Unit Assignment-Unit 1

In this assignment, you are going to give a short presentation about how to be an effective
leader. As you prepare your presentation, think about the Unit Question, “What makes a
good leader?” Use information from Listening 1, Listening 2, and your work in this unit
to support your presentation.
You are required to submit an audio or video file in 3 to 4 minutes of your presentation.
(You can include the organized ideas chart if you want). Use it to help!
A. BRAINSTORMING IDEAS. Think about these questions:
Good morning teacher, I’ve learned Unit 1 “What makes a good leader?” and today, I’m
going to talk about how to be an effective leader. So, who is a leader? We often see that
many people claim they are leaders all based on the position they are in. They might be
the managing directors or the CEO of the company. Does that mean having a high
position is directly linked to being a good leader? And what are the qualities that make up
an effective leader?
From my perspective, a leader is someone who is in charge of organizing, guiding, and
managing others. They are visionaries who motivate and encourage their team to reach
the desired outcome. So, a leader should have some important skills and qualities for
leadership. First of all, I think that to be a great leader, a person needs to have expertise in
his field. When a problem arises, he can come up with a new approach to it. Beyond that,
make sure they have compassion. As their focus is on serving others. They don’t get
consumed by seeking out more power. Instead, they seek more ways to help others,
especially helping their team members with a specific goal. Lastly, they should have
accountability. If they make mistakes, they dare to acknowledge them. They don’t play
the blame game when things go wrong. Instead, they hold themselves accountable.
It is easy to be a leader when everything is going well, but it is perhaps more important to
the negative effects that come from having power. One of them is many managers are
yielding to this trap of just playing it safe to preserve their position and privileges. They
follow orders, never stand up for their team, or question policies. Another is some
managers when they reach the top immediately forget where they came from. It is more
important to push their weight around than to build connections with them.
So, what is an effective leader should do to develop those qualities and avoid the negative
effects? Learning and being humble is the best way to enhance good qualities. They can
learn from experiences and mistakes of themselves and others, self–improvement, or take
classes. If you’re humble, you can always have a clear vision of the whole situation. To
avoid negative impacts, a leader should be empowered. If you want it done right, don't do
it alone. No leader can do everything themselves. Therefore, it’s critical to distribute
power throughout the organization and to rely on decision-making from those who are
closest to the action. Also, leaders should always remind themselves of where they
started.
To conclude, to be a great leader you have to be a good human first. So start cultivating
the habits that will make you a good leader. Thank you very much for listening.

1. What are some important skills and qualities of a leader?

2. What are negative effects that come from having power?
B. ORGANIZE IDEAS. Choose two qualities and two problems from Activity A that
you think are most important. Place these ideas in the chart. Then think about ways to
develop those qualities and avoid the negative effects.

Important leadership qualities Ways to develop these qualities

The X-factor of great leadership is not
personality, it’s humility – Jim Collins
1. Compassion.
Their focus is on serving others.
They don’t get consumes by
seeking out more power. Instead,
they seek more ways to help others 1. Learning
2. Accountability.
Learning from experiences and mistakes
They admit their mistakes
of themselves and others; self - improve;
Everyone makes mistakes. Leaders
taking classes;...
do!
They don’t play the blame game 2. Be humble
when things go wrong. Instead, So that you can always have a clear vision
they hold themselves accountable. of the whole situation, ...
3. Listener.
They’re approachable to employees 3. Be the last to speak
and this allows them to create an You will be surprised by the ideas of
environment of open others...
communication and effective
feedback.
4. Give credit where credit is due.
They appreciate the contributions
of others. They’re quick to
recognize and reward the efforts of
team members.

Negative effects of power that leaders Ways to avoid these effects

 can develop
1. Many managers are yielding to this 1. Empower
trap of just playing it safe to If you want it done right, don't do it alone.
preserve their position and No leader can do everything themselves.
privileges. They follow orders, Therefore, it’s critical to distribute power
never stand up for their team or throughout the organization and to rely on
question policies decision making from those who are
2. Some managers when they reach to closest to the action.Research has
the top immediately forget where repeatedly shown that empowered teams
they came from. It is more are more productive and proactive,
important to push their weight provide better customer service, and show
around than to build connections to higher levels of job satisfaction and
them. commitment to their team and
3. They think the organization organization. And yet many leaders
revolves around them. Some start struggle to let people self-organize. They
behaving like the owners of the resist because they believe that power is a
company (making all the decisions zero-sum game, they are reluctant to allow
solo, ignoring feedback and taking others to make mistakes, and they fear
the credit) facing negative consequences from
4. Their sole focus is on the bottom subordinates’ decisions.
line, therefore, continuously
drilling employees 2. Always remind yourself of where u
started. Fosters a sense of connection and
belonging
We are a social species — we want to
connect and feel a sense of belonging.
From an evolutionary perspective,
attachment is important because it
improves our chances of survival in a
world full of predators. Research suggests
that a sense of connection could also
impact productivity and emotional well-
being. For example, scientists have found
that emotions are contagious in the
workplace: Employees feel emotionally
depleted just by watching unpleasant
interactions between coworkers
From a neuroscience perspective, creating
connection is a leader’s second most
important job. Once we feel safe (a
sensation that is registered in the reptilian
brain), we also have to feel cared for
(which activates the limbic brain) in order
to unleash the full potential of our higher
functioning prefrontal cortex.
3. Being open to new ideas and
approaches.
To encourage learning among employees,
leaders must first ensure that they are
open to learning (and changing course)
themselves. Try to approach problem-
solving discussions without a specific
agenda or outcome. Withhold judgment
until everyone has spoken, and let people
know that all ideas will be considered. A
greater diversity of ideas will emerge
Failure is required for learning, but our
relentless pursuit of results can also
discourage employees from taking
chances. To resolve this conflict, leaders
must create a culture that supports risk-
taking. One way of doing this is to use
controlled experiments — think A/B
testing — that allow for small failures and
require rapid feedback and correction.
This provides a platform for building
collective intelligence so that employees
learn from each other’s mistakes, too
4. Nurtures growth.
When leaders show a commitment to our
growth employees are motivated to
reciprocate, expressing their gratitude or
loyalty by going the extra mile. While
managing through fear generates stress,
which impairs higher brain function, the
quality of work is vastly different when
we are compelled by appreciation. If you
want to inspire the best from your team,
advocate for them, support their training
and promotion, and go to bat to sponsor
their important projects