As a member of Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), I have had the

opportunity to better develop my understanding of what leadership is and how leadership styles

vary from person to person. I first joined SHRM at the end of my second year after I was

encouraged by some of my friends. I attended the meetings and quickly began to enjoy being

part of the organization. The group meets biweekly to discuss a variety of topics including

changes in the world of human resources, the importance of hiring the right person, and the

different career opportunities available in the field. The group also brings in human resource

professionals from across the state of Minnesota to give their insight into the different topics that

are important for students. In this organization, I would describe myself as an active participant

who has attended all the meetings and has been engaged throughout the entire year. While I do

not hold a leadership position in the organization, I feel that I made a lot of important

contributions to the group by participating in discussions, helping with fundraising, and serving

as a panelist in an internship panel. Of all these contributions, I believe that my assistance with

fundraising made the biggest impact; there were very few group members who were able to help

with fundraising, so my contributions were very significant.

During my engagement with SHRM for the past two semesters, I have experienced two

different leaders in the organization. Through this experience, I have learned a lot about what I

value in leaders. The leader from the first year was very hands on and wanted everyone to see

things her way. She would push us to change the way that we thought about things, believing

that her way of thinking was the only one that was correct. Personally, I did not like this style of

leadership as I believe that there can be multiple ways of thinking. This is especially true in the

world of human resources management, where many things are subjective. In contrast, the

president of the club this year encourages members to think for themselves and to participate in
the making of important decisions. For me, this is a better leadership style as it promotes free and

innovative thinking. After noticing these differences, I began to think about my own strengths

and weaknesses as a leader. When reflecting on who I am as a leader, I realized that I am a very

compassionate leader who wants to get input from others as I believe this is the way to get the

best results. My greatest strengths in leadership are that I can communicate my thoughts and

ideas well while also setting goals for myself and others. However, one weakness I have is that I

need to focus on getting better at delegating tasks that others can complete. I also have control

issues where I feel the need to oversee every aspect of the situation. I oftentimes hold the

mentality that if you want it done right, you do it yourself. This should not be the case though as

leaders should provide others with opportunities that challenge them. One major reason that I

believe that I have this mentality is I am used to being involved in group projects where others

did the bare minimum and where I was shooting for the best grade I could get. I have realized

that these are my specific strengths and weaknesses over the course of my time observing leaders

such as those in SHRM. One example of this was when I heard the president my first year in the

organization complaining that she had so much to do. However, she had not asked anyone else to

help her out with this. I began to see this as an issue regarding delegation. When thinking about

what I would be doing in that specific situation, I realized that I would likely do the same thing.

As a result, I need to be sure that I am specifically focused on delegating tasks. When reflecting

on my experiences in SHRM, I have come to realize that I would like to emulate the leadership

style of the second leader that I encountered in the club.

After spending time as a member of SHRM and observing two different leaders, I will be

sure to utilize the lessons I learned about leadership in future leadership roles. One such

leadership role is serving as the president of Maverick Speech and Debate for the 2022-2023
school year. I will focus on ensuring that I am delegating tasks that I specifically do not need to

complete. This will be a challenge for me as I first start doing it, but I believe that I can perfect

the skill of delegation over time. I will also ensure that I continue to communicate necessary

information to others in my organization. In the future, I need to go in with the mindset that

everyone has something to contribute in a project and even though it might not be exactly what I

envisioned, it is still an important contribution. By working with a variety of leaders and

watching them do things that worked as well as things that didn’t, I have come to this realization.

As I continue my journey as a leader for the Maverick Speech and Debate Team, I will be sure to

reflect on my experience in SHRM. I believe that the experiences I learned while observing the

leaders in this club will significantly influence my leadership style for years to come. Through

this experience, I was ultimately able to develop and better understand my leadership style and

skills.