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"Developing Leadership Potential: A Personal and Theoretical Exploration of Future
Leadership Practice"

Introduction

During my HRM7052 Leadership Development modu,l, I tracked my personal growth as well as

professional development through this portfolio. The research evaluates changes in my
leadership skills through conceptual integration between established leadership framework
concepts and the data from Potential.ly personality assessments. This reflection relies on
Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence framework alongside the Johari Window and Kolb’s
Experiential Learning Cycle and the GROW Coaching Model (Aarons et al., 2015) to provide
understanding of self-awareness,s, along with interpersonal relationships and learning through
experience and goal setting. These models get me to review both my professional skills and my
weaknesses so I can become a better leader. My SWOT analysis revealed important internal,
along with external elements that affect my leadership growth, such as my abilities combined
with my behavioral tendencies within recurring situations. Personal development planning has
been enabled by these insights to focus on improving my emotional intelligence and conflict
management abilities, together with long-term planning competencies. The document serves both
as a tool to document my introspection process and proves my dedication to grow into an
authentic leader who values inclusivity and effectiveness. My self-directed leadership growth
receives a foundational structure through this process, which enables future implementation in
academics and professional domains.
Section 1: Personal SWOT Analysis and Development Plan
Using the Potential.ly personality profile, I gained valuable insights into my character traits,
competencies, and leadership potential. The structured psychometric assessment helped me
identify both strengths and areas for improvement. Goleman’s (1998) theory highlights self-
awareness as central to emotional intelligence, which is crucial for leadership growth. Tools like
the Johari Window and Potential.ly support reflective learning, helping me understand not only
what I do well but also what I need to develop.
Strengths
 1. I can express my ideas confidently and clearly in both spoken and written formats. I often
act as a communication bridge in group settings, ensuring smooth collaboration
(Hackman & Johnson, 2013).
2. In unpredictable situations, I remain calm and flexible. For instance, I quickly adapted
presentation roles when a teammate left unexpectedly, showing strong crisis
management.
3. I work inclusively and encourage active participation from team members. Belbin’s
“Coordinator” role fits me well as I promote alignment and group cohesion (Gipson et al.,
2017).
4. I understand others’ emotions and viewpoints, making me approachable and supportive—
a key aspect of emotionally intelligent leadership (Goleman, 1998).
5. I actively listen during discussions and give space for others to share, which contributes
to open and trusting group dynamics.
Weaknesses

1. I often take on too much work myself due to a desire for quality control. This limits team
growth and leads to personal burnout, as revealed by peer feedback and the Johari
Window reflection.
2. I focus more on short-term tasks than long-term goals. I need to develop visionary
planning skills for higher leadership roles (Mintzberg, 1994).
3. At times, I avoid conflict or hesitate to challenge ideas, which can hinder decision-
making and slow team progress.
4. When facing new challenges, I may delay action due to fear of failure or making
mistakes.
5. Balancing multiple tasks under pressure is difficult. I sometimes underestimate the time
needed for strategic planning.

Opportunities

● Enrolling in workshops and courses can help strengthen my strategic thinking and
delegation skills.
 ● Seeking guidance from experienced leaders could provide insights and practical advice
for career growth.

● Expanding my professional network offers chances to collaborate, learn, and improve

visibility in leadership contexts.

● Regular feedback from peers and supervisors can help uncover blind spots and track my
leadership growth.

● Using time and task management tools can enhance my productivity and reduce overload.

Threats

1. Without better delegation and balance, I may face physical and emotional fatigue,
affecting my performance.
2. Focusing only on what I do well may prevent me from developing new, essential skills.
3. Not having a defined path could delay leadership opportunities or cause career
stagnation.
4. Rapid changes in workplace expectations may outpace my current skills if I don’t
continue adapting.
5. In a competitive environment, a lack of strategic leadership development may place me at
a disadvantage compared to my peers.

Personal Development Plan:

A Personal Development Plan (PDP) provides a structured and reflective framework to improve
self-awareness and promote continuous learning throughout one’s life and career. Based on the
findings from my SWOT analysis and Potential.ly profile, I have identified three key
competencies for development: delegation, strategic thinking, and confidence in decision-
making. These leadership skills are particularly aligned with my long-term aspiration to work as
a project manager and team leader, roles that demand strong organisational, interpersonal, and
cognitive capabilities. My development strategy draws upon Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle
(1984), which encourages learning through concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract
conceptualisation, and active experimentation (Groves & Feyerherm, 2022). To support goal-
setting and motivation, I will also apply the GROW coaching model (Whitmore, 2002), which
offers a practical method for identifying Goals, exploring Reality, developing Options, and
determining the Will to move forward. Additionally, Knowles’ (1975) theory of Self-Directed
Learning will support my ability to manage my learning process with autonomy and
accountability.

The first skill I aim to develop is delegation. Although I value teamwork, I tend to take on
excessive responsibilities due to my high personal standards. My SMART goal is to delegate at
least 30% of the workload in my next group project within two months. To accomplish this, I
will participate in BCU-led leadership workshops that offer training in team management and
task distribution. During future university projects, I will actively distribute assignments with
clear expectations and deadlines. Feedback from peers will help me evaluate my performance. I
will use Kolb’s cycle to reflect on each project experience, analyse outcomes, and make
appropriate adjustments. By sharing responsibility and building trust in others’ contributions, I
aim to reduce unnecessary stress and support the growth of team members, contributing to
stronger group performance overall.

The second skill I wish to improve is strategic thinking. To become a successful leader, it is
essential to move beyond short-term planning and cultivate an understanding of long-term goals
and organisational vision. My goal is to design a strategic planning framework for a mock
business or university event by August 2025. To achieve this, I will enrol in an online strategy
course via Coursera or edX and complement my learning with case study readings from the
Harvard Business Review. These resources will help me analyse real-world strategic decisions
and apply theoretical concepts in practice. As Mintzberg suggests, effective strategy requires a
blend of creativity and analysis, which I will seek to develop through applied learning. Finally, I
aim to enhance my confidence in decision-making. I often rely on group consensus, but I
recognise that effective leaders must be able to make autonomous and timely decisions. My goal
is to improve the speed and clarity of my decision-making process by 25% over the next three
months. To support this goal, I will implement the GROW model and maintain a decision-
making journal that tracks choices, reasoning, and outcomes. This habit will reinforce Knowles’
Self-Directed Learning theory by encouraging regular self-evaluation and adaptation. Through
this structured development plan, I will transform key weaknesses into strengths and evolve into
a more effective and resilient leader.

Section 2: Leadership Theories and Future Challenges

This section explores how leadership and management theories, specifically Transformational
and Authentic Leadership, inform my personal development and prepare me to address future
leadership challenges in dynamic environments.

2.1 Applying Leadership and Management Theories to Personal Development

Leadership exists as an ongoing developmental process that requires continuous self-reflection

alongside learning and adaptive measures. My academic experiences, together with partnership
experience, have provided me with different approaches to leadership. My most essential
discovery has been the requirement of inserting my leadership development within established
theoretical foundations. This section examines the two leading leadership theories, which are
Transformational Leadership and Authentic Leadership. I will analyze the essential foundations
and benefits together with the boundaries of these approaches while demonstrating their direct
value for improving my leadership traits (Khan et al., 2016). This analysis considers their
implications for current business leadership environments because modern leaders need to
handle transformation and multiple stakeholder demands.

Transformational Leadership

James MacGregor Burns first introduced Transformational Leadership, which Bernard Bass
further developed as leaders motivating their followers to put organizational goals ahead of
personal needs. The framework includes four elements that are Idealized Influence, together with
Inspirational Motivation and Intellectual Stimulation, followed by Individualized Consideration.
The elements combine to create higher team performance while developing an atmosphere where
trust thrives with creativity and strong commitment (Scott et al., 2018). I connect strongly with
this theory because my life has always been enriched by making others succeed in attaining their
full capabilities. I acted as the motivating force when assigned to work with others in my
university class. I effectively verbalized our united goal and collected all colleagues' suggestions
before finding collaborative solutions to difficulties. The outcome of our project surpassed
academic standards because each member experienced increased value along with personal
empowerment. A transformative leadership model excels especially through its ability to
generate innovative changes within organizational settings (Kragt and Day, 2020).
Transformational leaders build superior-performing organisations through their vision-based
approach, which inspires workers to fulfill tasks above their normal duties. This leadership
strategy has certain boundaries that restrict its effective application (Megheirkouni and
Mejheirkouni, 2020). Transformational leadership requires great effort from its practitioner
because the leader must maintain constant displays of visionary capabilities and emotional
intelligence, along with charisma. The approach is usually ineffective when organizations
maintain routines and operate under strict hierarchical structures (Khan et al., 2016).

Authentic Leadership

The Authentic Leadership model played an essential role in shaping my perspectives by valuing
open conduct alongside moral responsibility, together with transformative self-perception.
According to scholars Avolio and Gardner, Authentic Leadership demonstrates that leaders who
maintain their genuine nature and honesty stand out as the most successful ones despite
challenges. A cornerstone of successful leadership is authenticity, according to my leadership
experiences. A research project revealed a conflict between my teammates, as I remember from
that period. Instead of preventing the situation or picking a team, I stepped forward to resolve the
issue directly (Miscenko, Guenter, and Day, 2017). I convened the groups while expressing
direct awareness of their disagreement, then invited each party to express what they thought. The
revelation of much perspicuous confusion about handling the situation served to reduce tension
between the two parties. The project achieved success while the team developed improved
harmony among everyone.

The main advantage of Authentic Leadership is its ability to build trusting relationships that
motivate loyal employees. Organizations operating in an environment where employees look for
ethical alignment benefit from authentic leadership, as this quality establishes itself as a
remarkable organizational asset. Some critics believe that excessive display of personal emotions
and organizational transparency might create dilemmas of vulnerability as well as decision
paralysis. New structures should facilitate the same level of openness required in authentic
leadership, or else authentic leadership will face challenges. I maintain that authenticity
establishes the foundation for becoming credible while gaining influence despite known
drawbacks. My plan to develop this trait includes performing consistent self-analyses through
journaling combined with practicing mindfulness sessions. The practices I have chosen will
boost my emotional competencies and keep me anchored to my core values during intricate
situations. Normative organizational environments characterized as volatile, uncertain, complex,
and ambiguous (VUCA) find Transformational, along with Authentic Leadership, particularly
useful. Modern organizations face challenges from quick advancements in technology, coupled
with changing demographics and demands from their multiple groups of stakeholders. The
combination of transformational leadership with authentic leadership produces organizations that
achieve innovation alongside maintaining trust, as well as driving ethical conduct and sustainable
cultural development. My leadership approach consists of integrating visionary qualities with
ground-level pragmatism and inspirational being, coupled with genuine communication
alongside ambitious goals and empathetic leadership.

2.2 Anticipated Leadership Challenges and Proposed Solutions

I understand the many hurdles that stand before me because I plan to move from academic
spaces into professional leadership positions (Anderson et al., 2017). Leadership extends beyond
making decisions and possessing authority since it demands functionality across human
behavioral comprehension and worldwide trends, together with moral accountability and
technological transformations. This segment describes three significant obstacles that will appear
throughout my leadership journey while providing research-based and self-reflective methods to
overcome these hurdles.

Challenge 1: Leading a Diverse Workforce

Modern leadership faces a significant challenge in managing workforce diversity across cultural
backgrounds, combined with generational and neurodiversity, and other group characteristics.
Modern work groups have reached new heights of diversity through the combination of global
business operations and inclusive workplace recruitment approaches. The numerous benefits of
workforce diversity produce challenges by affecting team coordination and the intra-team
communication process, es and unconscious bias responses. The unsuccessful management of
diversity leads to misunderstanding, along with creating excluded individuals who feel less
motivated, which results in decreased employee morale. My team experienced this situation
while working together on an assignment because one member faced a disconnect from our
group due to cultural language differences. Because the team lacked an inclusive method, the
members displayed minimal involvement, which damaged their collaborative dynamics.

The principles of Inclusive Leadership (Nishii & Mayer, 2009) will guide my approach to deal
with these obstacles because they promote fairness alongside open communication and
individual respect (Nahavandi, 2015). Using Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Theory will enable
me to understand and appreciate how different cultures function. The established frameworks
promote adaptable exchange of information along with sensitivity to cultural values while
providing inclusive procedures to make decisions. I will work on my personal DEI approach by
taking DEI training courses while also joining cross-cultural communication sessions, which will
lead me to create an inclusive workplace environment, allowing all team members to have their
voices heard. I will ask for confidential feedback that allows me to detect potential biases that
may exist in my practices.

Challenge 2: Navigating Change and Uncertainty

Leaders in current business environments face rapid changes, which technological disruption and
shifting market dynamics, as well as hybrid work models. New changes within teams lead to fear
and opposition, mainly due to staff members not understanding changes or being unprepared.
The transition to virtual tools and remote operations forced my pandemic internship to make an
urgent change of direction. At first, the productivity level decreased while communication
systems became unorganized. Scheduled check-ins, together with clear updates, combined with
adjustable work responsibilities, allowed the team to succeed despite changes to their workplace
environment. I will use Kotter’s 8-Step Change Model as my change leadership approach by
focusing on urgency creation through coalitions and cultural integration of new procedures.
Through equal emphasis on Agile leadership principles along with iterative planning and real-
time feedback, our leadership team will maintain adaptability. I will develop my change
management abilities through analyzing successful transformation cases and participating in
workshops about agile projects while keeping a journal to study how I respond to changes.

Challenge 3: Maintaining Ethical and Responsible Leadership

Organizational requirements for ethical leadership have become essential because stakeholders
expect executives to demonstrate social justice and environmental sustainability and embrace
corporate responsibility.. The business simulation required our team to select either proper profit
maximization or ethical material sources without bias. My stance during that decision-making
process emphasized long-term brand reputation, which justified an ethical approach instead of
seeking short-term gains. The company received recognition for its ethical position, even though
profitability results showed a lower standing (Uslu, 2019).

I will implement Servant Leadership that centers on others' welfare while utilizing the Triple
Bottom Line method, which evaluates success through people, together with planet, and profit.
CSR models will direct my decision-making process by embedding ethical values into strategic
planning activities. I will progress my ethical leadership competence through participation in
ethical puzzle sets and ESG (Environmental Social Governance) standards analysis while
gaining direction from experts who demonstrate strong ethical conduct. Leadership requires
personal value but demands social relationships (Zheng and Muir, 2015). My study into
Transformational and Authentic Leadership allows me to visualize my future leadership type,
which involves visionary principles and ethical conduct combined with results-oriented
performance. I am aware of upcoming leadership obstacles, which include directing various
teams together with managing continuous shifts while maintaining ethical conduct under
complex situations. These obstacles that stand in my path function as development opportunities
rather than obstacles.

Conclusion

This portfolio has delivered systematic evidence-based reflection regarding my leadership

progression in the HRM7052 Leadership Development module. My knowledge about existing
leadership principles, along with SWOT analysis and Potential.ly personality assessment, helps
me better understand my current state and growth needs. Through this process, I discovered my
strengths, which include empathy, along with curiosity and strong communication abilities, and
teamwork, but I also noticed the need to develop my long-term planning skills and my conflict
resolution and delegation abilities. By applying Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence model in
combination with the Johari Window and Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle, I gained improved
insight into my leadership development. The connection between my characteristics and the
model of Authentic and Transformational Leadership helps me recognize myself better. The
models closely match my leadership objectives and core values since they focus on ethical
behavior and visionary thinking alongside emotional connection, while I aim to develop these
elements in professional environments. In my future growth plan, I will use specific methods to
manage my time better while developing coaching skills and learning to survive under
demanding conditions. Regular use of the GROW coaching model constitutes part of my plans to
assist others with goal achievement and personal growth development. I will conduct ongoing
self-assessment through journal writing and mindfulness sessions to preserve my core values. I
dedicate myself to becoming a flexible and values-focused leader who will respond to evolving
workplaces by using empathy and creativity together with ethical conduct. The portfolio
establishes fundamental groundwork for my leadership development by demonstrating both
continuous learning and deliberate personal growth as crucial elements for long-term effective
leadership.
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