My Personal Leadership Goals/Beliefs

I am convinced that to be a productive manager, one must also be a good leader. However, not all managers are leaders and most leaders do not become managers. A leader should listen to ideas from different sources and attempt to direct the team or organization to perform at its best (Iwasaki, 2003, personal conversation). Being a prior successful team leader has taught me that I must develop a strong link of trust among fellow team members. Trust increases individual involvement in decision-making and improves the understanding of the issues involved by those who must carry out the decisions.
When making decisions in a group, I prefer to get consensus from each member before carrying out any decisions. I have found that people are more committed to following a course of action when they have actively participated in the decision-making process. Additionally, team members are less competitive and more collaborative when they are committed to common goals. Further, when decisions are made on a collective basis, as opposed to that of one person deciding for the team, the end result is usually a successful one. Finally, our goal should be to be a successful leader and not an autocratic failure. (Originally posted on 9/28/2008)