ASSESSMENT 1 (2)

Assessment 1

Q.1 Identify and summarise at least four communication responsibilities expected of leaders.

Articulate the vision, mission, values, goals, and objectives and set priorities

Unify the organization around the vision

Impart essential business and performance information

Encourage and respond to innovative ideas

Q.2 List five characteristics of effective communication that can used by managers when communicating with their staff or customers.

Clear Message: The message which the sender wants to convey must be simple, easy to understand and systematically framed to retain its meaningfulness.

Correct Message: The information communicated must not be vague or false in any sense; it must be free from errors and grammatical mistakes.

Complete Message: Communication is the base for decision making. If the information is incomplete, it may lead to wrong decisions.

Precise Message: The message sent must be short and concise to facilitate straightforward interpretation and take the desired steps.

Reliability: The sender must be sure from his end that whatever he is conveying is right by his knowledge. Even the receiver must have trust on the sender and can rely on the message sent.

Q.3 Discuss four (4) styles of leadership and the impact each of the identified styles on organisational culture.

1. Visionary

A visionary manager communicates a purpose and direction that her employees believe in, which convinces her team to work hard to execute her vision.

2. Democratic

In democratic management, majority rules. Managers let their employees participate in the decision-making process because they value their team’s diversity of ideas, and understand that people are the key to a team’s success.

3. Transformational

Transformational managers’ are innovators. They usually believe change and growth is the only way to stay ahead of the curve, so they push their employees past their comfort zone, making them realize they’re more capable than they originally thought. This motivates employees to keep raising the bar, leading to improved team performance.

4. Coaching

Just like a sports coach, a coaching manager strives to improve their employees’ long-term professional development. They have a passion for teaching and watching their employees grow. And they’re more willing to deal with their employees’ short-term failures, as long they learn and get better because of them.

Q.4 Discuss three strategies that a leader can use for building trust and confidence with colleagues.

Showing support for your team members, even when they make mistakes.

Balancing the need for results with being considerate of others and their feelings.

Working hard to win over people by being respectful of their ideas and perspectives.

Q.5 Discuss three characteristics of an ethical leader.

1. Create a Culture of Trust

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1. Create a Culture of Trust

Corporate speak around trust usually goes hand in hand with mindless nodding and lip service, whereby everyone acknowledges its importance but nobody really commits to it, or properly understands what it means in the context of leadership and work.

2. Practice What You Preach

Doing what you say you’re going to do is important, but saying it in the first place is crucial. Nothing kills productivity quite like a leader with high expectations of employees while simultaneously holding themselves to a different standard.

3. Check Your Biases

Biases in the workplace may be fairly innocuous and inconsequential, but they can also have a significant negative impact on your business, employees and your overarching goals.

Q.6 Outline five ways to develop new work skills  

Overcome your fears. Fear can prevent you from growing and progressing. If you are afraid of public speaking, for instance, take a class or join a group that helps people become better public speakers.

Read. Reading can expand your knowledge and vocabulary and keep you informed. It can also stimulate your mind and can improve your critical thinking skills. Try setting a goal to read at least one educational or motivational article a day, or one book a month.

Learn something new. Learn a new skill or topic, whether you do it yourself or sign up for a class. You might, for instance, take courses to learn another language, a new software program or how to write creatively. Consider watching a webinar on professional development topics such as entrepreneurship or social media marketing.

Ask for feedback. Approach a family member, friend, colleague or manager, and ask them to give you feedback on a recent project or accomplishment. Use their positive comments as well as their constructive criticism to find ways to improve. Sometimes you need an outside, unbiased opinion to get a different perspective.

Observe others. Watch and learn from the people who inspire you. This could be someone you know, such as a supervisor, family member or public figure. Identify the qualities you admire in them, and try to replicate those in yourself.

Q.7Outline two ways to more effectively manage time at work.

1. Have a Time Check

Know exactly how you spend your time. In an office setting, you should know the tasks that are stealing your time. Then you can do something about it. For example, you may be spending an hour on email instead of completing important projects. Knowing exactly where your time is going can help you make decisions about delegating tasks or buying software to speed up some lower-level processes.

2. Set a Time Limit

Setting a time limit for a task can be fun. In fact, it can be like a game. Some companies actually divide employees into groups,…

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