Reflection (Sharing Exp: Talk by Expert)

 

It was a really informative talk regarding leadership and governance for sustainability. 🌎

    Firstly, Dr Wesam emphasised about the environment and how natural capital is degrading. The impact of the degradation has caused a dozens of negative effects including fatal diseases, pollution, and health and natural resources damages. The social and economic impact of climate change is extremely scary as well. Fresh water supply will be limited, productivity of harvest will reduce, sea level will rise, towns will be relocate and more and more scary impacts will come if we do not start changing. With numbers and graphs, we were told about floods and diseases too. When I was listening to the talk, I was so shocked to see so many people suffering due to something that we have done. What is it that we can do? 

    Next,  Dr Wesam brought in the hope for changes. It was shown that the lock down due to the pandemic has brought some positive impact including the earth healing! We can and we should change this situation to ensure sustainable development. To build a better environment, we should practise the three pillars of sustainable economy. 

For better results, small realistic goals are set so that leaders and followers have the same objectives. We can all direct our energy into realising them. Here are the Global Goals: 

Lastly, now that we have goals, we must have a plan... 

I have some thoughts about this...

Let's go into the leadership part. 

What can leaders do in this? 

1- create rules and laws 

2- encourage citizen's participation

3- create more market opportunity

I could think of a few examples.

In Japan, classification of recyclable and non-recyclable waste is a must. Those who do not conform to the law will be fined. This is law.  

Nowadays in Malaysia, plastic bags are banned gradually in chained super markets. They provided 'green points' for those who bring own bag, and charge those who need plastic bags. This is citizen participation. 

In Singapore, water are retreated and sold to the people as drinking water. Factories are set, workers are employed. This is market opportunity. 

When our government and all related authorities have made their effort, 

followers (you and me!) play a huge huge huge part now! 

because, 'Sikit-sikit, lama-lama menjadi bukit'. 

So, what can normal citizens like us (followers) do? 

💓🌍Practise 3Rs 💓🌍

💓🌍Car pool💓🌍

💓🌍Plant trees💓🌍

💓🌍Educate our next generations💓🌍

💓🌍Conserve water 💓🌍

And many many more...

Before I end the reflection, I would like to share a song with you. 

It's a song I've always share with my little ones in school when teaching about the Earth. 

Ta-da! 

That's all for today. 

Here are my prove of attendance. 

I'm going to be an earth warrior too! 💪

🌍💓😇

Reflection - Topic 8 Team Leadership

 Topic 8 - Team Leadership

Team leadership is the management of a group of people brought together to work to achieve a common goal.

Here's what I've learnt...

A group is not the same as a team. A group comprises people who coordinate their efforts, but are independent and have individual accountability, while a team comprises people who share a common goal.

There are 3 types of teams, a self-managed team which comprises members of different departments who works autonomously to achieve a common goal, a cross-functional team which comprises of a multidisciplinary team with members of different expertise who work towards a shared objective, and a functional team which is made up of members with common functional expertise.

Why is teamwork important? The formation of a team produces faster and more innovative decisions, reduces chances of error, promotes constant improvement and generates greater contentment. However, in a team, an individual may feel the need to conform due to peer pressure, and often not, feel left out. Conflicts are also a common occurrence in a team as different people have different opinions.

This is when a leader comes into play. A leader plays an important role in resolving conflicts, supporting creativity and facilitating group discussions. A team leader should be able to delegate work, assign members to task most suited to their abilities, provide resources needed to complete a task and help members to overcome creative block. An inspiring and supportive leader creates an effective team.

Last but not least, I also learn that in order to conduct a meeting worth everyone's time, a team leader should commence the meeting on time. Start by identify the objective of the meeting, then proceed to get through the agenda, and finally, summarize and review the task. It is always a good habit to end the meeting on time too.

Here's what I thought...

No man is an island. No matter how smart a person is, there's only so much he/she can achieve in his/her lifetime. However, the magnitude of productivity can be greatly enhanced if individuals work together as a team to solve complex problems and achieve common goals together. 

Geese are an excellent demonstration of effective teamwork. Have you ever wondered why geese fly in a v-shape formation? As each bird flaps its wings, it creates uplift for the birds following. This allows geese to reach their destination quicker with less effort. The same principles could be implemented in a team. By working effectively together as a team with all members sharing a common goals, we can achieve greater heights.

I hope that this little story will help you to see teamwork from a new perspective. :)

 

Reflection - Topic 7 Dyadic Relationships, Followership and Delegation

Topic 7 Dyadic Relationships, Followership and Delegation

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, dyadic is defined as relating to the interaction between two people, and understanding the dyadic theory allows us to better appreciate why leaders change their style of leadership when they are interacting with different subordinates.

In my opinion, this is the hardest and most complicated leadership theory amongst all that I have learnt. 

Here's what I've learnt...

There're 4 stages of dyadic approach, which can be summarised by this figure below: 

Let us dive into each stage and evaluate them in depth. 

1 Vertical-Dyadic Linkage (VDL) Theory identifies: 

(1) how a leader develops one-to-one relationship with followers, and 

(2) how a leaders creates in-groups and out-groups.

Note that, this relationship can be developed formally or informally. 

In an in-group (close circle), a people-oriented leadership style is observed where subordinates have strong social ties to their leader. In-groups are people-oriented, possesses high mutual trust, high exchange, two-way loyalty and mutual influence. 

Completely opposite to in-group (distant group), an out-group proposes a strict task-oriented relationship where minimal social tie among subordinates and leader is seen. There's low exchange, lack of trust, not much loyalty and minimal mutual influence. 

Why do we need to understand VDL? Leaders should be aware of dyadic relationship and establish effective leader-follower relationship to avoid creating any out-groups so that productivity of all members can be equally significant. A good leader should aspire to establish relationships with all members, favouritism should be avoided. 

Now that we understand the importance of having the relationship...

2 Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) Theory assumes that 

leaders have limited time, resources, attention, discretion and energy so they use this selectively among followers. Therefore, quality of relationship will be different with different followers. 

High quality LMX means more support, reward, involvement in decision making. It also means great level of loyalty, commitment, respect, affection, mutual trust and mutual liking. 

Low quality LMX means low consideration, formal supervision, less support, coercive influence, compliance, authoritative behaviour and lesser involvement in decision.

Unlike the VDL theory that merely explain on the relationship, the LMX theory focus on the quality of the relationship. 

The LMX Life Cycle Model describes three stages, each explains (1)stranger, (2)acquaintance and (3)maturity. 

That was the quality of the relationship... Now, together as a team...

 

3 Team Member states that 

Effective leaders should aspire to establish relationships with all members, not just a few special individuals.

A team is good. But that is not sufficient...

4 System & Network View discusses that 

Leader-follower relationships are not limited to employees, but include peers, customers, suppliers, and other relevant stakeholders in the broader community. Organisation is system of interrelated parts. Effective leader need to develop effective relationship with other groups and external members to gain support and resources.

Pygmalion Effect

When leader treat followers well enough, the followers will believe that they are doing well. To gain more trust and liking, more loyalty will be poured into the relationship to get higher performance ratings from leader. Then, when results and performance ratings comes again and again, it become a habit for followers to do better and better. That is Pygmalion effect. 

What I thought...

This is an interesting theory. 

Starting from the leader-follower relationship, we discussed more about the quality of the relationship. When the quality of a leader-follower relationship --LMX-- is high, an effective team is formed. Then, it's time to consider the whole environment including all other stakeholders. 

What attracts me most, is that this topic actually talks about ways to become an effective follower. 

A lot of leadership theories focuses on the leader. However, in some point of life, the leader was once the follower. So, how did they 'make it big'? There must be certain attributes that a followers should possess that they can stand out from all the followers and get elected as the leader. 

An effective follower is described as courageous, responsible and proactive. He has to be active and independent. He has critical thinking skills. He makes sensible decisions and solve problems. I was consciously taught about these by my mentor, Miss Sophia, during my IPG times. A good follower can be a good leader, but a good leader may not be a good leader. She told us about how to 'value-add' ourselves to stand out among the crowd.

As a teacher, we are leaders of the classrooms. 

1- Building relationship with children is needed, just as the VDL theory suggests. Those who are friendly will be our in-group while those who are shy and quiet may unintentionally be in the out-group. 

2- With our limited resources and attention, as the LMX theory proposed, we may selectively put our attention on a certain group of people. 

What do we need to reflect and do is that: Are we fair towards every kids? How should we divide our limited resources and attention so that all children feel important? How do we develop positive dyadic relationship with our little ones, from stranger to acquaintance to maturity? 

3- Now that we realise how relationship works, we can focus on making us an effective team. Without favouritism and out-groups, a good team with trustworthy relationship can be made. 

4- Now that a good team is made, how do we work well within the organisation? As the leader of the little ones, I brought kids to make projects, take pictures and find ways to connect with all related persons outside the classroom. 

So, this is how dyadic relationship works between teacher and their little ones. 

Interesting enough for me. What do you think about dyadic relationship? 

:)

Reflection - Topic 5 Contingency Leadership Theories

Topic 5  Contingency Leadership Theories

This topic delves into different leadership models and how each of these leadership styles are suited for different situations.

Here's what I've learnt...

If I were to summarised what I've learned from this topic, I would divide it into 4 main parts.

First, what is Contingency Leadership Theories to me? 

Contingency Leadership Theories explains that a successful leadership is not directly proportional to the abilities of a leader, but rather depends on the situational favorableness and how it interacts with the leader's leadership style. The least-preferred coworker scale (LPC) can be utilized to assigns an individual's leadership style as either task-oriented or relationship-oriented.

Second, what is The Leadership Continuum Model? 

The Leadership Continuum Model says there are variations of leadership practices along a continuum that moves from an autocratic leadership style (boss-centered leadership) towards democratic (subordinate-centered leadership). The area of authority by a leader and the area of freedom for an employee is redefined constantly by interactions between them and the situations/variables at a particular time.

Third, what is Path-Goal Leadership Model? 

The Path-Goal Leadership Model is a theory specifying that a leader's success is governed by their ability to select a suitable leadership style (directive, supportive, participative, or achievement-oriented) under current situational forces in order to boost contentment and maximise performance in their employees.

Fourth and the last, what is Contingency Leadership - Prescriptive, Descriptive, Normative Model?

The Prescriptive Model emphasizes on "what to do", thus a leader will directly instructs his subordinates which style to use in a given situation; the descriptive model emphasizes on "what is", thus a leader will recognize the fact that contingency variables arise all the time and does not direct which style to use in a given situation; the normative leadership model emphasizes on "what is better", thus a leader will decide which leadership styles (decide, consult individually, consult group, facilitate, and delegate) is best to use in a given situation based on time-driven and development-driven decision tree.

Here's what I thought...

In the previous topic of leadership model, leadership is divided into 2 genres, autocratic and democratic leadership. However, after understanding this topic, I think that true leadership in real life lies somewhere between the two extremes. It is a continuum of leadership behaviour, and along which many leadership styles may be placed. 

Regardless, a leader should be flexible and fine-tunes the way he spearheads the team depending on the circumstances. As the saying goes, “the only constant in life is change”. There is no best way to lead a team, but being rigid and refusing to adapt to the current situation is definitely a bad example of leadership.

✨✨

Reflection - Topic 6 Communication, Coaching & Conflict Skills

 Topic 6 Communication, Coaching & Conflict Skills 

After reading this topic, I have a better comprehension of communication process, three parts of message receiving processes: paraphrasing, feedback, coaching and conflict.

Here's what I've learnt...

Communication

Communication encompasses two parts, the relaying and the receiving of message, and it is one of the essential skills of an excellent leader. When communicating face-to-face, it is important to first build a good impression, express your intention, then relay your message, make your receiver understands your message, and don't forget to follow up.

If you are on the receiving end, make sure to listen, analyse and understand the information conveyed. This can be done by rephrasing the sender's message in your own words based on your understanding. Feedback is also highly commended by the end of a conversation.

Coaching

Moving on to coaching model. Coaching is an activity whereby a person develops constructive relationship with its follower, providing modelling, training, recognition and timely feedback in order to nurture an individual's talent. 

Conflicts

When it comes to communication, conflicts are bound to happen. We can adopt five different styles to manage conflict. First conflict management style is (1) collaborating and this often results in a desirable win-win situation. (2) Negotiating, on the other hand, results in win-win situation as well, but both parties suffer some losses at the same time. By (3) accommodating, the opposite party wins while you lose. The opposite of accommodating would be (4) forcing, in which the opposite party suffers loss. Lastly, by (5) avoiding conflict, both parties sustain losses.

Regardless of the choice of style in conflict management, we can adopt an universal conflict resolution model, which can be summarized into 4 simple processes -  four stages: awareness, self-preparation, conflict reduction and negotiation.

Here's what I thought...

Communication is a valuable soft skills that every individual should master. Communication is a two way street, whereby both sender and receiver are responsible for the accurate transmission of message. Besides relaying message, feedback is also an important part of communication. Feedback ensures that receiver understand the message and allows sender to improve himself/herself based on the receiver's comments. Effective communication not only allows task to be completed effectively and efficiently, it also greatly reduces the occurrence of conflict. 

However, no matter how proficient an individual is in its communication skills, conflicts are inevitable part of our daily lives due to differences in opinion. Therefore, conflict resolving skill is also another important soft skill one must master. Successful management of conflict allows both parties to reap the maximal possible benefit out of a situation and reduces loss, which is also an important attribute of a good leader.

Communication, Coaching & Conflict Skills in Teaching Profession...

As a teacher, communication is essential not only to children, also to colleagues and parents. With good communication skills, message can be sent clearly with least confusion and misunderstanding. Without the skill, conflicts can occur and resolving them can troublesome and tiring. It causes bad impact to relationship too. 

Other than that, coaching happens everyday in my profession too. Other than coaching little children every day, we took turns to be a coach and receive coaching. That process is called Latihan Dalam Perkhidmatan (LDP), or Professional Learning Community (PLC). LDP and PLC is extremely useful when conducted properly. Discussions about pupils' proficiency, teaching and learning activities, assessment methods and other related fields are included in LDP and PLC.

My conflict resolving skills often involves kids. When they fight or quarrel, teacher as the leader in class will help in resolving conflicts. We often follow the an universal conflict resolution model. Understanding the conflict will enable us to take appropriate actions. 

1- awareness : What happened? 

2- self-preparation : Why did it happen? 

3- conflict reduction : How would you be less angry? 

4- negotiation : How would you suggest to solve? 

That's all for today. See you next week! :) 

Reflection - Topic 4 Power, Politics, Networking and Negotiation

Topic 4- Power, Politics, Networking & Negotiation 

Power, politics, networking and negotiating are four of the main influencing strategies used by leaders, either for the benefit of the team or for the benefit of their own.

Here's what I've learnt...

POWER is the capacity to direct the behaviours of others. It allows the leader to change the course of direction, and subsequently the outcome of an event. The 2 main sources of power discussed in this topic are positional power and personal power. Positional power is power bestowed to an individual by holding a specific rank in a team, whereas personal power is power earned by an individual through his/her attitude without the use of formal authority.

POLITICS, on the other hand, are means employed by an individual at advancing his/her status or expanding power within an organization. Networking is utilized as one of the political tactics to establish social circles, whereas reciprocity is a tool for mutual exchange of benefits. In order to increase one's political power, a coalition is usually formed, whereby a group of people temporarily work together to accomplish a common objective.

NETWORKING, a process involving exchanging of ideas and information through encountering new people who share a common interests, is also a powerful way to exert influence. This is because networking not only creates connections, it enhances your professional identity and opens you up to various job opportunities. It is one of the most effective ways to escalate quickly in your career and pave your way in becoming a successful leader.

NEGOTIATION is a discussion between two disagreeing parties to find common ground or to resolve conflicts. Negotiation is no easy process. It can be condensed into a 5-steps-process, which involves preparation and planning, definition and ground rules, clarification and justification, bargaining and problem solving, and lastly, closure and implementation.

Here's what I thought...

I find this topic really interesting, because through my observation, the four influencing strategies discussed above are not only used in the adult world, but also unconsciously used by my students to influence their peers, or sometimes even the teacher.

For example, in school, prefects use their positional power to make other students follow their orders. Prefects even hold the power to give demerit points to their fellow friends who misbehaved. Aside from obtaining knowledge, students also learn about networking in school. The social circles that are built in school can serve as a foundation for students to develop confidence, friendships and even to find a job in the future.

Students are also exposed to politics through activities such as student council elections. A national survey done by the Australian secondary school students found that voting in school elections is a good predictor of adult political engagement. In my opinion, this is an invaluable experience for students, as politic permeates throughout all aspects of life. A glimpse into the political world allow students to understand their rights as a citizen of a country and how every single one of them hold the power to change the framework of an organisation/ government and the direction it moves forward towards.

I would like to end this reflection with some word of wisdom by John C. Maxwell - "Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less...titles don't have much value when it comes to leading. True leadership cannot be awarded, appointed, or assigned, it comes only from influence, and that cannot be mandated. It must be earned."

Reflection - Topic 3 Leadership, Behaviour and Motivation

 Topic 3 Leadership Behaviour and Motivation

This topic delves into different leadership models and how each of these leadership styles are suited for different situations.

Here's what I've learnt...

Leadership behaviour is a conduct whereby the leader sets an example and the followers pursue.

👇

University of Iowa leadership style explores leadership from two ends. An autocratic leader is the decision maker and gives direct instructions to his employees, whereas a democratic leader inspires shared decision-making with employees. 

👇

The University of Michigan Leadership Model identifies 2 broad leadership styles. In the job-centered leadership style, the leader has the final say, whereas in the employee-centered leadership style, input from the employees and well respected.

👇

The last leadership model discussed in this topic is The Ohio State University Leadership Model. This model narrows down effective leadership into two types of behaviour, people-oriented (consideration) and task oriented (initiating structure).

Aside from leadership styles, this topic also discusses several major motivation theories such as content motivation theories, process motivation theories and reinforcement theory, and how motivation can influence actions, which in turn influence the outcome of an event.

Here's what I thought...

After understanding three of these leadership models, I can see myself looking at top leaders of all times and analysing the way they lead.

Take Steve Jobs for example, he was an autocratic leader who took up the responsibility in making decisions and setting the direction for his company. He surrounded himself with like-minded, agreeable individuals who would follow his lead and execute his visions his way. This sets Apple up for an industry-defining success. 

On the other hand, Nelson Mandela, a charismatic democrat, took a different approach in leadership. While Mandela was the leader of the Congress, he inspired his people by helping them understand the values and importance of his visions. He encouraged them to develop their own understanding of what is important for the country, like the fight for equality by eliminating racial discrimination. This inspiring leadership has contributed to helping the country with overcoming the apartheid and developing it into a stable modern democracy.

This proves that there is no right or wrong when it comes to leading a team. Different situation calls for different leadership styles and to me, the best leadership style is the one that maximises a team’s potential and elevates the team to success. With this in mind, motivation plays a very important role. No matter how excellent a leader and his employees are, without the right drive of motivation, there is no reason for a team to put their shoulders to the wheel to achieve success.

In my profession as a teacher, I am a leader in the classroom. I found that to younger children, I tend to take the autocratic style to make sure that they become literate. I believe in building good habit in the young age so that self-directed learning can be supported later. With my year 6 pupils, I enjoy being their friend and their sister. Of course there are some strict rules in classroom. For instance, do not swear, work should be done nicely and punctually. However, I have given them more space to decide the progress of getting things done. They can either do it in groups or alone, use a dictionary or ask a friend. As long as learning occurs, they can have their fun while learning. 

Just like leadership, there's no one style that suits all in teaching and learning. I enjoy exploring different leadership style with different kids. That's the fun in being a teacher. 😙😙

💫💫

Reflection - Topic 2 Leadership Traits and Ethics

Topic 2 - Leadership Traits and Ethics

This is my favourite topic! :) 💓💙💚💛💜

In this lesson, I've learned about traits and personality, the big 5 personality dimensions, universality traits of effective leaders, achievement motivation theory, theory X and Y, Pygmalion effect and positive self concept. 

What I have learned...

What differences do traits and personality have got? 

Traits are consistent, long lasting, innate and inherited characteristics, behaviours and feelings. Warm or cold, loud or quiet, passive or aggressive are some example of a person's traits. 

Personality is the collection of characteristic thoughts, feelings, and behaviours that are associated with a person. It is a combination of traits that classifies an individual’s behaviour therefore they are partly innate and partly learned. 

Why learn about personality traits? 

Personality influences the decisions we make. Personality affects behaviour as well as perceptions and attitudes. Knowing personalities helps you to explain and predict others’ behaviour and job performance. Understand own self’s personalities enable us to reflect on ourselves and make changes and improvements on our leadership skills. 

The Great Man Theory

It was assumed that leaders are born, not made, therefore, leadership attributes are innate / gifted. When there's a great need, a great leader will arise. This theory is the scholarship of leadership traits. However, there are criticism for this theory which are the lack of scientific validity. Also, it strongly stands that society is shaped by leaders which may not be entirely true. 

 Trait Leadership Theory 

Trait leadership theory advocates that effective leaders have in common a pattern of personal characteristics. Some core traits suggested are achievement drive, leadership motivation, honesty and integrity, self-confidence, cognitive ability, knowledge of business and emotional maturity. The strength of the theory is that it is intuitive and easily understandable. Also, it has ample of supporting research. On the other hand, the traits are subjective and endless, even perhaps biased. There's consideration neither on of the environment not the follower. It's focus is on leaders only. 

The Big Five Model of Personality 👇

Theory X & Theory Y 👇

Pygmalion Effect 👇

Achievement Theory 👇

3 levels of Moral Development 👇

What I thought...

I enjoyed this topic very much because it describe the nature of human mind. It is easily understandable and it make sense. Everyone of us has traits that we are proud of, and of course not so proud of. These traits affect our decisions and decide what kind of leader we are going to be. The traits theory is like the basic of everything else. However, I do have some concerns about how the environment can affect leadership style. After all, leading and following is a two way communication. So, how does it affect one another? 

To understand my traits and personality, I took some tests and those are absolutely interesting. 

Here's the results of Myer Briggs personality test. I am an INFJ-T person. I think this describes me pretty accurately. According to my informal observation, this test describes my friends and colleagues very accurately too. I trust the test results a lot.  

 

This, on another hand, is the results from The Big Five Personality Test, which I think make sense but not very reliable. Why would I thought so? According to my results, all traits have similar scores, except for Extraversion which is relatively low. My interpretation to my result is that I am have a well-rounded personality, with my most dominant personality neuroticism. If compared to the Myer Briggs Personality test, the Big Five Personality Test makes more sense and give more meaning for my analysis. 

Openness 75%

Contentiousness 79%

Extraversion 46%

Agreeableness 60% 

Neuroticism 87.5% 

For my high neuroticism (I think emotional instability is a bad bad thing), I prescribe myself the Pygmalion effect. Since people are influenced by the expectations built upon them, I have asked my family members and my close friends to constantly remind me how happy I can be in my life and how much I should be grateful to my life now. It reminds me also how I have told my little ones in classrooms. 

'Wow! That's great. See, you've done it! I was so sure of you! Well done and keep it up!'

Those are my most used sentences in class. Now I know, it is Pygmalion effect! I am doing it right and I should continue. Hopefully I can lead my pupils to develop positive self concept. 

The motivation theory, the X theory and Y theory affect me much too. I am now more aware of my actions and consequences. Hopefully I can better lead my pupils to grow to be confident learners. 

The question for this topic is that, do we still have Theory X managers? Of course, of course. 

Why? Because everyone has got a choice to decide what they wish to be. Theory X is apparently easier for those people because it supports pointing finger to the followers when things are not done as how they want it to be. In the 21st century, that is not a trend for leadership. Co-lead and common goals are better options, definitely. Although I do not agree much with Theory X, I am in no position to judge anyone who chooses this because I am not in their shoes and I have no understanding in their followers and situations.  

This is indeed an interesting topic. 💪

Reflection - Topic 1 Introduction to Leadership

Topic 1 - Introduction to Leadership

In this lesson, I've been introduced to leadership and leadership theories.

Here's what I've learnt...

Leadership is the influencing process of leaders and their followers, with the aim to achieve organisational objectives through change. A leader is someone who possess leadership skill, therefore can be defined as an individual who influence a group of people towards achievement of goals. Leadership is essential in the 21st century as a leader with good leadership skills is able to lead his team through crisis or any difficult situations. Also, having good leadership skills can enable a leader to excel in organisational performance, fulfil employee job satisfaction and ensure the success of management. An effective leader often set realistic and reliable objectives and influence change for continual improvement. Also, the management of interpersonal relationship is of utmost importance as a good leader should be able to work with people.  As this is an introductory lesson, we were also exposed to the 4 main leadership theories, including the trait theory, behavioural theory, contingency theory and integrative theory. 

Here's what I thought...

    Before the lesson, I have never seen myself as a leader. I don't even like the idea of being a leader. Through reflection, I realised that everyone can be a leader. I am a teacher - I am a leader in my classroom and my followers are my little kids. A mother can be a leader too - she manages the household and co-lead the family with a father, their followers are their children. Everyone, I realised, everyone, can be a leader. 

    While leadership cannot be specifically defined, the keywords that I have grasps today regarding leadership are INFLUENCE, CHANGE, PEOPLE and OBJECTIVES. In my opinion, influence and change are the major component I look into as an English language teacher while being a leader in classrooms. I am the leader and my children are my followers. While organising classroom activities and managing pupils' work, I set SMART objectives and work with my children to discuss and negotiate the achievements and progress. Every class (team) and every children (follower) has different mood and styles. To ensure their learning (objectives), I have to understand them and embrace them to lead them towards achievement objectives. 

What is the best leadership style?

    Since there is no strong definition to what leadership is, there is no say to what is the best leadership style. However, I could describe what kind of leader that I like and what kind of leader that I aspire to be. So, here it is...

    I have a perfectionist personality and I enjoyed working with people who organised roles and responsibility fairly and reasonably. I think, a good leader should be someone who is considerate of member's ability, assign reasonable yet challenging responsibilities and divide leadership duties. I believed that everyone has got a potential to develop into a leader, to understand what they are doing and why they are doing it, so that a team will always do the right things to work towards the same aim. So, I hope that a leader can allow questions and be open-minded to discuss about aims and progress. 

    To sum up the topic, I think I am starting to believe that I can be a leader, or be a good follower with leadership skills. I think this is a great start. 

:)