Learning to Lead

As an LAS cohort (plus one leader who is not a part of LAS) we take a class together called LDR 200L.  This class is a leadership class where we learn important skills needed to improve our leadership abilities. Throughout the class we had to facilitate different activities and learn about the different leadership theories.  Though there were multiple leadership theories that were applicable to my life, the one I found the most applicable was the Behavioral Approach to leadership.

A lot of time in leadership people focus a lot on the relationship between the leader and the followers.  Don’t be me wrong this is an EXTREMELY vital part of leadership, however I like how this theory focus a lot on how leaders can be a mixture of being very task-oriented and relationship oriented.  I consider myself to be a very personable person, however, when things are not getting finished or are left until the last minute I get pretty anxious, which will affect the people around me to become anxious as well.  I think knowing how to balance task and relationships is one of the most important parts of being a great leader.

I am going to be a guide for Leadership Safari this fall, so when I was learning the theories in LDR I would try to put them into context of how I can use my knowledge while leading a small group.  Behavioral approach was one of the most easily applicable in this scenario too because of the amount of activities that are fit in to such a short amount of time during Leadership Safari.  However, in order to make Leadership Safari an amazing experience for the participants, I will need to form fun and trusting relationships with them.  LDR 200 has made me feel much more comfortable with my leading abilities, and it also taught me that I have A LOT more room for growth; that’s a good thing!

I also learned a lot about how to debrief.  Going through LDR has taught me that debriefing is the most important part of leading an activity.  It is the part that connects all the dots and allows participants to see the bigger picture of what they are doing.  Debriefing allows the leader of the activity to learn as well and see a new a view point on things that could have not seen before.

A lot of people didn’t like going to LDR because it was three hour long evening class, but I can honestly say that I always looked forward to it because learning about things that were so applicable to our lives was SO FUN!

The Spark that Started the Fire

The Spark Leadership Conference is a conference that Central’s Leadership Institute puts on every year. The conference is open to anybody on Central’s campus that would like to expand their knowledge about leadership. You can find more information about the Spark Leadership conference here.

When I first got there we were split into groups, and asked to fill out this questionnaire sheet about leadership.  After we all were finished with the questions we were told to right down how many answers were written in squares, circles, triangles, and diamonds.  After we calculated where our answers were, we were told that each of the different shapes represented different leadership styles.  The four different styles were spirited, direct, systematic, and considerate.  My two highest scores were very close with only one point difference.  My highest score was spirited, and my my second highest score was considerate.  This means that typically my leadership styles is spirited. Honestly, this did not shock me at all because when I am in a leadership role I feel like my goal is to make everybody enthusiastic about what we are doing and to enjoy the task.

The rest of the day we did teamwork and group activities with the group we were split up into, and it really showed how the different leadership styles, though they are all very different, are just as needed in a group.  It also highlighted how leaders lead in a diverse number of ways, and no way of leading is better than the other.  Though I was not shocked about what my specific leadership style was, I had never thought about it too much, and I had enjoyed getting to learn about what the different leadership styles were and their importance.  Because of this, I will now be able to improve my leadership by improving the other forms of leadership, so I can become a well-rounded leader.