Questions:

1. How would you define leadership? Describe an instance in which you exhibited that type of leadership.
2. What are your career goals and how do you plan to prepare yourself to meet those goals?
3. Describe a challenging situation you have faced and explain the steps you have taken or continue to take to overcome that challenge.

Answer:

According to Peter F. Drucker “Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things” . The fundamental nature of leadership is that you have to have yourself a vision. It’s a sophisticated art of making others want to do something you are certain should be done. To claim yourself to be a leader you have to be able to set clear, realistic goals and be ready to work as hard as possible to achieve them, being prepared to face the inevitable obstacles and to overcome them successfully. Your style of leadership is always unique and individual; what one should never forget is that it should be born out of the perception of the desires and requirements of individuals who would be influenced by it.

My leadership style is definitely participative the majority of the time. I have been an inventory control manager for several years and have found that my department is only as good as its weakest link. Knowledge is power and the more time I spend teaching and training the people that work for me, the happier and more productive the entire group is. Leadership is directing and guiding others to a mutual goal. I prefer that all employees that I manage or supervise be completely cross-trained in every area. I try to provide a better quality of work, so that employees can feel their input in the work.

There are also times where it may be important to lead with an authoritarian style as well as a delegate style depending on the situation. I used this style of leadership while working at Revman International. When I started working for the company as the inventory control manager, all the employees assigned to my group had basic skills but they did not have any formal inventory experience. They were good people and I knew I could train them and turn the department around rapidly by rolling up my sleeves and working with them while training them properly. I spent time with individual employees and in groups. In less than a year, my group improved inventory accuracy by over 16%.

After working with inventory for many years, I was presented the opportunity to attend college full time. It is something that I have wanted to do for many years. I have been interested in both accounting and computer technology. With the passage of the Sarbanes Oxley Act in 2002, the need for individuals trained in accounting forensics is great. I can use the accounting degree that I will complete this summer and the computer technology degree that I will complete next spring to work toward my career goal of working in accounting forensics. I am currently seeking work in accounting while I work toward completing my degree requirements. With enough accounting experience, I will be able to move toward auditing and then accounting forensics. I also want to continue my education which will help me attain these goals.