Melidores
Oct 25, 2016
Scholarship / 'the flexibility and openness to adapt are the keys' - LEADERSHIP & INFLUENCE QUESTION [3]
According to my experience I believe that the flexibility and openness to adapt are the keys when comes to leadership, however being truthful and trustworthy and having conviction is an essential leadership competency. To be a leader is an art of influencing and motivating others on willing to do something that the leader is convinced that should be done, in addition, leadership is an art of connecting all stakeholders to achieve a goal.
One of my recent professional leadership experience is when I was working as Small Scale and Marketing Garden Agronomist at Vanduzi Company (Mozfoods, S.A) one of the Mozambican company which export fresh vegetables to UK. Most of the vegetables exported across countries by this company came from small farmers where I was the agronomist and working with almost 350 small holders most of them with low education levels sometimes even with those who do not know how to write their own names but with a lot of farming experience.
Despite their farming techniques and low levels of education which were affecting directly on the yields and produce quality, my leadership approach changed the situation. In eleven months, the yields increased 53%, the pack house produce quality increased 17% in general, and in twelve months, the amount of small farmers increased to 500 members.
For this stunt to happen I had to adapt my leadership approach to fit small holders and my team to achieve the goal, by building relationship, demonstrate values and ethics, encouraging and inspiring trustworthy.
According to my experience I believe that the flexibility and openness to adapt are the keys when comes to leadership, however being truthful and trustworthy and having conviction is an essential leadership competency. To be a leader is an art of influencing and motivating others on willing to do something that the leader is convinced that should be done, in addition, leadership is an art of connecting all stakeholders to achieve a goal.
One of my recent professional leadership experience is when I was working as Small Scale and Marketing Garden Agronomist at Vanduzi Company (Mozfoods, S.A) one of the Mozambican company which export fresh vegetables to UK. Most of the vegetables exported across countries by this company came from small farmers where I was the agronomist and working with almost 350 small holders most of them with low education levels sometimes even with those who do not know how to write their own names but with a lot of farming experience.
Despite their farming techniques and low levels of education which were affecting directly on the yields and produce quality, my leadership approach changed the situation. In eleven months, the yields increased 53%, the pack house produce quality increased 17% in general, and in twelve months, the amount of small farmers increased to 500 members.
For this stunt to happen I had to adapt my leadership approach to fit small holders and my team to achieve the goal, by building relationship, demonstrate values and ethics, encouraging and inspiring trustworthy.