Manager Eduardo
Strategic thinking
Strategic thinking means being able to develop a strategy or a plan to achieve a given vision. Strategic thinking frames every decision by how it contributes to achieving the set goal or objective. Malan, Erwee & Rose (2009) points out that strategic thinking is critical in providing value to the organization by maximizing employees output through initiating progressive changes. Eduardo needs to develop strategic thinking as a leadership trait because it will assist him in achieving the design goals of the company; more so, strategic thinking will enable Eduardo to develop strategies that utilize minimal resources to achieve a desired outcome in the company. Furthermore, this leadership quality will eliminate path dependency in relying on the status quo- in this case, Eduardo’s self-reliance abilities. Thus, adopting a culture of working with another team member to achieve the objective of the organization.
Emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence is the quality that enables an individual to confront with patients, insight, and imagination the various relational problems they face both within and outside surrounding Edwards, Ermer, Salovey & Kiehl, (2019). By developing emotional intelligence, Eduardo will acquire traits such as self-regulation, self-awareness, empathy, motivation, and social skills. This means that having higher emotional intelligence, Eduardo will explain or explore the type of emotion he is experiencing, especially from his team. Additionally, Eduardo will be able to understand how to relate with team members by creating positive rapport and building relationships with his junior employees. Overall, emotional intelligence as a leadership quality will enable Eduardo to relate with colleagues, motivate and inspire teams, and solve intergroup problems that may interfere with productivity in the long run.
` Communication skills
Communication is perceived as the fundamental skill for any leader to possess. By definition, communication skill is the ability of an individual or leader to convey feelings and ideas effectively. The functionality of team groups within an organization predominately depends on the effectiveness of communication. Therefore, Eduardo needs to develop communication skills as a leader. This is fundamental because having communication skills will enable him to provide clarity of the tasks to be completed by his junior staff. Additionally, developing communication skill will enable Eduardo to learn how to listen. Listening is perceived as among the active processes of attaining ideas and information. Thus, by developing listening skills, Eduardo will eliminate any disconnection that may occur with the team he is leading in the organization.
Two actionable steps
As a newly appointed mid-level manager, Eduardo can take numerous methods or actionable steps towards developing leadership skills. The first step could involve working closely with a “mentor.” A strategic approach to developing leadership skills is to find a leader who has developed their emotional, communication, and strategic thinking skills. Identifying a leader to serve as Eduardo’s mentor will provide the latter with impartial advice on achieving the “step up” from an individual contributor to a manager. The “mentor” can be an individual or works externally within a similar field with leadership roles. The mentor will be instrumental in challenging Eduardo to set higher goals towards developing his leadership style and providing constructive feedback in areas that require improvements.
The second step would involve learning transparency. Direct, honest feedback, even criticisms, is invariable the suitable approach to lead a team. Thus, to improve leadership skills, Eduardo needs to understand how transparent and constructive his criticisms are. This approach will enable Eduardo to develop skills that will enable him to have patience in leading or working with people who are not as smart or fast as him.
Flywheel effect
The flywheel concept allows individuals to take up small steps or initiatives towards making significant changes in the long run. It describe the process used by individuals and organizations to initiate “small movements” to towards a desired state or position (Collins, 2019). Eduardo can undertake the minimal task with his new team to develop his leadership traits in the long run to develop his leadership skills. Essentially, Eduardo can assign his group/ team simple tasks, which can be achieved quickly. Once assigned, Eduardo should supervise how each team member tackles the problem assigned. He can provide guidance and support where necessary. By working on small tasks, Eduardo will understand how each member of the team functions for attaining the desired objective.
Coherently, he can provide criticism or praise where employees have demonstrated efforts towards completing the assigned task. In so doing, Eduardo will be applying the basics of each leadership trait or skill. Once the task is complete, Eduardo can assign a more complex assignment to the team and supervise how they work, relate, and solve the challenge. Such as approach will be instrumental in assisting Eduardo to take “small” steps towards developing his skills as a manager in the long run. Conversely, he will be able to eliminate his attitude of “working alone.” Therefore, Eduardo can adopt the concept of flywheel to make minute adjustment as the new manager by assigning tasks and supervising their completion.
Reference
Collins, J. (2019). Turning the flywheel: a monograph to accompany good to great. Random House.
Edwards, B. G., Ermer, E., Salovey, P., & Kiehl, K. A. (2019). Emotional intelligence in incarcerated female offenders with psychopathic traits. Journal of personality disorders, 33(3), 370-393.
Malan, R., Erwee, R., & Rose, D. M. (2009, December). The importance of individual mental models for strategic thinking in organisations. In Proceedings of the 23rd Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management Conference (ANZAM 2009) (pp. 1-17). Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management.
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