Learning to Lead Interview Analysis

Learning to Lead Interview Analysis

MGT/230

Learning to Lead Interview Analysis

Analyze Interviewee’s Responses

For the assignment this week, I interviewed my husband. I have gained so much knowledge in regards to leadership just from working with him on this interview. I chose to interview him because he is someone that I look up to when it comes to the success he has had in his career thus far. Being one of the supervisors for his department, he truly understands the responsibilities of a leader. His style of leadership is one where he leads by example and is not afraid to take on new challenges. He understands that in order for goals to be accomplished, they need to be realistic. His responses show that he prioritizes tasks by creating a calendar to ensure the most important tasks are completed first and then continues to work through his list of tasks. He finds it important to assign certain tasks to different employees based on their skills, as this helps to ensure the best possible person is working on each task. He works closely will employees that may need additional training or assistance in understand certain things, so that they are able to remain up to speed with the requirements of the job. He finds it important for a leader to be honest, open, and caring for their team.

Summarize What You Learned From Your Interview

I can honestly say that I have learned a lot from this interview. One of the main things that I learned is that a leader has many responsibilities. As a leader, it is important to both have respect of your employees, as well as respect your employees. If there is not an equal amount of respect, then it is likely a leader is going to lose control over their employees. A leader has to be strong, as they are responsible for leading their team to success. I also learned from this interview just how important communication is as a leader. The reason communication is important is because a leader has to be able to convey their message to their team in a way that is easy to understand, while also having open communication so that the team feels they can come to you with any issues or problems. From this interview, I also learned that following the company guidelines is also just as important as anything else, to ensure the company is not going to fall to a lawsuit. As a leader, it is your responsibility make sure the team is following these guidelines and any regulations so that it does not fall back on you, the employee, or the company. As the leader for a team of people, it is your responsibility to stay on top of things and continue to monitor the employees. My husband mentioned in his interview how it is important to always be monitoring his employees to make sure they are reaching their goals and also meeting the compliance goals. As a leader, it is important to make sure short term goals are being met, as these then lead to the long term goals. A leader also has to make sure things are getting done correctly, otherwise changes need to be made to improve, so that these goals can continue to be met.

Explain How You Would Apply What You Learned Into Your Own Leadership Responsibilities

As a leader, there is always room for improvement. As a leader, I find that the most important aspects are to be open and honest with your team, have open lines of communication, and always look for ways to improve. When I am leading a team, I want to have open communication with them and make sure that they do not feel just like a number. It is important for employees to feel like people and feel that you truly care about their well-being. I want to be honest with my team when I am a leader so that they know they can trust me with providing information to them, even if it may not be the best of news. If things are not going as planned, we will work together to fix the issue and reach our goals. As a leader, I want to always be reviewing the work of my team and provide accurate evaluations so they are able to know what improvements could be made and we will work on these improvements. I find it important to constantly be evaluating the work of employees, as there are always ways to improve upon. From what I have learned, I plan to be a leader that will be professional, have a positive attitude, and always be open and honest with my team. I have to hold myself just as accountable as my team, as you cannot be a good leader if you are not leading my example.

Distinguish the Differences Between Management and Leadership

There can be a great deal of confusion when it comes to the differences between management and leadership, because many people feel that these are the same thing. In reality, management and leadership are very different from each other. Someone that has good leadership has the ability to influence, develop and mentor people. While management focuses more on directing, controlling and overseeing operations. There are management roles that have employee responsibilities, which is why this definition gets confused at times. Management does not always have these responsibilities though, while leadership always does. It is important for someone in leadership to have a vision and understanding for where they want to go and how they are going to get their team there. Those in management are hardworking and productive in their performances. When I think about the differences in management and leadership, I think about how I truly want to be a leader, instead of a manager, because I want to guide and mentor people, rather than control or manage people.