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.