The need to be an inspiring leader has made me work towards being the best in all thepositions

The need to be an inspiring leader has made me work towards being the best in all the
positions that I have filled both professionally and in my personal life. In a company where I
previously worked, I was assigned a small team to work with and lead. We worked remotely to
a large extent and met periodically to compile reports and check on our progress.
Communication was mostly made via email and calls to ensure that we were all on the same
page. However, I realized that there was a disconnect as I was mainly the one to get in touch
with the team members. I decided to add all the team members in a WhatsApp group for
efficiency in our communication. We had six months to complete the project. However, after
having all the members in the group, communication was greatly improved, and we managed to
complete the project in a record four and a half months. The project was perfectly done, and I
was amazed at how I had managed to lead my team into achieving that much success within a
short time. The organization management gave us a token of appreciation, and to-date, I still
consider that as one of my most successful leadership stories.
The democratic leadership style helped me achieve my success. I encouraged team
members to participate and even created a platform where they could all interact, consult, and be
part of the team’s decisions. We were working remotely, so it was not possible to closely
supervise the employees. In spite of this, I ensured that each one of them had a sense of
responsibility and was accountable for their individual tasks. A study by Likert (1967) revealed
that under a democratic leadership style, group members perform well in the presence and
absence of the team leader. I managed to empower the team members by creating open
communication lines. My leadership style was centered on the team members, and together we
managed to have the project successfully done and ahead of time. The democratic leader is

UNIT 1 INDIVIDUAL PROJECT 3
sensitive to the team members and creates clear communication lines to develop support, respect,
and trust while looking out to complete the project at hand and achieve organizational goals.
Tannenbaum and Schmidt (1973) assert that a successful leader is one who adjusts their
leadership style to fit specific circumstances. A participative style should be used when team
members are able to learn readily, acquire new skills, and apply them in making decisions (The
Editorial Board, 2018). I capitalized on this and tapped on the team members’ potential. I
brought the team members to my expertise level and led them into completing the task that we
had been assigned. The democratic leadership style helped me achieve success in the project.
In the UWEAR-PALEDENIM scenario. I would lead the merger by first deciding on how
to approach the two cultures. I would amalgamate the cultures for each of the company and
leverage the strengths of each. Then, I would involve the teams taking part in the merger in
creating a new and compelling vision. Each company had its vision; however, a new one will be
necessary since the two companies would now dissolve to create one. Then, set a series of goals
to be achieved through the merger. Most importantly, I would treat the merger as a project and
manage the transition. The move would entail getting buy-in from teams and managers who will,
directly and indirectly, be affected by the changes taking place during the merger. Then based on
set goals, the vision, and priorities, I will assign tasks to departments, teams, and managers, and
ensure that I keep everyone accountable. For instance, I will hold weekly meetings with the
leaders to check on progress, achievements and obstacles being encountered. I will also be
personally responsible for ensuring all tasks assigned to different parties are satisfactorily
completed. Lastly, I will collaborate with the teams and be willing to work on feedback, change
certain tactics that may be ineffective, and consult the members when making decisions. Every
function and level will be engaged in ensuring that the merger goes through successfully.

UNIT 1 INDIVIDUAL PROJECT 4

References

Likert, R. (1967). The human organization: Its management and values.
Tannenbaum, R., & Schmidt, W. H. (1973). How to choose a leadership pattern (pp. 3-12).
Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review.
The Editorial Board. (2018). Leadership and Ethical Decision Making. Retrieved 27 May 2020,
from https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781945554766/cfi/6/4!/4/2/6/2/2@0:0