My Personal Leadership Style Catherine W. Dillon Western Governors University A successful leader always takes time to self-reflect and to looks for ways to improve their style and skills. Used the Seven Habits Profile to evaluate my present leadership style so I could understand my leadership style and be able to identify my strengths and weaknesses.

By doing this, I was able to identify where I had opportunities for improvement. Using SMART goals I will set courses of action for improvement.Seven Habits Profile There are nine categories within the Seven Habits Profile.

The profile revealed that I scored very good in seven Of the categories. In the final two categories I scored good. The highest ranking within the profile is outstanding.

I did not score that high on any of the nine categories. In seven of the categories I scored very well which means I am proficient in those areas but there is room for improvement. The final two categories I scored good which means there is a much more room for improvement. Scored high in the category of Think Win-win.This says that I am not a selfish leader and hat take in to consideration the thoughts and goals of others and always strive to find a solution that allows both sides to win. Scoring high in the Think Win-Win category tells me that but a great deal of time and energy in to doing what is best for my followers.

My lowest score was in the category of Sharpen the Saw. Reflecting back on the results of the Seven Habits Profile I find it very enlightening that I scored high in the Think Win-Win category and low in the Sharpen the Saw.That tells me that become too focused on being a leader and ignore my own physical and personal needs. I think it is important to maintain balance between your professional and personal life but by analyzing the results of the Seven Habits Profile, it is evident that I have been ignoring my personal life. Leadership Strengths My highest score in the profile was in category 7, seek first to understand. That is very accurate to the style of leadership I strive to accomplish. Try to remain open minded and attempt to understand the viewpoints and feelings of those around me.I believe that my style could best be characterized as a Transformational leader.

One of the behavioral strengths of the Transformational leader is that they pay attention to the needs of those that they lead (Ruddier, 2007). As a leader and an individual, my word is important to me. I scored a very good in category 1 an emotional bank account. Put a great amount of effort in delivering what promise to deliver, try to never think negatively about another person and I try to be kind to anyone that I may encounter during the day. That type Of style is very reflective of a Transformational leader.

I value my integrity. Integrity is the inundation that a good leader builds his life upon and they always care about the needs of others (Ruddier, 2007). Scored a very good in category 6, think win-win. I think that is very representative of who am as a person and a leader.

I enjoy helping others succeed and always try to find a solution to a problem that will make everyone happy. One of the four factors that reflects the Transformational leader is their individual consideration for others (Kindlier, 2001 They enjoy working with each individual and providing them with coaching and feedback. Leadership weaknesses. It is relatively easy to lead people where they want to go: the transformational leader must direct people to where they need to be to achieve the vision” (Illusions, 2011 , p. 501).

Am skilled at guiding an individual to where they need to be but I need to continue to develop my skills at inspiring my followers as a whole to go to where they need to be. A Transformational leader has the skill of providing inspirational motivation to those that follow (Kindlier, 2011). A successful leader must build a foundation with their lowers that begins with a foundation of their moral and ethical standards.That type of influence born out of trust (Kindlier, 2011).

My lowest score on the Seven Habits profile was category 9, sharpen the saw. That displays that I do not put my own personal health and relationships as a priority in my life. In order to be trusted based on my moral and ethical standards, it is important for me to pay an equal amount of attention to my physical and personal health. Being able to balance both professional and personal life displays to my followers my ability to maintain my moral and ethical tankards. Cored a very good in category 8, synergies, but there is a great deal of room for improvement in that category. Category 8 is all about getting the insight and opinions of others, looking outside of the box for solutions and eliciting opinions from others. I need to hone my skill of working collaboratively with others. “Success happens not because followers dutifully agree to go along but because leaders and followers learn from each other, come to a common understanding, and establish shared values”(Illusions, 2007).

Recommendations.I believe that the best ay for me to improve my leadership skills is to work on improving the four factors of Transformational leadership. The first factor is individualized influence. By displaying a high moral and ethical standard, a leader can begin a foundation that is built on trust (Kindlier, 2011 Helping followers see what is the right thing to do is Inspirational motivation. Intellectual stimulation, which is the fourth factor of Transformational leadership, helps the followers be creative and think outside of the box (Kindlier, 2011). The final factor is individualized consideration.My leadership could improve if I learned to develop that factor and giving individualized attention to my followers.

SMART Goals. My first SMART goal is to build trust and a bond with my followers. In order to achieve this goal I would like to work on my skill as a listener.

One important way to earn someone’s trust and respect is to listen to them. I will improve my listening skills by giving whoever is speaking to me my undivided attention. I will remove any distractions, maintain eye contact with the person that is speaking to me and will not speak or interrupt them until they have finished speaking.