Leadership Competency Synthesis  

The idea of leadership has always been intimidating to me because I held misconceptions about the qualities of different types of leaders, and since I do not have a very confidently loud personality, the idea of leadership made me uncomfortable. I grew up more as the person to suggest an idea to a friend who was brave enough to share my thoughts out loud. The leadership competency of the Honors Program forced me outside of my comfort zone to grow into my unique leadership style that illuminates my personal values. I learned that leaders depend on peers because even leaders can be wrong. Effective leaders are aware of their leadership strengths and utilize them, and I learned that it does not take an authoritative title to be a leader.

 

Some of the most important and valuable leadership lessons I encountered occurred during some of my least expected experiences. I participated in a couple of group settings that illustrated different team roles that were all equally important. I learned that greater experience does not qualify for greater authority but can provide one the ability to give higher quality advice for peers. Leadership can be derived from experiential development; more time in a role or environment allows for growth into a mentor. This is a leadership quality that I deeply engaged with while participating in the Honors Peer Mentor Program. My growth in leadership began as I utilized this program my first year as a mentee. I then took the opportunity to provide leadership to my fellow students because I remembered how beneficial the structure and input from my mentor was. My status as a student was equivalent to that of my mentees, with our only difference being level of experience. Similarly, I viewed my classmates with whom I collaborated throughout my education as equally valuable even though everyone shared a different perspective. When it came to teamwork in my labs, my peers and I were equals in the same class trying to accomplish the same goal. With completely uniform qualifications, I learned that teamwork, especially in my labs, required different team roles that developed based on individual strengths. My Genetic Disorder Research Presentation taught me that all team roles are necessary for efficient success. Individual strengths and weaknesses are all equally important to the success of a group.

 

A critical step to my development as a leader was dependent on identifying my personal leadership strengths and weaknesses. My first reflective experience about my leadership qualities revealed positive traits that I built into my leadership style. I learned my strengths pull from my personal values which helped me realize the purpose of different leaders is to influence with different sets of belief perspectives. Individual’s unique attributes create varying leadership styles. As a member of the Track Team, I observed leadership styles that differed in effectiveness. Among the styles I witnessed, I realized that communication was a key factor to a successful leader. Efficient teamwork was only achievable if we were all on the same page which required one reliable common communicator. I continued to learn about the importance of communication with my coworkers in my CNA Practicum Experience. The position I held allowed me to practice my leadership skills among my care team and observe the leadership dynamics of other shift groups. I found a style that felt comfortable to me and created a dynamic that made sure my peers felt valued. My efficient leadership philosophy utilizes teamwork with strong and open communication. Through my Peer Mentor Experience, I realized my unique perspective was the strength that I utilized to guide my peers.  Naming my strengths and weaknesses and intentionally practicing them throughout my competency experiences enabled me to develop them further into my leadership philosophy.

 

My experiences taught me to rely on my peers and team members in leadership settings because they can be assets in areas I consider my weaknesses. Leadership is much more selfless than the title implies. Working in healthcare, I learned that effective leaders need to rely on the entire Care Team rather than only valuing those with tenure for information or input. In the same setting, taking advantage of the strengths of group members makes for more cohesive work. Delegation is a leadership trait I learned to like while completing my CNA Practicum Experience.  I was also able to practice this concept in an academic setting to divide team roles efficiently in a lab setting for my Biology Genetics Project. This team project required a lot of individual work initially, but the entire process of putting it together relied on collaboration of our different roles. Through different leadership settings, I observed and practiced delegation as an effective leadership tool to help supplement my weaknesses.

 

The reflective process of my leadership has been valuable to my growth by helping me identify my leadership values and strengths and develop my own philosophy to use in my future. I have already been able to apply my values in other leadership experiences this year not reflected in my portfolio. I took on a board member position of our Cognitive Science Club to ensure the club members felt valued and included. I also contributed as a member of the SAAC committee using my experiences and perspectives to represent my track team cohort. These experiences as a leader have given me confidence to continue to have a leadership voice as I enter my post-graduate career, and I see these experiences as a foundation for further development of my leadership among my doctorate cohort and professional peers.