Leadership Reflection

Leadership is the sum of my work experiences, my personal experiences, my mentors, and my formal leadership education (George et al, 2008).?My character is layered throughout all these facets of my leadership journey.?The total of these experiences makes me a unique leader and provides a specific purpose that motivates and molds me (George et al, 2008).?

My life story is the foundation for my leadership, so finding my “True North” or purpose starts there.?The process of becoming a “True North” leader starts with my life story and with discovering my unique gifts and motivators (George et al, 2008).?The complexity of events and experiences guides me and my followers to our goals.?I use formal and informal communication, collaboration, and influence to guide my team through necessary change (Rosenhead et al, 2019).

Who am I as a Leader?

I never really analyzed who I am as a leader.?What makes people willing to follow me??What do I do to motivate and inspire??I had to think hard on this one.?I am a leader that has a passion for people, and I want to help everyone grow into their fullest potential.?I love to identify potential in people and to mentor and facilitate them.?I enjoy being that conduit and do my best to answer any concerns quickly.?My leadership reflects my life experiences, both good and bad.?Honestly, I was able to learn and grow the most through my most difficult challenges. Integrity is a large part of my leadership.?It facilitates trust with my followers and guides my decisions.??I have gotten off-course with my leadership over the years, and have grown through leadership education, mentors, and through experience (George et al, 2008). ?I am not perfect and will readily admit that.

How Can I Remain Authentic?

I can remain authentic by following my values, leadership principles, and ethical boundaries (George et al, 2008).?It is important that I resist the temptation to rationalize outcomes and that I take responsibility for them.?I will avoid being a loner and will seek mentors and a support network of friends and colleagues to help me with self-awareness (George et al, 2008).?This will help me to identify blind spots, encourage resilience, and expose vulnerabilities.?The main thing that I will need to do to continue to be an authentic leader is to be true to my purpose.

Leadership Purpose

?I did realize that I was missing a part of my purpose in analyzing my leadership purpose.?I neglected to incorporate my personal life.?I don’t think that is unusual but is an aspect of my leadership that I need to include.?I have felt like something was missing but could not quite identify what was causing the void.?My leadership purpose is to enhance the lives of my followers at work and at home, identifying potential, facilitating growth, and inspiring them to stretch themselves to new heights.?The integration of personal and professional purpose will keep me focused on myself and my “True North” (George et al, 2008).

Insights. I have gained numerous insights because of my course “Leading with Authenticity.?I did not realize that all my experiences, even my personal experiences constitute the foundation for my leadership.?It does make sense and I can now see how that is layered into my leadership.?I have not formally established a support network of mentors, friends, and colleagues.?I have avoided feedback in the past, but this course has revealed the importance of establishing this group.?I will work to establish that group immediately.?This will support network will help me to be more self-aware and to blind spots and will reveal my vulnerabilities.

Opportunities to be More Effective. There are two areas of my life that I feel that I have identified as a place that I can execute more effectively.?I have neglected to include my personal life in my purpose.?I will work to include that aspect of my life within my purpose.?The other area of opportunity is to become more self-aware and to welcome feedback.?Feedback is a good thing and can help me to become a better leader.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the foundation of my leadership is the sum of my personal and work experiences, my mentors, and my formal leadership education.?This sum of experiences is unique to me and helps to form my purpose or “True North” (George et al, 2008).?Leadership is a journey that never ends.?It is important to continue to grow and improve.?Sometimes my most difficult challenge will provide my greatest growth.?I will work to improve my leadership skills and to remain authentic in my leadership.

References

George, Bill, et al.?Finding Your True North : A Personal Guide, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2008.?ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/apollolib/detail.action?docID=353458.

Rosenhead, J., Franco, L. A., Grint, K., & Friedland, B. (2019). Complexity theory and leadership practice: A review, a critique, and some recommendations.?The Leadership Quarterly,?30(5). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2019.07.002