Shahina Gantiwala

EXPL 390
2/19/16
Leadership Profile Assignment
From being a social service intern to shifting into the position of a fitness intern has
brought much needed social interactions into my daily surroundings. The interactions I now
experience involve conversations with residents and various types of staff. Since the position at
Misericordia as a fitness intern is relatively new for me, it was difficult to determine which staff
member I thought embodied an effective leadership style. Nevertheless, I found an individual
whose leadership is much different than I would imagine leading, but is effective in making the
Moore pool and aquatics area run efficiently at Misericordia.
The staff member was shocked when I asked her to be interviewed for the position of
effective leadership that this assignment required. I told her that she is an effective leader in
making sure that the Moore Center, Misericordias designated pool and fitness center, runs
efficiently with her around because she assesses a situation immediately and lays out a plan of
action. The staff member, Kelli Labelle, laughed immediately and said, you should tell that to
our boss! Kelli did not mention how long she has been a staff member at Misericordia, but the
way she answered the questions for this interview made me rethink about effective leadership in
terms of the quantity of an experience vs. the quality of an experience, in this case, effective
leadership.
Kellis leadership story begins with her adolescence in high school where she remembers
being forced to dish-out leadership from within because of her position as a point guard in
basketball. She mentions how playing many different sports required her to be put into a position

where she had to work within a team towards a goal. Working toward a goal requires individuals
to put aside their differences and focus on developing strategies to accomplish that goal. Kelli
described how the different sports and position she played required her to develop a strong voice,
so that effective communication between her team and coaches could occur. For Kelli, being the
oldest was another push that brought about her leadership potential, as she is the oldest of three
siblings. Kellis societal pressure of being the oldest and the responsibilities of the sports
positions she played in high school and college enabled her to develop into an effective leader.
Kelli describes five qualities that she deems an effective leader has: communication,
patience, understanding, honesty, and professionalism. Kellis idea of communication requires
clarity and directedness on what needs to be done to ensure the goal, in whichever situation, is
reached, whether in a professional setting or in a team sport. Without communication, there is no
direction and with no direction there is no purpose for a staff or a center. Kelli mentioned having
patience and understanding when working with the people around you in any setting. She further
described that if you do not understand the team or the organization, the goal and the people,
then how will one be able to accomplish embodying what the organizations goals are? To be
able to communicate patiently with individuals in the team or organization and building upon
their trust requires an open mind of tolerance. However, Kelli noted that although you may be
patient, understanding and tolerance, you cannot be a push over and please people to win the
hearts of people in a team or organization. Kelli is not a push over and deems that combining
honesty and professionalism in a work setting is difficult for her to this day because in tough
situations, such as handling conflicts, she tends to show her temper. Kelli further described how
turning her temper into a calm demeanor when there is a difference in thought in a professional

setting is a personality quality that only her mother has. She knows that this is her weak point in
her leadership, as she is vocal when she believes an idea is not feasible.
Kellis advice for emerging leaders entails adapting to a scenario to owning up ones
mistakes and working forward. She mentions to take things as they come, in other words,
observe before giving input. Being knowledgeable before making a prescribed change is far
better than just jumping into what you think is okay, Kelli deems that the quality of patience
comes in at this pivotal moment of potentially effective leadership. Kelli also brings up an
important point of the type of learning style one has and connects it to the type of leader one
could be. For example, she describes herself as a kinesthetic, or hands-on learner. Being a
kinesthetic learner, she says that she has to be actively moving and communicates to her boss
regarding if a position suits her learning style in a professional work setting. She adds that being
a kinesthetic learner, the oldest child, and playing various roles in various sports, has made her
an effective communicator. Further, she describes how one must choose a style of leadership,
from being direct to a delegator. Kellis style of leadership leans more towards being direct
because an individual that aspires to be a leader, in whatever setting, must know what they want
and be willing to out into the world and get it.
However, the biggest cautions Kelli describes for emerging leaders is embodying honesty
while being professional and holding oneself accountable for ones actions. Being honest while
being professional is essential to Kelli because if one knows something is wrong and does speak
up about it in any leadership setting, then one is not being an effective leader. Communication is
key in a professional setting when a wrong or rule is broken and one does nothing to enforce it.
Therein, holding oneself accountable comes in. Kelli cautions that one must own up to their
mistakes because humans make mistakes and what is important is to admit when one is wrong

and work towards an effective goal. Most importantly, Kellis interview ended with her final
advice, lead by example. She describes being a model for the behavior one wants to embody,
whether to be a leader or an athlete. Without leading by example, a leader cannot be effective in
accomplishing their desired goals.
Interviewing Kelli was difficult for me because she seems intimidating because she is
direct and serious when working. She sticks straight to the point of what needs to be done and is
stern and professional with the residents. There is no babying of the resident when they do not
want to listen to an instruction or exercise. But, with Kellis stern directions, the residents listen
immediately and proceed to accomplish the tasks they are supposed to complete at the fitness
center. However, I chose Kelli to be an effective leader because she does not please people, she
gets the job done. And she does seem intimidating, however, she is an effective communicator,
tries to understand an individual, analyzes a situation, and responds immediately. Her quick
thinking and her commitment to clear communication make her an effective leader, even when
she may seem a bit cold at first. Nevertheless, I believe Kelli Labelle is a leader whose traits I
know I should incorporate into my style of leadership in the future.