THE ACHIEVER – ASSIGNMENT #1 | The Achiever | [Type the document subtitle] | | Excelsior College | BUS 452 - Business Leadership |

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After reading the article “7 Transformations of Leadership” by David Rooke and William R. Torbert in 2005 Harvard Business Review, I immediately discovered what type of action logic I currently possess as a leader. Although there were many action logics to look at in the article, such as the Opportunist, who has the tendency to focus on personal wins and justify their behavior as legitimate in a cut throat world; the Diplomat who seeks to please higher status colleagues in order to gain acceptance and influence by cooperating with group norms; the Experts who are secure in their expertise and pursue continuous improvement, efficiency, and perfection; the Individualist whose aim tends to be on future goals and creating structure to resolve gaps between strategy and performance; the Strategists who are highly effective change agents and great at creating shared visions as well as visions that encourage both personal and organizational transformations; the Alchemists who are typically charismatic and extremely aware individuals who live by high moral standards and focus intensely on truth and history and finally the Achiever who is known to create a positive wok environment and focus their efforts on deliverables, while being open to feedback realizing that work relationships and the ability to influence others in a positive way is critical to successful end results. I guess now you’re wondering what type of action logic or leadership style I possess, well after learning about all these great styles of leadership, the one I closely relate to is the Achiever based off of my ethics, leadership style with my subordinates, and ability to foster a positive work environment in order achieve personal and organizational goals. I believe ethics are crucial to effective leadership and one’s decision making skills. Ethics is defined as a branch of philosophy which studies the values and customs of a person or a group. It covers the analysis and employment of concepts such as right and wrong, good and evil and responsibility (dictionary.reference.com). In addition, leaders are ultimately decision makers. Decision making is the process of collecting information, judging the information and reacting upon the elements and aspects of a given situation to arrive at the most logical and appropriate decision which is key for every successful leader. By having a well balanced ethical foundation, I find that I can properly assess a situation with the consideration of its effect on others enabling me to make effective decisions that are not just beneficial to me but also my superiors and subordinates. In general, ethics manifest as the conceptual guidelines to the decisions and actions we make every day.
Secondly, my type of leadership style with my subordinates is closely related to that of the Achiever. As stated in the article, “Achievers are open to feedback and know that creatively transforming or resolving clashes requires sensitivity to relationships and the ability to influence others in positive ways.” I am the kind of leader who exercise authority but try not to exhibit abuse of authority. In the military, we have a Noncommissioned Officer (NCO) creed that I try to live by, which states “My two basic responsibilities will always be uppermost in my mind—accomplishment of my mission and the welfare of my Soldiers” and “All Soldiers are entitled to outstanding leadership; I will provide that leadership. I know my Soldiers and I will always place their needs above my own. I will communicate consistently with my Soldiers and never leave them uninformed. I will be fair and impartial when recommending both rewards and punishment.” This creed is the foundation for how I relate to my subordinates.
As a leader I ensure that I am proficient in a task before I train my subordinates, so that they will know how to correctly perform their duties. I also keep the lines of communication open, so they feel comfortable in letting me know when things are not going so well in order to avoid future conflicts in hopes of preventing not meeting deadlines. I encourage and solicit their ideas on how to improve in any area of the organization and evaluate their ideas for the betterment of our organization or group; thus, I pay attention and never belittle their ideas because in actuality, their suggestions and ideas are very helpful. I believe visions are not just derived from the leader, but also at the lowest level. I don’t treat my subordinates as if they are my servants and need to obey what I say instead I treat them as people who are also potential leaders. Lastly, in my opinion, the ability to foster a positive work environment in order to achieve personal and organizational goals entails three elements: (1) motivation, (2) rewarding employees, and (3) fostering career development. A motivating work environment enhances staff self-esteem causing people to feel like they are more, not less--more competent, more capable, and more appreciated. A concept called the Pygmalion Effect emphasizes that “the positive and high expectations of the supervisor helps mold the expectations individuals hold for their own high performance” (humanresources.about.com). By motivating employees they will want to achieve more allowing a positive work environment. In addition, I inculcate to my subordinates the value of work. I remind them that in every endeavor we do, we should always give 100 percent and not settle for less than our best. A quality product will always rise to the top. I always try to set the example for my subordinates to follow by treating them the way I want to be treated, handling work in a positive, calm and professional manner. I ensure my actions are positive and that I practice what I preach. On the other hand, an organization or a group is like a relationship. A relationship will have problems and conflicts, however I encourage my subordinates to treat these things as part of our development and with these; we can also realize that there is always room for improvement.
It is important to recognize hard work through rewards, whether it is by praise in evaluations, awards, leave time, or monetary gifts. Everyone likes to feel appreciated and by rewarding good deeds, you foster more good deeds. In addition, career progression is another necessity for a positive work environment because without growth, one becomes stagnant and will not be an asset any organization. I conduct monthly counseling with my subordinates and during this session we discuss short term goals and long term goals both personally and professionally in order to maintain a good balance and to see progress. In addition, we discuss the steps required to achieve those goals and monitor them monthly, which allows them to see their accomplishments which causes them to feel good about themselves, thus allowing them to want to do well in their career.
In conclusion, I believe the three areas I discussed; ethics, leadership style with subordinates and ability to foster a positive work environment in order to achieve personal and organizational goals are the key elements that make up the action logic of the Achiever, which is why I was able to relate so well to this leadership style. After reading the article on “7 Transformations of Leadership,” I learned that one’s leadership style can change through different periods of one’s life or in time. This article has allowed me to take a good look at my leadership skills and encouraged me to continue to improve and reevaluate my skills over time. Although, the Achiever has a downside mentioned in the article, such as not being able to think outside the box, I believe the strengths of the Achiever definitely out weight the weaknesses. However, I will attempt to broaden my scope and try to grow in my way of thinking since I do agree with the statement in the article as being my weakness. Who knows maybe next year, I will be the Expert.