Leadership is defined as "the process of influencing a group to achieve goals (Robbins and Coulter, 2007, p. 483). As an individual who has frequently participated in work teams and groups as both a leader and a follower, I am certainly aware that effective leaders must be excellent communicators, must be somewhat charismatic and able to inspire and motivate others, and further, be competent and well-organized with respect to the tasks of the team or group. As a leader, my most significant weakness is that I am at times over-burdened with too many responsibilities and tend to lose focus. This makes it hard for any group to be confident in the leader's dedication and ability to guide the work that is being done.
Part of my problem is that I may well be too thinly spread. As a student who also works part time and has some family responsibilities, I often find that I lack sufficient time to focus on leadership roles. The solution is to cut back on some obligations and to be more deeply involved in group or team work. As Robbins and Coulter (2007) have noted, the work of leading can be complex and challenging and often requires almost single-minded dedication to the task. When conflicts between different responsibilities emerge, making choices between such items can be difficult at best. Nevertheless, this is an area on which I continue to work.
Robbins, S., & Coulter, M. (2007). Management. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice-Hall.
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