Self-Assessment Of Leadership, Collaboration, And Ethics
Self Assessment Of Leadership Collaboration And Ethics
Self-Assessment of Leadership, Collaboration, and Ethics Learner’s Name Capella University Collaboration, Communication, and Case Analysis for Master's Learners Self-Assessment of Leadership, Collaboration, and Ethics December, 2019 SELF-ASSESSMENT OF LEADERSHIP, COLLABORATION, AND ETHICS 2 Self-Assessment of Leadership, Collaboration, and Ethics A leader is responsible for promoting collaboration and fostering trust among team members. Trust among team members reflects mutual confidence in each other’s experience and expertise, thereby encouraging interdependence. Collaboration within the team helps achieve organizational goals. The first section of this assessment will address the importance of leadership, styles of leadership, styles of decision-making, forms of communication, and importance of collaboration.
The second section will address the relevance of ethics. The sections will discuss collaboration and ethics in a way that represents answers to a questionnaire provided by Western Medical Enterprises. Section 1: Leadership and Collaboration Experience Three years ago, I started working with ABC Laboratories Inc. as a marketing manager for its Houston branch. ABC Laboratories Inc. is a pharmaceutical company with its headquarters in New York City. The company has 24 branches across the United States of America.
I was leading a team of eleven members when a new project was initiated. This project involved marketing a new drug for influenza that was introduced by the laboratory’s research and development department. The objective of the new project was to understand the product and the target market and create a marketing plan within three months. As the leader of the marketing team, I was responsible for communicating the objective of the new project to the team. It was important to highlight the various processes that would be followed.
The team was informed the project would require not only collaboration within the marketing team but also collaboration with professionals from other departments such as sales, finance, and research and development. Commented [BC1]: For numbers less than three syllables they should be written out per APA guidelines. Twenty-four (24). SELF-ASSESSMENT OF LEADERSHIP, COLLABORATION, AND ETHICS 3 To meet the objective of the new project, I decided to follow the democratic style of leadership. My team comprised members from different age groups and ethnic backgrounds.
I wanted to involve each one of them and benefit from their experiences, creativity, and professional expertise. The democratic style of leadership encourages team members to be more participative and provide suggestions when required. I was responsible for ensuring there were no deviations and hiccups in the course of the project. Following the democratic style of leadership created an open-door policy for communication with the team members, encouraging the exchange of ideas and feedback (Kaleem et al., 2016). This not only motivated team members but also helped them develop a sense of ownership towards the project because their inputs were genuinely considered during decision-making.
This, in turn, decreased absenteeism and employee turnover and improved the team’s efficiency in meeting project objectives. Decision-making is a major element of leadership, and I chose the analytical and the behavioral styles of decision-making. Following the analytical style, I ensured that I collected and analyzed all project-related data to make decisions. Although time consuming, this decision- making style helps cover possible loopholes when considering a course of action. The behavioral style helped me foster trust in the team as I consulted the team members before finalizing any decision (Azeska, Starc, & Kevereski, 2017).
This helped assuage concerns members might have had and helped them stay up-to-date with the project’s progress. Although the project was successful, in hindsight, I would have employed the behavioral style of decision-making a lot more than the analytical style. This would have reduced the time I spent during the planning phase, which would have helped the team achieve the objectives of the project in a shorter time span (Azeska et al., 2017). Commented [BC2]: The first time the reference is used you need to write out all authors up to five (5). Then you use the first author last name, et al., for future citations in the paper. (Kaleem, Asad, & Khan, 2016).
SELF-ASSESSMENT OF LEADERSHIP, COLLABORATION, AND ETHICS 4 Communication is essential for the successful completion of any project. Effective communication ensures that team members are aware of objectives and there is no redundancy in the course of action. It was important to ensure communication between the marketing team members was clear. It was also essential communication between the marketing team and the teams from other departments was clear and objective. Transparency in communicating project requirements promoted coordination between the team members.
As a leader, I was assertive while communicating. Consequently, I could express my ideas and provide feedback in an honest and direct manner while also respecting my team members’ suggestions and opinions (Bocar, 2017). This was consistent with my chosen style of leadership and decision-making. I also made sure all channels of communication, formal or informal, were open, ensuring clarity in the tasks needing to be performed. Team members were assured they could approach me to discuss any problems or grievances, which made them feel more valuable to the organization.
This made the team feel more confident in my position as a leader. The right blend of communication and leadership styles was reflected in the commitment the team had to completing the project efficiently and effectively. As a leader, I was responsible for ensuring effective collaboration between team members from different ethnic backgrounds, age groups, and specializations. Such collaboration was important for knowledge sharing and fostering mutual trust, which led to the successful achievement of targets and objectives. To encourage team members to perform better both individually and as a team, a team-based reward system was introduced.
In this reward system, all monetary or nonmonetary incentives were linked to the achievement of team goals. This encourages team members to collaborate, develop confidence in each other’s skills, and delegate tasks based on the expertise of team members. This leads to the achievement of project objectives and enables team members to rely on each other’s work. High interdependence, within the team and with other departments, and an environment requiring cooperation promote collaboration (Gomez-Mejia & Franco-Santos, 2015). Using the team-based reward system, I was able to develop a concept of “we†rather than “me†in my team. This approach was initially resisted because the team was concerned about below-average performers bringing down the entire team’s incentives. However, through one-on-one conversations, workshops, mentoring, and outbound training, I was able to make the entire team believe in each other’s strengths and encourage them to help one another.
My experience in this project made me realize the importance of understanding the team’s requirements and ensuring their involvement in achieving a project’s objectives. Section 2: Ethics Experience As a health care executive, I have faced ethical challenges that can directly impact the lives of patients and their families. To handle these challenges effectively, I refer to the code of ethics devised by James Childress and Tom Beauchamp in Principles of Biomedical Ethics. This code of ethics outlines principles designed to help professionals in health care settings handle ethical challenges with integrity and honesty. The code of ethics document presents four principles: autonomy, justice, beneficence, and nonmaleficence.
When two or more of these ethical principles conflict with one another, an ethical dilemma arises. When I face an ethical dilemma in my professional life, I use the LEADS framework, which stands for lead self, engage others, achieve results, develop coalitions, and systems transformation, to make a fair decision (Levitt, 2014). The LEADS framework describes the abilities, skills, and knowledge an ethical leader requires at all levels in an organization. The fundamental aim of the health care sector is to sustain or improve the overall quality of life and create a health care system that is affordable, efficient, and accessible. As a marketing SELF-ASSESSMENT OF LEADERSHIP, COLLABORATION, AND ETHICS 6 manager, I recently faced an ethical dilemma regarding a new drug that was introduced by our company to treat the influenza outbreak in the United States of America.
This drug showed promising results in its testing stages and was approved for sale. The drug was a combination of three compounds that could treat influenza and was priced at $1,500 for (5) pills. For the effective treatment of influenza, an individual would likely need to consume at least fifteen pills. An assessment of the local target market revealed that 62% of the patients affected by influenza were from low-income households. These individuals found it difficult to afford such an expensive drug.
Justice, an ethical principle, emphasizes that medicinal resources and medical facilities should be fairly and equally distributed among all individuals who require it. Similarly, the principle of nonmaleficence emphasizes a health care executive should act keeping a patient’s welfare in mind and actively work toward preventing harm to the patient (Levitt, 2014). On understanding the target audience, I realized marketing an expensive product to a mostly low-income population went against the ethical principles of the health care profession. During an internal survey, we noticed the drug was distributed unequally. Individuals from high-income households could easily afford the drug. However, individuals from low-income households, who were mainly affected by the disease, could not afford the drug and became critically ill. The ethical principles of justice and nonmaleficence conflicted with the project’s initial objectives and posed an ethical dilemma. The main issue with this drug was its affordability. To resolve this, I set up a committee comprised of members from the research and development, sales, and finance teams. The committee’s purpose was clearly communicated.
The committee devised processes to make the drug more affordable and to increase its potency so a smaller dosage could be effective. After carefully considering ethical principles, the committee agreed to outsource the research and development of the drug to another organization. This organization was able to develop the drug at a much lower cost. Another method we implemented to reduce the drug’s cost was to use a cheaper, but equally effective, alternative to one of the compounds used in the drug. Thus, the cost of the drug was reduced to $750 for 10 pills, which was affordable for low-income households. Since the influenza outbreak was massive, these drugs were sold throughout the country and generated large profits for the company. I was able to efficiently resolve the ethical dilemma by following the LEADS framework. Conclusion The leader of a team of diverse individuals must understand the right leadership styles, decision-making techniques, and forms of communication. This helps in motivating the team and making them feel connected to organizational goals. While motivation is an important responsibility of a leader, it is also important to ensure actions are ethical.
A leader is not just responsible for the morale of the team he or she manages; the leader also has a responsibility to the stakeholders of the organization, whether internal or external. Following a defined framework of ethics sets an example for the team and the rest of the organization about the importance of ethical decision-making. SELF-ASSESSMENT OF LEADERSHIP, COLLABORATION, AND ETHICS 8 References Azeska, A., Starc, J., & Kevereski, L. (2017). Styles of decision making and management and dimensions of personality of school principals. International Journal of Cognitive Research in Science, Engineering and Education, 5(2).
Bocar, A. C. (2017). Aggressive, passive, and assertive: Which communication style is commonly used by college students? SSRN Electronic Journal. Gomez-Mejia, L. R., & Franco-Santos, M. (2015). Creating a culture of collaboration, innovation and performance through team-based incentive. In Berger, L., & Berger, D. (Eds), The Compensation Handbook (p. 199–203). Retrieved from based_incentives_Creating_a_Culture_of_Collaboration_Innovation_and_Performance Kaleem, Y., Asad, S., & Khan, H. (2016). Leadership styles & using appropriate styles in different circumstances. Retrieved from tyles_in_Different_Circumstances Levitt, D. (2014). Ethical decision-making in a caring environment: The four principles and LEADS. Healthcare Management Forum, 27(2), 105–107. Western Medical Enterprises Applicant Questionnaire Directions : Please provide responses to the two sections below. The expectation is that each response is from 1–2 pages in length (not including the information already present in this document which is approximately one page). You are expected to support your assertions, ideas, or opinions with at least two scholarly or professional resources where appropriate using current APA style and formatting. Section 1: Leadership and Collaboration Experience Briefly describe an instance where you were required to lead and motivate a team of professionals to collaborate. It does not need to be in a health care setting. If you have not lead a team of professionals before, use a different example. Next, analyze your approach to the challenge using specific examples. It is not important whether or not your efforts were successful. What is important is the approach you take to appraising your leadership and collaboration decisions and actions. Do the following: 1. Analyze your leadership of the project.
Paper For Above instruction
Effective leadership and collaboration are foundational for the success of any organizational initiative. In my experience leading a diverse team in a corporate marketing project, I realized the significance of choosing appropriate leadership styles and fostering a cooperative environment to achieve objectives efficiently.
The shared vision of the project was to develop a comprehensive marketing strategy for a new pharmaceutical product within a three-month timeline. From the outset, my leadership approach was primarily democratic, encouraging participation from team members of various backgrounds and expertise. This style facilitated open communication, generated diverse ideas, and increased buy-in from team members, which positively impacted their motivation and commitment (Kaleem, Asad, & Khan, 2016). I actively involved team members in decision-making processes, emphasizing the importance of their insights, which fostered a sense of ownership and accountability.
Throughout the project, decision-making was a combination of analytical and behavioral approaches. I relied on thorough data collection and analysis, characteristic of the analytical style, to inform strategic choices. Simultaneously, I prioritized behavioral decision-making by consulting team members for their opinions, which helped build trust and secure their engagement (Azeska, Starc, & Kevereski, 2017). While this blended approach was generally effective, I recognize that I could have applied a more behavioral decision-making style to streamline the process, potentially reducing planning time without compromising decision quality.
Communication played a vital role in maintaining clarity and coordination. I maintained an open-door policy, ensuring all team members could approach me with concerns or ideas. I also employed formal and informal communication channels, including regular meetings and instant messaging, to keep everyone aligned on objectives and task progress (Bocar, 2017). This transparent approach contributed to high levels of engagement and a collaborative atmosphere where team members felt valued and empowered.
To motivate the team, I implemented a reward system tied to collective performance, fostering a sense of solidarity and mutual accountability. This approach encouraged interdependence and collaboration, as team members relied on each other's skills to meet shared goals. Overcoming initial resistance about performance-based incentives required one-on-one discussions, workshops, and ongoing mentorship, which gradually built trust and aligned the team around common objectives (Gomez-Mejia & Franco-Santos, 2015).
Overall, my leadership experience underscored the importance of adaptable leadership styles, transparent communication, and fostering trust to enhance collaboration and motivation. While the project was successful in meeting its goals, future improvements would involve applying more behavioral decision-making techniques to reduce planning time further and increase efficiency.
References
- Azeska, A., Starc, J., & Kevereski, L. (2017). Styles of decision making and management and dimensions of personality of school principals. International Journal of Cognitive Research in Science, Engineering and Education, 5(2).
- Bocar, A. C. (2017). Aggressive, passive, and assertive: Which communication style is commonly used by college students? SSRN Electronic Journal.
- Gomez-Mejia, L. R., & Franco-Santos, M. (2015). Creating a culture of collaboration, innovation and performance through team-based incentive. In L. Berger & D. Berger (Eds.), The Compensation Handbook (pp. 199–203).
- Kaleem, Y., Asad, S., & Khan, H. (2016). Leadership styles & using appropriate styles in different circumstances. Retrieved from https://doi.org/xxxxx
- Levitt, D. (2014). Ethical decision-making in a caring environment: The four principles and LEADS. Healthcare Management Forum, 27(2), 105–107.