Pre-Assumption

Discuss about the Management Leadership and Stewardship.

For many years I have been under the impressions the Management, leadership, and stewardship were one and the same thing. As I attended management school it soon becomes very clear that the three aspects were very different qualities and every leader must process them to grow (Richman, 2011). I than come across King Gee role play by Bill Quinn which helped mould my perceptions related to developing the perfect career in management and leadership which would see me gradually build my skill and talent by adopting King Gee role play teachings which allowed me to achieve most of my set objectives.

In the past management was considered to be simply monitoring and pressurizing employee to perform better and work harder and this led to many managers failing to observe staff needs. Employees were viewed as a liability that costed the organisation money in terms of salaries. This was due to the limited number of business and large number of skilled professionals leading businesses to monopolize the labour market. Today this has changed and business have not been forced to view employees as asset and with respect to risk experiencing huge employee turnover rates. Employees have more opportunities and will quickly turn to greener pastures if employers do not value their contribution

Management refers to the ability to organize operations in a coordinated manner allowing businesses to operate smoothly. This required me to develop my communications skills, interpersonal relationships, team building skills, understand financial aspects of the business, nurture the desired environment, led by example, and help others grow and develop (Magretta, 2012). I also had to focus on first developing my management skills before considering leadership and stewardship skills.

Being able to develop my communications skills was the first step as I had to develop a habit of communicating clearly. Team members and colleagues needed to be able to understand the instructions and I also had to direct them precisely towards to what I expected them to achieve (Jacobson, 2009).  As per my experience being able to draw the line between acceptable and non-acceptable is critical towards developing management skills.

To manage people effectively it’s also critical to develop once interpersonal relationships with colleagues and stakeholders linked to the business. It is vital to have a positive relationship with all team members who should feel free to approach the manager and discuss their professional or personal concerns (Dwyer, 2013). There must never be any reservation when it comes to communicating since this discourages innovation and problem-solving.

Management and Employee Relationships

As a manager, I have also had to master team building skills which I also used during my leadership roles. For any operation to function smoothly the entire team must remain together and strong. A clear understanding Financial aspects are also critical since the business overall growth must be clearly understood and in visioned (Adair, 2013). I, therefore, had to set benchmarks and goals which I had to constantly remind the team to focus on so as to retain the businesses growth targets.

According to me another important aspect of management is being able to understand the colleague and team member’s personal growth and development needs. As a manager, I have had to envision their expectation and evaluate their practical performance using statistical tools to determine the most suitable appraisal to offer (Jones, 2011). Appraisals must be offered to all team members but being able to determine how much approval each member secures is critical towards determining where the individual will remain with the business or move to the next available opportunity.

I have observed first hand that effective leadership skills require a leader’s direct involvement in the process. One must be able to learn, understand and master the process and be prepared to set an example of what they expect to see other doing. To develop a leadership role and lead a team towards a common goal the entire team must clearly invasion the target and objective and remain on course to achieve the goal. In addition to always maintaining a clear objective of the intended goal the leader must also develop the following skills; clear communication, motivation, delegation, positivity, trustworthiness, creativity, feedback, and responsibility (HBSP, 2007). Each of these skills plays an important role towards being an effective leader thus leaders must master perfective the skills to be to retain control and the respects and acknowledgment of the team as a single unit.

Clear communication is the first and most important skill every leader must develop. This is the medium by which they communicate to the team on current achievements and future goals. A leader must be able to be communicating both positive and negative messages in a diplomatic and firm manner without demoralizing team members. I have also had to work on my delegating skills in which I have had to take charge of team meeting and gathering and host the team regarding the agenda and reason for the meeting (Baldoni, 2004). This must not be limited to the official meeting but should also be used during team fests. During Celebrations and parties the team lead should be able to delegate regarding the reason for the gathering.

Developing Management Skills

Being able to develop the above skills will allow me to develop my leadership skills which mastering he above points which are critical towards leadership. A leader must be able to understand and implement the above points beginning with the ability to evaluate and assess after which be able to take one the responsibility and communicate clearly regarding his intention and objective thus helping him win follower interest which automatically propels them to a leading position where colleagues view the individual as a mentor and turn to them for guidance.

As per my experience constantly working on a daily basis on the same routine can result in becoming very boring making it important for a leader to master motivational skills to keep the teams or individuals spirits high while working. To achieve this trustworthiness must be developed by team members towards the leader (Gill, 2009). They must be able to trust the leader to understand their situation and be able to communicate their concern which the leader should be able to resolve and help rebuild the individuals or teams spirit.

To retain my team’s interest and focus towards my capabilities, I will have to invest heavily in learning new approaches and being creative to resolve problems. Colleague must be able to approach the leaders to devise and information related to experiences which they encounter and the leader should be able to deliver a solution. Even when there is no clear solution mind the leader should be able to calm the situation and turn to do some external research on the topic and deliver a more details response later. As per my experience responding and following up on colleague concerns will be especially important since it will demonstrate the leader’s interest towards the problem. This, in turn, helps build a stronger relationship between the leader and team thus allowing the team to trust and acknowledge the individual as reliable and trustworthy.

Leadership also requires constant creativity, the ability to provide feedback and clearly outline each team member’s responsibilities on the team. This is a role which will require the leader to practice a firm role towards the team by clearly stating the team’s objectives and expectations. Once again the commercial and financial aspects linked to the team’s existence must be clearly outlined to prevent the team losing focus on the why they are working as a team.

Stewarding refers to leading a team but also keeping the team and organization interests in mind and synchronizing the two while ensuring all stakeholders remain happy at all times. A steward must be able to understand the relationship between the business and its workforce and be able to highlight points which can be presented to all stakeholders keeping their interests in mind (Block, 2013). To develop my stewarding skills I have had to focus my attention towards the following areas namely; self-examination, rewarding the stakeholders, self-sacrificial and retain high expectations.

Leadership Skills and Qualities

As a steward, I have had to constantly exam myself and performance before evaluating others. Its only logical for one to be able to lead others if they are setting the right example and to do this one must be able to evaluate their performance. Self-examination plays a huge role towards maintenance consistency and focuses on their responsibilities which automatically has a direct effect and influences the team. Not until or unless a steward is achieved his goals can expect others to pursue and achieve their goals.

In my experience, hard work calls for Reward and being able to reward stakeholders plays an important role towards retaining their attention and focus towards their work. Activities must be organized and high achievers highlighted and rewarded which instigates others to also focus on making similar achievements. Being able to place myself on the front line with regard to team underperformance and other stressful situations has also played a major role towards building my stewardships skills (Hussein, 2007). I have had to be prepared to be self-sacrificial in a certain situation where I have had to step out and take the blame or responsibility with the objective of shielding my team. This has helped me retain the overall team’s integrity thus allowing them to retain their focus on their objectives and organization growth and development.

It’s also important to retain focus on the big picture and retain high expectations for future growth and development. A steward must be able to clearly outline future growth objectives and targets thus highlighting their understanding of the overall organization’s objectives and growth goals. This is critical since it demonstrates a steward’s future vision and how they intend on reaching the set goals.

In my experience, I have observed that management, leadership, and stewardship are also qualified one must master so as to develop in in their corporate world. Only by developing each of the skills sets falling under these categories will professionals be able to excel in the career and build a successful career as a manager or business professional.

Adair, J., 2013. Develop Your Leadership Skills. New Delhi: Kogan Page Publishers.

Baldoni, 2004. Great Communication Secrets Of Great Lea. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Education.

Block, P., 2013. Stewardship: Choosing Service Over Self-Interest. Califonia: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

Dwyer, D., 2013. Interpersonal Relationships. Philedelhia: Routledge.

Gill, D.W., 2009. Becoming Good: Building Moral Character. Ozon: InterVarsity Press.

HBSP, 2007. Leading by Example. Boston: Harvard Business School. Press.

Hussein, B., 2007. Stewardship for All?: Two Believers–One From A Poor Country, One From A Rich Country- Speak From Thei. Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.

Jacobson, S.K., 2009. Communication Skills for Conservation Professionals. 2nd ed. New York: Island Press.

Jones, G., 2011. Teamwork: How to Build Relationships. SPCK.

Magretta, J., 2012. What Management Is: How it works and why it’s everyone’s business. London: Profile Books.

Richman, L., 2011. Improving Your Project Management Skills. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn.