Going through this semester of SLC, I have learned a lot about myself as a leader and as a person. At the beginning, I did not know what the relational leadership model was and upon being shown it, saw that I followed it fairly well. Through various assignments and development opportunities throughout the class, I became able to more closely embody the RLM. In developing my service action proposal, I made sure to plan everything out immediately and to stick to that process. I had everything technically planned out the first day the project was fully detailed to us. Through being in robotics, I fully knew what my purpose was for my proposal and stuck with that in the whole thing. I also believe my service action proposal best highlights empowerment. The main purpose of my proposal is to empower those who do not have the resources or ability to apply in-class skills to be able to do so. In terms of improvement, I feel as though inclusion could need to grow. As of right now my idea is to empower those who are not as well off, but I would like it to grow to where everyone has the opportunity to grow and apply skills to real world things. As a relational leader, I need to continue to grow in every area of the relational leadership model. Nobody is perfect and there is always room for growth, me included. For inclusiveness, I can try to do everything in my power to include all that I can in my project and work with other villages, schools, etc., to help me to be more inclusive. I can be more process driven by having better time management and having backup plans in case something goes wrong. Making sure I thoroughly flesh out my plan with all those I am working with will also be good. Ethically, I can be sure that I am not doing something someone else already is. If someone else is, I can work with them to make it something even bigger. With empowerment, I can improve by being sure that everyone involved with the project knows that even if they do not have experience, they can still help and play an important role. Everyone matters and can be helpful. Finally, I need to make sure that my purpose with the project is clear and that those involved also know what the purpose is, and work towards it as well.
Like I said, there is always room for improvement and elaborating on that, there are multiple different ways to go about improving. One of these ways is through the village itself. Through the connections the village has throughout NC State, I can bring more people in for this project and better achieve my goal. I can also communicate my goals with my Community Leaders and Executives so that they can help connect me to the right people and help me themselves in implementing my service action proposal. Another resource I have in the village is my Resident Advisor. Similarly to the Community Leaders and Executives, I can get various connections from my Resident Advisor to help accomplish what I am trying to do. Finally, I can speak with the village director to help me. Having the most connections in the village, she can surely assist me in making my project a reality and put it into action.
My top five StrengthTalentThemes were Communication, Includer, Futuristic, Belief, and Relator. The main thing in developing my leadership and project is communication. In gathering the right people to put my service action proposal, communication is key. Ensuring that everyone is on the same page in what I am trying to accomplish, and communicating to my CLs, Execs, and others that are helping me in the process as so do gain more connections.
One action step I can take to develop my leadership observing how other people lead in various situations. By doing so, I can learn many different leadership styles. Another way I can develop my own leadership is by putting myself in various situations that require me to lead in different ways. By being adaptable and being able to lead in different ways, I can improve on my leadership. Overall, I do not think my leadership philosophy has changed much throughout this semester. I have learned more about myself and how I lead exactly, but the way I lead has not really changed. I tend to lead bluntly and try to communicate all I can with those I work with. I do not like dealing with things that can be avoided otherwise and I can be assertive if need be. Alternatively, I can be kind and understanding if the situation needs me to be kind and understanding. I like to include everyone I can by thinking of various ways to do so. When leading, I typically think about the future. My goals are set for the future and what happens now is how I get to that. As important as the past is, we cannot change it. As a leader, I also try to build relationships as much as I can. Whether it be with those above me, my equals, or those below me (in terms of power/standing), I try to build relationships as so that I am more personable with everyone.