Leadership

This is my own personal experience on being the leader I am today

Leadership is a term that is not easily defined. The definition of the word can only be reached from within. Everyone has their own version of what leadership is and what a leader does. Leadership is commonly used to describe a characteristic, most if not all people aim towards being a good leader; yet it is more than just a trait built into people, it is a foundation on which people learn, grow, and excel. Leadership is more than taking control and being the boss of others and most people lack the true qualities of being a great leader. For example, Adolf Hitler was a leader in every sense of the word, he lead the NAZI in Germany for many years with great success (according to his own agenda); however, given his history and track record, most people would agree that being a leader did not make him a great one. So if being a leader does not make one the leader, then what are the qualities of a great leader? Some of the qualities of a great leader are: intelligence, self-confidence, self-awareness, determination, integrity, sociability (communication), open-mindedness, honesty, humility, and compassion (understanding).

            I consider myself to be a leader; yet I see leadership as a never-ending goal on which to accomplish. I say that because throughout life one must always sustain the understanding that as much as one know there are always more to be learned. Every day I am learning something new that enables me to be a better leader. The qualities of a good leader listed above that I believe to possess are: intelligence, determination, integrity, open-mindedness, and compassion. The other qualities listed above are my areas for improvement. I do not call them weaknesses due to the fact they are qualities I do possess; however, self-awareness and sociability are traits I feel can always be re-evaluated and excelled upon to become more competent in. Communication is always changing and being multicultural is the key to knowing the ‘ins’ and ‘outs’ of a situation; such as what is acceptable and what is inappropriate according to different cultures�"with that there is always more to be learned. Self-awareness is the conscious alert of one’s own biases, prejudices, ‘ticks’, and triggers�"which is the foundation to knowing what one is capable of accomplishing. Self-aware is essential and is need of constant evaluation because of the fact we, as humans, learn something new about ourselves every day.

            Over my college years, becoming a leader and understanding the true meaning of leadership has been a never ending journey; and each experience (the good and the bad) has molded me, taught me, and prepared me for the position to which I am entitled. In other words, each experience I’ve had in developing my leadership qualities is vital and has educated me in one way or another. For instance, my first year in college at Greenville Technical College, I had to attend a public speaking event where I was asked to stand in front of a couple hundred unknown students and argue my perspective on the topic, ‘does gender make a difference?’ During the time, I have never gotten up in front of a crowd of strangers and felt the need to prove anything so this worried me; however, I had to take the chance and do the best I could. Even though I was nervous and unprepared of what to expect I got on stage and talked about what I knew and what I’ve learned. This experience helped me in my development because a leader will need to get in front of those unfamiliar to them and motivate, encourage, educate, and/or challenge those around them in order to move forward and produce results. Speaking publically allowed me the opportunity to excel my knowledge, challenge myself, and jump starts an essential part of being a leader. This is just one out of many experiences within my life, thus far, that has been vital to becoming the leader I am today.

            Another area for being a great leader that is important to mention is failure. To be a great leader one must know, understand, and feel failure. Failure has played an important aspect in my personal life, as well as, my professional career. It has taught me to never obtain the illusion that I know it all and I will always win. It gave me perseverance by allowing me to never give up and showing me that my first ‘no’ will not be my last, yet a ‘yes’ is right around the corner. Failure has humbled my spirit and offered me the chance to relate, comprehend, and be the testimony for others to look at and say, ‘if she failed and still made it, then so can I’.  To have true leadership one must have failed in order to know and value success.

            There are three people in my life that I admire and look up to as an example of a leader, they are: my mother, my former supervision Sammy Dotson, and Dr. Maya Angelou. I admire my mother because she has shown support, motivation, encouragement, and love to me throughout my life; which in turn as given me the ability to support, encourage, and motivate others I come in contact with. My mother gives leadership through her understanding and overall trait to see the good in everyone. My former supervisor, Sammy Dotson, is another person I admire because he possess all the above qualities mentioned earlier and yet is able to humble himself enough to never feel to good or feel less than. He taught me to be out-spoken, self-driven, and to never give up on my core beliefs/values. Sammy displays his leadership by giving back what was so freely given to him and building character in those closest to him so they too can be a leader. A good leader never holds their abilities to themselves; a good leader passes those abilities on to others so new leaders are born in order to lead the next generation. My third and finally person who I look up to is Dr. Maya Angelou; her grace, presence, and history speak for itself. She was an educated woman who believed solely in positive interaction and making a difference in the lives of others. Dr. Angelou’s work as given me strength when there was none, reinforcement when I needed it most, redirection when I felt lost, and the appropriate challenges needed to critically think for myself. With the help and influence of each person (my mother, Sammy Dotson, and Dr, Maya Angelou) I came to challenge myself, learn more, enhance my character, build my performances, lead by example, and acknowledge those around me in a positive light.