Leadership
Cydnie Anderson
My Personal Definition of Leadership
The Legacy Builder
I really liked what Clint was saying there: a true leader isn't complicated or complex, they are simple. They get the job done the right way the first time; and I'm going to use what he was saying to remind myself in future tasks that if things aren't going my way, I can always control my attitude and effort no matter what, and still get the job done.
Greatest Accomplishments
I think that I personally impacted my 1st grade buddy, Isabella Webb, the most. Her and I worked together for about two weeks. I looked forward to seeing her and I think that she felt the same about me.
Because I knew I was a role model, I started to pay attention to how I was acting at school, at games, and in public; keeping in mind that people are watching me, and my character says a lot about my leadership style.
I also feel very accomplished with all of the projects and assignments I've completed this semester with my leadership class. I've read books created projects for them, our class created a skit all by ourselves, we made video projects with our elementary friends, and during some point of the class, we all had to stand up in front of administrators and teachers to present our projects.
Unexpected Situations
Personally, I knew that I would be able to handle this project, and I thought it would be fun. I think that I took on a pretty big leadership role, by standing up in front of a whole grade level and administrators and presenting a PowerPoint presentation with Emily, that her and I created together. The bullying skit turned out great because of the leaders that stood up and took responsibility for their individual roles in the project.
Another unexpected situation that myself and other leaders in our class had to take on was standing up and presenting our class' accomplishments to the school board and other administraters at a school board meeting. We were all nervous at first, but we pushed through that and did a great job.
This Class and My Future
I've learned so much about leadership in just one semester, and I know that while I continue to grow as a person and learn new things, I will learn to become an even stronger leader. Hopefully, I can continue to impact the lives of people in various ways.
Leadership Application
One of the biggest things I've learned is that being a leader means you're a leader everywhere you go, not just when you think the most important people are watching.
This class has made me want to be a better person and role model. Because of this class, everyday I'm thinking about what I can do to make myself better, and I think that is exactly what a leader should do.
My Personal Mentor
The Sacred Acre
One of my favorite quotes from the book, The Sacred Acre, is actually from a close friend of the Thomas family: "True toughness is doing what's right all the time..." (The Sacred Acre, page 11). This quote really relates to my personal leadership style because I think to be a true leader, you have to be consistent.
Another thing that I really connected with from The Sacred Acre is Ed Thomas' obsession with doing the little things right. In the book, they talked about how he would make sure his field was in pristine condition because he always said, "take care of the little things, and the big things will take care of themselves" (The Sacred Acre, page 13). I thought that was an amazing way to look at things, and I think that by doing the little things right with our friends at the elementary--like setting great examples and showing respect and hard work--they got something way bigger out of it than we realized.