Steven Lamm
Dr. Patton
SLC 101 (001)
29 August 2019
Self-Reflection #1
One of the biggest characteristics of leadership is service. Building community together and creating change with a bigger goal in mind is key in leadership. The Relational Leadership Model is prevalent in leaders more than I had previously thought. The more I think about my previous leadership positions that I have served throughout the community and my schools, I see that none of what was accomplished would have been done without the community that was built through the years. The multiple times I had to motivate or gain support from a group of people, the first objective I had to prioritize was the relationships that I had with the group. I believe I can always be better as a leader and try to incorporate the Relationship Model more and more everyday. The keys that make up the Relational Model are all necessary in order to make positive change in the community. Not using all of the keys in the Relational Leadership Model will not get a leader anywhere when trying to bring the community together.
The Relational Models’ Keys are all necessary to acquire the characteristics of leadership. Being purposeful throughout our daily lives is very important to create bonding and making positive change in our community. Being purposeful, I believe, has many parts and layers. Having a long-time goal is worthless without finding common ground with your community and finding common ground with no goal or objective in mind gets you nowhere. I believe being purposeful means to work with your community to find a common goal, plan it out, make sure you “leave a mark,” and complete the mission you were trying to complete. Being Process-Oriented correlates with the process that takes place when being purposeful. The path that is taken is just as important when being Process-Oriented and it is something I need to work on honestly. I hate to admit that I heavily focus on the endpoint of a goal and do whatever it takes to get to that goal when sometimes it may not be ethical either. Determination is a very important skill to have as a leader, but the process is just as important and I try to keep that in mind as I work day to day. Ethics is key to a leader’s success, and a leader should keep his own morals/beliefs in mind and morals of his/her community. I do not believe a leader should throw his morals out the window and just listen to an audience to please a group. A leader is brought up with ideals and morals that knows between right and wrong and should use what he/she believes in when making decisions for their people. Being process-oriented and ethical are two things I believe I need to work on, but I do think that I am very good at being inclusive and empowering others to exploit their strengths and support others to help them grow in themselves. I have significantly improved my skills in empowering others and inclusion just through two years into transferring from a private school into a public school between 10th and 11th grade. In the last two years of high school, I have learned, the bolder I am the better (usually). I have kept this in mind in my first few weeks here at NC STATE. Everyone is in the same boat, and sometimes a group just needs a nudge from someone to open it up and get to know each other. I believe when someone is bolder and acts confident, they give off positive and confident vibes to the group they are talking to. When groups are brought together, I will also use that time to not just try to unite a community but to also let others express ideas or let someone else open up about their feelings towards something. I think it brings the community together when you believe in yourself, express that, and show that you want to learn from others by being inclusive and empowering.
Just in a one hour class setting, my mind has opened up to new perspectives as to being a leader. I believe the Relational Leadership Model is a very important tool to keep in mind when wanting to make positive change in our community. I also believe that the Service Action Project is going to be an eye-opening experience for all of us in the class and for the community. I am still trying to figure out what I want to focus on for the project, but I am looking forward to the experience I am going to have in the community, in ILV, and at NC STATE.