Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Leadership Reflection Assignment
Leadership Reflection Assignment
2/14/18
Leadership Reflection Assignment:
Leadership has been manifested in my life in various and intricate ways – through family,
teachers and educators, friends and mentors, and coworkers. One of of the most important things
to consider when reflecting on leadership is the “Essential Personal Resources” outlined in The
Successful Internship. By considering the life experiences, knowledge, hopes, and expectations
of the leaders around you, it is easier to understand their personal leadership style. I think this is
also applicable and beneficial for leaders to understand and connect with constituents. In order to
Enable Others to Act, and benefit the community, it is important to understand the personal
resources that all constituents bring together. Being able to identify with people’s hopes,
expectations, and knowledge will facilitate the building of meaningful relationships and effective
leadership. As a constituent, I also respond better and follow leaders who incorporate support
and love into their leadership. The Successful Internship defined many ways of providing
support, including nontraditional ideas of support like “challenge” and “diversion”. In this way, I
think that by diversifying our ideas of support and leadership, we are better able to collaborate
and learn.
Many of the values and styles of leadership discussed in the readings and The Successful
Internship are characteristics that I try to embody. Most importantly, in my opinion, is love.
Before coming to Loyola, I do not think I would have listed this as an important quality in a
leader. Instead, I think that I was focused on resource and capabilities – ability to speak in front
of a group, communicate effectively, be confident – which are all important, but do not involve
those being led. My discussions, relationships, and experiences in the last four years at Loyola
have demonstrated that leadership should be focused on the relationships with constituents and
those being led. Although Caldwell and Dixon reveal that some people may be uncomfortable
with leading through “love”, I appreciate how they provide alternatives like “care” and
“concern”. The idea of providing support, attentiveness and encouragement is foreign to our
culture of profit and coldness but it seems so logical to create a healthy, productive society and
be a good leader. I think this ideal of love is also reinforced in the Encourage the Heart section
Although I think it is most challenging for me personally, I also think the idea of
Enabling Others to Act is one of the most important values in leadership. Leadership is not
limited to only one person or group, and communities benefit from the collaboration of ideas,
skills, and experiences of all those involved. In order to utilize the knowledge and skills of all
constituents, a leader must encourage the proactive participation of all those in the community or
group. I think this is challenging for me in leadership positions because there is a sense of
responsibility and individuality I identify with in leadership, and therefore it is harder to delegate
and facilitate the incorporation of other’s ideas and knowledge. Being able to empower others
requires a leader to “not hoard the power they have but to give it away” (pg 18). This
empowerment also requires that the relationship between leaders and constituents is based on
trust and mutual understanding. This is not only significant in empowering individuals, but
creating and developing spaces for new leaders to emerge and benefit others.
At Misericordia, I’ve seen many different leadership styles exhibited because of the
variety of positions and people there. In the Fitness & Aquatics center, I have seen many
challenges in terms of leadership because of people being hired and fired, and disparities in
expectations between parties. However, I have also seen incredible demonstrations of many of
the leadership ideals outlined in the readings. This is reflected in my Leadership Profile
Interview of MaryAnn, who expressed (and continuously came back to) the trust she places in
the staff in order to both encourage them to hone their own leadership skills and empower others
I think that the staff in Fitness & Aquatics, especially MaryAnn, utilizes open
communication as the foundation of their leadership and relationships with others. There is a
sense of trust among one another because of the honesty and camaraderie, and I think that
MaryAnn’s invitation for openness makes the rest of the employees more comfortable expressing
their concerns, asking questions, and working towards self-improvement. People welcome this
style and respond accordingly – although there are conflicts, the openness and trust promotes
specifically the idea of Model the Way. This is important in a setting like Misericordia because
there is a sharp divide between hands-on work and menial tasks (though both are important!). By
engaging in both the significant and the trivial, MaryAnn demonstrates that it is not above
anyone to clean or do paperwork in order to ensure the more meaningful things, like providing
space for creating healthier lifestyles through exercise, are ensured and maintained. This also
encourages the constituents (other employees) at Misericordia to be proactive about their work,
whether it be cleaning or engaging with a resident. They respond with initiative and innovation,
Another important aspect of leadership I’ve noticed is that all of the staff seem capable,
responsible, and empowered when interaction with volunteers, interns, and residents. Although
there are clear distinctions in amount of power, the staff consistently cares for, teaches, and
nurtures those that engage in their space. As an intern, I have been both led with love and
evaluated honestly about my role in the program and organization. Although it is sometimes a
challenging position because of the seemingly insignificant role of the intern, I appreciate their
inclusion of my thoughts, ideas, opinions, and honestly in their relationships and leadership.