... Pensive Thoughts

As I sit here on this Sunday, many thoughts roam my mind. Not only is this semester a few weeks away from coming to a close, my time here at San Diego State is near its final end as well. When reflecting upon the courses I've completed thus far at this university, a few in particular come to mind as far as courses that I can really see myself applying the information learned to my future career. All of my "leadership" courses through the HTM program have been nothing but a success and without the help of Lori and Mark teaching them I don't think I would feel this way. Words cannot begin to describe how much I appreciate our teachers in this program. It is evident from their work at the university and beyond, how much they genuinely care for their students and for their success. I've learned more than I had ever imagined about myself as an individual from my leadership courses through HTM. To me, this is the most valuable and precious tool I can have as I enter into the real world. I know now just what I am capable of and where I need to go to challenge myself as a leader. I understand through my leadership classes that I have the capacity to be a leader and inspire others to be the best they can be; and with that I can only hope to grow. Entering the "real world" will not be an easy transition, I'm sure, as I am so accustomed to simply attending school and working part time on the weekends; but I know that if I have confidence in myself and in my leadership capabilities, I will accomplish great things. I have so much more drive and passion now than I ever have had before, and I know I owe that all to the HTM program and these ever helpful classes. I will continue to be my genuine self as I advance into my career, ensuring that I treat everyone with respect while making sure to put their needs before my own. There's nothing more precious than someone who is willing to care for you as a person before they care for you as their employee... and that is my ultimate goal as a leader. If I can connect with those people who I'm leading in an emotional way where we can build trust and be there for one another, I will be satisfied.

Reflecting

As I take a moment to look back on the semester and how my view of leadership has expanded, I'm in awe. Coming into this course I never thought I would learn so much, not only about leadership, but about myself as an individual as well. The theories that we've explored and the exercises we've done in class have helped me to further define myself as a leader and have helped me to understand just who I am now... as well as who I would like to be in the future. I know that my journey does not stop here, as I will continue to develop and educate myself on leadership for years to come. With the help of my leadership learning space I am eager to implement this useful tool into my lifestyle and make it a routine. Through this I am positive I will be able to advance and dig deeper into my leadership and industry goals. In addition the leadership map was a great way for me to really illustrate how I view leadership thus far. I feel as though I will only expand on this map with time and I cannot wait to see how much it grows and the changes that will inevitably happen with time. I'm thankful for this opportunity to have researched deeper into leadership and the challenge that it has presented me with. I will only grow from here!

Servant Leadership

First, I'd like to start this post off by stating something that jumped out at me when I stumbled upon this contemporary leadership theory of servant leadership. The title of my blog, "serving others before oneself" is something that I came up with on my own, without even knowing that there was an actual leadership theory entitled servant leadership. What a coincidence! When I found this theory I immediately knew that this is the one I should choose to blog about because it relates so closely to me and my leadership theory thus far. I was able to find this theory through a website, theleaderlab.org, which can ultimately be an extremely helpful tool in leadership as there are many related articles and posts. Leader lab also has a facebook page, twitter, and other online outlets for learning.

The theory of servant leadership is one that argues that the most effective leaders today are those who are servants of their people. These leaders give whole-hearted attention to their followers and their needs, unlike many approaches of leadership. Most theories you see offer suggestions on how leaders can influence and motivate their followers, rather than putting the emphasis on collaboration, trust, empathy and ethics like servant leadership does. The leader serves from a true desire to better serve others and not attain more power. With that, it is presumed that if leaders focus on the needs and desires of their people, the followers will reciprocate through increased teamwork, deeper engagement and overall better performance.

I feel as though I can very closely relate to servant leadership and what it stands for. I've always been one to place others' needs before my own and look for ways in which I can help other people. Servant leadership is a great component that I believe every leader should integrate into their theory. It does not need to be the one way they practice leadership but I believe that if they actively attempt at it every now and then they will find that it brings them great success in certain situations. I know personally that I cannot rely solely on servant leadership but I do know that it remains a big component of who I am as a leader and how I go about serving others.

Leadership in Action

This video of Johnny's story is what leadership really means in a nutshell. It all started with one boy who decided he was going to make a little bit of a difference, and in the end he wound up being the greatest leader of all. Johnny inspired all those around him to better themselves and showed individuals what it was like to truly appreciate the little things in life. Leadership begins with one person and what I love about this video is that Johnny did not have to do something completely crazy to be recognized as a leader and as someone who inspires change. We all have the capacity to lead, just do what you love and be who you really are... it will come naturally!

Wanna Know How I Feel?

At this point in my studies, leadership has become something that I am now thinking about on a day-to-day basis. It may sound weird but the readings on theories and our class discussions keep me anxious to learn and discover more about myself through leadership. As I discussed previously, I’ve always had a big heart for serving others and putting their wants/needs before my own, which is why I am classified as the “caregiver”. I believe first and foremost that I will probably always be the “caregiver” type in my leadership behaviors yet my vision has broadened immensely since our leadership theory journey began this semester. Prior, I felt very closed minded in that I viewed leadership as a process of which can be attained by a multitude of people, so long as they are willing to commit and try. Now, I view leadership with an open heart and an open mind. I am inspired to try new things and branch out in my leadership ways. There have been times where I have failed as a leader and quite frankly; maybe I just wasn’t cut out for the position or the situation I was in. On the other hand, maybe I just wasn’t willing to explore other options and ways to behave as a leader because thus far I have been so set in serving others and placing their wishes before mine. My feelings for the most part have remained the same because I know that this is how I am by nature, yet I know there is so much left inside of me as a leader that I have yet to explore. I am eager to begin practicing new ways of leadership and taking all that I have learned thus far into account. I am now more aware and more confident as a leader because of the knowledge that I have attained, even though I have so much left to learn. My belief is that I can learn all I want to by the book and by talking about theory, but until I actually get out there and experience these situations first handedly, my journey has not yet begun. I think this may be why I have been thinking about leadership so often, on a daily basis as I mentioned… I am anxiously awaiting a time when I can explore the real deal and dive into my practice as a leader.

Theory Thus Far

Prior to this course in particular, I honestly was quite blind to the realization that there are a numerous variety of leadership theories out there today. I thought about leadership and the idea that it was not solely based around traits, yet the concept never came to mind that there could be other theories besides the trait-based theory. Who would of thought there would be so many diverging views and so many widespread beliefs about leadership? Not I. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always valued leadership and the opportunity to grow as a person through helping others, I guess I just never really thought much past that. After reading about the variety of leadership theories and discussing them in class, I feel as though my mind has been renewed with a whole new sense of knowledge and a window to the future. I found it most interesting to see how ultimately many of the theories can somehow link together and you can find certain little similarities between all of them. Thus, leadership can be interpreted in a multitude of ways but the way I see it, it all boils down to a few similar components. I believe that each one of the theories is important and significant in it’s own way, however; I do harmonize with a few more than others.

Situational leadership theory stood out in my mind as a component that could not be done without. To me, leadership is VERY situational and very much related to the task and overall conditions at hand. My eyes were wide open and my ears tuned in when I began learning about situational leadership and how different leaders excel in different areas. To me, this makes complete sense. I was able to put two and two together because I did not like the idea of the trait theory. Trait theory in my mind was blind to the idea that everyone has the capacity to be a leader, not just certain people born with certain traits. Here, in situational leadership theory, this comes together with perfection as different leaders are able to take the reigns and drive in one instance and other leaders are able to do that and perform in a completely different scenario. An element of leadership theory that I found to be important was the concept of transformational leadership in that it relates to helping others better themselves as leaders and better the people around them. As it is evident, I love helping people, but often times it is uneasy to assist others and serve them when they aren’t willing to commit. I discovered that I would love nothing more than to serve as a transformational leader and inspire individuals to serve in leadership wholeheartedly while putting others before themselves. If I could touch peoples’ hearts and motivate them to be a positive influence in others lives, I believe I would have reached that goal. Until then I will set out with my new outlook on leadership theory, with all of it’s prime components at hand I will attempt my best to keep an open mind to fresh leadership techniques while staying motivated and determined to practice my own.

Inspiration: For Your Own Interpretation