Developing this blog has been a beneficial process that has allowed to fully notice how I have evolved throughout the year. Many factors have shifted ideas and concepts in my head, to make me the person I am today. My peer reviewer noted how my original reflection was quite different when compared to my most recent reflection. They said that I seemed to be more confident in stating what I thought leadership is, and was more able to describe the reasoning behind my answer. I would agree with them when saying I have more confidence in defining leadership. This is due to my broader understanding of the subject of leadership and how it works. Through my broader understanding also came with a new opinion on leadership. Before, I thought that leadership was an abstract idea that really could not be studied or defined. However, with the time I spent reading through the book and taking time to fully question the role of leadership in my life, I soon realized that it was a very important concept. Although I have never been in any major leadership role, it is still important to understand what makes a great leader so that one can distinguish whether they are being led properly. A follower is just as expected to understand leadership as an actual leader. Without the role of a follower, a leader would then be unnecessary. Secondly, my peer reviewer said that I should broaden my knowledge of leadership even more. She noted that I seem to be “stuck” on certain aspects of leadership and placing a lot of value in certain concepts and not others. I have found this to also be true while re-reading my work. To gain an even more comprehensive understanding of leadership I should find worth and value in all the theories. Each theory has a special take on leadership that I could possibly learn from if I spent more time reviewing the section. Broadening my view of leadership should be one of the next steps that I should take when furthering my knowledge of leadership. All in all, I found this peer review very helpful and successful in the continuation of my blog. It made me question things that otherwise would have never even crossed my mind. I would have never noticed my increase in confidence without being told. By making this realization I now feel more inclined to work more to further my confidence in this subject and make even more changes. The same can be said for my lack of variety in my leadership concepts mentioned in reflection. I felt as though I was taking all the information that was being presented to me and pulling out what I thought was important. However, I was definitely ignoring some major theories of leadership that have the potential to shift and alter my entire perspective of leadership. I am very grateful for my understanding of leadership thus far and cannot wait to see how it will shift in the future.

This chart demonstrates the correlation between my morals ( integrity, ethics, goals, etc…) to my philosophy of leadership through thoughts, actions, and beliefs.

3 Leadership Theories:

• Servant Leadership
  • Servant leadership is described as the way in which a leader gives themselves to a goal or problem. These leaders lead by serving others and donating their own time to working for the goal. The main researcher of this theory Robert Greenleaf described the ideal meaning of this theory and what it should encompus. Someone that could be considered a servant leader might have qualites such as conceptualizing, emotional healing, ethical behavior, and the ability to grow a community. These qualites make a interactive leader that works very closely with their followers. Acting with respect, they work on the same level and encourage their followers to follow their example and keep working. Servant leaders are also very aware of the effects that they have on their followers. For instance, before a leader makes a decision they think of all the possible outcomes and chooses what would be best for the goal and well being of the followers.
• Trait Approach
  • The trait approach describes a type of leadership where leaders are distinguished with how they interact with the members in their group. With the four levels ranging from coaching to delegating, this theory follows a leader through the many stages of leadership. It also mentions the various traits that most leaders tend to contain. For example, confidence, organization, charisma, and ajustment are typical traits of leaders. These characteristics tend to help win people over and gain a personal connection with them, that in return makes them an even better leader. These traits can be both learned or born with the individual, making it different from the skills approach. The traits can be learned from life experiences and lesssons which make the traits unique to the person. This type of leadrship has now shifted it’s focus from the effects and importance of the leader to the effect that the leader will have on the group. Putting more emphasis on the followers has created the wanting for a warm interactive leader.
• Gender Theory
  • The gender theory expresses the difficulty women have had in history with rising in positions of leadership. The funnel that limits the number of women that rise, and succeed to the top is addressed along with the many solutions that could be available. It also describes the difficulty that women have experienced when trying to find “mommy friendly” jobs that allow for maturity leave. Many companies do not hire women because of the extended time mothers have to take off work in order to properly care for their child. Although recently a change has arisen that has made this less of an issue, it should still be noted. It was also noted in the book that studies have shown that female leaders are more transformational when compared to males. Since woman better understand how to use pathos to convince their followers, they are sometimes for effective. It also noted that women have a better chance of succeeding when they have a good informal networking system. The future of women is slowing becoming brighter, and woman are increasing their presence in the leadership fields.

In my reflection at the beginning of the year that noted what I thought to be a leader. This reflected stated that I believe being a leader meant that one lead a group of followers to achieve a common goal. However, as the semester has progressed my philosophy what it means to be a leader has slowly transformed. I now know the different ways in which one can lead, the effects that it has on the followers. In additions to a leader being someone who works for a common goal with their followers, I now also believe that a leader should use the skills they were born with to move a group, and also work as a servant leader to fully help the group.  Since every individual is born with special skills that they are naturally good at, I think that it is important that a leader is able to use those natural gifts in the success of the group. The use of natural skills will help to propel the group than it would have otherwise. Then they should use these gifts and fully serve people through their ability to connect with people. Donating time and effort will show the followers the passion that the leader has for the goal. This will then motivate the follower to believe in the goal just as much as the leader does. The leader should be able to make their followers feel welcome, and start to develop personal connections with them. The ability to make these personal connections will create a better understanding, and increase the communication between them. A close team will be more likely to solve the problem or work the long hours until they meet their goals. I do not think that leadership theory such as the trait approach the contains ideas like the great man theory are reasonable when defining what it takes to be a leader. Although many people are born with qualities that could make a great leader, it is also important to know that many traits can be learned over time, meaning anyone has the ability to become a great inspirational leader. This is a very important idea to leadership because it pushes everyone to work harder to be the best version of themselves. The great man theory excludes most of the populations that in most cases still have the potential to change a large community. Finally, I believe that a leader should be constantly working for the common good. Being a leader means that you are responsible for making ethical decisions that will hopefully change the world in a productive manner. The goal of the group should be for not only the benefit of the group but also for society as a whole. Maintaining a big picture view of what they want to achieve will be the most effective way of making a positive difference. With this being said I also believe that leaders to be accountable for their actions, and have the ability to maintain their moral even through a stressful situation.