Leadership isn't a goal but a journey

Leadership is bringing your own ideas and the ideas of the others together to create a unified plan.

To be an effective leader it is important to also be able to follow. Without the followers, the leader would not be a leader. The leader and the follower are equals. I did not understand this concept before taking a leadership class. I came in believing that being a leader was more important than the follower but I could not have been more wrong. I find that I get equal fulfillment being a follower or a leader. At times I find myself enjoying activities more so when I am not the one with the master idea. I enjoy listening to other’s ideas especially if they are not the loudest voice. The quiet ones tend to have the best ideas. A leader must also be able to listen to the members of their team. All ideas should be welcomed and an open mind should be kept at all times. I find that inclusiveness can make or break an activity or project. If members of the team don’t feel included, morale decreases and the project may collapse. I also find that respecting your peers is a very important concept of leadership. There were times that group members were less than kind to one another during activities in class. When people were talking over members of the group I found myself getting very upset because members of the group were getting frustrated, both those leading and following. Through after activity discussions we all showed more respect to one another’s ideas and actions. This increased productivity and kept the peace.

As the semester progressed I found myself putting the leadership concepts learned in class into practice in my personal life. It wasn’t something I really had to think much about but I could see differences in how I interacted with the people around me. I find myself listening significantly better. Listening is something I always thought I was decent at but wanted to become better at. The speaker, observer, and recorder activity was my eye opener of the class. This was what I needed to really grasp the concept of what listening should be. The activity also opened my eyes to the experiences of my class mates. I found myself showing more empathy than I had in a long time. I suppose we are all more similar than I originally had thought.

Feedback was another concept that really makes a worlds difference in a group. It feels great to know you are doing well and that people appreciate you but it is incredibly helpful to get feedback on what you can do to be successful. Being able to deliver feedback in a constructive way will create a stronger leader.

In the beginning of the semester my ideas of leadership were rather close minded. I am now able to look at leadership in multiple lights. There is not one type of leadership, which means there isn’t one type of leader or follower. It is important to continuously work on your leadership skills and know that leadership isn’t a goal but a journey.

Change of Perspective

I find that the golf ball and pipes activity reframed my perspective on leadership. The activity had me all worked up and I still find it fresh in my mind. It was not a single student that was responsible for this shift of perspective, but the class as a whole. We are all unique when it comes to how we lead and these differences did create some problems during the activity. There was conflict amongst those who could speak and those could not. Those who could speak were successful in directing those who could not speak in getting the golf ball into the cup but then the addition of a curve and distance from start to finish increased.

As the activity continued those who could speak began to compete amongst one another. There were some members of the speaking team that chose to sit out. This has me now reflecting on how important including people is to success of a group. Everyone has someone to offer, but not everyone is comfortable to input their ideas. I was part of the non-speaking team and I found myself really being able to take in the situation, but after a while of listening to people bicker, I began to lose interest in the activity. While things were getting heated I also saw myself understanding how important respect is to leadership. The followers and the leaders must respect one another to create harmony. Without respect, people feel they are inferior and a loss of interest may take place. If the leader is being disrespectful, the followers may walk away from the project.

Previous to this activity, I had not given thought to how multiple leaders could create conflict during an activity. It is rather difficult to listen to multiple people for direction. Ideas conflict with one another and this may cause a delay in the completion of an activity or for the activity to not be completed. We as a class were not able to successfully get the ball in the cup after the new obstacles were added due to the emergence of multiple leaders. The multiple emergence of leaders created competition and made it more difficult to communicate. Leadership is about having one person giving direction and that one person taking input from the followers. This creates a flow amongst the group. In activities that followed the pipe and golf ball activity, I see groups setting one person as a leader to give direction. I also see those who tend to give their ideas first letting others speak first.

After the pipes and golf ball activity the class seems to keep respect in mind and this seems to keep the peace. Making sure to include everyone should also be kept in mind. I now let others speak first before putting in my own input. I see my perspective on leadership continuing to change as I learn more about myself and about those around me.

Values

Leadership could not exist without values. Values of the leader and those of the followers may differ but a mutual respect for each other’s values is key to a successful group. When a group shares similar values they may be able to relate quickly and complete assignments at a rapid pace. In the situation that a group does not share similar values, the group may be opened up to new ideas that could benefit the effort. It is critical for leaders to consider the values of others in their group. If a leader only pushed her/his values, the followers may stray away. I have observed in class that many of our values differ but we respect others when they speak. I find it enjoyable learning the values of my classmates and find myself to open myself up to new concepts. During activities (especially who has the zebra, who drinks the water) conflict of ideas have risen which may be related to the values we each have. In the end the value of respect is restored and apologies are given. As the semester continues, I see more of our values emerging for classmates to see. This may help during class activities to understand each other better to complete tasks successfully. Understanding our own values and those around us will create harmonic groups. The values of each member of a group shapes the leadership style that is used.  

My personal values have taken time to develop. The values I had before college were similar to those I have now but there has been some fine tuning as I am exposed to more knowledge. I find that treating others as you would like to be treated is my number one value. It is difficult at times to comprehend how people could be so heartless to one another. You know that they wouldn’t want to be treated the way they are treating others. These people would make poor leaders in my opinion. The leader is supposed to treat the followers as equals. I also value working hard. Things are not always going to be given to you and this is why working for what you want is important. I recently went on a vacation to Florida and a friend told me that “I was lucky”. I responded to the comment, “I’m not lucky, I work hard”. The value of working hard is important in a group effort as a leader and a follower. The leader must work hard to organize the group effort and the followers must work hard to complete tasks. Dead weight is not good in a group. I find openness to be an important value. Growing up in a small town, I would not have defined myself as open. As I have lived in a larger city I have found myself to open up to new ideas and experiences. This willingness to put aside your beliefs to learn about others is beneficial in the development of one’s character. I find that my values have been rooted but as I expose myself to more knowledge these values I hold may continue to be fine-tuned or could change completely. Life is a learning experience that shapes who we are.

Why I'm Here

Initially I enrolled in ESHESA 2570 to bring myself back to being a full time student. In the second week of spring semester I dropped my online accounting class because I could not give the class the time it demanded. I am in my fourth full year of college and am majoring in nutrition in industry. I am currently focusing on the marketing portion of my degree which is more challenging than the nutrition portion. There were not many classes for the second session of spring semester that looked remotely interesting or fit into my schedule. At the last moment I came across ESHESA 2570 which had not been available when I was looking previously. The class fit my schedule very well and kept my schedule to only being on campus Tuesdays and Thursdays. Tuesdays I am in class from 11:00am to 7:00pm and Thursdays from 8:00am to 7:00pm. I have two long days in addition to working 3-4 nights at a bar. At one point I thought I was going to have to enroll in a fish ecology class to come back to full time. The class may have been interesting but I believe that a leadership class will benefit me more. I am now full time and hope to regain the Scarlet and Grey Grant.

Leadership to me is being able to listen to those around me and taking into consideration other’s ideas to complete a task. I feel that confidence is an important part of leadership. Your followers must trust that you are making good choices for the entire group. I find myself to be a leader more so than a follower. I believe myself to be strong at analyzing a situation and looking for possible solutions to a problem. I am not afraid to be the first to do something, especially if others are. I find motivation to be another key factor in relation to leadership. The leader should motivate the followers to push forward in a given scenario. Leadership is a redeemable trait that is noticed by the people around you. Being a follower is equally important. Not everyone can lead at once. If everyone led at once, less would be accomplished.

I would like to gain knowledge on becoming a stronger leader but also a stronger follower. There are going to be scenarios that I must be a follower and currently I lack the skill of being a follower. I feel when I am a follower that I am not contributing as much as the leader. I currently have the concept of a leader and a follower incorrect. I want to learn how to talk to people about topics that are not necessarily easy to communicate. I want to open myself up to new ideas that I may have passed up before. I am happy to be part of ESHESA 2570. I feel that this class will change my perception on what leadership is and can be. I expect to come out of this semester with a better understanding of myself.

 P.s. I miss the beach.