Category: Lecture Reflections

 

This session by Monika Korra impacted my understanding of leadership because I learned the meaning of self empowerment and courage that is required for a person to rebuild themselves after a traumatic event.  For a leader to be an efficient leader he or she must be able to be strong mentally and physically themselves before they can lead a group of followers. Monika Korra was able to come back stronger after her trauma and thus was able to help groups of people who have been victims of rape. She is powerful because she is encouraging others to make sure that their attackers get punished for their crime. Monika is not afraid of what others think of her, she only cares that the victims of rape get justice for the crime as well as rebuild themselves after the attack.

I learned that personal values, integrity and ethical leadership all tie to together when creating a leader. Monika valued the most that people do not see her as a helpless victim of rape. She wants to be perceived as a strong woman who is not going to let this attack define her life. Her personal values helped her come back from her attack and shaped her into becoming a stronger person. She refused to give up after her attack and continued to change her image by speaking to groups about her assault and how someone can still make sure that the event does not take over them. Monika’s integrity helped her by making sure that her attackers were put behind bars. After a year after her assault, Monika had to find the strength to face her attackers once again in court. This was hard for her because she had not seen them since the night of the attack. However, she pushed herself to go through with the trials because she knew that if she didn’t someone else could be hurt by these same people again. This ties in with ethical leadership as well because Monika made sure that the attackers received the punishment that they deserved. Back in her hometown, if something like this were to occur the attackers would only get a few years in prison. However, Monika wanted to make sure that they would feel the guilt for the rest of their lives because their crime had a huge impact on her life.

I can apply what I learned from Monika to my life because if she can come back from a traumatic event like this and be even stronger then I can also be a strong person and fight for those who need it. My future career as a doctor will be shaped by this talk as well because it gives me the courage to fight for my future patients and make sure they receive the treatment that they need to get better. Like lawyers, doctors also take care of people when they are the most vulnerable. Often times people can take advantage of the patients and not give them the full treatment that they deserve. I want to be an advocate for my patients and stand up for them when they are unable to do so.

 

 

In the Cuddy complex, Natalie is the leader of her group of friends at orientation. She desperately tries to get her friends to go to a party by convincing them that it will be a good way to have fun. By having a good amount of energy and enthusiasm, she was able to motivate her followers to go to the party and relax. This session impacted my understanding of leadership because I learned that with a lot of positive energy, a leader can change the mind of his or her followers. Throughout the whole ride to the party, her friends were uneasy about their decisions. However, Natalie’s energy and excitement about the party allows them to follow through with the plan and attend the party.

I learned that personal values, integrity and ethical leadership all tie to together when creating a leader. Natalie’s personal values are what shape her to be the kind of leader who always looks at the positive. She tries very hard to not be seen as a black woman by not following any of the stereotypes. She thinks that if she does not follow the stereotypical black persona then she will be exempt from the racism that is usually associated with it.  Unfortunately, this is not true as she has to face the bigotry of the fraternity boy and the other people at the party who do not accept her simply because of the color of her skin. By dragging her friends to the party where they are scared of being outcasts, Natalie does not follow all traits of ethical leadership. Natalie is good at having her friends work as a team in order to get everyone to the party. She gets everyone to agree to go and then they all figure out how they are going to get to the party. However, she fails to consider the respect and dignity of her friends when they are kicked out of the party due to the color of their skin. Natalie has the best intentions when she decides to take her friends to the party. However, she is unable to stand up for her friends when they are forced to leave the party and she is pushed aside instead. This ties to her personal characteristics as a leader and the way she leads a group of people. Since Natalie is an optimistic person, she can not be a good leader in a situation that she did not even anticipate happening. Integrity also shapes how someone is as a leader because if the leader has a lot of integrity then the followers are more likely to trust him or her. The followers will most likely be more vulnerable towards a leader who posse’s integrity. It is crucial to have integrity because the followers will decide if they can trust and follow the leader or if they can ignore the leader and not follow them.

After watching this video, I learned that a good leader has to be more than just someone who has a lot of positive energy and focuses on the good. A leader needs to take into account both sides of a situation, so that he or she can stand up for the followers. Natalie was unable to stand up for her followers after they were thrown out of the party because she did not take into account that anything negative will happen. This lead to her feeling helpless as a leader and wondering how she got into the situation in the first place. It is important to take into account the negatives of a situation because the world is not always a positive place. Instead of wondering what she could have done later, Natalie could have stood up for her friends if she predicted the situation earlier.