Growth

                There is no one definition of leadership; just like there is no one way to be a leader or follower, no one way to accomplish a goal, and no one way to be an effective group. What I've learned in this class is that leadership is an experience that is felt when a group of people come together to work towards a common goal. The idea of the group as a whole is the biggest part of leadership, because nobody can be a leader without the support of his or her followership. The group itself decides what kind of leadership it is going to follow, whether that is one person taking the lead or coming up with a path together.

                This class is what first fostered my understanding of leadership now. I thought it would be easy to transition the theory to everyday activities like group projects and student organizations especially given that we experienced our own leadership abilities and the reactions of others in class. However, it’s very difficult to change the interactions of well-established groups especially when they have not been through the same leadership class. This showed me that those in my class inherently had experiences and beliefs in common because we went through the class together, but in the real world, we have to recreate those positive learning and relational experiences in order to be on the same page about how the organization will be run. In the case of short term group projects, that doesn't have to be quite as extensive as long term organizations. This is why I hope to bring the activities from class to some of my student organizations as a way to bond during retreats.

                One thing I have drawn through my experiences is that communication as it is received by others is the most important part of succeeding as a group. Misunderstanding is often the root of all problems, whether that misunderstanding is in deadlines, tone of voice, or overall goal of the group. Nothing can function if even one person doesn't feel involved, empowered, or useful. A lot of communication has to do with understanding how everyone feels, something I have disregarded in the past. The leader of the group may believe that everything is running smoothly but does not know that a follower feels excluded or that a part of the process is broken.

                Through my experiences in this class and the “real world,” I have concluded that leadership is hard. Yes, this may be a simple realization but it’s important to note that something is going to difficult before you can begin to tackle it as a concept. I went into the class believing that leadership could be taught in one course and that there were simple ways to become a great leader. The reality is that there is no simple way, no one path, and no right leader. 

Impact

One of the most difficult things in life is taking praise or criticism about oneself. Most would rather focus on others and choose to believe that their actions or words don’t have a significant impact on the people around them. Whether positive feedback or negative, it is important to take in the feelings of those around you because only you will leave this world knowing what you have felt but the millions of people you will cross in your lifetime will know how they feel about you. And millions of feelings are so much stronger than just one.

                I’m usually pretty honest with myself after an activity in which I had a positive or negative influence. I can tell when I've been overbearing, pouty, inspiring, or helpful. What I don’t usually hear, however, is feedback from others. It’s eye opening to know much that what you think about yourself, others are thinking too. After the “Who drinks water? Who owns a zebra?” activity, we had an open discussion about the positives and negatives in our group. Taylor mentioned that she realized I took over at the beginning and could visibly see me frustrated when the direction did not go my way. While I realized that my actions and feelings are visible to others, I never realized that in general, actions are made for the benefit of others seeing. Personally, we could be contained in our heads for the rest of our lives and be content with what we think we know. But actions and words are our pathway to others; they are literally for other people. While I didn't enjoy hearing that my greatest struggles are clear for others to see, it led me to a revelation about leadership. Without Taylor’s comment about my commitment to that activity, I never would have realized that everything I do should have the benefit of someone else in mind. My actions and words can no longer be just for me.

TedTalk speaker Drew Dudley talks about the chance encounters or small moments of leadership that happen every day that  cause unknown, and dramatic change in someone else’s life. I cannot do justice to his story telling skills so I've attached a hyperlink to the short clip: http://www.ted.com/talks/drew_dudley_everyday_leadership.

His speech highlights the impact that everything we do impacts another person. This is what leadership is all about; leadership is about empowering others to do great things based on the things you do and say every day. Take in the opinions of others and allow them to open your eyes on the power you have on a project, an idea, and most importantly, on someone’s life.

Values

Leadership, no matter what form, is driven by the set of values a person or group of persons believe Values drive all aspects of leadership: process, ethics, and empowerment in the way people interact each other and purpose and inclusiveness in the reason for the group to be formed. The latter way that values are used in leadership is the reasoning behind a movement in the first place. The value of belief in free speech may motivate a person to join or create a group that fights to guarantee the free speech of others through protest or unionizing, for example. Within that group, the same value of free speech allows each member to be honest with each other and conduct business in a way that does not impede on the voices of its members.

 In group dynamics, it is important to understand the value of others. For example, it may not be a big deal to show up late to a meeting for some groups but others may value punctuality and efficiency. Knowing your audience as a leader or a follower can decide whether or not they will respect your ideas beyond your methods of achieving them. If a group cannot get past the fact that your report is scribbled on Post-It notes because they value professionalism or because it is in 20 page essay because they value creativity and engagement then the meaning behind the words on those notes or that essay is not going to well received, no matter the significance behind them.

As a leader and a follower, I value dedication more than any other trait. Dedication is the only trait that you absolutely need to make an idea or plan successful. Being creative, passionate, loyal, or truthful doesn’t carry much weight if you are not willing to put in the hard work to see a project through. Dedication is what can turn a failure into a success because you are not satisfied until the product is completed or the goal is reached. For example, if a member of a group has no desire to reach the goal, then they will not see it through until the end.

Another thing I value is the ability to effectively communicate, whether that is information or feelings because nothing can get done if everyone in the group is not on the same page. Often times disagreements are nothing but products of misunderstanding. In an informational sense, poorly communicating something like the purpose of a meeting, the goal of an organization, or what kind of lunch meat the group likes (maybe it’s a picnic meeting) will lead to members of the group either wittingly or unwittingly confused. Those who don’t know what is going on will either realize it and make unsure decisions or won’t realize it and make sure decisions that are wrong for the purpose of the group. In a feeling sense, poorly communicating how the actions of another affected you will make a bigger deal out of something small or vice versa. I found this out specifically in the Zebra/Water activity with both informational and emotional miscommunication. During the activity, we did not understand the intent of others in the group when it came to strategy. Because of that, some people’s ideas were shut down. Not until after the activity did I realize that some people felt left out or hurt about those decisions. Communication was not effective until we all had time to reflect and share how we felt.

Group values and individual values and the way they interact truly decide whether that group is successful or not in their endeavors.

An Introduction

There is a very fine line between being a stubbornly loud voice that demands its own way, and one so inspiring others can’t help but follow. Well, maybe that line is a bit thick… Regardless, I know I have drunkenly (with power) toed it quite a few times.

                My ideas about leadership have changed quite dramatically through my transition from high school to college. While I’m nearing the end of my first year at The Ohio State University, I still consider my life in transition. I hope this mentally, emotionally, and morally ambiguous state of my brain allows me to take hold of this course like a child to language during the “sensitive period.” Oops, a little bit of Child Development just slipped out.

                My understanding of my strengths as a leader contributes most to my understanding of leadership in general and my expectations of others as leaders. I can say that a lot of my experience in analyzing leadership has come from Ohio State’s strong dedication to StrengthsQuest (and I mean strong; I've seen the presentation probably five times in the past 7 months). This allowed me to see how people use their strengths to lead in different ways. Personally, responsibility and a desire to achieve truly drive all aspects of my leadership. I find them to be the motivation between my hard work, a yearning for excellence that will eventually lead to the approval of others and myself. I put myself if a position of leadership, formal or informal, because I am confident in my ability to reach a result. I feel an obligation to others lead them to success, sometimes forfeiting my own comfort for that goal.

I can attest that a strong sense of responsibility is important for all leaders because they must feel accountable for the success or failures of the group. I expect leaders in my life to be entirely committed on all activities they take part in, because leading is a choice you consciously make.

                My means of leading, as opposed to my motivation, have to do with my other strengths. I like to collect and then give as much information as I can about a topic in hopes that that will spark an idea or plan of action. I am genuinely interested in the “why,” behind ideas or results, making me slow to accept the opinions of others who don’t fully think through them. This makes me constantly question and try to understand any idea. Unfortunately, my hesitancy towards the plans or ideas of others due to lack of understanding can break down my relationship with another, something detrimental to leadership. Being a stubborn know-it-all at times can be pretty off-putting, I've heard. I also expect others to be just as dedicated and on task as I am at all times and can become easily frustrated with others who are not a task-oriented as I am.

Throughout this course, I hope to garner the skills and experience in building relationships that seems to be most lacking in my own leadership strengths.  Many of the roles I fill, and hope to fill in the future, deserve a respected leader that others want to follow. Whether it is in my position in the Arts Leaders Council, in my job as a resident adviser next fall, or in my future role as an educator, sharpening my leadership skills will allow me to succeed and help others do the same. I’m looking forward to the remainder of the semester!