Self reflection - Essay Example

Self-Reflection Leadership is something that is not a new term and has always been with the human race since the beginning. For many centuries, kings continued to rule different parts of the world and that became part of human mindset in terms of leadership as an individual trait. As time passed and societies evolved, the concept of leadership remained the same of that a personal trait (Burns, pp. 11-15) that was my personal belief before the course. However, when I reflect now, the enlightened discussions and readings during the course helped me in understanding the notion of leadership from a broad perspective that is a skill that can be learnt rather than a personal trait that always remains with a single individual.

Although many individuals are born with qualities that allow them to become leaders in their domains, however, it is not something that cannot be learnt. In the past, whenever I used to act as a leader, I used to dominate the group members in order to control them; however, the course helped me in realizing that leadership is not about controlling others but it is more about understanding others and transforming group into teams and teams into learning communities. All this can happen with application of different tools and strategies and that is the reason nowadays, educational institutions are offering courses on leadership that indicates the validity of my earlier reflection related to leadership.

While I reflect more, I believe vision and farsightedness is not something that is always God-given but it is something that an individual can learn by using tools of strategic planning and effective management of resources (Cheng, pp. 15-32). Unfortunately, these tools are usually overlooked and ignored by individuals at organizations and institutions, and which do not allow them to transform from managers into leaders. I am a confident person and love to accept challenges; however, I have mostly dealt challenges with emotions and most importantly, kept everything with myself to make it a one-man show.

From deep reflection, I have come to an understanding that leadership is not about ‘me’ but more about ‘us’ (Taylor, Machado, & Peterson, pp. 363-386). Leadership focuses on motivating and appreciating members in the team rather than focusing on giving orders. In this regard, I surely will put efforts in ensuring such practices in the future and would surely involve strategic planning in my projects that was missing in the past. I remember an inspiring saying from the group discussions in the class and that was ‘managers do things in the right way while leaders do the right things’.

It really can become possible with consideration of collective intelligence rather than depending on only personal intelligence. In the past, few individuals were the sources of knowledge; however, in today’s world, advancement in the field of information and technology has transformed everyone into knowledge bearers and creators. Therefore, a single person cannot act as a source of everything and therefore, leaders are always those who take everyone on board and make decisions with consensus while benefiting from strengths of team members and supporting them in domains of their weaknesses.

I believe this course has surely helped me in broadening my understanding regarding the notion of leadership and I will surely endeavor to enhance my skills to become a successful leader in my organization.Works CitedBurns, J. Leadership. New York: Harper & Row, 1978.Cheng, Y. C. Strategic Leadership for Educational Transformation in the New Millennium. Chulalongkorn Educational Review, 6(2), 2000: 15–32. Taylor, J. S., Machado, M. D., & Peterson, M. W. Leadership and strategic management: keys to institutional priorities and planning.

European Journal of Education, 43(3), 2008: 363-386.