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Leading Self: The First Step of Building My Leadership Brand Journey

Hoang Nam Vo

School of Health and Public Safety, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT)

LDSH-405-HB: Leadership

Rod Miller

Assignment: Leading Self – Personal Reflection

October 4, 2023
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Leading Self: The First Step of Building My Leadership Brand Journey

In Module 2: Leading Yourself, I engaged in an in-depth exploration of self-leadership,

learning about how emotional intelligence, personality traits, values, and resiliency can greatly affect

one’s leadership journey. This exploration has been not just an eye-opener, but also crucial in shaping

my first step in the journey of building my leadership brand.

Example 1: Avoiding “CEO disease” – Emotional Intelligence in Leadership

Leadership today has been shifting from prioritization of management skills and strict

hierarchical structures to requiring a deeper understanding of human dynamics, with emotional

intelligence at its core. Emotional intelligence consists of four components: self-awareness, self-

management, social awareness, and relationship management.

During my rotation years in the hospital, I got to work under many different types of leaders.

Many possess “CEO disease”, which according to Daniel et al. (2001), is when the leader is in

dissonance with other members of the organization and is ignorant about how his mood and actions

appear to people around him. I have seen many bosses in shock when they overheard their employees

saying or gossiping bad things about them, and they expected their team members to approach them if

they were dissatisfied with their leadership. There are many reasons why superiors hesitate to share

their true thoughts (some may fear of losing their positions, others may feel uncomfortable talking

about personal matters), but emotionally intelligent leaders have the proficient self and social

awareness to be conscious of how their words and actions may affect the mood of the entire team. As

a leader, I need to constantly keep myself mindful, as well as improve relationship management by

practicing effective communication and building trust by being consistent and authentic can create a

workplace where everyone feels safe for constructive feedback.

Example 2: Understanding my personality - Personality traits in leadership

When the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) test (1987) revealed that my personality type

is best described as Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, and Judging (INFJ), I gained a deeper

understanding of who I am as a person and as a leader. As an introverted person, I charge my battery

by spending time alone reading, playing games, or journaling. I also find myself as someone who

prefers listening to others and is easier to empathize with people, so my leadership brand is to create a

safe space where members feel open to sharing and constructive feedback.

During the COVID-19 Pandemic, I joined a telemedicine home care project coordinated

by the Ho Chi Minh City Center of Disease helping families with infected member(s) to provide

instructions, medicine, equipment, and ambulatory services. I was assigned to lead a team of five

medical graduates (including myself) to assist a community of two districts. We had around 20

infected families calling in per week, so each member handled approximately 4 families per week.

During this tough time, not only the community but also healthcare providers and project members

were at great risk of cross-infection, and our team members were facing the anxiety of possible

infection to themselves and their families. Some members even got infected, and this affected the

whole morale of the team. As an INFJ seeking solutions, I started by listening to each member’s

concerns privately to know how they were feeling and how they wanted to continue with the project.

For the infected members, I switched their status from being “members” to “clients”, assigned them

to the project as normal clients, and transferred their current clients to other members of the team,

letting them have time to take care of themselves and their families. Each week, I arranged an online

meeting where members got a chance to keep up with each other and voice their feelings and

concerns. We created meaningful relationships and were more driven to engage in the project, helping

communities across Ho Chi Minh City.

Example 3: Building my leadership and organizational brand - Values in leadership

In building our leadership brands, values are the foundation upon which their leadership style

and reputation are built. A value-based culture is the driver for each team member’s actions and

decisions, as well as the builder of trust among the team. My top three value is Integrity, Authenticity,

and Family. These core values shape my daily actions and leadership brand, as well as the culture that

I want to build in the organization.

Integrity is built upon authenticity and trust. When each member feels like their opinions and

feelings are valued, as well as has the complete trust of their members, leaders, and community, they

are more purpose-driven to reach the greater good of society. When comparing empathy and

sympathy, authenticity plays a key role in how these two emotional responses are perceived. In the

above project during the Pandemic, we ensured that the feelings and emotions of our team members

were acknowledged by creating various spaces such as private group chats, weekly meetings, or

mental health training. If a team member got infected, we made sure they had our support to take care

of their families. After their test results returned negative, they felt valued, gained more trust in their

leaders and organizations, and were more driven to support others in need. One team member can

spread a shared sense of purpose to the whole team, as it can be a powerful motivator, connecting

individual efforts to a greater good or a meaningful cause, and fostering a sense of fulfillment and

satisfaction. We felt that kind of harmony in our group.

Example 4: Resiliency in healthcare leadership

Resilience is defined as “the ability to recover from setbacks, adapt well to change, and keep

going in the face of adversity” (Ovans, 2015). Coming to Canada, for me, is a test of my resiliency.

Studying abroad so far has been an incredibly rewarding yet extremely challenging experience, where

I must adapt to a new culture, new social norms and expectations, as well as networking and cultural

sensitivity. In order to be resilient, you need to expect and be prepared for challenges, be open-

minded, network with people to build your support system, and live a healthy lifestyle to maintain

your physical and mental well-being.

Combining all four elements: Journey to build my leadership brand

My leadership brand’s statement is to create a culture where all members feel valued, trusted,

and purpose-driven to the greater good of society. The first step to achieve this is to continuously

improve my emotional intelligence, leverage my personality strengths, allow my core values to guide

my actions, and practice resilience when facing challenges.

References

Daniel, G., Richard, B., & Annie, M. (2002). Primal Leadership: The Hidden Driver of Great

Performance. Harvard Business Review. https://eds.s.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?

vid=1&sid=ce7ed515-6c4f-479a-82b0-1f378e3de60e%40redis

Myers, I. (1987). The Myers-Briggs type indicator: Manual. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists

Press.

Ovans, A. (2015) What Resilience Means, and Why It Matters. Harvard Business Review.

https://hbr.org/2015/01/what-resilience-means-and-why-it-matters.