Leadership Styles Assignment: Implementation of Blockchain

Question

Task: Individual Assignments: Students should provide a reflection covering the necessary leadership skills to navigate the changes brought about by either cryptocurrency.

 
• Conduct research with your colleagues and peers to develop a list of leadership characteristics that are necessary to navigating times of radical change or innovation. Provide the top 5 characteristics you discovered in your research.
 
• Identify and explain in your own opinion the most important leadership qualities on this list that you believe will help society to transition adapting the new technology or the new way of thinking. 
• Critically reflect on the current world leaders and their role in the implementation of Cryptocurrency and Blockchain technology (i.e. China’s adaptation of a system of social credit).  Highlight any shortcomings and/or limitations of current policy and leadership styles and discuss what could have done.
• List 4 – 5 articles you have selected to prepare for this Project week in the bibliography (3 must be from academic sources, Use Wittenborg online Library to access Journal articles e.g. EBSCO). Example, a recent article from Forbes on Governmental application of Blockchain would count as a non-academic source.

Answer

Introduction
In the present leadership styles assignment, we will understand that there are several technologies that are being developed and implemented in the business sectors and industries. The implementation of cryptocurrency and the Blockchain technology is one of the recent changes that promises the industries to provide enhanced security for the digital transactions. Whenever a new technology is implemented or there is significant change in technology, there is effective management that is needed. It is the responsibility and accountability of the leaders to make sure that the implementation of the technology and the handling of the changes is done in an appropriate manner.

The reflective report on leadership styles assignmentis prepared to determine the leadership skills and qualities that shall be utilized and must be present while dealing with the innovative changes, such as the implementation of the Blockchain technology and the use of cryptocurrencies.

Leadership Characteristics & Qualities
I conducted the research on leadership styles assignment using the literature reviews, brainstorming sessions, and discussions to determine some of the necessary traits that a leader shall have. Leadership plays an important role in making sure that the changes are properly handled. The use of cryptocurrencies can be effective only when the implementation is done in an adequate manner. There are negative implications that can also arise of there are issues in the implementation process (Fry and Cheah, 2016).

I could determine a wide range of the leadership qualities and traits that are present. The top five characteristics that I identified in the research on leadership styles assignment are leadership skills, analytical skills, problem-solving skills, collaboration & communication skills, and creative thinking skills.

The first skill-set and quality that I determined in this leadership styles assignment is the leadership skills. I came across different styles of leadership that are present, such as autocratic, transformational, strategic, and many others. The implementation of the Blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies in the business firm brings along several changes. These are the technological changes as the replacement of the existing technology is done with the Blockchain technology. This has an impact on the technical components and set-ups. The migration and handling of the datasets is also essential and must be carried out. There are also changes in the existing business flows as the usual flows may be discarded and the new ones may come in place. There are changes in the existing networks and architecture as well. All of these changes are not easy to handle and require the collaboration from the respective departments and team members. There may be resistance that the resources may show towards the acceptance of the changes. The leader will be required to make use of the leadership qualities and would also have to switch from one leadership style to the other (Hayes, 2017). For example, the transformational style may be required to manage the human resources and collaborate with them. For the third-party suppliers, the strategic leadership may be the best style to approach and apply. Therefore, it is stated herein leadership styles assignment that the leader shall have the skills and knowledge to make effective selection of the approach and apply the same for desired results.

The second quality that is determined is the analytical skills and traits. There are numerous steps that are involved in the implementation of the cryptocurrencies and the Blockchain technology. There are certain pre-requisites that need to be met and the overall lifecycle is also composed of numerous elements. It is essential that the adequate analysis is done before any of the steps are executed. For example, the needs assessment and feasibility analysis are some of the pre-requisites that need to be met. The risk analysis, impact analysis, schedule tracking, cost analysis, etc. are also necessary during the implementation process. The leader shall have the skills and efficiency to analyse all of these changes and mechanisms. The analytical skills are required for the same (Li and Wang, 2017).

There can be a number of different risks and issues that may arise in the implementation of the cryptocurrencies and the Blockchain technology. The responsibility of managing and controlling these risks and problems will be on the leaders involved in the process. The leader shall have the quality and ability to understand the nature of the problem and take actions to resolve the issues that may be present. In order to do so, problem-solving traits and abilities will be extremely significant. The leader will be able to make the effective decisions with the aid of these skills (Hilemanand Rauchs, 2017).

The fourth quality that I could identify while conducting research on leadership styles assignment is the communication and collaboration skills and abilities. I believe that communication is essential in every activity that is conducted. The lack of proper communication and information sharing processes can lead to the gaps that may become significant complexities later on. The leaders that are involved in the cryptocurrencies and Blockchain implementation processes shall also be able to communicate and collaborate. The implementation of such large-scale process cannot be made successful with the individual effort. The members involved must collaborate with one another to make sure that the desired results are obtained. The leader shall be able to bring all of the resources on a common platform. The leader shall also be able to make sure that the information passes from one channel to the other without any lags or gaps. This will enable the leader and the team to ensure that the desired results are obtained.

The changes that are implemented in the business organizations, such as, the implementation of the cryptocurrencies are the high-level changes. The impact of such changes can be positive or negative. As per the research on leadership styles assignment, it is necessary that the leaders take up the responsibility to ensure that the impacts are positive (Abramowicz, 2016). I could find out that the creative thinking skills of the leader are very important in ensuring the same. The leader shall be able to develop the creative solutions to all the plans and the issues that are identified. There are changes in the traditional approaches and mechanisms that are identified. These shall be changed and it must be ensured that the traditional ways are replaced with the creative solutions. This will enable the leader to implement the Blockchain and cryptocurrencies effectively.

I believe that the amalgamation of all of these skills shall be done so that the leaders may be able to implement the cryptocurrencies effectively and the determined targets are achieved as well.

Current World Leaders & their Role
Cryptocurrencies are being adopted and implemented in all parts of the globe. There are world leaders that are taking interest in this innovation and have been implementing the cryptocurrencies and the Blockchain solutions to make sure that their nation stays ahead of the others. Also, the digital form of transactions is now essential for the businesses and one of the major barriers in these transactions is the problem of security and privacy. Blockchain assures the security and privacy of these transactions using the cryptocurrencies and cryptographic hash functions leading to enhanced interest of the world leaders.

China, for instance, is building an advanced social credit system. The primary reason behind the development of such a system mentioned herein leadership styles assignment is the need for innovation and problem-solving. The socialist market economy was developed in China in 1970s. This brought along some of the significant issues, such as drug hazards, tax evasion, industrial accidents, and many more. The evaluation system that should have been implemented alongside is still not up to the mark (Yan, 2020). It is because of the loopholes in the policies adopted and the issues in the leadership skills. Alternatively, the government should have collaborated with the society to ensure that the social credit system was correctly implemented and the evaluation process was also in place.

Bitcoin is one of the widely used cryptocurrencies across the world. United States is the world power and has been a frontrunner in the adoption of cryptocurrencies and Blockchain. Facebook is also executing a large-scale project called Libra cryptocurrency in the United States. However, the leadership support and assistance that should have been provided could not be determined for such projects. The US President, Donald Trump has regularly criticised the use of Bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies (Bryanov, 2019). He has been vocal about the risks associated with the cryptocurrencies on his official social media accounts. He believes that the unlawful behavior may get initiated as an outcome of these unregulated crypto assets. Such behavior and comments by a world leader can be extremely demoralising for the resources working on the technological advancement and innovation. The alternative style would have been the incorporation of the calculated risks so that the resulting issues could be avoided. This would have made sure that the collaborative decisions were taken.

Conclusion
Considering the entire discussion on leadership styles assignment, I believe that cryptocurrencies and Blockchain technologies are the significant innovations that can provide enhanced security and privacy of the digital transactions. There are considerable changes that are involved whenever a new technology is implemented. The handling and control of these changes is the responsibility of the leaders that are involved in the process. As stated in the above sections of leadership styles assignment, it must be ensured by the leaders that they select and apply an effective leadership style. Also, the qualities and traits, such as analytical skills, problem-solving skills, communication & collaboration skills, and creative thinking skills shall also be brought to use.

References
Abramowicz, M., 2016.Cryptocurrency-based law. Ariz. L. Rev., 58, p.359.

Bryanov, K. (2019). Trump Tweets Crypto Rant — What Is the Bitcoin Reference Really About? [online] Cointelegraph. Available at: https://cointelegraph.com/news/trump-tweets-crypto-rant-what-is-the-bitcoin-reference-really-about [Accessed 8 Jun. 2020].?

Fry, J. and Cheah, E.T., 2016. Negative bubbles and shocks in cryptocurrency markets. International Review of Financial Analysis, 47, pp.343-352.

Hayes, A.S., 2017. Cryptocurrency value formation: An empirical study leading to a cost of production model for valuing bitcoin.Leadership styles assignment Telematics and Informatics, 34(7), pp.1308-1321.

Hileman, G. and Rauchs, M., 2017.Global cryptocurrency benchmarking study. Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, 33.

Li, X. and Wang, C.A., 2017. The technology and economic determinants of cryptocurrency exchange rates: The case of Bitcoin. Decision Support Systems, 95, pp.49-60.

Yan, Y.T. (2020). Exporting China’s Social Credit System to Central Asia. [online] thediplomat.com. Available at: https://thediplomat.com/2020/01/exporting-chinas-social-credit-system-to-central-asia/.

Tomsho, G 2017, Guide to Operating Systems, 5th edn, Cengage Learning Australia.