Personal Statement : Leadership Skills

Hi Doug. I agree that communication is a very good perspective to contemplate when considering leadership. Communication can be essential to successful leadership through identifying risks, issues, and other barriers on a project, or in an organization. Regardless of the skills, abilities, or traits that a leader may possess, being deficient in effective communication will cause failure in reaching the goals and objectives of a group (Solaja, Idowu, & James, 2016). This is due to the importance of information across all spectrums of an organization, including leaders and followers (Solaja et al., 2016). Understanding how people give and receive information will allow a leader to change the various methods of communication (e.g. newsletters,

“Developing excellent communication skills is absolutely essential to effective leadership. The leader must be able to share knowledge and ideas to transmit a sense of urgency and enthusiasm to others. If a leader can't get a message across clearly and motivate others to act on it, then having a message doesn't even matter."

(Focht, 2015). In a previous role I held, I had three direct reports. Each were at different

First, about my past leadership skills were understanding and gaining knowledge from people. When I was a child, I would always look up to my father and mother as role models to help lead a family together. Both of my parents gave me positive reinforcement in school and out of school so I can be successful in life. I have also taken an interest in

Leadership is an important outcome of the doctor of nursing practice (DNP) program (Zaccagnini & White, 2014). Measurement tools are available that identify leadership style (Clark, 2010) and personal talents, called Signature Themes (Gallup, Inc., 2010). When leadership style and personal strengths are identified, they can be maximized to achieve success (Clark, 2010; Gallup, Inc., 2010). This paper provides both a framework about the importance of leadership in the DNP curriculum and several examples of how I will use my leadership style and Signature Themes to succeed in the DNP program.

Is a leader as defined in the Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, merely one who leads - synonymous with a boss? Or something more? I believe that a leader is much more than that and can be defined in any number of ways. In attempting to define a leader personally, I will use both myself and others as examples.

Being both a mentor and a leader has been an important part of my life for many years. Wether it has been a school project or helping kids I have worked hard at being a leader and mentor for others. From 2006-2011 I spent a few weeks out of my summer vacation being the leader of a group of incoming Kindergarteners at a program known as Safety Town. Safety Town is a program that had middle school/high school kids leading a group of 6 or 7 children and helping them learn about how to be safe, with each day focusing on a different topic (i.e. fire safety, stranger danger, transportation safety, ect.) I was actually attended Safety Town when I was an incoming Kindergartener and years later I learned that my 6th grade teacher ran the program in our area, which is how I eventually moved from a mentee to a mentor.

While I attended Wichita State University for my bachelors of Social Work, I was afforded the opportunity to participate in a leadership program two consecutive years. We learned tips on strategies to become more effective leaders. Whenever I participate in activities that require me to take a leadership or supervisory role, I tend to think of what I learned in the program. The conflict that I identified as a supervisor in this activity was mainly that we had a student with erratic behavior, with firearms at home, and a mother who not only, saw nothing wrong with it, but wanted him removed from public school and is largely uncooperative with the school regarding his psych eval.

Over the past 14 years, I have had the opportunity of experiencing many diverse styles of leadership ranging from the enlisted ranks in the Navy to being a commissioned officer in the Army, each experience with its own distinct style of leadership. I find that having such a diverse range of experience contributes greatly to my current position as a Maintenance Test Pilot.

Not everyone is born to be a leader, but many become leaders. Similarly, to a way that I improved my leadership skill by learning from my mistakes. One day after school, my leadership skills were tested when I was left babysitting my younger sisters. Although, at this time I considered myself a responsible person, I lived through an experience that I will never forget and I will always forever carry with me and remind me that, as a leader, everyone should receive attention, and as leader I need to be attentive of everyone.

During the last six weeks, I have learned a lot about the true meaning of a good leader. The discussions have helped me identify what my strengths are and what are the areas that I need to improve on. Although, I have been in management roles, I would not identify myself yet as a leader. I am a very result driven individual which is strength of mine, but that can also lead me to be desensitized to other’s emotions or challenges they might be facing. Throughout the course, I have also come to realize that I have limited self-awareness. On the contrary, one of my strengths is my social awareness. I have the ability to go into social or networking events and pick up on emotions, or facial expressing to understand the overall mood of that environment. To be socially aware is particularly beneficial because, I can find common ground with anyone I meet to initiate conversation. Therefore, when I see that person again, I can make those personal connections. Another one of my strengths is the ability to look at a current process and streamline it to a leaner, more effective and efficient way. During the last several years I have been hired to be the visionary of new divisions and to implement processes that would support the company’s vision and mission while still driving results. My values are what contribute to the success I have been able to achieve over the years, however. My resilience and work ethic towards my job shows through in the

According to Schwartz (1997), Goizueta joined Coca-Cola at a time when the company was in trouble. Slowed by bureaucracy and with an eroding stock price, the beverage maker was slowly loosing its market share to rivals like Pepsi. An inspirational leader, Goizueta was able to turnaround the beverage maker and before his exit, the company had become one of the most recognizable brands in the world. His managerial style as Rowe and Guerrero (2010) point out was more intellectual than hands-on.

Strong leadership is critical to an organizations success. Leaders need to be honest, trustworthy, respected, and good communicators (Montana & Mitchell, 2005, p. 83). Effective communication is necessary to eliminate confusion. Think how the receiver will interpret the message that you are saying or writing. Effective communication can only occur when the receiver of the message understands what the sender is intending to say.

Communication would fall under the good listener category of being a leader. Communication is a key component to being a good listener because if you don’t communicate to whomever you are speaking with then some things might get lost in the process. The leader of a team will have to listen to their boss then relay the message to his or her team, and that’s where paraphrasing takes a good part in communication and listening skills. A good leader is always communicating with other leaders and trying to find out other good ideas they can use to improve some of their techniques.

workplace as well. Communication is an essential skill that we cannot avoid, and should be perfected as a goal in improving your leadership efficiency. When in a leadership role, the leader