Universidad de California Los Angeles

Extension

Course X 443.4: Leadership and the Human Element in Project Management

Project 1 - Leadership Self-Assessment

Por

Luis Alberto Durruty

October 2010
1 - My current level of leadership

The five levels of leadership as defined by the transformational model adopted by Pastor John
Maxwell are based on the character and the relationships developed by the leaders with their
followers; the levels are progressive and function as steps in stairs, since leadership is the ability
to influence people, a leader success or development may be evaluated by her or his ability to
make an impact beyond their current position.

The five levels are:

1 – Position: The initial, this level depends on the job title or position within the organization;
people follow the leaders in this level because they have to.

This is a position of control rather than of leadership, people are appointed to this level based on
technical skills and ability to follow proper procedures. In this level you are the boss, not the
leader. The authority comes from the title not the talent.

In my opinion this is the most common kind of official “leadership” exerted in most
organizations, people like the “power” of their positions but usually lack leadership skills.

2 – Permission: Here is when meaningful relationships are established, an effective leader care
about his or her people; taking the time and effort to know them and gaining their trust, in this
step people follow the leader because they want to. While the first level may be the entrance to
leadership, a strong foundation of genuine personal relationships is needed to succeed as a
leader.

3 – Production: In this level results happen, people follow the leader to obtain results. People
get together with a purpose. The goals are clear and the people follow their leader because they
trust him or her and know he or she will lead the to obtain the desired success. The leader
because knows his or her people (level 2) can communicate effectively the organization’s
strategy and vision in order to achieve results.
4 – People Development: At this level the leader empowers his or her people, the leader must be
unafraid of developing competitors for his or her position, and assume the role of a mentor or a
coach, being able to invest time in the development of his or her followers. By doing this the
leader is creating loyalty, improving morale, and insuring the long term goals of the organization
are successfully achieved.

5 – Personhood: This is the highest level possible; it requires a lifetime of dedication and hard
work. People follow this leader because they respect him or her. Their whole life is an example
to follow, this respect and admiration is not only due to achievements but for what the leader has
become. Their influence transcends the organization.

My level of leadership:

In order to asses my current level of leadership I asked myself five questions:

1 – What is my current position?

This is the starting point by knowing the level of leadership that comes with my current position;
I establish the ground for my leadership assessment.

As most of us, I wear several hats, for example at work I am an Environmental Engineer
Associate II, at home I am a husband and father, at the gym I am a black belt associate instructor,
at church I am a ruling elder and at UCLA I am an extension student. Each one of this
“positions” carries leadership responsibilities, but for this assessment I will concentrate in my
professional \leadership at work, I am responsible for the projects I manage and for the work
done by interns, professional student workers, and environmental engineers associate I . For
example when I ask an intern to perform a task I expect it to be done proficiently and on
schedule, which he or she has to do in order to keep her or his job.

2 – Do I know my job description and what is expected of me?

This question allows me to evaluate my place within the organization, and give me the insight to
asses if I am transcending it.

I am completely aware of my position description and what is expected of me, I constantly try to
exceed the expectation; actually I act tactfully in ways far exceeding “what I am supposed to do”
For example as an Environmental Engineer Associate II, I am in charge of developing outreach
programs, answering to the Sr. Engineer and the Division Manager. I always keep them aware of
progress and of any inconvenience I face when performing my duties. Of course that involves
volunteering in other programs such as developing a Project Management manual for our
division.

3 - Do I care about other people?

This question allowed me to evaluate my leadership at level 2 and beyond. Make me think about
how I relate to others.

Even though I am an Engineer, I am fundamentally a people’s person, I love people, every kind
of people and try to show genuine interest in the persons surrounding me, I think there is a fine
line, which is different for everyone, between friendliness and intrusiveness; I constantly try to
keep the balance. You will find me talking to my peers, supervisors or subordinates, on subjects
outside the work itself, where we can relate as humans without the barriers created by our
positions. I gain their trust by practicing active listening and trying to understand other people’s
position or the problems they are facing. For example one of my co-workers who is pregnant was
feeling uncomfortable having to constantly leave our office, I realized that and we work a plan
where she would stay in the office taking care of part of the paperwork, while a group of
colleagues would take care of the out of office duties.

4 – Am I goal oriented?

This question allows me to evaluate my leadership characteristics related to the level three.

I recognize that being part of a political entity such as the City of Los Angeles, carries its risks in
terms of goal setting, the general Goal of Our Bureau are “To protect the Environment and the
Public.” Within this general scope our goals are set by the Board of Directors, but I have the
opportunity to influence those goal setting mechanisms, by my voluntary participation in the
Labor -Management teams.

I must admit that this is probably my weakest area of leadership.

5 – Do I mentor people?

This is a key question when assessing the leadership at level four.

I really enjoy communicating, teaching and mentoring my colleagues, I was selected to

coordinate an educational program where City Engineers, teach the principles of wastewater
treatment to High Schools students, I trained the mentors, and taught teacher’s workshops at
local and national levels. I volunteered to be part of a coaching and mentoring program for our
division’s project managers where each of us can share our knowledge, experience and lessons
learned. I take people with me, showing them how to perform my duties. I have trained junior
colleagues and shared experience with my peers. And I persuasively talk to my supervisors about
better ways to achieve our goals.

Conclusion:

My level of leadership is between level three Production/Results and level four People
Development/ Reproduction.

While I am good at people development, I still have to work on my Production level of

leadership.

I know my position and organization and the authority that emanates from it, I know I am good
establishing relationships, people generally like me and they follow my leadership for whom I
am not only for my position, while I am goal oriented, I will need to grow in my leadership in the
area of results, maybe I am being a little harsh with myself because people know that I exceed
the goals every time, but I think I still can do more, I am not using my full potential in this area.

In the other hand I know I am very accomplished in the area of personnel development, I mentor
people and I do not hold anything back. I other grow I will also grow.
2 – My Sphere of Influence

As described above in my position as Environmental Engineer Associate II, I perform

professional environmental engineering work in connection with wastewater collection, disposal
and treatment, I work independently, receiving instructions in general terms, and I am
responsible for some major City projects having wide impact and significant costs.
While my chain of command includes a Sr. Engineer, a Division Manager and a Bureau Director,
I serve as a lead over a small group of lower level employees, such as Environmental Engineers
Associate I, Environmental Compliance Inspectors, Interns, and Student Professional Workers,
as well as clerical staff.

While this description is accurate describing my official authority within the Bureau of
Sanitation, my influence far exceeds it, I have influenced the decisions of my Supervisors, (for
example in more than one occasion I guide my supervisor to change her decision) Managers, and
Bureau Directors, I have had positive influence on High School and College teachers and
students and on peers from several organizations. Besides this I have influence on Martial Arts
students and Church people as well as with family and friends. It is my idea that everybody
influences others in a positive or negative way.

I think three key factors that assisted me in expanding my sphere of influence are:

1 - A sincere love for people: I enjoy people; I always seek opportunities to talk, to learn about
other people’s ideas and life experiences. I think this enriches my own life. For example, I
enjoyed the opportunity to work with a diverse group of people learning about life, and culture of
Iran from Dariush, or Armenia from my Supervisor Loudmilla, or China from Jennifer or Korea
from my instructor Ho Jin Song.
Besides that, I feel deep compassion for suffering people and I have a deep concern for social
justice
2 – A certain level of professional skills and general culture. I found that people respect my
opinions, in general when I talk about a technical or scientific issue I try to be as well informed
and accurate as I can. This trait has helped me in convincing my supervisors on contested items,
for example the best statistical method to apply when evaluating technically based local limits of
pollutants in industrial waste.
Usually in our culture a person with good command of facts, can exert more influence than
others and I always try to increase my knowledge in several areas.

3 – Good Communication skills: Although I have an accent when speaking in English, I can
communicate well with people; I can relate to them and reach them at their level. For example I
have been asked to conduct workshops for teachers at two national conferences, as well as to
explain regulations in Spanish to a taco shop owner in Los Angeles.