ASSIGNMENT 1 - INDIVIDUAL REFELCTION

22118955 | PRIYANK ASHER

MSc Financial Service
PM6072 - LEADERSHIP, INFLUENCE AND CHANGE

INTRODUCTION
Leaders actualize aspirations. Leadership entails motivating and encouraging others to
achieve success. My leadership journey started in my childhood. After my family's finances
were damaged by a company failure, I recognized the importance of financial literacy to
corporate success. My father's efforts to overcome the obstacle taught me that leadership
requires decisive action.

As my family is in business, I spent a great deal of time studying money. Managing my

family's money from an early age taught me accountability, initiative, and a focus on
outcomes.

This experience confirmed my desire to focus in finance, given the importance of financial
literacy to personal and professional success. Continuing education and industry upgrades
are crucial to my team management and goal attainment.

I aim to serve others by leading the financial business. My Master of Finance program
involves accreditation in financial planning and analysis. Internships and expert networking
will assist me in enhancing my financial analysis, risk management, and investment skills.

According to studies, financial literacy helps both individuals and the economy (Robb et al.,
2020). I want to use my expertise in finance to help people and businesses in making better
financial choices and achieving their objectives.

I agree that finance CEOs must be effective leaders. According to studies, financial
executives need technical capabilities, strategic thinking, and employee sensitivity (Shen et
al., 2021). So, I want to enroll in relevant educational programs and seek mentoring from
seasoned leaders in order to enhance my leadership skills.

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Now, my leadership skills are a result of my background and ambition to work in finance.
Northouse (2013) defines leadership as the ability to convince a group to collaborate. As a
child, I learnt the importance of financial literacy through seeing my father's struggles with
his business. Due to this, I like finance and have the necessary leadership qualities for a job
in the field.

I exercise leadership by expressing my opinions openly. According to DeRue and Ashford,

leaders who can connect with their followers may inspire them, share their vision, and earn
their trust (2010). Due to my years of experience with the family budget, I'm able to
communicate even the most intricate personal financial ideas to my family.
I am an effective leader because I am not afraid of responsibilities. Day, Fleenor, Atwater,
Sturm, and McKee suggest that effective leaders are accountable and responsible (2014).
Personal accountability and responsibility have taught me the value of the household
budget.

I am aware that I can enhance my leadership skills. I am proficient at explaining financial

topics but not at delegation. Jago (2013) asserts that delegation enables leaders to
concentrate on the broad picture while providing subordinates with opportunities for
professional growth. I want to become better at this by identifying tasks that are good
candidates for delegation and ensuring that others have the necessary skills and resources
to do them.

Plan

To reach my leadership objectives, I will use the university's student sustainability center as
well as my expertise at Ballyhouran Development CLG. Extracurricular activities may develop
soft skills such as leadership, communication, decision-making, and collaboration, according
to a review of the relevant research (Noda et al., 2018).

I want to exploit these opportunities for leadership. To enhance my communication skills, I

want to engage in active listening (Gordon, 2017). Active listening is focusing on the
speaker, processing their words and nonverbal signs, and reacting appropriately. As a
leader, I will ask questions designed to develop mutual understanding and confidence
(Bader et al., 2020).

I want to strengthen my contextual leadership by describing the larger picture and how jobs
fit into it (Carless et al., 2021). I will divide large projects into manageable chunks and devise
a plan to guarantee companywide alignment.

According to scholarly studies, leadership development programs increase leadership

abilities and organizational results (Day et al., 2014). To increase my leadership abilities, I
want to participate in leadership development programs, seek mentoring from more
experienced leaders, and commit to lifelong learning.

References:

Robb, C. A., Babiarz, P., & Woodyard, A. (2020). Financial literacy research in the
United States: A state‐of‐the‐art review. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 54(2), 319-363.

Shen, J., Wang, L., & Wang, J. (2021). The impact of leadership style on employee
turnover intention in the financial industry: The mediating role of emotional
intelligence. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 783.
Bader, P., Hartog, D. N., & Boon, C. (2020). The impact of leader–follower communication
patterns on leader resilience. The Leadership Quarterly, 31(1), 101304.

Carless, S. A., Wearing, A., & Mann, L. (2021). Exploring the relationship between leadership
context, leader behavior, and follower outcomes. The Leadership Quarterly, 32(1), 101455.
Day, D. V., Fleenor, J. W., Atwater, L. E., Sturm, R. E., & McKee, R. A. (2014). Advances in
leader and leadership development: A review of 25 years of research and theory. The
Leadership Quarterly, 25(1), 63-82.

Gordon, K. (2017). Active listening as a communication tool for leaders. Journal of

Leadership Education, 16(4), 244-255.

Noda, T., Boswell, W. R., & Davis, D. D. (2018). The impact of extracurricular activities on
leadership development. Journal of Leadership Education, 17(3), 92-108.