1.0 Introduction

Being adults we all face different challenges and millstones in life. We need to develop right personal leadership qualities and traits to successfully overcome them. There is a growing debate around the idea whether leaders are born or made. In my opinion, leaders can be made through the process of learning, teaching and observation. In other words, behavioral theories in leadership believe that we all are born equal and basic leadership qualities can be developed over time by practice, training and experience (Robbins, Judge and Vohara, 2012). However, the most important question is that, can subscribing for a leadership development or management program make an individual a leader at the end? Simply, can leadership traits such as integrity, charisma, ability to inspire and influence be taught? The answer to this question can be controversial and born leaders will have a greater advantage over others with respect to the above leadership traits. The present report will critically evaluate my personal leadership roles and the changes and challenges that I had to go through up to now. Some useful theoretical models and self-assessment tools will be used to generate some useful insights regarding my personal leadership challenges.

2.0 My leadership journey: How it all started

When looking at my school days and university life, I was not a born leader. I was pretty laid back and shy individual when I was small. However, my father being a politician, I had a great influence from my family to develop myself as a better leader. I had so many opportunities to develop my leadership skills and I often met fellow political leaders that my father used to work with. This was a rare opportunity and I learnt a lot by observing these personalities and their leadership and people management styles. With the family influence, from small days, I made the full use of all the leadership opportunities I got at school. In grade 5, I was appointed as a class monitor and in the same year I got selected for the junior prefect board at school. Next, in grade 12, I served as a senior prefect and during my A/Ls, I held several leadership positions in different committees, societies, sport events etc. Today, when I look back, I am really grateful for all these opportunities that I had at school. The different leadership positions that I held at school helped me a lot to become who I am today. My personality, charisma, people management skills, commitment, communication skills, negotiation skills, etc. largely improved due to the leadership positions and challenges I faced being a student. Before explaining my work related leadership roles, changes went through and challenges faced, it’s important to get a basic idea about my leadership style, leadership gaps, leadership traits, etc. The following is a brief audit regarding my leadership skills and styles.

3.0 Self-Assessment: A brief leadership audit

This Self-Assessment Library by Pearson Education was used to get an idea regarding my leadership style and other personality traits. A brief summary of the test results are presented below.