Skills development inspires and promotes the charity in daily interactions and the community.
Self-Image
By understanding how I perceive and feel regarding myself and how I believe others perceive me, I believe I have cultivated a good self image which is important for leadership. This self-image is not defined by my faults, but inspired through overcoming challenges. By recognizing that I am a highly capable, I understand I have interior strength and made for greatness. Courage is not absence of fear, but simply the ability to overcome. By embracing this mentality, this does not mean I do not have self-doubts, fear or concern, but I understand that I am capable of surpassing this fear acting in charity towards others.
Taking the Initiative
Each person at some point will need to fulfill their purpose and answer a calling in their life. This purpose may be seemingly important or unimportant, but all responsibility however small should be cherished and we should recognize the value in taking the initiative to this responsibility. I have taken initiative in my own life through getting involved in on-Campus, off-campus and volunteer events. I am grateful for the ways I have been able to grow in leadership and recognize that although taking initiative is essential, allowing ourselves to grow as the leader and supporting member on a team is dually important. Ultimately, these aspects build charity towards others and help us to become servant leaders.
Connecting with Others
How do we talk, communicate and express our thoughts and feelings to develop friends, co-workers, or student-teacher relationships with perspective students? Throughout the Emerging Leader’s Academy, I learned the power of building a trusting team which creates a powerful and important line of communication between classmates, who I now can call friends. This bridge built between team-members allows us to build mutual respect and trust, while also building empathy as we are able to truly understand each other. Developing connections in all relationships is essential to forming a good leader.
Team Building Skills
Team building and or leading team members, one must dually be compassionate and show interior strength. Truly effective teams nurture friendships and are more invested into each other’s success to build up and support one another, than to witness to task being completed. In my experiences the past year, I have been able to build relationships and help create teams that nurture friendships rather than teams that are so goal oriented that they ignore the individual. This holistic team is essential for developing a successful task-force to work cohesively.
Personal Reflection
Self-reflection is not simply reviewing past events but reflecting on the essential aspects of a project including goals, effectiveness, communication, what went wrong, and improvements. One must set aside proper self and team reflection to be an effective leader. In my own life, I try and reflect daily to help self-improvement in my struggles and successes. I believe self-reflection also develops an understanding of self, which cultivates passions and has the potential to help find solutions for reoccurring problems. This can also be helpful as team to develop close communication and understand each team members perspective which gives voice to others.