It felt really good showing my peers my e-portfolio that I’ve been working hard on all semester. I’m very proud of myself and how I’ve grown and learned as a leader. My peers gave me positive feedback on my portfolio and I am happy they enjoyed it as much as I did. After looking at others blogs in class, I found it very cool how unique each one really was. Everyone had their own personal take on the assignment and added their own twist. After knowing how much work it really took to complete these portfolios or blogs, I think we all respected each others piece. I liked the project a lot because it was a combination of everything we learned throughout class, and it was fun to share what we got from the class. 

After this semester in my leadership class my perspective on leadership did not completely change, but my understanding of the concept of leadership most definitely expanded and grew. Looking back at my first reflecting I realize how narrow, or small my definition of leadership really was. I had no idea how complex the word leadership really is with all the different theories, styles, techniques, practices, ethics, and meanings it actually consists of. I’m thankful for this class, although sometimes the readings were tedious, I actually learned a lot and know I will benefit from it in the future. 

Originally, I thought leadership was just influence of one person on another, or many others. Although this is true, it is a very brief definition. This class has taught me much more meaning to leadership. By doing activities in class such as skits, debates, presentations, group work, tests, reflections, and interviews we were able to bond as a class and participate with one another. This class was different than any other I had taken before. My previous leadership classes in high school were all fun and consisted of a lot of planning and group work. This class might have been more of a work load, but I for sure learned a lot more about leadership. I enjoyed all of the activities we did throughout the semester.

Another thing I enjoyed from the class in the lectures we were required to attend and reflect on. I’m not going to lie, at first I wasn’t to excited to go to these lectures, but after each one I was glad I went. Each leader made me think about myself and who I want to be as a leader, or even as a follower in our society today. I enjoyed listening to each speaker give insight on their personal experiences and advice they gave to us young students. I hope one day I can share my own accomplishments to others and inspire them the same way these speakers did to myself.

I learned a lot this semester in this leadership class. Surprisingly, I learned a lot more about myself than about the concepts and styles of leadership. This class helped me realize who I am as a leader, and who I want to be as a leader. I was able to develop my own personal leadership philosophy that I will continue to follow, change, and praise as I continue to get older and learn here at Baylor. Developing my leadership philosophy was probably the most important part of this class for myself. I discovered my goals for myself to become a happier, and more accepting person and leader. After looking at the important traits a leader must obtain, and my personal goals as a leader, I was able to come up with my philosophy. 

The things I learned through this class about my fellow classmates, leadership, and myself are things that I will value and never forget through my college career. I am happy I had the opportunity to take this class and I’m thankful for all I learned and relationships I’ve developed.

There are many different types of leadership that we’ve learned about this semester, but I decided to pick my three favorite to explain and reflect on. My three favorite types of leadership are servant leadership (226), team leadership (361), and transformational leadership (161).

Servant Leadership:

“Servant leaders attend fully to the needs of followers, are concerned with the less privileged, and aim to remove inequalities and social injustices. Because servant leaders shift authority to those who are being led, they exercise less institutional power and control.”

• Reading about servant leadership in chapter 10 was very interesting and inspiring. This chapter taught me a lot about this style of leadership. I learned that it emphasizes that leaders be attentive to the concerns of their followers, empathize with them, and nurture them. They put their followers first and develop strong relationships with them. Servant leaders want to serve, which is on thing that I admire about them. I also admire their selflessness and hard work to benefit others. I personally have had servant leadership roles through mission work. These positions have changed my life completely and helped me develop into a humble leader. I believe that servant leaders don’t always get the recognition they deserve because they volunteer or humbly act as leaders to benefit our society. In my leadership philosophy I state that I want to expand my faith and become a happier person. I believe I can do these things by upholding servant leadership positions through volunteer and mission work at my church.

Team Leadership:

“The team leadership model provides a framework in which to study the systematic factors that contribute to a team’s outcomes or general effectiveness. Within this approach, the critical function of leadership is to help the team accomplish its goals by monitoring and diagnosing the team and taking the requisite action.”

• I found this specific leadership approach very interesting because I didn’t realize the importance a team leader has. The particular focus of this approach is on real-life organizational teams and their effectiveness. It emphasizes the function of leadership that can be shared and distributed within the specific work team or group. These groups can vary in size but in particular I would picture this style of leadership used in businesses or classrooms. I’ve had experience with team leadership in my Leadership class in high school. The fifty kids in the class room were split into committees  with around 8 people in each. These committees had their own responsibilities to benefit and represent the high school. Each person in the class held a leadership position and it was our job as a team to work together as leaders to get things done. Teamwork, and leadership were two very important things that we learned and practiced in the classroom.

Transformational Leadership:

“Transformational leaders are recognized as change agents who are good role models, who can create and articulate a clear vision for an organization, who empower followers to meet higher standards, who act in ways that make others want to trust them, and who give meaning to organizational life”

• I found transformational leadership interesting because of the ability the leader has to inspire their followers to accomplish amazing things. These leaders are motivational and persuasive. Throughout this chapter, there were seven areas of transformational leadership that consisted of idealized influence (charisma), inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, individualized consideration, contingent reward, management-by-exception, and laissez-faire. If a leader is strong in these aspects, than they are a strong transformational leader. One specific transformational leader that comes to my mind when studying this type of leadership is Martin Luther King Jr. MLK wanted change and was able to motivate others with his dedication and charismatic personality.

These are only three of many topics about leadership, and types of leadership that we cover this semester. Each topic was interesting to discuss and study. Before I took this class I absolutely had no idea how complex leadership really is. 

There are countless amounts of different definitions of leadership but to me it means influencing others. I believe both good and bad influence is the key part of leadership. A leader is someone who influences others by using their actions or voice. There are all sorts of different types of leaders such as political leaders, team captains, class presidents, C.E.Os, and many more. Each of these leaders have different responsibilities and personal goals, but it’s their influence on others that actually makes them a leader. Leadership is a complicated subject in debt, but on broad terms a leader is someone or something that influences others. I’m looking forward in learning more about the different types of leaders and different traits a leader portrays. I’m hoping to expand my knowledge about leadership so I can become a better leader myself.