Leadership is a relationship, not a strictly defined position of authority. Even those who are inherently quiet and less likely to pursue power can take an active part in the leadership process. Through the course of the term, I have come to recognize my personality traits that do and do not translate into effective leadership.

 

I was recognized by my teammates as being creative, however I frequently allow these out-of-the box ideas to misguide my focus. In the midterm peer evaluations one team member said:“ Sometimes I feel like the group comes to a conclusion on something, and then you later disagree after we have already moved on. Greater focus on what was agreed upon earlier.” Unfortunately, being on the “same page” as everyone else has been a problem since I was nine years old. Following a weeklong Boy Scout camp, I was given the “space cadet” award, denoting someone who seems to not grasp the reality, at our Court of Honor. My future bosses will not be tolerant of someone who fails to follow directions. After our last group meeting preparing for the final presentation, my group said that I needed to come up with two examples of ways in which campuses can meet CIBER mandates. I made two new slides outlining Ohio State University’s three week study abroad program in China to meet the study abroad CIBER mandate and Texas A and M’s research on the effect of oil prices on the US economy to address the research requirement. None of the members of my group wanted these two new slides included because they thought (rightly) that it would distract from the overall focus of the presentation. In order to better sync myself with a group, I need to ask more clarifying questions before proceeding to complete my assigned task.

 

During the first half of the term, I partied on three out of five Thursdays. During the midterm peer evaluations I committed to not partying on any of the remaining Thursdays because I needed to come more prepared to our weekly Friday morning meetings. I kept my promise, and as I result I came to Friday meetings more energetic and ready to work. In the working world, I need to do an honest assessment before staying out late on a weekday.

 

One of my main weaknesses as a leader, cited in my Leadership Development Plan, is my ability to talk expressively in front of large groups of people. During the final presentation, I did not stick to my talking points, as I had advised myself to do in the Leadership Development Plan. I am not someone who can quickly articulate new ideas. As a result, I made contradictory statements about CIBER, limiting the effect of my portion of the proposal. The transition between slides was awkward because I could not hold the clicker and turn my stapled notes. I will never again staple notes on a presentation. As a result of making contradictory statements and awkward slide transitions, I became visibly uneasy and did not maintain “ a natural voice”. On a positive note, I did receive positive feedback for thanking Team Business as Usual for explaining CIBER during the presentation before us. Before I transitioned to the next presenter in our group, I summarized CIBER’s relation to the proposed Global Business Center, telling the audience to remember these two words relating CIBER to the Global Business Center: “framework and funding”. As a presenter, I improved my ability to articulate ideas simply and establish ethos with the audience, but will need to consistently practice presenting in order to speak more expressively. During my next presentation I will strictly stick to my talking points and use smaller note cards.

 

I stated in my Leadership Development Plan that I would meditate for three minutes at the end of every day in order to better appreciate “incremental steps and small wins”. Meditating made me more spiritual and relaxed, but did not incite a greater appreciation for processes. I found that meditating is a time in which you eliminate all thoughts and relax, not encourage broad reflection on your day. Rather than meditating, I plan on keeping a journal for one month. Keeping a journal will hopefully cause me to reflect on my development and personality, as these weekly blog posts have been successful in doing. For my next big goal or assignment, I will look back through the journal to better appreciate the process of completing a task.

 

During the midterm peer reviews, my teammates told me to advocate more for my ideas. “ Occasionally he will concede his point of view during a dispute if stronger personalities in the group speak up enough.” I committed during the midterm development plan to being more firm in articulating my ideas, but may have gone too far: “Sometimes, when group decide to cut his idea of the proposal because it is not fit in our project. However, he is a little upset, and standing too long for his idea, it makes for the progress slowly.” During our team’s editing of our written proposal, I spent between 30-45 minutes insisting that we include CIBER certification as part of our proposed Global Business Center. Eventually we hit the point at which we were just repeating our previous arguments, and finally compromised. In order to be more efficient at advocating for ideas, I need to realize the point at which all arguments have been made, and then attempt to compromise.

 

My main weakness in emotional intelligence, as discussed in my leadership development plan, is self-awareness. I frequently do not realize the way in which my actions come across to others. I am by nature an “individualist”, or what others would call selfish. I rarely attempt to help others, unless they have first assisted me. This tit-for-tat attitude comes across to most people as uncaring and self-centered. During week three, I was unwilling to help my roommate wash dishes because I had not made any of the dishes. These weekly blog posts have caused me to reflect deeply on my personality. This reflection has caused me to re-evaluate actions such as refusing to help my roommate wash dishes. After the final presentation, I came home to a sink overflowing with dishes. For a few minutes, I debated whether to tell my roommates to wash their dishes. After reflecting, I realized that one was studying for a midterm and the other had the flu. I ended up telling my roommates that I would wash the dishes, but they were expected to “pick things back up” the following week. Beyond this class, I plan to continue to proactively evaluate my actions. Keeping a journal should harvest new insights into my personality.

 

From my team experience, I learned that there are no concrete divides between different forms of leadership. An effective leader must change his/her role to become a challenger, doer, or thinker. He/she will not only step up when needed, but also lessen their influence to allow others to assume control when appropriate. Leaders need to be flexible in incorporating new ideas, even those diametrically opposed from their own, into their decision-making process. To continue to improve as a leader, I must continue to develop better public speaking skills, patience for processes, and be in sync with group happenings. Leaders should willingly tolerate criticism and new ideas. Beyond this class, I will continue to evaluate how I can become a better leader and communicator.