BU8642 Leadership in the 21st Century

Self-Reflection Assignment 2

How Jie Wei

U1323059A

Self-Reflection Assignment 2
Background & Motivation
I have been involved in a few leadership roles throughout my schooling and army days
eventually even signing on as an Army Officer with the Singapore Armed Forces.
However, it must be said leadership did not come to me naturally but rather it was
through chance and training did I acquire my limited knowledge on this subject.

I first got a whiff of being a leader during my secondary school days where I was involved
in the National Cadet Corps as a platoon commander. I also had roles being vice
chairman of my class and I did get a sense of what a responsibility it was. The first
formative experience I had was when I was involved as a student leader during a
community involvement project in Vietnam during my days as a polytechnic student.
Being given the responsibility of the planning, execution and safety of all the participants
overseas was certainly a challenge. Being in charge was refreshing and it allowed me to
view situation differently and this motivated me to look for more leadership roles in the
future.

When I enlisted, I had the opportunity to enter the Officer Cadet School meeting many
instructors and officers who demonstrated many styles of leadership ranging from
authoritative to laissez-faire. However the ones who have captivated me the most are
those who encompass the ideas of transformational leadership. Always finding ways to
inspire and challenge us, it was by far the most effective way to get people to work under
you willingly. Therefore I do strife to be a transformational leader. It is possible to get
your followers to do what they are told by using your position or being authoritative but
this would not result in productive work as they would not be motivated. Thus only by
transforming them, motivating them and giving them a sense of purpose would they
give their all.

pg. 1

BU8642 Leadership in the 21st Century

Self-Reflection Assignment 2

How Jie Wei

U1323059A

Strengths
Particularly for projects such as this, I had to soften my approach which I would normally
take if I was still in the military. The interesting thing about the project is that none of
the members of my group can be classified as subject matter experts as this is something
new for all of us. Therefore my first strength is my adaptability where I was able to
change my approach and have an approach more suitable for a school context where
we should view each other as group mates rather than having a hierarchy.

Another strength of mine is to be able to help delegate tasks to team members and in
the process ensure that they are happy with their task. We had prior discussions on
everybodys likes and dislikes and I explained to them why certain tasks would suit them
more as well as accommodating to any difficulties they might be facing. I also initiated
many meetings and discussions on how we can proceed with the project and helped
facilitate brain storming sessions by ensuring everybody gets their views heard.

As for motivating and ensuring I get the job done, I had a schedule and stuck to it
therefore I got all my task done. This is done by having any tasks assigned noted down
on my phone which would periodically remind me about deadlines. This would require
self-discipline as I would need to stick to deadlines and try not to procrastinate. Before
any meetings I would also have notes and material of what I have done prepared and
ready to update my group mates.

pg. 2

BU8642 Leadership in the 21st Century

Self-Reflection Assignment 2

How Jie Wei

U1323059A

Improvements
Nobody is perfect and there are obviously areas of improvement. In the context of this
project, the main area I have to improve on is that I need to less forceful in pushing my
opinions and more receptive of what others have to say. Even though there is group
discussion, there is still a tendency that I would try to promote my views too vigorously
and not back down when they are simply wrong. An example would be when we were
having a discussion on how to get public feedback and my view was that we should
actually physically get feedback from the public while another option proposed by my
team was to just get feedback from professionals in the field. For a good 10 minutes, I
tried to present my views though the alternative plan is more efficient and as accurate.
Therefore in future group discussions I will mentally ensure I do not repeat such actions
and always do a quick self-reflection before going with a line of argument.

Besides this, I have to also be less critical of people who might have fallen short of
expectations, for example when their work is not up to standard or even when they are
late for meetings it would affect my mood and thus in turn affect the group. I would
tend to develop mental moulds of such people easily and it can be negative for a group
atmosphere. Thus I will actively ensure I be less critical and understand any problems
which people might be facing and offer solutions to solve their issues. This would help
speed up the process of any project and bring about a friendlier environment.

pg. 3