) | |Constructive feedback is a positive way to improve somebodies skill set. When feedback is communicated effectively it can keep some goal orientated. When | |feeding back you must focus on specific behaviours rather than making general statements however still aiming to keep it impersonal. Always ask questions | |to ensure the person understands the feedback and make sure they do not feel like that have been attacked in a negative way. The value of constructive | |feedback is the key to improvement. | | | | |Assessment Criteria: |Assess own performance in a frequently used method of communication. Outline actions to improve own performance in communicating | |Question 10: |Assess your own performance (identifying your strengths and weaknesses) in one frequently used method of communication. Possible | | |methods include; verbal communication, e-mail, telephone etc. Then state two ways in which you could improve your performance as a | | |communicator when using this method. |Written Communication | | | |Strengths – I have managed to establish relationships over email a varied amount of time throughout my 12 month placement, and I have managed to keep a | |professional working relationships with these people, via Linked In, and I feel confident that if I needed there support I would be able to rely upon them | |for advice and support even 12 months later. This shows I have conveyed my personality through email and have managed to be personable and approachable | |through my writing skills. | | |Weaknesses | |My spelling and grammatical errors I something I need to be aware off, I tend to rush many emails, and this cannot look when speaking to a professional | |body as it undermines the content of my email. | |Due to emailing tutors and friends from all over the world, I need to make sure I distinguish the difference between a friendly more informal email to a | |formal email, for example ending an email with Kind Regards and Many thanks, can change the way you want your whole email to come across. So being specific| |with my language is key. | |I have learnt during the ILM course to use the P. O. W. E.

R | |Understand How to Establish an Effective Team | |Assessment Criteria: |Explain the benefits of effective working relationships in developing and maintaining the team | |Question 1: |Explain the benefits of effective working relationships in developing and maintaining the team (approximately 100 words) | |Bellman and Ryan define an extraordinary group as on which: | |‘Achieves outstanding results while members experience a profound shift in how they see their world’. | |Extraordinary groups are not only productive as employees, but also develop personally during there participation. |Authors suggest that effective team work can exhibit these common factors, | |Full engagement, shared leadership, embracing differences etc | |Assessment Criteria: |Describe behaviours which could develop and maintain trust at work | |Question 2: |Describe behaviours which could develop and maintain trust at work (approximately 100 words) | |During team work you spend many hours in creative and energised environment – you get to know each others strengths and weaknesses and become a small | |support network for each other. This enables the employees to form connections which go deeper than usual work relationships. Through my own experience of | |working in a team this year, it has evolved into a long term friendship on a personal level outside of the group work at university. |Assessment Criteria: |Explain the role of communication in developing effective team working | |Question 3: |Explain the role of communication in developing effective team working (approximately 100 words) | |Strong communication during team work can ensure that the team know and understand your visions and goals, and how you see the project going. This can make| |it easier when needing to combine an overall aim and setting various objectives. It means that you can achieve something together with no confusion and a | |mutual agreement. |Communication and personable behaviour can lead to strong support networks around, and creating a more confident and friendly environment to work in. | |Assessment Criteria: |Explain the differences between a group and a team | |Question 4: |Explain the differences between a group and a team (approximately 100 words) | |A team is internally organised, with specific goals and usually specific roles for different members of the team. A group is a collection of people with | |something in common something as simple as being in the same place or having a shared interest. | | | | |Assessment Criteria: |Describe the stages of an established model of group formation | |Question 5: |Describe the stages of Tuckman’s model of group formation (approximately 100 words) | |Tuckman believes that all teams pass through four stages of development, gradually becoming more effective as the dynamics of the team change dramatically | |from periods of inefficiency and uneasiness through to a high period of performance. | |The four stages are as follows. |Forming: Uncertainty about roles, looking outside for guidance. | |Storming: Growing confidence in team, rejecting outside authority | |Norming: Concern about being different, wanting to be part of a team | |Performing: Concern with getting the job done | | | |He believes that a team will not be fully effective unless it reaches he stage of performing. Unless the four stage process is completed teams may | |degenerate too back into storming. | | |Assessment Criteria: |Explain how a manager could benefit from knowing team members’ preferred roles as defined in an established team role model | |Question 6: |Explain how a manager could benefit from knowing team members’ preferred roles as defined in an established team role model, such as | | |Belbin’s model (approximately 100 words) | |If a manager can determine what roles are preferred by each team member they are able to have a strong insight into what is going on and who to go to for | |certain questions. For example if somebody is strong and enjoy financial analysis it makes it easier for the manager to delegate this to the team rather | |them than having to form together and get to know each other before assigning each other roles. Also if something goes the wrong the manager knows who to | |go to. | | |Belbin believes that new team members should be selected so that there is a balance both in terms of skill sets and team roles – if the manager knows what | |is missing he will be able to make an outside confirmed choice of what is needed in the team. | |Also each role has its weaknesses. Knowing these weaknesses is useful for planning to avoid potential difficulties and for helping individuals develop – I | |personally feel this is the managers role. | | | | |