MANAGING ORGANIZATION AND LEADING PEOPLE C200 1

Leadership Analysis

Becky A. Mead #334123

Western Governors University

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Contents

Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 3

Analysis of Signature Strengths .......................................................................................... 3

A. “Signature Themes” .................................................................................................. 3

A1. Results and Analysis of the CliftonStrengths Assessment........................................... 3

B. Leadership Theories .................................................................................................. 5

B1. Three Strengths in my leadership – Situational Leadership ..................................... 6

B2. Three weaknesses in my leadership – Situational Leadership .................................. 7

B3. Three actionable items to improve my leadership: ................................................... 7

C. Short Term Goals ...................................................................................................... 8

References ......................................................................................................................... 10
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Introduction

CliftonStrengths defined by one man’s research and vision on maximizing people’s infinite

potential. CliftonStrengths all started from a simple question from Don Clifton: “What would

happen if we studied what is right with people versus what’s wrong with people?” (Gallup, Inc,

2020). The question above resulted in the CliftonStrengths Assessment, which is currently used

in more than 90% of Fortune 500 companies to bring strengths-based development to their

workplace culture. The assessment also helps students like me. The assessment attached provides

me with my top five (5) advantages out of the possible 34 that have been identified by Mr. Clifton.

Those five provide the baseline that will allow me to grow as a student and, eventually, a leader.

Section A1 in this evaluation will give a clearer understanding of my five strengths: Belief,

Achiever, Responsibility, Arranger, and Input. The assessment will lead me to develop at least

two SMART goals that will help form skills and understanding in the leadership role.

Analysis of Signature Strengths

A. “Signature Themes”

Please see attached Exhibit “A”

A1. Results and Analysis of the CliftonStrengths Assessment

Belief (Executing) is the first in my top five. People with this dominant theme provide

clarity, conviction, and stable values. These values keep them on course during the

toughest times. The belief being the first makes sense. I have known for a long time, the

core of who I am is because of my understanding, not just spiritual, but how and why I do

things. It drives me to get things done, to try new things, and to keep myself grounded

when I think I cannot take anymore. Belief is the core of who I am. I believe that
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everything that I have been thru has been for a reason—then so I will be able to help

when time is required.

I refuse to let my shyness overcome me. I know unless I tell people who I am and how I

feel about something, they will not understand or remember me. One value that stood out on the

CliftonStrengths for Student especially caught my attention.

• Express your values outside of the workplace by volunteering for a hospital board,

school board, or community organization. (Gallup. Inc, 2020)

o I believe this! I want to pay it forward. I help high school students transition

from high school into college. Someone helped my son when he graduated,

and I wanted to be able to do the same. I also help with a non-profit for

veterans. I have three boys in the military, and I want to do my part now

because at some point in my boys’ lives, they will need help, and I can only

hope that someone else will pay it forward when it is required.

Achiever (Executing) – Item two of my Signature Themes. People exceptionally

talented in the Activator theme can make things happen by turning thoughts into action. (Gallup,

Inc., 2020)

The core of who I am is my belief. I like who I am and love my belief system. It also

motivates me and gives me the strength to achieve my goals. I face things; I don’t try to ignore

things most people don’t want to meet or accept.

Responsibility (Executing) – Being the third theme in my top five. People exceptionally

talented in the Responsibility theme take psychological ownership of what they say they will do.

They are committed to stable values such as honesty and loyalty. Responsibility means taking
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ownership of your promises and commitments. Knowing people can depend on and trust you

because they know you will take ownership of your work, your ethics, and your reputation.

Accepting responsibility can be demanding because you thrive on getting things completed

above the expected standard.

Arranger (Executing) – Arrangers are conductors. Shining examples of sufficient

flexibility. They are the 4th of my signature themes. Anyone with Arranger in their signature

themes, then they jump into the confusion and unexpected. There is always a way around

something. This why I accept challenges from businesses that are about to close their doors and

help find the issues of their business plan and how to help them survive.

Input (Strategic Thinking) - is the fifth and final theme on my CliftonStrengths. The

basic definition of input would be our desire to learn more and can never get enough information

to satisfy our curiosity. Since I’m continuing my education with my MBA and this being my

first course to achieve that goal, I’m pleased with having input as my final theme and strength.

All five themes do not define me, but they do give me the foundation of how and why I

do things. The reason I started my career, why I want to obtain my MBA, and how I’m able to

achieve my goals, one class at a time.

B. Leadership Theories

Leadership Theories and Styles: A Literature Review (Khan_PhD, Nawaz, & Khan_PhD,

2016) provides the depth of the seven Leadership theories. Out of the seven, I could be defined

by at least three of the methods: Transformation, Situational, and Participative.

Situational Leadership Theory would be the chosen leadership theoryFour out of five of

my signature themes are defined in the “Executing” domain. People with Executing dominant
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ideas know how to make things happen. The history of the Situational Leadership Theory was

first published in 1969 by Paul Hersey, and Ken Blanchard called Management of

Organizational Behavior. The authors argued that essentially there is not a “best” style to lead

independent of the situation at hand. (Hersey & Blanchard, 1969)

B1. Three Strengths in my leadership – Situational Leadership

Situational leadership theory proposes that effective leadership requires a rational

understanding of the situation and appropriate response. (McCleskey, 2014) I believe my three

strengths of my administration would be: Belief, Connectedness, and Empathy.

People with belief as one of their dominant themes provide clarity, conviction,

and stable values. We are also not afraid to voice our thoughts, importance, or opinions. Belief

is one of the strengths of Situational Leadership Theory because of the core value, motivation,

drive, and determination. These strengths can put a focus on the situation, and decisions can be

made based on circumstances at hand.

Connectedness believes everything happens for a reason. I do think of this as one

of my strengths. I believe everything happens for a reason, to help us learn a lesson for a bigger

picture that has yet to be revealed. This belief keeps me from getting angry, upset, or down,

because I know I needed to learn it that hard way to help me grow in whatever it is that is

coming. It gives me the strength not to give up and how I keep pushing thru when everyone else

sees a glass half empty. Connectedness being that everything happens for a reason will coincide

with the situational leadership theory because things learned will help the situation at that time.

Having empathy as part of the Situation Leadership can help individuals remain rational

instead of adding to the stress of the situation. Connecting with others, seeing them, hearing
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them, and understanding them can lead to empathic action. That action can result in a connection

and trust of your employees or clients. (Roberton, 2016)

B2. Three weaknesses in my leadership – Situational Leadership

I believe my three weaknesses of my leadership would be: Input, Futuristic, and

Competition.

An input could be a significant weakness in Situational Leadership Theory. With input

being one of my strengths, the desire for knowledge and understanding could hinder the ability

for decision making for any in the “moment” situation. If not, enough information provided,

then any decisions, responses, or ideas offered by the situational leader may be inappropriate for

the job. (Graeff, 1983)

Futuristic themes are inspired by the future and what it could be. They anticipate,

visualize, and imagine what the future could be or should be. This theme may be regarded as a

strength, but in Situational Theory Leadership, it’s a weakness. The weakness is they do not see

the immediate need, situation, or task at hand only the potential opportunities of the future.

Competition loves the measure their progress against the performance of others. This

represents a weakness for Situational Leadership Theory since a leader needs to adjust and adapt

to the situation or assignment at hand and not worry about outperforming their peers.

B3. Three actionable items to improve my leadership:

Three weaknesses that I have selected: Input, Achiever, and Responsibility that align with

Situational Leadership. Below is a breakdown of three actionable items that will help improve

my leadership skills.

Having input as one of my themes, being inquisitive comes naturally to me. Still, it also

has downfalls, staying focused, or finding a career that will keep me interested. One of my
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actions would be finding a job that will keep me charged, engaged, and challenged. Learning

new information each day and provide a situation that will allow me to share my knowledge with

others. Having input can help in Situational Leadership since knowing the facts of a given field

either from curiosity or career could help with the problem at hand.

Achiever is another strong theme for me. My action is to learn to accept there are more

ways to get things done than just my way and to rely on my team and their capabilities in the

situation. In Situational Leadership, understanding my team skills, education, and knowledge

will help develop the talents needs to succeed in any situation that may arise.

Finally, Responsibility. I naturally take ownership of everything from family life, school,

and work. My action item on this will be to learn to say “no.” Becoming selective on what I

agree to take responsibility for and learn to let go and allow others with the same drive and focus

on showing their skills, growth, and development. (The Gallup Organization, 2020) Situational

Leadership means delegating responsibility to others that would be best fitted to handle the

situation or problem.

C. Short Term Goals

Obtaining my MBA is my goal to improve my leadership. My short term goals to

accomplish my objective will be one connecting with my mentor, and two create a realistic

schedule to balance my work, school, and family responsibilities.

1) Connecting with my mentor every two weeks to make sure I’m staying on task and

within the timeframe to allow me to finish my MBA within two years. This short

term goal is achievable since I have adjusted my work schedule to allow time to

speak with my mentor during my lunch break.

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2) I would reach out to the course instructor within the first week of my course is

activated. I will ask for advice and guidance that will allow me to complete the

course in an efficient timeframe. I would create an action plan based on the course

instructor’s recommendations. This goal will be achievable and realistic since I

created an office space at home and created a schedule for my family. This plan

would be taking some of my typical responsibilities and delegating them to other

family members. The modified schedule will allow me to study two to three hours a

night as needed to complete my action plan recommended by my course instructor.

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References

Gallup, Inc. (2020, April 2). The History of CliftonStrengths. Retrieved from gallup.com:

https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/253754/history-cliftonstrengths.aspx

Gallup, Inc. (2020, April 7). CliftonStrengths Quick Reference Card. Washington, DC, US.

Retrieved from wgu.gallup.com.

Gallup. Inc. (2020, April 7). CliftonStrength for Students. Retrieved from wgu.gallup.com:

https://wgu.gallup.com/application/strengthsquest#resources_videos_belief

Graeff, C. (1983, Vol 8 2). Academy of Managemetn Review. The Situational Leadership

Theory: A Critical View, pp. 285-291.

Hersey, P., & Blanchard, K. H. (1969). Management of Organizational Behavior. Englewood

Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Kaiser, R. B., & Kaplan, R. E. (2013, April 4). Don’t Let Your Strengths Become Your

Weaknesses. Retrieved from Harvard Business Review: https://hbr.org/2013/04/dont-let-

your-strengths-become

Khan_PhD, Z. A., Nawaz, D., & Khan_PhD, I. (2016). Leadership Theories and Styles: A

Literature Review. Journal of Resources Development and Management, Vol 16.

McCleskey, J. A. (2014). Situational, Transformational, and Transactional Leadership and

Leadership Development. Journal of Business Studies Quarterly;, 117-130.

Roberton, R. (2016, March 17). The Strength of Empathy. Retrieved from DENT: Key Person of

Infuence: http://www.keypersonofinfluence.com/the-strength-of-empathy/

The Gallup Organization. (2020, April 12). Clifton Strengthsfinder Resouce Guide. Retrieved

from Clifton Strengths Finder:

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http://students.sunyocc.edu/uploadedFiles/_Shared_Content/Departments_and_Offices/O

ther_Groups/StrengthsQuest/Mgmt%20ResourceGuide.pdf