A Leadership Reflection from Past to Present
Over the course of my life, I have been a leader in many situations. In school, I was the one who was picked on to speak in front of the class, or organize a party. When I went home, I was the oldest of 8 kids. It was never an easy balance to maintain but I’ve always attributed my natural tendency of leadership to my organizational skills. If things do not get done, or aren’t on time, I become stressed and anxious about what the result will be. Because of these skills I am able to complete my work efficiently and participate in all of my classes at Agnes Scott. However, through this leadership class I learned to hone leadership skills other than the ones I inherently have as a “Type A” individual. By working in a group and hearing from Yehimi Cambron, I now believe that a leader must include the work and perspectives of everyone they work with. This paper summarizes what I learned and how my leadership developed throughout the course.
Throughout this last semester, I grew out of my comfort zone and took on challenges that have required me to reevaluate myself. In my group project about the artwork of Siqueiros, I often took on the extra components of the project. Besides completing my own research and slides, I also printed the articles, created the citations, and included the introductory slide. Towards the end of the project, I found myself frustrated that group members were not showing up or getting their work done in a timely manner. I felt like my team assumed that I would be the leader on this project because I possess the skills that most people associate with successful leaders.
Looking back, I wish I had seen that everyone leads in their own way. As a leader it is important for me to acknowledge those differences and work with people instead of doing my own thing. Not everyone has a strong, confident voice like I do but that doesn’t mean they don’t have important things to say. I have to allow myself to face those challenges, accept that things might go wrong, and work with others. Therefore, I think that leading requires the engagement of those around us. Reflecting on this idea of leadership, I needed to step back, listen, and discuss our various opinions during the group project.
Another important aspect of leading is recognizing that the voices of others are critical. I had the honor of hearing Michelle Obama speak at a conference last year and she said something profound. It went something along the lines of, “If you are at a table, and everyone around you has the same opinion as you, then you are not being an effective leader. You must be surrounded by individuals who have different perspectives so that you can discuss the ways that you can work together to create positive change.” This hit home for me especially during this class because I needed to consider other people’s thoughts along with my own. In Yehimi Cambron’s visit, she highlighted all the ways that her community inspires her. In return, her passion, courage, and fiery personality makes her a powerful leader, powerful because she uses her voice to demand change rather than overshadowing the voices of others. In the future I hope to continually develop and fine tune my leadership skills by staying involved in my communities and using my voice to create positive change.
