A critical analysis of personal leadership style with reference to classical theoretical frameworks.

The aim of this study is to examine my personal leadership style, in the context of some of the major classical theoretical frameworks of leadership from within the wide body of literature available on this subject. I will aim to apply the analysis of these theories to my own leadership practice and style, and to identify areas where theory can improve my performance within the workplace. I will also look at data from a small scale study of my co workers’ perceptions of my leadership, as well as information from self assessments of my leadership style.

I have been a manager now for nearly five years, initially as a first line
The teams which I manage cover part a large rural county. The county is divided in to four areas, each managed by their own district council. Social work services, provided by the County Council, are provided by four areas co-terminus with the district council boundaries. The area covered by my teams is geographically large. Currently, there are over 33,000 young people aged 0 to 17 in the area. The indices of need show 26.7% of children are in deprivation in the area (Office for National Statistics 2009). There are approximately 50 children in the area who are subject to child protection plans, and approximately 110 children who are Looked After by the local authority.

The Department for Children Schools and Families (DCSF) monitors the performance of local authorities via various Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), which encompass all areas of social work practice. These include timescales for completion of initial and core assessments, timescales for initial and review child protection conferences, stability of placements for Children Looked After, health and education outcomes for Children Looked After. Whilst these in some senses provide a simple assessment of progress and achievement within teams, they also present a significant challenge in achieving certain parameters set by central government and senior managers, and supporting staff in improving these KPIs with