MAN6304 Leadership Models Assignment Sample

• Subject Code : MAN6304
• University : Edith Cowan University My Assignment Services is not sponsored or endorsed by this college or university.
• Subject Name : Leadership and Management

Project Leadership - Task 1

Leadership is defined as the skills of a person or an organisation to guide and further direct the efforts of the team members in the direction of pre-determined goals and objectives. Leadership is crucial for every company to ensure that all the activities and actions undertaken by the team members offer maximum productivity to the company as a whole. Along with this, leadership also ensures that the team members are motivated at all point of times (Bolman& Deal, 2017). The leader tries to build cohesiveness among the team members to make them ready for the team activities and to make them equipped with the skills that would help in achieving the team objectives (Lindegaard, 2010).

Several leadership models can be used to determine the skills and expertise of the team members involved in a task (Mendenhall et al., 2017). These models help in providing a better understanding of the skills and the way these have added to the outcomes of the teamwork. One of such models is Adair's action centred model of leadership. This model provides a blueprint for management and the leadership undertook in a team or organisation. The model highlights three main areas where according to the model good leaders and manager have a command overall all these three areas. Along with this, the model also states that a good leader should have enough knowledge about the best way to use these elements depending on the situation. The three elements that have been discussed in this model includes the core responsibilities of management that include achieving tasks, managing people and further managing team (White et al., 2017). The model has further provided details about the managerial responsibility for the task, the managerial responsibility for the team and the managerial responsibility for the people by the leader. Along with this, the model has also highlighted some of the core functions or skills of leadership which can be used to determine the skills of team members as well (Hooper& Potter, 2019).

The in-depth evaluation of the model and the number of aspects that the model has covered provides details about the key concepts that can be implemented in a practical situation. In this respect, the model can be used in determining the skills of the team members. The team comprised of four team members namely: Raman, Imran, Dasrat and Junu. The teamwork and tasks were divided among the four-team members as per their skills and the expertise which helped in completing the teamwork. Raman was good at seeking and collecting information from several sources. Along with this, the experience of the team member in handling teams has helped in gaining the ability to delegate the tasks among the team for ensuring that the team can meet the goals within the defined timeline. Lastly, Raman had better knowledge about the way to define the objectives and aims of a team by taking suggestions from each of the team members and understanding the current scenario within which the team would work. The past role as the team leader had helped Raman in acquiring these. The linking of the model with the role played by Raman helps in understanding that Raman had outstanding skills in the area of planning. Raman was able to define the objectives and further understand the behaviour of other team members which in turn helped in the determination of defining tasks (Bocean et al., 2018).

In addition to this, Junu who was a part of the team also played a crucial role in the team. Junu had the distinct skill set where he was able to ensure that the progress of the team and the work is going as per the pre-determined plans and standards defined. Junu ensured that the team in maintaining the standard at all point of time and that there is no deviation of any kind. Junu also undertook the responsibility of highlighting any significant deviation that the team incurred while approaching the goals and completing the teamwork. It was due to the role played by Junu n the team that the team was able to perform the task while considering the standards determine before the start of the tasks and the teamwork. Along with this, Junu was also effective in ensuring effective ongoing decision making within the team at all point of time. The role played by Junu in the team, therefore, added to the success of the team in every sense. The use of Adair's model highlights that these activities where Junuoutperformed the others can be clubbed under the controlling skill as held by him. Junu was therefore effective in controlling which is one of the key skill that has helped in the success of teamwork.

Furthermore, Darat was another important person in the team where Dasrat held unique skills in the area of managing people. Darat was able to notice the contribution of each of the team member during the teamwork and thus was able to recognise each of the contributions to the successful accomplishment of the team goals and the objectives. Darat ensured that each of the team members was motivated whenever an extraordinary effort was undertaken by the team member. Along with this, the positive behaviour and nature of Dasrat during the teamwork helped in boost the spirit of the team even at the times when the team faced challenges and some of the other sort of difficulties. In addition to this, Dasrat several times displayed the ability to reconcile in the team where any of team member argued with the other and such arguments were creating differences and issues among the team members. In this respect, Darat was able to recall the importance of good interpersonal relationship within the team members and the role played by positive team environment in the achievement of the team goals and to ensure that every team member is effectively contributing towards the team goals. The implementation of Adair's model to the scenario highlights the Dasrat was good at the supporting skills that have been highlighted in the model as one of the key skills of an effective leader. This leadership helps in boosting the morale of the team member and further ensuring that the team members are encouraged for their efforts.

Last but not the least, Imran was another integral part of the team where Imran also played a unique role in helping the team to perform outstanding and further achieve the goals and objectives of the team at all times. Imran played the role in the area of task classification and solving any queries that the team members faced in the plans. Furthermore, Imran was also good at interpreting which helped the team in solving complex scenarios and challenges that came in their way to achieve the team goals and objectives. The unique skills as helped the Imran enabled the team to overcome challenges and further progress forward in work. In addition to this, Imran played an active role in keeping a check upon any new requirement or update and then informed the team member about the same. The implementation of Adair's model to the role played by Imran highlights that Imran holds effective skills in the area of informing. Imran has going informing skills which are considered to be a key attribute of a leader as per this model.

Among the various model, Adair's action centred leadership model was selected. The selection of this model was based on several reasons. One of the key reasons behind the selection of this model is how it focuses on three different aspects at the same time that includes the achievement of the task, development of individual and the development of the team as a whole. The model has further effectively highlighted the managerial responsibilities of the leader for the task, the managerial responsibilities of the leader for the team and the managerial responsibilities of the leader for the individuals (Owen, 2017). Along with this, the model has also been selected considering the wide application of the same in several areas and the ability of the model in effectively understanding the extensive role played by the leader. The model has helped determine the leadership skills that each of the people in a team holds and how these skills can effectively add to the team success. The model was therefore selected after considering several aspects where the model proved to be the most effective one among all the other models that have been listed in the module.

The team roles of the assignment team members can, therefore, be determined with the help of Adair's action-centric model of leadership. The model has depicted some of the key roles that are played by the leader which includes the function of planning, initiating, controlling, supporting, informing and lastly the function of evaluating (Kunnanatt, 2016). The role played by the assignment team members in the successful completion of the assignment and in ensuring the assignment scores high grades. Each of the team members have played a distinctive role in the completion of the assignment where the roles can be linked to the one highlighted in the model. The model has highlighted the responsibility of the leaders concerning the task, the team and the individual. The model has therefore provided with the responsibility of a leader in achieving the team goals (Adair, 2011). Therefore, each of the team members has played an equal and crucial role in ensuring that there is the development of individual team members and the development of the team while at the same time there is the accomplishment of the task.

As highlighted above, the evaluation of Adair's action-centric leadership model along with the analysis of the role played by each of the team members helps in linking the roles of the model to that of the team members. From the model, it can be inferred that Raman had better knowledge about the way to define the objectives and aims of a team by taking suggestions from each of the team members and understanding the current scenario within which the team would work. This way the role played by Raman in the team and as per the model is that of planning. Raman's part during the assignment work can help in understanding that the planning skills added to the effectiveness of accomplishing the task and further ensuring that the plans were aligned with the needs of the team. The role of planning is appropriate for Raman as the activities as performed by Raman as part of the team has helped the team in ensuring effective planning of the actions and the planning the way which the team would undertake the roles.

Furthermore, Junu undertook the responsibility of highlighting any significant deviation that the team incurred while approaching the goals and completing the teamwork. It was due to the role played by Junu in the team that the team was able to perform the task while considering the standards determine before the start of the tasks and the teamwork. This way the role that Junu has played in the team and as per the model can be categorised under controlling. Junuensured that there is timely identification of deviation and the progress of the work is being Junurecorded timely. The role of control is appropriate for Junu as the activities as performed by Junu as part of the team has helped the team in ensuring that the team is not deviating from the plans and the performance of the team is as per the directions.

In addition to this, Dasrat undertook the responsibility of boosting up the morale of the team members by recognising their efforts and also ensuring that all the conflicts arising among the team members are resolved there and then. Darst also ensured that the team members are working in a positive environment where he always tried to create a happy culture or work. This way the activities as undertaken by Dasrat can be clubbed under the role of supporting as highlighted through the model. The role is appropriate as Dasrathas been supportive to the team at all times. During the challenging times, Dasrat has been a source of motivation which has helped everyone else come back into the play and offer their respective expertise and contribution in the completion of an assignment.

Lastly, Imran played the role in the area of task classification and solving any queries that the team members faced in the plans. Furthermore, Imran was also good at interpreting which helped the team in solving complex scenarios and challenges that came in their way to achieve the team goals and objectives. The unique skills as helped the Imran enabled the team to overcome challenges and further progress forward in work (Prilipko, 2019). This way the role as played by Imran accruing to the model can be categorised under that of informing. The role is appropriate in the way that Imran ensures that all the team members are aware of the updates and changes taking place which can impact the teamwork and the plans determined in advance.

Project Leadership - Task 2

1. Among the five projects that have been identified for the task assessment, some of the key project leadership criteria can further help in the development of the project ranking system. The project ranking system is a system that enables the ranking of various project leadership criteria based on their relevance to leadership. The ranking system, therefore, helps in the understanding of the importance of each of the leadership criteria and how it can add to the efficiency of the leader.

Following are the five projects that had been researched and identified:

1. In one of the project during the internship, the team leader was had some of the key skills that a leader can have. The leader was able to motivate the team but had faced some of the challenges due to the poor communication skills where the leader was not that effective as a listener. The leader did not listen to the views and the issues that the team members had faced which due to which the leadership style used by the person was ineffective.
2. Another project that was a part of the work experience where the team was able to outperform itself highlights the effective skills of the leader in the area of delegation and empowerment. The leader was able to delegate the work among the team member based on their skills and the level of expertise they hold. This enabled active participation from each of the team members which in turn added to the effectiveness of the leader. The delegation of work empowered the team member where the team member felt a need to offer their valuable corporation towards the team objectives.
3. A project that was given as a part of the work required the team leader to devote all the skills and energy due to the complex and the challenging nature of the work. The team leader showed commitment and passion which helped the leader to accept the challenges and hurdles that can in the way and ultimately achieve the goals and objectives of the team. The commitment and the passion of the leader towards the objectives and the team members enabled the leader to motivate the team member and draw maximum output from their efforts and contributions towards the objectives.
4. Another project during the course where a group activity was given and the team members were required to work in a group and perform the tasks which were then evaluated by the professor. The team leader who was among the other team members undertook the responsibility of leading the team and further meeting the team objectives. The team was able to perform the task effectively due to the decision-making skills of the leader where the leader took the responsibility of making the key decisions and further assigning the role to every member of the team. The effective decision-making skills of the leader enabled the team in the allocation of time and resources among several activities.
5. Another group project as a part of the course required the team leader to play a key role where the team members were required to be supportive at all point of time. This was mainly due to the reason that the goals and targets of each of the team member were very challenging and required them to devote extra efforts and hard work. The leader, therefore, inspired all the team members during the completion of the project.

2. The list of project leadership criteria that have been determined from the projects includes good communication, decision-making skills, commitment and passion, delegation and empowerment as well as inspiration for others. The above-identified project leadership criteria are considered to be good by the group members to good leadership practice. The detailed evaluation of each of the project leadership criteria helps in gaining understanding about them. Good communication is one of the key project leadership criteria requires a leader to have good skills in the area of communication. In this respect, the leader should not only hold effective speaking skills but at the same time, the leader should also hold effective listening skills where the person can listen to the ideas, thought, issues and other viewpoints of each of the team member (Goldenhar et al., 2019). This would, in turn, add to the decision-making skills of the leader. In addition to this, good communication skills require the leader to be both effective in verbal and non-verbal communication which would have a direct impact on the performance of the team members.

Furthermore, another key project leadership criteria that have been identified for the project leadership is that of decision-making skills. The leader is required to have decision-making skills where the individual can take effective decision while considering the viewpoints and suggestions from all the team members to ensure their participation as well. Along with this, the leader should also hold commitment and passion towards the team and its objectives at all times. In this respect, the leader should be able to understand the objectives where the individual should offer full support to the team in the achievement of the goals. Along with this, the leaders should be passionate to achieve the goals and the objectives in any way. The same should be represented by the leader in each action and the decision that is taken for the team as a whole (Kodish et al., 2017).

In addition to this, the list of project leadership criteria further includes the skill of the leader in the area of delegation and empowerment. The leader should be able to understand and further trust the team member on their skills and the expertise that the team members hold. This would assist the leader in delegating some part of the work to the team member based on their skills and knowledge in the areas. Along with the delegation of work, the leader should be able to empower the team members where they can take certain decisions on their own and further understand the impact of this decision on the performance of the team. Moreover, the list of the project leadership criteria is inclusive of the key skill which highlights the ability of the leader to inspire other as the leader and thus direct the efforts of the team members in the direction of the predetermined goals and objectives for each of the team member. All the above-highlighted skills can be considered as most important for a leader (Oza et al., 2018).

The effective acquiring of these skills assists the leader in ensuring that the team is guided and directed in the best way possible and that team is motivated at all times. All these skills face very relevantly for the project leadership theory as well as project management. These skills ensure that the leader is effectively directing and guiding the team member while ensuring that they are motivated and committed towards the work at all times. Along with this, it also ensures that the team members are inspired and delegated with work and at the same time are empowered to take some of the key decisions (Karagianni & Jude Montgomery, 2018). The following is the project ranking system comprising of the above-identified project leadership criteria:

3. The following is the ranking of each of the identified project team member according to the leadership ranking system of criteria that have been developed in the previous section:

4. The role and the contribution of each of project team members can be linked with the project leadership theory, practical project management and the project success.

The project leadership theory named as the Great person theory is the one which states that some individuals are born with characteristics that make them different from others and these attributes enable them to take the position of authority and power (Kunnanatt, 2016). The above ranking system depicts the skills or attributes in each of the team members. Das has effective communication skills where it has helped in acquiring a key position in the team and provided the responsibility of motivating others and supporting each of them. Along with this, this skill or attribute has also enabled Dasrat to inspire others and the support offered by Dasrat to others helps others in directing their efforts positively towards the objectives. Along with this, Raman possessed good skills in the area of decisions making. This way Raman has been able to undertake the role of planning for the team and devising goals that can be achieved by each of the team members. This has enabled Raman to acquire a distinct position in the team which has added to the success of work. Along with this, Raman has been effective in the area of delegation and empowerment. Raman has undertaken the role of devising objectives and further assigning each person with a unique role. This has led to a delegation of work and providing others with empowerment. Along with this, Junu who had been responsible for controlling the task has shown commitment and passion towards the work. Junu had taken the responsibility of ensuring that there is no deviation in the work and has worked to undertake changes to correct deviations.

Along with this, the role played by each of the team members can be linked with practical project management. Each of the skills and expertise as held by the team member can effectively contribute towards the accomplishment of the project. Under project management, there are some of the key functions and activities that are required to be performed. This includes planning, executing, controlling and closing. All the function requires the team members and the team leader to hold some skills. The skills as held by all the above-identified team members can, therefore, enable the effective management of the project. The skills of Raman would ensure effective planning while Dasrat can be made responsible for execution. The task of controlling of a project can be undertaken by Imran while Junu can ensure that the project is closed and deliverables are provided to the stakeholders. All these skills will, in turn, add to the project success. The effective communication skills, decision-making skills, delegation and empowerment of the team members, the inspiration to each of the team member and the commitment and passion will ensure that all the team members collectively work for the accomplishment of the team objectives (Osmane& Brennan, 2018). This way the team would be able to meet the project objectives within the stipulated time frame and while working within the predefined budget for each of the tasks.

5. The above activities together have provided a series of lesson that is learnt. Along with this, the above sections have also helped in devising some of the key recommendations would be highlighted below.

a. The activities provided a series of lessons. Among the first lesson that can be learnt from the above activities is the role of leadership in the team. The activities have therefore helped in understanding that leadership is very crucial for the team or the company in achieving the objectives and goals. Along with this, it has also helped in understanding that leadership enables a person to direct the efforts in the direction of pre-determined goals and objectives. Leadership influences the efforts of others in such a way that the team members can contribute to the best of their abilities and further ensure that the team members make use of their skills and expertise to help the team in meeting the objectives.

Furthermore, the activities have also helped in the understanding of several leadership models that apply to several areas and disciplines. The understanding has been more extensive for Adair's action-centric model that has been applied in the above task. In addition to this, the activities have enabled in the evaluation of the key skills and expertise as held by each of the team members. The activities have assessed the role of each of the team members in the group task and how they have added to the objectives. 

The evaluation has helped the team members in understanding how they have contributed towards the teamwork and the areas that can be considered as their strengths while the areas that can be considered as their weaknesses. Moreover, the activities have also enabled the understanding of the project ranking system and the key project leadership criteria that have been included from the reflection upon the past projects undertaken and researched. This has further assisted in the evaluation of the role and the activities undertaken by each of the team members as a part of the project ranking system.

Conclusion on Project Leadership

From the above discussion and explanation, it can be concluded that leadership is the skills of a person or an organisation to guide and further direct the efforts of the team members in the direction of pre-determined goals and objectives. Leadership is crucial for every company to ensure that all the activities and actions undertaken by the team members offer maximum productivity to the company as a whole. Leadership further ensures that the team members are motivated at all point of times. The leader tries to build cohesiveness among the team members to make them ready for the team activities and to make them equipped with the skills that would help in achieving the team objectives. The above tasks have been effective in identifying the leadership skills of the assignment team members including Dasrat, Raman, Junu and Imran through the use of one of the leadership models named as Adair's action-centric model of leadership. Along with this, the above activities, have undertaken the linking of the team role of the assignment team members with the above-identified model of leadership. Furthermore, the second task has helped in the development of a project leadership ranking system which has been effective in determining project leadership criteria and further ranking each of the identified project team members with the project management practice, its success and the project leadership theory.

Recommendations for Project Leadership

The following are some of the key recommendations that can be drawn from the above tasks:

1. Developing skills in leader- it is recommended that the leader should aim to develop some of the key skills and attributes to effectively direct the team members at all times. The leaders should aim to develop communication skills where both speaking and listening skills should be improved. Along with this, the leader should also improve the ability to inspire others by motivating and supporting the team members to accept and undertake challenging tasks more effectively. Along with this, the leader should be trained to become more committed and passionate about the team goals and the work performed by each of the team members.
2. Dealing with conflict- it is also recommended that the leader should be able to handle conflicts. For this, the leader should be provided with training and skills where the leader can gain an understanding of a situation and further take justified and unbiased decisions to resolve the conflicts. Effective decision-making skills should be promoted in the leader which would ensure that the leader can take decisions and also allocate the work as per the attributes of each of the team member.
3. Creating a vision- it is also recommended that a leader should work to create a vision for the team. The vision should be created while keeping into consideration the strengths and weaknesses of each of the team member. Along with this, the external environment affecting the team should also be considered while the vision should be created after considering the suggestion of each of the team member.

References for Project Leadership

Adair, J. (2011). The John Adair Lexicon of leadership: The definitive guide to leadership skills and knowledge. United Kingdom: Kogan Page Publishers.

Bocean, C. G., Del Baldo, M., &Sitnikov, C. S. (2018). Responsible leadership for corporate responsibility. Symphony. Emerging Issues in Management, (1), 139-167.

Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2017). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership. United States: John Wiley & Sons.

Goldenhar, L. M., Schwatka, N., & Johnson, S. K. (2019). Leadership skills for strengthening Jobsite safety climate. Journal of Safety Research, 70, 263-271.

Hooper, A., & Potter, J. (2019). The business of leadership: Adding lasting value to your organization. Abingdon: Routledge.

Karagianni, D., & Jude Montgomery, A. (2018). Developing leadership skills among adolescents and young adults: A review of leadership programmes. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 23(1), 86-98.

Kodish, S. (2017). Venturing into the unknown: Blogs as a means of advancing leadership skills. Journal of Education for Business, 92(6), 315-321.

Kunnanatt, J. T. (2016). 3D leadership–Strategy-linked leadership framework for managing teams. Economics, Management, and Financial Markets, 11(3), 30-55.

Lindegaard, S. (2010). The open innovation revolution: essentials, roadblocks, and leadership skills. United States: John Wiley & Sons.

Mendenhall, M. E., Osland, J., Bird, A., Oddou, G. R., Stevens, M. J., Maznevski, M., & Stahl, G. K. (Eds.). (2017). Global leadership: Research, practice, and development. Abingdon: Routledge.

Osmane, S., & Brennan, M. (2018). Predictors of leadership skills of Pennsylvanian youth. Community Development, 49(3), 341-357.

Owen, J. (2017). The leadership skills handbook: 90 essential skills you need to be a leader. United Kingdom: Kogan Page Publishers.

Oza, S. K., van Schaik, S., Boscardin, C. K., Pierce, R., Miao, E., Lockspeiser, T., ... &Kuo, A. K. (2018). Leadership Observation and Feedback Tool: A novel instrument for assessment of clinical leadership skills. Journal of Graduate Medical Education, 10(5), 573-582.

Prilipko, E. V. (2019). Advancing leadership and followership education with a leader-follower unity model. Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, 19(3).

White, B. A. A., Pearson, K., Bledsoe, C., & Hendricks, R. (2017). Transformational leadership: The nexus between faith and classroom leadership. Christian Higher Education, 16(5), 276-284.

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