Three Semester Review
Leadership
When I entered the Public Leadership program, I actually don’t think I had given much thought to my idea of leadership. While that might sound ironic, my focus when selecting a Scholars track was on the classes overall, and policy classes intrigued me the most. From the first day of class, I developed an understanding of leadership that I believe I could not have received anywhere else. That first class, we played a game centered around famous leaders. We would go on to study many of these leaders in depth, but I am not able to tell you today every person we discussed. This is because so many of them shared traits that made their leadership effective and moral. Now, I think of the common characteristics of these leaders when thinking about my own leadership.
During my first year in the program, I also really enjoyed our discussions in the first semester colloquium. It is critical to understand how marginalized groups can be negatively affected by leadership to be a successful leader. Every person has had a unique life experience, and good leaders will acknowledge that in a meaningful way that celebrates differences. We got to make use of these conversations in our second semester colloquium through our funding of student groups. As we were responsible for choosing a student organization, I felt that ethical leadership was emphasized, because I wanted to ensure that we were granting the money to a worthy group. To me, this was so much more valuable than talking about ethical leadership in class. Having conversations about maintaining moral standards is easy, but putting them into practice is more effective because we can actually evaluate how we conducted ourselves.
When I think of leadership now, I think of how I can effectively create positive change. Public leadership has reminded me that I do not need to hold a formal leadership position to accomplish this goal. While the strategies we learned were very useful, I almost never think about them in isolation. For instance, I do not explicitly evaluate my emotional intelligence. However, I do think about leadership overall in a holistic manner, and I think this approach has its benefits. I am not hyper-focused on an area that may not be very significant in such a way that I miss the bigger picture. In the future, I would like to continue to use leadership to inspire positive change.
My Style
My own leadership style has largely been formed because of the Public Leadership program. Even if I had these traits before coming to Scholars, I would not have had the opportunity to reflect on them and assess how I can use them to my advantage.
Citizen leadership – I always want to be involved in citizen leadership, because it does not require any roles in formal organizations. It is important to me that I can influence change without a specific title, because at its core, leadership is about getting support for change. I would hope that I would be able to get support for change in my communities. For example, among my friends, I want to be able to model an environment of lifting each other up so that the entire group follows my lead, resulting in a more positive group overall.
Rebel – After taking the Four Tendencies quiz, I was overwhelmingly a rebel. Because of this result, I try to make sure that group members know not to be too direct in what they would like from me. Especially if I think it is an obvious task, I become less likely to do it. Instead, I set deadlines and goals for myself and tell my group mates what I intend to do. This way, they know what to expect of me, but I do not have to fight my own lack of motivation.
StrengthsFinder - The StrengthsFinder test highlighted many traits about myself that I could not quite put my finger on. My strengths were input, responsibility, connectedness, learner, and harmony. Input was not a surprise to me, as I tend to feel much better discussing a topic that I have thoroughly researched. Since getting the results, I have tried to expand this input to others’ experiences. Responsibility was also not a shock, as I take pride in even the smallest of assignments. I think this is a positive trait because I take the time to make sure my work is work that I am proud of. Connectedness was unexpected to me, but I do believe that actions have consequences, and being prepared is the best way to live life, so maybe that is related. I try my best to be prepared whenever possible. Learner was definitely not a surprise, as I am always trying to expand my knowledge. I enjoy learning both inside and outside of the classroom. Knowing that I can always continue to learn is something that I look forward to. Harmony was neither expected nor unexpected. I do like to make sure everyone is content, though. I hope to continue making others feel that their voices heard as I enter positions where I have the ability to do that.
Overall, my leadership style is rooted in trying to understand who I am trying to lead. I do not want to lead a group that I do not even know. I can use my strengths to improve my leadership. For instance, I can be a Learner towards others' lives, careers, or other knowledge. Then, I can use that information to increase Harmony within my team. Listening to others has not always been my first step, but now I am glad that it is.
Artifacts
My policy brief concerning concealed carry laws on the University of Maryland’s campus affected how I look at leadership because it was the first extensive research paper I conducted that allowed me to think about change in my local community. So often, we theorize about leadership changes that largely do not affect us. This paper gave me the opportunity to think about the local university community and how a concealed carry law would affect it.
My leadership philosophy paper emphasizes that I believe everyone can be a good, effective leader. Leading by example does not take a title, and neither does having quality communication skills. These traits are hugely important to leadership in my opinion, and this paper highlights how I feel they contribute to leading. While someone can hold a title, that does not guarantee that they are being effective.
My final PLCY201 paper centered around Elizabeth Warren required fairly extensive research on Elizabeth Warren herself. This process facilitated my understanding of leadership because I realized how much I did not know about her. Even though she is a public figure, I found myself unfamiliar with almost all of her life. It made me evaluate how differently we look at others based on what we know about them. My friends know many details about my life, but others do not. For instance, in my position as a teaching assistant, my students know significantly less about me. How does that affect their perception of me? And how can I make sure I am still an effective leader with those who do not know me well? These are questions that I now ask myself. This would not have occurred to me without completing this paper.
In My Life
Outside of the Public Leadership classroom, I have used my leadership skills in several ways. Also through Scholars, I participate in Lakeland STARs tutoring, where I am currently tutoring a fourth-grade boy. I often unconsciously use my emotional intelligence to relate to him. We are always most productive when we start the day with a quality conversation about how our week has gone. With the transition to virtual tutoring, I have been able to additionally connect with him during free time because we can play Among Us with his friends in the program. In my role as an English teaching assistant, I use communication skills from Public Leadership. If a student asks for an extension, I treat it like a negotiation – two people working together to solve a problem collaboratively, instead of on opposite sides of the issue. I feel like this creates a more positive experience for everyone involved. Finally, I have started to see leadership principles throughout the media I consume. I find myself thinking about leadership outside of academic contexts. The most relevant example that comes to mind is the Broadway musical that I (somewhat) recently had the pleasure of seeing, Come From Away. It tells the story of Gander, Newfoundland, and how the people there took in plane passengers grounded on September 11, 2001. It reminds me that compassion should be at the forefront of leadership efforts. Also, it highlights that the best leadership is often in existence for the service of others.