Critical Reflection
In this assignment, the goal is to ensure that people in the community unite against individuals and industries who dump inappropriately causing undesirable effects and diseases in the community. Although the coalition is weak and out of funds, the long term goal of eradicating illegal dumping should be achieved. Unity is essential because this process has to be done together to stop noncomplying industries.
I am going to review the success of this coalition and identify its future development needs. I will describe the action Learning Set and assess any support sources available to me. I will also reflect on, analyze and make judgments about the improvements in my own performance as a leader based on campaign against illegal dumping in the community. In addition, I will explain the responsibilities of the members, and using my own experience of action learning, I will evaluate its effectiveness as a technique for enabling my leadership development (Cohen et al 80).
Planning is perhaps the primary step in every person’s journey to success. It often involves reflecting on one’s needs and weaknesses so that these weaknesses can be corrected to achieve success (Denscombe 101). Indeed, leaders who have been most successful have been seen to reflect and learn from their errors. It is imperative, therefore, to review my development needs and to update skills and knowledge. Indeed, I can use the learning points on a daily basis in my role to help create a healthy environment and successful coalition (Denscombe 110).
I have learned to reflect on my skills and leadership style and that there might be more sources available to help me to develop (Gibbs 368). Delegation is an essential component of all working environments. Without delegation, it is impossible to have successful inter-professional relationships. Building a good network with other organizations such as CCHW , the World Health Organization and the local leadership will assist me in developing plans. Furthermore, the delegation will help to keep the participation of the members of the coalition which has presently waned.
On the other side, I will explore ways of implementing community driven development approaches to present an effective and efficient means of involving young individuals in decision making. I feel the implementation of such an approach will definitely give them voice, power and other benefits. Through the process of meeting these goals, I will explore the possible links between different youth and community development disciplines and reflect on the gained knowledge. By playing the role as an active participant and responsible citizen, I will try to address the consequences, actions and decisions if they go wrong. By executing the needed roles, I will make use of various skills needed for establishing associations, when dealing with vulnerable adults.
After the first success in reducing illegal dumping in the community, I feel that I am a qualified community development professional possessing adequate skill. However, these will need to be developed in an effective and most efficient manner in the future (Murphy & Fleming 99). My key plan of immediate action includes usage of the counselling approach. This approach, besides assisting me in developing a perfect eye-contact, also helps in improving body language, clarification and other attributes. By exercising an enhanced degree of care towards tackling of negative issues, I will take the responsibility of training our youth staff. As counselling is a key psychological strategy in delivering support and empathy, I will effectively utilize it in maintaining an active team.
To summarize my action plan, I will begin a communication through good rapport for gaining awareness of factors influencing the ability of vulnerable adults in communicating well and avoid barriers in the future (Denscombe 110). An open body language, eye contact, voice tone and other abilities, depicted above, are much important. Developing these qualities, would enable community professionals to enhance the feelings of care, identification, empathy and support. I think; genuineness supported with an open and relaxed way of accepting vulnerable individual requests can enable them to work according to the best interests of the community (Cohen et al 80). As a leader of a group, one should expect to face ethical dilemmas that call for one to develop intellectual humility, civility, a sense of justice, confidence, and empathy when applying the intellectual tools of critical thinking to a group or personal problem.
I will ensure that the leaders and managers of noncomplying industries know that no matter how one believes they are ethically correct, critical thinking calls for continual improvement of their personal reasoning abilities. Failure to achieve this, their reasoning falls prey to false thinking that may cause them to carry-on the mistakes made through to their personal reasoning. This trend promotes human irrationality, distortion, prejudice, and uncritically acceptable social rules and traditions. In this way, they will recognize why dumping should stop in order to enhance the health of the community.
Conclusion
To become a successful leader, I need to build good leadership qualities. Reflecting and reviewing own skills and style of leadership will help me to develop my skills and put action plans in place to achieve my goals. Reflections and reviewing will help me to know my strengths and weaknesses. Working with others and developing a good network through delegation will contribute towards achieving my goals.
Works Cited
Cohen, Louis, Lawrence Manion, and Keith Morrison. Research methods in education. 5th ed. London: RoutledgeFalmer, 2003. Print.
Denscombe, Martyn. The good research guide for small-scale social research projects. 3rd ed. Maidenhead: Open University Press, 2007. Print.
Gibbs, Lois Marie. Dying from dioxin: a citizen’s guide to reclaiming our health and rebuilding democracy. Boston, MA: South End Press, 1995. Print.
Murphy, Mark, and Ted Fleming. Habermas, critical theory and education. New York: Routledge, 2010. Print.
