Leadership is an intangible quality found in people that can make a serious difference in an organization and have tangible results. This paper will be about me, and will be another step in my development as a leader. Most of the topics talked about in this essay come from the various readings done during the semester, my own life experiences, and from the different lessons taught during the lecture of this course. There are a number of lessons that I learned this year that have stuck with me and most likely will for a long time. Before this class I didn’t exactly take the time to focus on myself as a leader. This paper is to reflect on myself and on those lessons learned throughout my life. ...view middle of the document...
Anytime there were group projects, I would never want to be team leader. I would much rather work by myself, and for the most part I saw leaders as people who had no idea what they were doing, but were willing to tell other people what to do. I got fed up with this, and eventually as I reached high school I began to want to be the leader. This was mostly because of two reasons. The first was because the leader seemed to get all the credit from other people work. I wanted to change that. It was unfair. The second reason was because I wanted to prove to myself that leaders don’t have to be incompetent if they work hard at it. I believe I was right. As time went on and I saw the effects that leadership had on other people, I began to become more passionate about it. I emulated great leaders that I saw around me, and tried to take their best qualities with me. Two of the people that I tried to emulate early on was a combination of the New York Yankee stars Paul O’Neil and Derek Jeter. Paul O’Neil was so exciting. You could tell by the way he acted that he had such a love for what he was doing. He wasn’t the most naturally talented player in the league or on his own team, but his drive let him become successful. As a leader, he had a strong impact on his team mates. He was a breath of fresh air and a catalyst. His excitement for the game could make even the oldest, most tired veteran feel like he was a wide eyed 20 year old rookie again. He was motivational. Then, there was Derek Jeter. Derek was the type of person who was always present. He was consistent, humble, and worked hard. Part of the reason I thought he was such a great leader is because people tried to emulate him. He was the perfect “Lead by example” type of guy.
When I read the definition of engagement, “the courageous, passionate drive to act in order to care for one’s mission and followers” I get excited. If there is one thing in this world that has caused me to be as successful as I am, it would be my extreme passion for my work and for other people. I gravitated towards people with the same passion for anything as me. I strongly believe that with enough will and desire, a person can accomplish damn near anything. I thought that because of this, I would have a very internal locus of control and a high grit rating, which I did. Although I was not surprised by this, I was surprised by a few other things.
I always thought that I was a very emotional person, but according to the data, I do not have very high emotional intelligence. I seem to have gotten passion and emotional intelligence mixed up. I shy away from emotion. I will almost never show sadness, anger, or any other form of emotion in front of anybody, even my closest friends. Because of this, I frequently disregard any kind of emotion that my followers or peers may have. I deal with my stuff in private so why can’t they? I really can’t be doing this, especially with a future as a Marine Corps Officer. I always hear that a...
