Reflection Document

Leadership Essentials For Business

Objective: This document has been drafted to help you reflect, record and reassess over areas where
you can improve yourself with the learnings taken from this course from time to time. The aim is to
provide a platform to you to express your inner thoughts and pen them down for future reference.

Note: These questions are purely meant for reflection purposes and, hence, will not be graded. There are
no right or wrong answers. It is highly recommended to reserve some time to fill this document which will
aid you in analysing your strengths and improvement points and reap maximum learning from this course.

Module 1: Leading Self Session 1: Introduction to Leadership

Refer to the following rating scores to plot them in the first two columns of the table:
1 - I need a significant improvement
2 - I need an improvement
3 - Moderate
4 - I am relatively good at it
5 - I am great at it.

Reflection question Occasion/ What Do You Want What Do You Want What Do You Want To Start
Context To Keep Doing? To Stop Doing? Doing?

Leadership styles
Recall a time when one of your
leaders exercised any of the
four leadership styles and the
results were not that great

What do you think would have

been a better approach in the
situation? How would you have
approached the situation?

Leadership styles
According to the survey you
took for leadership styles, Can
you recall a time when you
displayed that leadership style?

Reflect on the experience, what

would you like to start, stop and
continue doing about it?

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 Self-Rating Dream Self- Situation/Content/Stories Key Areas of Improvement In
(1-5) Rating Score from work Next Two Years
During the (1-5) In Next (Refer to the questions
Course Two Years under each heading)

Mindfulness
1. Would you rate yourself
on mindfulness?
2. Do you indulge in any
mindfulness practices
at work?

Ethics
1. Would you rate yourself
on ethics?
2. Recall an incident
where you think
you/your leaders
displayed ethical
behaviour

Inclusivity
1. Would you rate yourself
on inclusivity?
2. Recall an incident
where you think
you/your leaders
displayed inclusivity at
workplace

Module 1: Leading Self Session 2: Intrapersonal Qualities of a Leader

Self-Rating Dream Self- My Self-Awareness of Key Areas of Improvement In

(1-5) Rating Score Intra-Personal Qualities Next Two Years
During the (1-5) In Next as a Leader?
Course Two Years (Refer to the questions
under each heading)

Vision
3. Have you charted a
short-term and a long-
term vision for yourself?
4. Do you use the SMART
framework to draft your
vision statement?

Motivation
1. Are you intrinsically or
extrinsically motivated?
2. How well do you

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 understand the
motivating drivers of
your team?
3. How do you keep up
your team motivation?

Self-Awareness
1. Do you have a high or
low internal self-
awareness?
2. Do you have a high or
low external self-
awareness?
3. Where do you
categorise yourself
under the four
archetypes of self-
awareness?
4. What do you feel are
your roadblocks to high
self-awareness?

Emotional Intelligence (EQ)

1. Do you have a fair
understanding of what it
is to be an emotionally
intelligent person?
2. Do you prioritise EQ to
strengthen it further?

Innovation and Intellect

1. Do you focus on
cultivating creative
thinking skills regularly?
2. What is your take on
strengthening
processes through
innovation by
teammates?

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Module 1: Leading Self Session 3: Interpersonal Qualities of a Segment 1: Listening with Empathy and
Leader Compassion

Reflection question Occasion/ What Do You Want What Do You Want What Do You Want To Start
Context To Keep Doing? To Stop Doing? Doing?

Recall the last time when you

felt your listening at the
workplace could have been
more empathetic.
Reflect deeply on your
experience and design ways to
make it richer in the future.

Reflect on the last time when

you felt the receiver could have
displayed empathy while
listening to you as a speaker.

What do you plan to do the next

time you face an un-empathetic
listener?

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Module 1: Leading Self Session 3: Interpersonal Qualities of a Segment 2: Relationship Building and
Leader Networking

My past: My present:

Plan of Action To Rekindle Past Dormant Plan of Action To Strengthen bonds With
Connections Current Quality Connections

Operational

● Workplace

Emotional

● Workplace (Past,
current or any
other platforms)

Strategic

● Workplace (Past,
current or any
other platforms)

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Module 1: Leading Self Session 3: Interpersonal Qualities of a Segment 3: Power of Coaching and
Leader Mentoring

Reflection question Occasion/ What Do You Want What Do You Want What Do You Want To Start
Context To Keep Doing? To Stop Doing? Doing?

As a mentor, recollect the time

when you mentored someone
either at your college or in your
professional career. Overall,
how would you summarise your
mentoring experience?

As a mentee, recollect the time

when you got mentored either
at your college or in your
professional career. Overall,
how would you summarise your
mentoring experience?

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 Module 1: Leading Self Session 3: Interpersonal Qualities of a Segment 4: Influencing Stakeholders
Leader

1. Which influence style do you identify yourself with? [Your answer]

(Hint: Bridging, Rationalising, Asserting, Inspiring and Negotiating)
2. Which influence style do you aim to achieve? [Your answer]
3. If applicable, why do you wish to change your current influencing style? [Your answer]

Reflection question Occasion/ How does the What do you miss What can you do to make it
Context current influence out on by having the better, i.e., what do you
style help you? current influence want to start doing?
style?

Recall the time when you

showcased your present
influence style. Describe your
experience.

Module 1: Leading Self Session 3: Interpersonal Qualities of a Segment 5: Learning from The Team
Leader

Reflection Question Occasion/ What Do You Want What Do You Want What Do You Want To Start
Context To Keep Doing? To Stop Doing? Doing?

Recollect a particular workplace

experience which showcased
the balcony and the dance floor
event from your perspective.

What was the experience like?

What did you learn?

Module 2: Leading Teams Session 1: When Do Teams Thrive?

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 Recollect the last time you worked in or led a team to achieve a certain goal or set of goals. If you had a
chance to lead the team again to achieve the same set of goals, would there be any improvements you would
have made?

By using the concepts taught in this session, try to reflect upon what went well, what could have been done
better, and what you would have done to achieve better results through the table below. This exercise will
help you to analyse teams and craft plans to improve teams’ performance.

Note: Please consider your performance in the team as well. A leader is also a part of a team.

Plot down the context of the event in a few words. _____________________________________

Reflect on the questions in this column What Do You Want To Keep What Do You Want To Stop What Do You Want To
Doing? Doing? Start Doing?

Outcomes

As a leader, how instrumental were you

in achieving the team outcomes?

Transparency

1. Think about the amount of

transparency (low, medium,
high) displayed by your team
and reflect upon it.
2. Reflect on what efforts were
taken to increase transparency
within that team.

Trust

Reflect on the amount of trust (low,

medium, high) your team displayed and
the efforts taken to maintain or
increase that trust within the team
members.

Conflict

Reflect on what role conflicts had in

achieving team outcomes.

Commitment

Reflect on the amount of commitment

(low, medium, high) shown towards
ideas/ tasks by team members.

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Accountability

Reflect on the accountability level (low,

medium, high) displayed by the team
members towards their assigned work
and the team.

High performance

Reflect how well your team was able to

achieve intended goals.

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 Module 2: Leading Teams Session 2: Managing Team Dynamics

Analyse the dynamics of any team you may have worked with closely. Try to reflect upon what went well,
what could have been done better, and what you would have done to achieve better results through the
table below. This exercise will help you to analyse teams and craft plans to manage and improve teams’
dynamics.
Please provide a brief context of your selected team.
____________________________________________

Reflect on the questions in this column What Do You Want To What Do You Want To What Do You Want To Start Doing?
Keep Doing? Stop Doing?

Evaluation Apprehension

Reflect on the signs of evaluation

apprehension shown by team members
and the effort taken to reduce negative
perceptions.

Team Blockers

1. Recall the time when you could

spot a team blocker in the
project and reflect on how you
were able to handle that
blocker.
2. Now, reflect on how another
team member handled team
blockers.

(Note: You may add multiple rows or

entries for mentioning different team
blockers)

Common Information Effect

1. Recall the impact created by

the common information effect
and reflect on how it was
handled by the team.

Winners and Whiners

1. Recall the time when you were

delegating tasks to a member
and the attitude they displayed
towards the task.

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 2. Reflect on how you were able
to handle the attitude
displayed by that member.

Encouraging Positive Dynamics

1. Recall the time you were able

to motivate team members
through intrinsic or extrinsic
rewards and reflect on that
context.
2. Reflect on a context that made
you recognise and
communicate team roles (you
can refer to the Belbin
framework) to increase team
performance.

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 Module 2: Leading Teams Session 3: Collaborative leadership

Recollect the last time you worked in or led a team to achieve a certain goal or set of goals. If you had a
chance to lead the team again to achieve the same set of goals, would there be any improvements you would
have made?

By using the concepts taught in this session, try to reflect upon what went well, what could have been done
better, and what you would have done to achieve better results through the table below. Analyse your team
performance through the measure of collaboration.

Note: Please consider your performance in the team as well. A leader is also a part of a team.

Plot down the context of the event in a few words. _____________________________________

Reflect on the questions in this column What Do You Want To What Do You Want To What Do You Want To Start Doing?
Keep Doing? Stop Doing?

Control Vs Collaboration

Reflect on the method you used to

handle this outcome. Think of ways to
improve the results.

Type of collaboration

Which type of collaboration who used,

if any? Would you want to do anything
differently now?

TACK Framework

Had you known this framework before,

would you have done things
differently? How do you think it would
have affected your team performance

Behavioural Traits

Which of the behavioural traits of

collaboration did you show?

What else would you want to inculcate

in yourself?

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 Module 3: Leading Organisations Session 1: Core Tasks of a leader

An aspiring leader needs to effectively make sense of a difficult situation, relate with multiple stakeholders
to understand how the situation will affect them, envision a plan to handle the difficult situation and execute
the plan with minimum deviation and error.

Try to analyse these four roles by recalling one of your work-related experiences (maybe a project, an
initiative, a research etc). Reflect upon what went well, what could have been done better, and what you
would have done to achieve better results through the table below. This exercise can help you become more
effective as a leader for your future tasks and assignments.

Plot down the context of the event in a few words._______________________________________________

Refer to the rating score given below to plot it in the first two columns of the table:
1 - I need a significant improvement
2 - I need an improvement
3 - Moderate
4 - I am relatively good at it
5 - I am great at it.

Reflect on the questions in Self-Rating (1- Dream Self- What Do You What Do You Want What Do You Want To
this column 5) Rating Score Want To Keep To Stop Doing? Start Doing?
During the (1-5) In Next Doing?
Course Two Years

Sensing

1. Reflect on how you

understand or make sense
of what is happening in
your organisation/industry.
2. What methods do you
employ to estimate the
probable future
direction/decision that
would be taken by your
organisation or the
industry?

Relating

1. Reflect on how you

network and build
relationships with people
from and outside your
organisation.

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2. What networking
methods do you use and
how effective have they
been achieving your
related goals?

Visioning

1. How do you foresee the

challenges of the
organisation?

2. What approach do you use

to mitigate challenges and
work towards building
your organisation’s
future?

Executing

How good are you at

executing plans and achieving
intended outcomes?

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 Module 3: Leading Organisations Session 2: Leadership in Crisis

Just as organisations face difficult times, individuals too face difficult situations in their professional careers.
The various scenarios you learnt in the course are as applicable to individuals as they are to leaders.

Whether it be conflict management, communication of tough decisions, establishing/conforming to an

organisation’s culture or rebuilding your / your team’s / your organisation’s image after a crisis, the
leadership skills required and exhibited are similar.

Please focus on your learnings from these scenarios irrespective of the scale of the team you have led in
your career so far.

This exercise aims to help you analyse crises and work on a responsive plan of action for such critical
situations.

Plot down the context of the event in a few words. _____________________________________

Reflect on the questions in this column What Do You Want To What Do You Want To Stop What Do You Want To
Keep Doing? Doing? Start Doing?

Conflict management 1. Collaboration 1. Collaboration 1. Collaboration

Reflect on all the times when you faced 2. Competition 2. Competition 2. Competition
a conflict of opinion/idea with another
colleague in your workplace. It could 3. Compromise 3. Compromise 3. Compromise
have been either a superior, a peer or
even a subordinate. Reflect on how you 4. Accommodation 4. Accommodation 4. Accommodation
typically handle conflicts using the
questions in the next three columns. 5. Avoidance 5. Avoidance 5. Avoidance
You can note reflections per each style
you have used in your experience.

Difficult conversations

Reflect on all the times you had to break

down difficult news or have difficult
conversations with others.

Reflect on how you typically handle

such situations with the help of the
questions presented in the next three
columns.

Culture

How were you able to adapt your

leadership style with the different
organisations and their cultures that

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you have worked with? Please reflect.

Organisation/Team in crisis

In situations of crisis, how do you

typically project the crisis at your
organisation to internal and external
stakeholders?

Please reflect.

Module 3: Leading Organisations Session 3: Leadership Innovation

Organisations are continuously treading on the path of innovation. Can you recall recent innovations
happening in your organisation? What role do you think senior leadership plays in them? Had you been in
their position, what would you have done differently?

Plot down the context of the event in a few words. _____________________________________

Reflect on the questions in this column What Do You Want To What Do You Want To Stop What Do You Want To
Keep Doing? Doing? Start Doing?

Innovative leadership

Reflect on all the times when you

experienced an innovative plan being
executed at your workplace.

Reflect on how you would handle the

execution of the plan.

Module 3: Leading Organisations Session 4: Leading in digital age

Organisations face numerous challenges on a daily basis. Most of these challenges are usually due to
advancement in technology and lack of resources to keep up with the pace of growing technology. Think of a
time when you/your team experienced such challenges at your workplace? How did you cope up with it?
What were certain steps taken?

Plot down the context of the event in a few words. _____________________________________

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Reflect on the questions in this column What Do You Want To What Do You Want To Stop What Do You Want To
Keep Doing? Doing? Start Doing?

Challenges in digital age

Reflect on all the times when you faced

challenges due to digital advancement.
How would you have handled them if
you were in a higher management
position?

Reflect on the things you would have

done differently and why?

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