buy custom The Leader Followers essay

buy custom The Leader Followers essay I always thought that being a leader is both enjoyable and simple. I dreamt of being a leader so that I could attain fame and secure recognition. My case happened in the university during the just completed summer semester. One of the classes that I attended last semester required us to participate in a group project. I found this as an exciting opportunity to demonstrate my leadership skills since I wanted my group to attain the best grades in the project. I readily accepted the role of the group leader where I was expected to control the whole group and ensure that the work was done properly. My followers included five girls who came from different colleges. The fact that the five female students came from different colleges confirmed the diversity that existed between them. However, I was able to control the group by applying effective leadership skills, and I was very optimistic that the same would continue throughout the project. However, the one-month period coincided with Ramadan. It was the worst scenario in the whole process. The attention of the group was diverted to Ramadan, and it became very hard to control them. We first met with the five girls after the end of a lecture, when the lecturer had just suggested that the whole project was to be completed in group work. We engaged in a face-to-face conversation, and we all decided to combine our efforts and work together. Everyone longed for good marks and thus they vowed to work hard to attain the same. We appointed one of the girls to become a leader, but she hesitated. She claimed to have no prior experience in leading people, and that was it. They offered me to lead the group, and since I wanted to see my group progress well, I readily took the position. This time, I vowed to take co-opting antagonistic as my tactic (DuBrin, 2013). I was determined to engage all the students in the whole process so that they could easily make their contributions and recommendations. We had one more month to go, and we were expected to complete the work urgently. During the first week, the group was very committed. We had a superb relationship, and no one coul d have imagined that it would change. We remained optimistic that we would work together till the end of the assignment. I believed that a good relationship that prevailed at that time was due to the dedicated attention that everyone gave to the project. The group members followed me because they had a lot of trust in me (DuBrin, 2013).The saw my commitment to see the group work done within the shortest time possible and I ,in turn, strongly influenced them in one way or another. I was a team player, and I did my best to ensure that I completed my tasks earlier than the other group members (DuBrin, 2013). I reserved time and commitment for this group since I felt that I had interest in its success. I adopted the habit of collecting the group work earlier, and I had a check of it prior to presenting the same to the lecturer. No significant change occurred in the initial stages of the project. Everyone was up to the task; they completed their assignments on time, and they made their submission in advance. I was very impressed, and I maintained my optimism that my group would receive good grades in the end. However, the group lost track at the end of the third week (DuBrin, 2013). Three girls started behaving in an awkward way. They could not attend the group meetings as it was the case before. Our group faced a lot of challenges during this time. We missed important presentations and, as a consequence, we lost a lot of marks. We never submitted our reports as it was the case in the previous weeks. The other group members were overworked since we could not have continued missing presentations. I was optimistic that this would not last for long. However, the trend continued, and I decided to take an action. I decided to contact the girls. I called and texted them several times, and I received no response. I thought that this was the most justified way, since reporting them to the teacher could have cost them a lot. Some of the girls responded and clarified that the month of Ramadan was a very crucial event, and they vowed to catch up with us as soon as possible. I had to work with two girls who were complaining because of the heavy workload. I always made a personal appeal to the two girls so that they could remain motivated and active. I was very kind to these girls. We enjoyed a superb relationship, where respect and discipline prevailed. I played the role of an inspiring leader who was always ready to help (Van Vliet, 2014). I assisted them whenever they needed any assistance and at no one point did I let them down. According to Vincent van Vliet, the main source of power is the referent (Van Vliet, 2014). The girls had already developed some trust in me and many termed me as their role model. I used this power to persuade them to act responsibly and submit their assigned parts at the right time (Van Vliet, 2014). I also helped them to complete their tasks whenever they had issues. Furthermore, I influenced them positively and I constantly used polite words so as to ensure that they remained on the right track (Van Vliet, 2014). I avoided arguments and confrontations even with the members who were not participating. My main tactic of influence was adopting the tactic of leading by example (DuBrin, 2013). I always ensured that I shared the tasks equally, and I was the first one to complete the task. The style had some benefits and setbacks that hurtled me. While the members remained committed to the process, some of them did not work as expected. The same seriously hurt the whole group. For example, some members lost commitment. However, despite the setback, at the end of the project, the group members marveled at my positive attitude that I displayed during the whole process; my positive attitude inspired and moved them (DuBrin, 2013). The members confessed that they had acquired leadership skills from the experience. At the end of it all, we all agreed to retain the same group in the coming semester. To my amazement, I discovered that even the three girls who had lost the commitment to the group were delighted. I was successful influencing my group members. The key factors leading to success was the strong commitment that I maintained throughout the whole process (DuBrin, 2013). A positive attitude and the good etiquette that prevailed throughout the whole process explain the reasons for success. Leading by example is another factor that led to my success. My success was measured by the comments of the group members who commented positively on how I influenced them. The end results of the project are also a good indicator that I succeeded in influencing my group. 800x600 Normal 0 false false false RU X-NONE X-NONE ![endif]> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"ОÐ ±Ã'‹Ã'‡Ð ½Ã °Ã'  Ã'‚Ð °Ã ±Ã »Ã ¸Ã'†Ð °"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} Buy custom The Leader & Followers essay