Prior to taking LDS 1301 with Professor Freed I had taken two student leadership classes in high school, been part of the student leadership committee at my church, and considered myself to be a leader. And while I still hold that to be true, I now know so much more about what it means to be a leader. I’ve learned so much about the different types of leaders and how the world’s view of leaders have changed over time. I’ve learned why certain leadership approaches work better in certain situations better than others, and I’ve learned more about myself as a leader throughout the course of this class. I will be able to apply what I have learned in this class throughout the rest of my life. It will help me to better understand the relationships between leaders and their subordinates in situations when I am in a leadership position as well as in situations when I am being lead by someone else. If I had to summarize the most influential take aways from this class in three main points the first one would be leadership is more than just guiding a group from point A to point B. A true leaders is more than the person to which others follow, but someone who values relationship with others, values ethical decision making, and encourages others to do the same. A true leader brings out the best qualities of those around him or her and uses them to achieve a common goal. The second take-away that I value from this class is the broad spectrum of types of leaders and leadership approaches. This helps me to remember that we are all leaders, because someone who is great in one area may not be best suited to lead others in another area. Instead, we can learn to develop our own personal leadership philosophies and apply them to our every day lives. The third main point that I will take away from this course is the importance of leading authentically. To me this means developing and figuring out who we are as individuals and as leaders and sticking to it. It means to stay true to yourself and to the things you value and always leading in an ethical manner. It also means developing an authentic leader-subordinate relationship, and understanding that just as much as subordinates learn from their leaders, leaders also learn from their subordinates. It is these three take-aways and more that I will continue to instill into my everyday life and into my own personal identity as a leader.