Across Five Separate Readings, I Have Discovered And Learnt

This semester, we learned specific ways to build our leadership capabilities by reading “How Remarkable Women Lead” by Joanna Barsh and Susie Cranston, researching Boston women leaders, interviewing a present day woman leader, and reading a group book. Throughout all of these resources and research, common themes of how to be a successful leader emerged. Not only did I learn more about leadership in general, but I also found ways to improve my own leadership without going too much out of my comfort zone. The important lessons of leading with perseverance, framing, and an activist's mindset thoroughly influenced my identity as a leader and gave me new tactics to grow as a person.

Being a leader is not considered a job or position. Becoming a leader is not a talent, job or position. Although, leadership can be rewarding and difficult at the same time. In today’s society, “the kind of leadership necessary to move social movements forward is very different from the type of leadership required in a military setting, especially on the battlefield. A more sharpened focus on leadership processes versus individual leader traits and behaviors deepens our understanding of the complexities and interactive nature of leadership” (Komives, Lucas and McMahon 2013, 46). My goal is to understand how to face the complexities in life as a leader to communities, universities, organizations, the workplace and the world. As a leader,

A leader takes diligent time in considering the ability to adhere to other people’s interests and presents their followers with a positive mindset. This summer, I accepted an invitation to participate in the Dale Carnegie Young Adult Leadership Program. Attendees of this program learned several skills that can be applied to future experiences, especially on how to become an effective leader. Everyday, the attendees acted as leaders by accomplishing various tasks that forced them to reach out of their comfort zones. We acted as leaders by leading group

A true leader stands high on on the pillars of success: dedication, servitude, respectability, and honesty. The mark of a fulfilled life is not one who has collected many awards, not one who has an insurmountable amount of money and fame, it is one who has touched the most souls in his journey of life. A leader destined for greatness will touch many people along their journey to the top. In my short years on this Earth I have made it my mission from the start to leave a lasting impact on everyone I come in contact with and as a student of Howard University I will continue my mission without fault. From birth my parents noticed I had an insatiable thirst for knowledge, a heart of gold and an unconquerable ability to lead. In the 5th grade I was awarded the

Being a leader allows you to inspire those around you it allows you to not only grow as a person, but, also allows you to grow as a mentor that can help others become better versions of themselves. An important leadership trait I possess is my emphasis on quality; I’ve never been the type of person that has

This week explored and learned that there are desirable leadership traits to acquire, that becoming a leader can be a conscious process and that being a leader also means to owe respect and have a responsibility to others.

In the Leadership Challenge, 4th edition, it is Kouzes & Posner (2007) intention to present a road map for individuals to follow on their leadership journey. The authors stress that “leadership is not a gene and it’s not an inheritance.” Leadership they assert is “an identifiable set of skills and abilities that are available to all of us” (p. 23). They make clear that the “great person” theory of leadership is “plain wrong.” Leaders are our everyday heroes who do extraordinary things on a regular basis (p. 23).

In my book “True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership” by Bill George, I learned that it is impossible to be a perfect leader. I read about a variety of different leaders and their successes and failures that lead to them developing their leadership styles and values. Most importantly, I learned that the hardest person you will ever have to lead is yourself because once you are fully comfortable with who you are, leading others authentically becomes much easier.

For many years, I have been told by teachers, family, and friends that I am a good leader. Until fairly recently, I had never truly thought about what it means to be a good leader and just took it as a compliment. Leadership is an intangible concept which cannot be properly outlined in a dictionary, but one which must be formed and explained only through one’s own philosophies and experiences.

In my reflections as I prepared to write this paper, I came to the realization that leadership is much more complex especially since the paper requires that I focus on a few traits. In an effort to make it simple, I wrote down the traits that came to mind and in process had over 10 important traits but an even bigger challenge was on how to narrow them down to 3 or 4 and this is the place that required a good deal of reflection. Eventually, however, I had to prioritize them since in any case; it is not possible to get a leader that has all the traits. As I thought of the various leaders who have inspired me, I noticed that while they strived to provide the best leadership by focusing on their strong points, they still had their weaknesses. To me this provided a justification for at least identifying key desirable traits and thereafter working to improve them. I did manage to settle on four traits, which for me are indispensible if a leader or a leadership is to become effective.

A leader needs to “believe” in oneself and have the confidence that whatever you say will excite and what you do can motivate others. You must be optimistic about what you do, do have some relevance for being in existence. Believe it or not, “leadership begins with you”.

The sum of education, experiences, and observations lays a foundation upon which I will grow to become a good leader. In this plan, I will focused on those aspects of leadership that I believe are most required for personal development as well as those which will be so significant for my future leadership career. I have identified three goals which will guide me in the development process. My goals are to develop my integrity, listening skills and communications skills. I assume that this plan will change and be altered as required by life circumstances.

The word ‘leadership’ often times triggers a preconceived image of an ideal leader—typically accompanied by the aura that the effective leader should be at the top of the hierarchy, ready to produce the solutions to complex problems. However, this is not true of leadership, given that effective leadership is not achieved by position but rather through style and situational awareness. Examining leadership requires the consideration of the catalysts for different types of leaders. Popular leader development theories tend to focus on the natural servitude of the leader, his or her capability to manage, and leader behavior.

It is the general consensus that leadership, does matter and everything rises and falls on leadership (Maxwell, 1999). Leaders have vision, game plan, and a strategy to attain their desired goals. Furthermore, people are drawn to leaders for various reasons such as: their character, charisma, knowledge, experience, skills, and their ability to effectively communicate to followers. There are many ordinary unsung leaders that have made a great impact on the lives of others. One such person is Mr. Gregory Reid who has, and continues to positively affect my professional life. For this reason, it is fitting to explore and examine the path taken to leadership by Mr. Reid which includes his family, education, career path and document pertinent comments and approach that can be applied to my career, professional life.

When reflecting on my experience as both a student and a life learner, I never would have considered myself a leader. In fact, I have always been the shy kid who hides in the back of the class and panics whenever it is their turn to respond to a question. College however provided me with an opportunity to develop myself as a leader. I became more active in school activities and actively sought out leadership roles. As I’ve progressed in my professional life, I’ve become more interested in what it takes to make a strong leader. When assuming leadership roles, I’ve always considered myself an authentic leader but I know I’ve often struggled in detailing clear goals for my group or organization. Thankfully, Enrolling in the effective