Discussion 1: Background Information Welcome to the first discussion. In this course you will be introduced to a topic in the discussion. The first week of the module you will write about your initial thoughts after reviewing the resources. The initial post should be at least 600 words. When you post a discussion, please back up your position with evidence from your textbook or other reliable scholarly resources. You are encouraged to use the Stratford Library for additional resources. Remember that you must use APA formatting for your cites and references. You must cite each and every sentence in which you used materials from a referenced source. Your work will be checked for academic integrity by the Turnitin system. For help with APA formatting, please feel free to use the Purdue Owl website as follows: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/10/

PLEASE DO NOT USE Wikipedia, Ask.com, Articlebase, businessdictionary.com, eHow, smallbusiness.chron.com, term paper websites, etc. From time-to-time, the professor my point out other sources that are not reliable academic sources. Watch the Ted Talk: How great leaders inspire action https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action?utm_source=tedcomshare&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=tedspread Read the case study: When the Boss is the Barrier http://store.darden.virginia.edu/Syllabus%20Copy/When-the-Boss-Is-the-Barrier_A_S.pdf Initial Post What is the importance of understanding the elements and factors that make a good leader? How does the Blake Moulton Model of Leadership Style seek to explain what comprises effective leadership?* On a seprate page reply on 2 students post with 300 word each in the form of APA formatted cites and references.: reply on this: Without understanding the elements and factors that make up a leader, one cannot determine if they are a good leader. To begin honesty and integrity are fundamental, everyone will watch and take note of the behavior being shown (Earley, 2015). Successful leaders must understand their own strengths and weaknesses. They will be open to feedback and will encourage different perspectives and conventional thinking (Earley, 2015). Leaders should have a clear vision of the future and produce good communication skills (Earley, 2015). Confidence is a very important trait; great leaders will show their ability to make tough decisions and willingness to take risks (Earley, 2015). Good leaders will have a clear understanding of building their team. The ability to attract and retain top talent could be a make or break for your performance (Earley, 2015). Taking a step back and evaluating your weaknesses, understanding why and working to improve such areas will help you become an effective leader (Earley, 2015). The Blake Moulton Model of Leadership explains the differences of five different styles; impoverished, country club, produce or perish, middle-of-the-road, and team leader (Mind Tools Content Team, n.d.). The impoverished leader will have no concern for the team or the product they are producing, there is no real system for the output of their product (Mind Tools Content Team, n.d.). Whereas the country club leader will have concern for the team, but lack care to produce their work resulting in a work environment that is relaxed and fun (Mind Tools Content Team, n.d.). Middle of the road leadership falls in between the two stated above; there is a lack of care of what needs to be completed (Mind Tools Content Team, n.d.). They are only there to collect a paycheck and to make sure just the basics are being performed. Now there is produce or perish, with this style the leader will only stress over the production of work while not caring for the people working to complete the task. This style may demonstrate strict policies and procedures, which may cause low team morale and lack of motivation from the team (Mind Tools Content Team, n.d.). Lastly, a team management style produces high production while also having a high satisfaction within the team members (Mind Tools Content Team, n.d.). In my opinion the team management style should be the leadership style all leaders strive to be at. It is important for leaders to understand their style, so they can be successful in reaching their target goal. The Blake Mouton Managerial Grid can be a great reference for understanding your style of leadership. Use different situations and place yourself on the grid to help you recognize your traits (Mind Tools Content Team, n.d.). There is always room for improvement, pin-point some situations where you could have improved your approach as the leader. Make steps to improve and monitor your improvement (Mind Tools Content Team, n.d.). Involving your team and keeping the communication open will help with improving your leadership skills (Mind Tools Content Team, n.d.). References Earley, S. (2015, February 5). 6 Key Components to Effective Leadership. Retrieved from Cross: https://www.crossco.com/blog/6-key-components-effective-leadership Mind Tools Content Team. (n.d.). The Blake Mouton Managerial Grid. Retrieved from Mind Tools: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_73.htm Reply on this: I would start off by saying that there is more than one critical reason someone should understand the elements and factors that make a good leader. One reason would be that person will sit in a leadership role themselves and effective leadership is essential for the success of the company that they are working for. According to floridatechonline.com, leadership is the catalyst under which all elements of an organization work together (Florida Tech, n.d.). If a leader is unaware of what is required of them and fail in their role then the entire organization suffers. Additionally, even if a person is not currently in a leadership role and may never take this task on, it is critical that they understand the reason that their upper management functions the way that they do and what should be required and expected of them as well. As a matter of fact, in his book Extreme Ownership, Jocko Willink describes the responsibility of subordinates to learn to lead up the chain of command (Willink & Babin, 2015). Essentially, Jocko is trying to depict that in whatever position you are in that there is still some sort of leadership that is required from you. He explains that leading up the chain requires the understanding of your superiors, how they operate, and how as a subordinate it is your responsibility to communicate with them in the most effective and efficient way to complete the tasks that are required of you (Willink & Babin, 2015). This information comes from proven leadership. Jocko was a Navy Seal task force Commander in one of the most war ridden cities in Iraq. His leadership skills were consistently challenged and put to the test in that type of environment and he is now the CEO and co-founder of Echelon Front, which is a leadership development company that helps provide training and evaluation of companies that seek to improve their leadership from within. According to floridatechonline.com, some of the key elements a successful leader must implement is transparency, learning from failure, building trust, confidence, decisiveness, humility, and creativity (Florida Tech, n.d.). I would especially agree with transparency, trust, failure and humility. I believe that these three things go hand in hand. Trust is one of the most essential things to an effective team and it is the leader’s job to earn and establish this environment of trust. This is achieved through taking ownership of a situation and admitting when you are and communicating openly with your team (Willink & Babin, 2015). Operating in this way shows your team that they can trust you and inspires them to take ownership of their responsibilities as well. In his TEDx talk, Simon Sinek says that great leaders inspire others and the only way to inspire someone else is if you believe in what you are doing and have established the “why” (Sinek, 2009). By answering the “why” to what you are doing in life, this will inspire you to continue doing the what. Another way to look at leadership is through the Blake Mouton Model of Leadership. This model or grid is based on two different behavioral dimensions which are a concern for people and a concern for results (Mind Tools, n.d.). The model shows that if a leader is only focused on the people in an organization and assumes that as long as employees are happy and secure that they will work hard, but the organizations results will ultimately suffer (Mind Tools, n.d.). Additionally, by only focusing on results and is uncaring for the employee’s well-being then ultimately, they will become unmotivated and will dislike working which causes results to fail in the end (Mind Tools, n.d.). The grid shows that effective leadership must focus both on the people and results in aggressive way if they want to be a successful manager. Works Cited Florida Tech. (n.d.). 7 Essential Elements to Successful Leadership. Retrieved from Florida Tech Online: https://www.floridatechonline.com/blog/psychology/7-essential-elements-to-successful-leadership/ Mind Tools. (n.d.). The Blake Mouton Managerial Grid. Retrieved from Mid Tools: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_73.htm Sinek, S. (Director). (2009). How Great Leaders Inspire Action [Motion Picture]. Willink, J., & Babin, L. (2015). Extreme Ownership. New York: St. Martin's Press.