Leadership Skills Seminar
The idea of leadership development is often plagued by misconceptionsand myths. One of the most damaging of these myths is that leadership isan inherent quality that cannot be learned or improved upon. This isabsolutely not true: leadership skills can, in fact, be learned, and thepurpose of this seminar is to help each of you learn some of the important Once, leadership skills were thought to apply only to people inpositions high up in the corporate structure. Today, leadership skills arebecoming an absolutely crucial part of almost every person's business skillset. We increasingly work in teams where we must learn to manage theoutput of others, in both a regular office environment, and in virtualenvironments. As such, leadership skills are an important part of theskill set of every person in this room. Today, we'll be looking at the leadership of United States NavyCommander D. Michael Abrashoff to help illustrate leadership concepts.Abrashoff is the man in charge of the USS Benfold, the $1 billion warshipthat is won the prestigious Spokane Trophy for the best combat readiness inthe fleet. You might expect Abrashoff to be a rigid, military type bar
Further, the presence of highsocial support allows for supportive leadership to be highly effective. He sets high standards of competence forhis crew and expects them to be followed. Abrashoff is clearly a supportive leader, as he has focused on crew needslike education and entertainment. He notes that his friendly initialinterviews set the stage so "people don't tell me what I want to hear; theytell me the truth about what's going on in the ship. Based onthe specific situation, there are four main leadership styles: 1)supportive, 2) participative, 3) directive, and 4) achievement-oriented. He notes that his concern for people ultimatelyresults in gains in production. Abrashoff's leadership can also be assessed in terms of the well-known Blake and Mouton "Managerial Grid. Healso seems to draw on expert power, as his prior experience as militaryassistant to then-Secretary of Defense William Perry gives him an aura ofknowledge about military matters. Atthe same time, Abrashoff is also focused on production, and is concernedwith getting results. Abrashoff's leadership style also has elements ofachievement-oriented leadership. Considering that life in thenavy is perhaps the most highly structured of all areas, Abrashoff may havedone well to avoid directive leadership. kingorders in the style of George S. The supportive leader shows concern for subordinates and is friendly. He has gone as far as arranging for AOL accounts to allow crew tocommunicate with family, and instituting a monthly karaoke happy hour. Situational factorsinclude the personality of the subordinates, and the characteristics of theenvironment.
Common topics in this essay:
Managerial Grid,
William Perry,
George Patton,
,
Transformational Leadership,
USS Benfold,
Spokane Trophy,
Michael Abrashoff,
leadership style,
abrashoff's leadership,
directive leadership,
leadership skills,
abrashoff's leadership style,
locus control,
specific guidance,
uss benfold,
draws power,
leader specific,
leader specific guidance,
specific situation,
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Acceptance Essays
