Leadership Portfolio

By: Stephanie Gorski

 An articulation of your personal mission statement:
o “The Bottom Line: Successful people consistently do
what Normal People refuse to do.”

o This is generally straight to the point. I believe that if

you do not give up on any goal that you set your mind
to, you can achieve all that you’ve set out to do and
become a successful person in your goal. Through the
power of persistence, anything is possible no matter the
setbacks through life.

 A summary of your leadership style, including key

qualities you possess, your strengths and areas of
improvement:
o My leadership style revolves mostly around Servant
Leadership. My “followers” would always come first in
helping their needs before my own, specifically with
what will help them the most in their goals. When
guiding the members of my group to the right decision,
I would generally Enable Others to Act to allow the
other members to participate in decision-making.
Modelling the Way also goes hand-in-hand with
Enabling Others to Act when giving others the chance
to serve in decision-making. I also do pride myself in
others accomplishments and Encourage the Heart when
others make moves into the right path to success.

o Although with strengths, there are weaknesses in my

leadership style. I tend to lack and need to work on
Inspiring a Shared Vision within a group setting to
 allow others to focus on achieving their set group goal
without getting sidetracked on the way.

 A listing of the 5 leaders you identify with most, and

the reasoning behind it:
o Leaders:
 Eric Gorski – I believe my father is a great
leader as he can easily solve complex problems with practical
solutions that would not only benefit the growth of him but
others involved in the situation. This can be a form of Service
Leadership established that I generally put forth in my
specific style of leadership.
 Angela Gorski – My mother is a lab technician
and Enables others to act in her place of work due to her
position amongst the other technicians. I identify with her
because she can enable others to take action based on a result
that is needed to succeed for all.
 Eleanor Roosevelt – Eleanor Roosevelt seemed
to have taken on a much larger role and went against what
society wanted her to do. Her perseverance is the quality I
admire most about her because she overcame what was
expected of her for the role she occupied. Roosevelt modeled
the way for many others to better their success in future
leadership positions. I identify with her because that is what I
am trying to become as a leader.
 Florence Nightingale – Florence Nightingale
was amongst the first pioneer in the Nursing field to help
soldiers in need during the Crimean War, and went against
the conformities of her job during this time to reform the
British military Health System. Not only did she act as a
Service Leader when helping those in need to better
themselves, but later, she educated those willing to learn the
practice of being a nurse. I truly believe that I identify with
 Florence Nightingale as a leader because she was willing to
teach others the right way of practicing nursing to allow
others to grow as better nurses.
 Josh Sundquist – Josh Sundquist is a leader on
and off the field, even while physically handicapped he is
pushing for change the best way he knows. I have been a big
fan of his work and his inspiration he gives to others through
his stories and experiences to keep moving forward no matter
the setbacks. I aspire to be like that as a leader and aim to
inspire others in terms of never giving up no matter what so
that they can succeed in their goals.

 Specific examples of your leadership experience and

how you have exhibited specific leadership qualities
in each:
o Dance Marathon
 Being apart of the Dance Marathon Exec
Committee has given me several opportunities
where I needed to lead. I understand the
importance of communication and make sure that
everyone else is on the same page as best I can
when setting guidelines to go by in order to
achieve our goal. I now have practice in making
sure that we as a team obtain the goal that we set,
whether it be changing day-of plans, or pushing
through minor setbacks. Lending a hand
throughout this experience has bettered our
success rate to make sure we accomplish our goal
and have a successful event.
o Swim Team in High School
 Being a former athlete and captain for my high
school’s swim team has taught me a lot about the
many leadership roles required in being part of a
 team. I made sure that I did my best during
practices and events to encourage and teach other
members of the team that our goal can be
achieved through perseverance and the support of
our fellow teammates.
o Group Projects
 I tend to take initiative whenever I am placed
within a group for a project. Although I am often
deemed group leader, the guidance I provide
allows for others in the group to have their time to
shine. By leading a group and guiding them into
the right direction, while giving them room to
participate, I allow for an open-minded
environment so everyone can see they have
contributed in the steps of achieving our set goal.

 A summary of what you see as your differential

advantages over others:
o The difference between me and other people is that I
can adapt easily given a situation. I also am known to
be competitive to always do better than I have done in
the past. My mistakes also drive me to do better as I
never give up on a set goal, as I will always persevere
through the setbacks thrown my way.
  A 5-year plan with specific goals for each year:
5-Year Plan Specific Goals

Year 1 1. Maintain my GPA of 3.5

2. Pass all college classes with a B or higher
3. Join Ultimate Frisbee team
4. Make new friends
5. Create a new savings account
Year 2 1. Maintain my GPA of a 3.0
2. Finish required prerequisites for Nursing
3. Start applying for Nursing Program at WCU
4. Gain a minor of Leadership
1. Begin degree specialization
Year 3
2. Look into more extra-curricular opportunities, such as
volunteer-based organizations
3. Learn American Sign Language
4. Learn better techniques to fight against stress
Year 4 1. Exercise on a regular basis
2. Shadow Emergency Medical Nurse (RN)
3. Complete my Bachelors of Science in Nursing (BSN)
4. Look into Nursing jobs in North Carolina
5. Take the NCLEX to get my license as an RN
Year 5
1. Obtain a job as a Trauma Nurse
2. Learn to speak Spanish
3. Be content
 A personal leadership profile where you develop your
own strategic leadership development plan involving
critical self-analysis and personal planning:
o By evaluating the situation presented to me, I can adapt
to what is provided to critically think of the ranking of
each leadership practice that would best suit the success
and achievement of others and myself. Through looking
at the given traits others and myself possess, I can then
identify what leadership style would best suit the
group/situation as well for optimal results.

o When I reflect on the leader that I am now, I believe

there is always room for improvement. In analyzing the
results after a goal is either met or not and receiving
feedback from others on my leadership role, I can then
take the necessary steps in becoming an even better
leader than I was before in correcting what I did wrong
in the past.

 Applied setting leadership profile where you problem

solve and think critically about leadership processes
in this setting and help construct a strategic
development plan for that setting:
o When I was apart of the Leadership Institute, there was
a time when certain uproar came about within the
organization in question of disbanding it or not. The
most important leadership aspect that was applied to
resolving this situation was being taught the necessary
knowledge essential in understanding what the core
purpose of the Leadership Institute was about. I believe
that we had lost sight of what our organization was all
about, and through the guidance of our advisors and the
knowledge passed down to us, we were able to make
good decisions essentially effected our success of
becoming a better and stronger organization that has
resolved this problem.
100-Day Leadership Challenge Reflection
 Examples of my 100-Day Leadership Challenge
reflections:
o Today in my leadership class we talked about our
perfect leader and what 5 characteristics describe them. The
biggest characteristic that I took from today’s class is being
Authentic. I want to incorporate this into my everyday life. I
need to be myself and not worry about what others think. As
well as show people who I really am!
o After today at Dance Marathon, I was completely
inspired by the courage that all the families from Greeneville
Children’s Hospital have with battling everyday and trying
to make everyday count as well. As a leader, I was inspired
by how even through I felt like I did little to support them,
they say we make the biggest difference. The quote they
kept using will stay with me always. “Hero’s are normal
people who do extraordinary things.”
 My leadership journey has been such a grand experience so
far that holds a very unique aspect of growth for me in coming a
long ways as of so far. At first, when beginning my leadership
journey, I did not know what to expect but I certainly knew that
becoming a leader isn’t something that can occur overnight, it
takes time. I’ve also learned a lot about the role of being a leader
through the classes of Leadership that I take. Being a leader is not
something you were given right away or born with. Each leader is
different in their own way in hopes of helping to achieve a set goal
either for you or among others, while a boss generally just oversees
the operations of everyone and does nothing to assist in achieving
a goal.
Through the 100-Day Leadership Challenge, I have grown
so much into an even more authentic leader than I was before this
challenge was taken. From start to finish, I can see the progress
that was ensued throughout my course of this challenge that I grew
to accept new ideas and learn about different concepts in our
community. This has definitely been an eye opening experience to
go through in the process of becoming a better leader. My mind is
surely open to new opportunities and possibilities with the
knowledge I have gained due to the leadership challenge. It has
initially caused me to become more efficient at critical thinking
because I was observing and analyzing the outside world in hopes
to create solutions that are effective to solve these problems that I
observed.
Regardless, I am glad that I took initiative throughout my
community because of the leadership challenge. It has molded me
into a more authentic leader, who is now more open-minded, in
terms of being apart of my community.
 A summary of what LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLES
you have learned that you feel are part of your
Leadership Philosophy:
o I believe that in learning promoting performance,
nurture collaboration, and ensuring results, which are
amongst the Leadership Principles that were taught
through Leadership, can strongly be associated to my
Leadership Philosophy. My leadership style is Servant
leadership, which would generally help in promoting
performance to initially help ensure results of success.
With the way I am as a person and always wanting to
encourage the heart in support of making good
decisions to achieve our goal, in working as a team to
succeed in what we want to do would of course be me
nurturing collaboration, which I highly encourage to get
the best results in accomplishing our goal.
Appendices, including your LPI (Leadership
Practices Inventory) that assists you in your
overall Leadership Portfolio
 For the Leadership Practices Inventory, this test measures a
person’s leadership through categories of leadership practices.
These leadership practices are then best fit to each person based on
a series of questions for people to answer and engage in specific
questions based on behaviors and actions. The results of the
questionnaire would then identify which leadership practice is
more prominent for that person. Each leadership practice can be
used in any situation, but this inventory test allows others to know
what leadership practices they are most strong in, and the
leadership practices that need improvement for the individual.
In my Student Leadership Practice Inventory, I scored
highest in Modeling the Way, followed by a three-way tie with
Enabling Others to Act, Challenging the Process, and Encouraging
the Heart. Unfortunately the Leadership Practice that is in need of
improvement for me based on my score is Inspiring a Shared
Vision, while Modeling the Way is my most prominent leadership
practice that I generally use.
Due to this assessment’s results, I can now know that
Modeling the Way has added to my leadership perspectives, as it
greatly helps define what type of leadership style best suits me for
any, if not all situations: Servant Leadership. Although, the
leadership practice that I am lacking in, being Inspiring a Vision,
can also affect my leadership perspectives by inhibiting me from
envisioning a future that is based on a dream or vision pulled
forward by a vision for the future. This would enlist the support of
others by engaging them in common vision that is rooted in their
own dreams and values. It seems to me that in order to conquer any
situation given to me, I’d have to improve the leadership practice
of Inspiring a Vision.