Leadership is a powerful word...but what does it mean? Throughout the course of this class, we quickly learned that leadership has a different meaning to everyone. My definition of leadership is the process by which an individual inspires other people all working towards the same common goal.
Effective and successful leadership have many components. In order to be an effective and successful leaders, I believe that you must have the following components: delegation, respect, responsibility, communication, and motivation/dedication. It is important that you can delegate tasks to your followers and not just do everything yourself as the leader. You also need to ensure that you respect others and take responsibility for your actions. Communication is key to any situation, especially when you are working with a group of people. Motivation/dedication is also an important component because it's necessary that leaders are motivated and dedicated to the work they're doing.
There have been many activities during this course that exemplified the components that it takes to be an effective and successful leader. For instance, all of the group activities we did required you to communicate and respect others. Those were two of the most important traits that were exemplified in those activities. When conflict arose, it was important to ensure that you were still respecting others and communicating in an efficient way.
My philosophy has differed a little bit in regards to my leadership philosophy at the beginning of the class compared to now. Most importantly, I think I realize the importance of followers and working as a group to reach a common goal. As a leader, you can still inspire others to help you reach the common goal in an efficient way, but it's also important to ensure that you are setting the example for them. Being part of a team, serving as the leader or simply being a follower can be an incredible journey and learning experience!
Monday, April 21, 2014
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Re-framed Perspective on Leadership
To be perfectly honest with you, I've thought about this prompt all week...pondering what I was going to write about. There is not one particular comment, thought, or action from a classmate that has re-framed my perspective on leadership. There have rather been several different things throughout the course of this class that have re-framed my view on leadership...and it includes small comments, thoughts, and/or actions from each and every classmate. We all know that leadership can't necessarily be learned or taught from a book or lecture, but perhaps through hands-on experiences and opportunities. This class has been reassurance of that.
For example, the pipe activity (as we all know) was one of the best activities we could've participated in to truly learn about our classmates and see different leadership theories and skills "come to life". This activity made me realize that every single person possesses different values and leadership skills, but that's necessary for the "world to go round". It was also interesting to see how some people reacted to the situation we were put in (i.e. not being able to talk, not physically having enough supplies, etc.). The entirety of this activity has just been sticking with me. As I mentioned in class, the two take aways that I left that activity with were respect and communication- two simple, yet easily overlooked morals that we tend to take for granted.
I also wanted to reflect on a few quotes from the book that have stuck out to me that have made me reflect back on things that have happened in class......
"We define leadership as a relational and ethical process of people together attempting to accomplish positive change."
"Leadership is viewed and valued differently by various disciplines and cultures."
"Leadership can be exhibited in many ways."
"There is not one identifiable right way to lead an organization or group."
"Finding the purpose, vision, and common commitments that create a 'we' from a group of individuals is the challenge of community."
"When we are trying to connect with others, it is imperative to remember that 'different is just different; different is not wrong'."
I found these quotes particularly useful when thinking about the pipe activity. It helped me process the activity and think about the dynamic of the group.
For example, the pipe activity (as we all know) was one of the best activities we could've participated in to truly learn about our classmates and see different leadership theories and skills "come to life". This activity made me realize that every single person possesses different values and leadership skills, but that's necessary for the "world to go round". It was also interesting to see how some people reacted to the situation we were put in (i.e. not being able to talk, not physically having enough supplies, etc.). The entirety of this activity has just been sticking with me. As I mentioned in class, the two take aways that I left that activity with were respect and communication- two simple, yet easily overlooked morals that we tend to take for granted.
I also wanted to reflect on a few quotes from the book that have stuck out to me that have made me reflect back on things that have happened in class......
"We define leadership as a relational and ethical process of people together attempting to accomplish positive change."
"Leadership is viewed and valued differently by various disciplines and cultures."
"Leadership can be exhibited in many ways."
"There is not one identifiable right way to lead an organization or group."
"Finding the purpose, vision, and common commitments that create a 'we' from a group of individuals is the challenge of community."
"When we are trying to connect with others, it is imperative to remember that 'different is just different; different is not wrong'."
I found these quotes particularly useful when thinking about the pipe activity. It helped me process the activity and think about the dynamic of the group.
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