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I Need To Excel As A Senior Corps Officer

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In one or two paragraphs: Describe your leadership style and give an example of a time when you have had to adjust your approach when working on a project or as part of a team. (Use City Year's Leadership Compass to aid your description.) (Required)

Based on the Leadership Compass, my leadership style is equal parts North and West, or action and analysis based. This tends to express itself as a strategical and direct approach to work and potential problems. Because of this, I am sometimes seen as lacking empathy or too focused on the work instead of the workers. In planning events as the Co-Diversity and Inclusion coordinator, I have had to be more cognizant of the feelings and abilities of others, and even myself. And in a direct effort to …show more content…

(Describe areas in which you personally excel and areas which you need to improve.) (Required)

There are two skills necessary to achieve success in a leadership position: communication and empathy. At the beginning of this year, I believed communication was a strength of mine because I value it highly in others. I favour the direct approach, in both receiving and delivering information. However, I have learned the art of “over-communication” during this year. I have learned that it is better to communicate more information than I may deem necessary because I cannot control the perceptions of others.

Empathy has always been a struggle of mine because I have always believed that personal problems have no place in the work environment. This year, I have learned that acknowledging the concerns of others is not a hindrance to work, but can be beneficial if it allows others to communicate their feelings and feel like their input is …show more content…

During my time with City Year, I have had to switch classrooms, and partner teachers, three times, even moving from Math to ELA, and back again. While this was a stressful, and taxing, experience, I told myself, and others, that I made a commitment to serve ten months without fail. And while the promise of an educational grant is a promising reward, the bond that I formed with my students is what encouraged me during my lowest moments. The promise that I made to myself during the red jacket ceremony paled in comparison to the promise, albeit an unspoken one, that I made to my students to be a constant presence during their growth.

During my service year, I have learned to spend more time focused on my own well-being, both physical and emotional. I have also learned the importance of communicating my concerns at the onset, rather than allowing issues to snowball into something uncontrollable. And above all else, I have learned to learn from others, especially children. My students have taught me, unknowingly, to value joy and happiness, and the importance of laughing at

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