Question
1000 word minimum/ You must name your leader and your relationship to them.
-Identify someone in your life that has influenced you for the good.
-What made them a good mentor
-What strategies did they use to lead you
-What were their leadership strengths and weaknesses
-How has it influenced your desire to lead someone else.
Solution
Influential Leader Paper
Introduction
In everyday life, people interact with individuals who significantly impact their lives in unimaginable ways. Similarly, this was the case with Mr. Robert, my grade 8 teacher and personal mentor, who had a positive impact on my life. Despite his weaknesses, which were mainly revealed in his micromanaging nature, Mr. Robert exhibited exemplary leadership and mentorship traits of patience, knowledge, and honesty, which have, in present times, influenced my desire to lead others.
Qualities of a Good Mentor
Apart from being an outstanding teacher, Mr. Robert’s quality of patience made him a good mentor. Notably, Mr. Robert was highly tolerant of my slow but steady educational development. Often, he would adjust his schedule to offer help in areas that proved challenging. Rather than being controlling, Mr. Robert patiently guided me through acquisitions of skills that I would require in my college education. Due to his patience, by the end of the mentorship program, I was adequately equipped with knowledge about the ideal career path and skills that I would require during professional development.
Possession of adequate knowledge also made Mr. Robert a good mentor. As prior studies show, students perceive knowledge as good qualities of mentor teachers (Heeralal 243). In this context, Mr. Robert was well informed about the resources that students required to make decisions about their career paths. Also, he was well informed about careers that best suited the specific skills and traits possessed by learners. Through this knowledge, Mr. Robert offered the best career advice that has proven resourceful in selecting an undergraduate course that matches my career aspirations.
Mr. Robert’s honesty also made him a good mentor. Notably, he provided honest feedback about my progress during the mentorship period. Often, he would identify areas that needed improvement while still providing feedback with a positive bent. Mr. Robert’s honesty about his professional development also made him a good mentor. Notably, it is through this quality that I learned a lot from him (Rapp). For instance, I learned about potential challenges that would occur in the journey of my professional development and how to overcome such issues. Mr. Robert’s quality of honesty was indeed an arsenal in my personal growth.
Leadership Strategies
As a leader and mentor, Mr. Robert mainly used a participative strategy of leadership. The mentor sought my opinion about various matters during the decision-making process (Bell and Mjoli 451). For instance, Mr. Robert often asked my opinion regarding steps that I considered essential in improving my knowledge and skills. Joint decisions were also made during the process of mentorship. For example, rather than dictating the career path that I ought to follow, Mr. Robert ensured that I was adequately involved in evaluating my skills and traits before making a career choice. Also, the decision to share his personal experiences made his strategy of leadership participative.
Mr. Robert also used the strategy of delegation and empowerment in leading. For instance, he would assign me tasks to complete individually after the mentorship sessions. The strategy was essential as it helped me enhance my skills in various fields with minimum help from my mentor. Also, delegation helped build on my confidence to complete tasks under minimum supervision and assistance from the mentor. Mr. Robert would also empower me to undertake various challenges to enhance my competence and skills. For instance, at one time, he encouraged me to assume a leadership role in a classroom discussion group to build on my leadership skills. Delegation and empowerment were among the key strategies that Mr. Robert used to lead me through my journey of professional development.
Leadership Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths
One of the significant strengths exhibited by Mr. Robert was commitment. In particular, he ensured that each of the goals set as the beginning of the mentorship program were adequately met. For instance, at the beginning of the mentorship, Mr. Robert and I had agreed to work towards building on skills and knowledge that I required to make informed decisions about the ideal career path. By the end of my eighth grade, I had sufficient information about what I wanted to pursue in college. Furthermore, he showed the willingness to create extra time to offer assistance in areas that appeared difficult. Mr. Robert’s effort to facilitate the accomplishment of the set goals and desire to dedicate time and resources in the mentorship process was a blatant indication of his commitment as a leader and mentor.
Mr. Robert’s strength was also embedded in his collaboration skills and socio-cultural sensitivity. Notably, the mentor worked with me throughout the mentorship process despite our age differences. Rather than viewing himself as a leader, Mr. Robert assumed the role of a facilitator and sought my opinion on various matters. Also, Mr. Robert was culturally sensitive. He exhibited an adequate understanding of our cultural differences and used that knowledge to enhance his leadership strategies to ensure that his approach did not interfere with my cultural orientation.
Weaknesses
Despite possessing several strengths, Mr. Robert exhibited a few weaknesses as a leader. Mainly, he possessed the trait of micromanaging, whereby he closely followed-up on every task delegated to ensure that it was completed as required. While the quality was essential in ensuring that each of the set goals was achieved within the required time, it limited my ability to complete tasks independently. Sometimes, micromanaging created the perception of a lack of trust by the leader on my ability to complete tasks with minimum supervision. Probably, improving on this weakness would have not only helped Mr. Robert to become a better leader but also enhanced my confidence to undertake and complete tasks independently.
The positive impact that Mr. Robert has had on my life influences my desire to lead other people. Mainly, his approach of mentorship has influenced my desire to mentor others in a manner that yields positive outcomes while remaining sensitive to their needs and cultural orientation. Also, as a mentor, Mr. Robert shared his experience of professional development, an approach that bridged theory with reality. As a result of this strategy, I can anticipate problems and develop measures to address them. The impact that this approach has had on my life has also influenced my desire to share my experience with others about the journey of professional development, and help them realize at an early stage challenges that may occur, and how to overcome them.
Conclusion
The past relationship with my mentor has had a positive influence on my desire to lead others. In particular, our interaction helped me understand the importance of honesty, patience, and knowledge among mentors and leaders. With the much that I acquired from him, I plan to lead others diligently and avoid micromanaging, which may interfere with other people’s level of confidence in undertaking tasks on their own.
Works Cited
Bell, Clement, and Mjoli, Themba. “The Effects of Participative Leadership on Organizational Commitment: Comparing its Effects on Two Gender Groups Among Bank Clerks.” African Journal of Business Management, vol. 8, no. 12, 2014, pp. 451-459, doi: 10.5897/AJBM2013.7028.
Heeralal, Prem. “Student Teachers’ Perspectives of Qualities of Good Mentor Teachers.” The Anthropologist, vol. 17, no. 1, 2014, pp. 243-249. https://doi.org/10.1080/09720073.2014.11891434
Rapp, Alyssa. “Be One, Get One: The Importance of Mentorship.” Forbes, 2 October 2018, https://www.forbes.com/sites/yec/2018/10/02/be-one-get-one-the-importance-of-mentorship/#7bb244967434. Accessed 15 April 2020.
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