My Leadership Growth Story - Essay Example

LDR 4000 Leadership Capstone: Introduction Essay (Draft) Gregory Kaczmarek Gonca Eren Leadership Capstone Lawrence Technological University 10-17-2014 Table of Contents My Leadership Growth Story 3 Make a Difference Day: Presentation and Video 5 Legacy Project Habitat: Presentation 6 Leadership Experience: Reflection Paper 6 Engineering: Batteries Presentation (Team Leader) 7 Conclusion 7 Works Cited 8 My Leadership Growth Story The thought of a leadership position never occurred to me at first. My first year at Lawrence Tech University was a turning point as a leadership individual. During my summer break, I got a chance to work at a buddy’s eatery place. My buddy had four lady workers who had been working for him for a while. One day, one of the workers, Ashley, was serving an elderly customer. After being given the change for his purchase, the old man refused to go and insisted that Ashley had to pay him more money than he deserved. Ashley and the man started having a heated argument with each other. I intercepted to salvage the deteriorating situation, calmed both of them, then started listening to each side’s argument. I did this by convincing both of them that shouting and exchanges were not going to bring about an amicable resolution.In a stepwise manner, we calculated the mans purchase tracking each and every coin and how it was spent. After doing the math correctly, we were able to reveal that the old man’s claims that he had been cheated were unfounded. The man shamefully apologized and regretted his earlier actions. Ashley apologized too for lashing out on him like she had. I asked the two of them to make a truce by shaking hands. When I had finished with them, an elderly man asked me if I had been playing any leadership roles anywhere. The man advised me to become actively involved in leadership roles whenever an opportunity arose. I felt like a true leader, and I promised myself that I was going to contest for a leadership position for the Knight of Columbus Sacred Heart Assembly during their annual elections. The elderly man had motivated me so much that I felt I could go for any position and win it.The first position I sought was for faithful inside sentinel. I was elected for this position, did the same job for a year, and everyone applauded me for my great performance as a leader. I initiated many projects including the one wherein I helped to convince the Church’s board of directors to allow our organization to plant more trees at the Church and start a fountain garden, among other successful projects. The above breakthrough motivated me to read leadership related books so as to increase my skills. It is the attitude towards leadership that made me strive for and win the presidency position of my Church’s club. . I was motivated and inspired by Kouzes and Posner words that state a leader should be able to mobilize people and make what seemed impossible happen. For a while, my leadership style was that of a person who wanted to make friend with everyone. I used to think that every single problem could be solved by dialogue and talking politely, peaceably. Then, I realized that some club members were not good at following instructions. For instance, some used to come for club meetings several minutes late, and this made it difficult for our club to achieve its set goals. To get things done, I had to be tough and demanding to make everyone take responsibility. I adopted the leadership style whereby I sought to command and control the parishes if I was to see any good results. For instance, I used to come up independently with rules that everyone should follow without involving the others input (Komaives). My strategy failed as it led to a dozenclub members abandoning our club for other clubs. When I realized that my aggressive leadership style was making members of the club not enjoy the overall activities of the club, I decided to change my tactics. The change came because of continued experience and correction from my fellow parish leaders who advised in many occasions. I watched a documentary on the best leaders. In the program, one famous leader shared his views on how he conducted his leadership roles in his organizations. From the program, I tried to adopt the charismatic style of leadership, where I tried to embrace each member of the group. However, other leaders advised me that most group members were not happy since the leadership style was self-oriented. I almost lost faith and resign from being the school president since many group members did not follow what I said. This proves that leadership is one hard thing that one could ever imagine. However, with inspirational talks and books, I gained courage and started to restructure on my leadership style. I was forced to carry out research and find out the exact thing that members wanted from me as a leader. Some members stated that some decisions were made without their knowledge; some said that their ideas were left out, while others claimed that rules were too harsh on them. With a close review on such issues, I came up and adopted the democratic leadership style. I started out by allowing for more participation of the club members on the dates to meet, our next projects as a club among other issues. However, whenever I saw a less logic idea, I disagreed with it. In most cases, I would work with members’ ideas to solve some matters in the group. This made them feel like their ideas are valuable and important. The strategy worked as it made everyone feel like part of the team and more important. In the end, it made the club members stay committed, and we were able to achieve many targets, as well as complete many projects on time with the support of our members. Therefore, ever since this time, I have always sought to practice a democratic type of leadership. PowerPoint Examples from Course Requirement Make a Difference Day: Presentation and Video A course requirement in COM 1001 involved a presentation and video connected to Make a Difference Day activities. The presentation involved a discussion of our work in a community involvement activity. The choice to include the presentation in my portfolio is the experience involved in preparing a presentation. As a leader, one has to learn to listen in order to be respected. Just as Phillips (74) advices if something irritates you, do not let it out as a leader, in this case a bogus question. The presentation involved a section where the audience asked questions. To get maximum desired results from the presentation one had to listen to the audience and strive to make them clearly understand the importance of making a difference as our presentation advocated. Legacy Project Habitat: Presentation The Legacy Project involved researching the best way to leave a legacy as a leader. The project was in the course work for LDR 2001. The project included a presentation that required thorough research into the legacy of different leaders and what as a leader, I can achieve and leave as a legacy. The choice to include this project into my leadership portfolio is because of the importance of legacy in leadership. People argue leaders come and go, but it is the legacy that lives on. The research was beneficial in shaping my mind set and actions to aim at leaving a legacy. Leadership Experience: Reflection Paper The reflection paper was assigned in LDR 3000. The reflection involved searching for the instances where one felt to have taken charge of the situation as a leader. The purpose of the paper was to appreciate the efforts made and what could have happened differently had the action not been taken. The addition of this experience into my portfolio is crucial and central to my growth as a leader. The reflection paper was important, as it was central in integrating all the theories learn in class and how they reflected on me as a leader. The paper provided an opportunity to evaluate if I am a true leader and possess what is required to lead people. Engineering: Batteries Presentation (Team Leader) The presentation involved a group of students researching Batteries. The students were supposed to work together and formulate a presentation on batteries. The team was supposed to integrate their ideas and work together at all times. The inclusion of this event into my portfolio is due to the magnitude of success the presentation accrued. Since I was a team leader, the success or failure of the group rested upon my actions. The challenges that the position presented helped me grow in maturity and skills as a leader. The success of the presentation earned growth in my leadership skills. Conclusion My leadership abilities started at a tender stage. Since the events at my buddy’s shop, I have exploited the leadership traits in me to the fullest. The course work is very crucial in molding me as a leader. The leadership portfolio presents a section of what I have achieved so far. However, each day presents a learning opportunity and a perfect chance to practice what I have learned as a leader. Works Cited Komives, Susan R. Exploring Leadership. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2013. Print. Kouzes, James M, and Barry Z Posner. The Leadership Challenge. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2012. Print. Phillips, Donald T. Lincoln on Leadership. 1st ed: Companion Books Illinois U.S.A, 1992. Print. Read More