Paper Example: Innovation and Adaptability Portfolio

The progress has been excellent at learning. At the same time, I still hold the position of assistant manager. The task requires innovation and constant change to adapt to emerging trends. As a way of improving myself on this role, I have set taking up new roles and responsibilities as the new goals. The past few weeks have involved a lot of learning. However, some skills need enhancements which will enable me to cope better with the role of assistant manager. Among the notable skills that I have been exposed so far include time management, teamwork, leadership skills and critical thinking. I have also been exposed to working under pressure.

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Despite the milestones made, the knowledge acquired is not as easy to implement. For example, I have learnt leadership skills through coaching and observation. However, being in a position of leadership is a challenging task. Leadership skills are wide, and one can only continue gaining through exposure. Among the important leadership skills that I have learnt include communication, motivation, positivity, trustworthiness, creativity and delegation.

Communication

The position of an assistant manager requires that he acts on behalf of the boss on many occasions. In the case, they are in contact with seniors and the juniors. Due to that fact, constant communication is required, and it also happens at different levels. In the absence of effective communication, it will be a challenge to realize organizational goals. Additionally, written and spoken communication skills are part of the management tasks. As part of the communication skills, I have learnt that the large part of it involves listening. The art of listening encourages open communication at all levels of an organization. When the employees are free to speak their minds, then finding solutions gets easy. At the same time, team management is fun where there is open communication. As part of the communication skills I have acquired includes clarity. It is common to communicate, and the listener fails to get the message. Clarity is the backbone of effective communication.

Motivation

The employees always look for guidance from their leaders. When the leaders lack motivation, then the spirit of fighting dies. The organization will suffer when such is the case. As a leader, I have learnt about different ways of motivating employees. Although adequate compensation is part of motivation, there are other many factors which help to keep morale high. Motivation works differently, which depends on many factors. The stage of the employee and age are among those considered. At the entry point in the job market, compensation is the most excellent motivator. As the employee heads up the ladder, they look for other areas of motivation. Self-esteem is necessary where the employees feel that they are treated with respect and dignity. The level of supervision may also act as a motivating or demotivating factor. The employees need to feel that they have the freedom to carry out their duties effectively. Over-supervision makes the employees feel inferior, which reduces their productivity. Similarly, it is necessary to understand the concerns of employees. The manager needs to know what is happening in the personal lives of the employees to a certain degree. For example, when the child of an employee is unwell, the manager should now this and show empathy. On the contrary, when the manager acts in isolation, the employees will find it hard to confide such matters and productivity will also suffer.

Teamwork is also part of the motivation. The employees are set in a team where they are le to handle a challenging task. On accomplishment, they will feel motivated to take other challenges. The leader also needs to effective handle differences which will often occur in teams and organizations. Impartiality eliminates feelings of hatred, and the employees feel part of the organization. Eventually, their productivity rises to the benefit of the organization. The leader also needs to take responsibility where there is a failure. Blame on the employees gives their morale a beating. Similarly, the leader should credit employees where there is an achievement. The employees have career goals, and they need mentoring. Therefore, the leader should groom the employees by offering them opportunities and tasks which prepare them for greater roles.

Positivity

Although leaders ought to be optimistic, the reality is that some challenges will crop along the way. The leader should have positivity even at the face of failure, which helps to encourage the employees. Effective conflict management is one of the things that create a positive environment. The leader also needs to be friendly where the employees feel that they are in the right place.

Trustworthiness

The leader has the duty of creating trust between the seniors and the juniors. Business ethics is one of the characteristics which help to create a trust for a leader. Additionally, accountability is necessary so as to gain trust. The leader should be accountable for all actions. At the same time, I have learnt that confidentiality is a necessary recipe where the employees will share their information without fear of the results. The trust is also gained through fair treatment of all the employers. A leader should avoid having mood swings which affect the way he treats employees. I have also learnt that trust is gained through standing up for what is right without the fear of the repercussions.

Creativity

A leader needs to be creative on many fronts. Indeed, it is one of the prerequisites for getting leadership positions. A creative leader has several characteristics which guide his decision making and inform his ways. It is the creativity which helps in the task of problem-solving. Good analytical skills are quite essential for a leader who is expected to offer solutions and guidance where there challenges. Similarly, the leader needs to be flexible in many ways. An approach of issues where only the traditional path is followed in the face of changing landscape will lead to being stuck. The leader looks for options where he adopts the best one of them in solving problems. Flexibility also works together with critical thinking. Although adaptability of new ideas is good, the leader is charged at choosing the best. Options are always available, but the leader has to apply critical thinking skills to ensure that the best solutions are found. In these skills, the manager has to apply imagination to help get solutions. At the same time, innovation is possible out of imagination, and critical thinking put together. The leader also needs to look out in the future and try to predict. In the absence of that, the organization is left to react to the others.

Delegation

Delegation is quite important for the leaders. It helps to reduce the amount of work that a leader has by letting some of it out. It is also necessary to nurture future leaders in an organization. Delegation is a smaller version of succession management. However, delegation is a skill that should be carefully executed. The leader has the task of first identifying the tasks to be delegated. The employees do not have similar skills, and thus the next involves the identification of the right skills to handle the task at hand. It is only after the leader is sure of the skills and commitment that the training of the employee begins. I also learnt that delegation does not happen at a go. It takes steps depending on the available resources and the skills learnt. The leader has the duty of allocating resources which go with the tasks delegated. Once the delegation is done in bits, the leader retains the work of monitoring. The trainee has to get monitored constantly to ensure that all is right. The leader will correct where the trainee goes wrong and will reinforce positively when it is right. Since delegation may involve several tasks, the leader plays the role of prioritizing the tasks. It is also upon the leader to decide which of the tasks are to be taken in teams. The leader forms the team, briefs it on the tasks and delegates.

The opportunity I have as the assistant manager has offered a lifetime of skills which will apply many years to come in my career. To cap it all, I have realized that most of the skills revolve around people. Since it is people to be led, the skills help to increase productivity.