My Leadership Philosophy
What does leadership mean to me?
My idea of leadership evolved from something that was about personality and power to something that is about courage and empathy. I never knew that leadership was going to be something that I would practice because I didn’t think I would ever be in a position of power and need to, however I realized that it is not at all about power. We are leaders everyday in so many things we do, and I didn’t realize this until college when some of my peers became leaders to me. Throughout high school and college as I encountered more inspiring leaders, friends, classmates, and colleagues I really began to learn more about what type of leader I wanted to be and what leadership means to me. I figured out through my eyes leadership is centered around stepping out of your comfort zone and doing things that challenge you and your perception of yourself, just like I was doing in this backpacking trip, picture to the right. Another big aspect of leadership to me is productive and honest communication with your peers so you can talk authentically about things that are working, or aren’t working. I think so many issues in life can be solved by some simple straight up communication, which can also mean challenging yourself and stepping out of your comfort zone to do so.
Leadership Identities
Educational Challenge-taker
I chose this key identity because I like to take the path less traveled. When faced with something I do not like to take the easy road, and stay in my comfort zone. This has lead to me facing many different tasks and trials that have pushed me to think outside of the box. For me this meant doing the Running Start program in high school and taking college classes for my last two years of high school. While this was challenging, it lead to me becoming a better student and ultimately realizing what it was going to take to achieve my goals.
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Healthcare equality advocate
Growing up I was fortunate to be born into a family that was able to pay the medical bills, however I know this was not the case for many people. People often think about third world countries when they think of a lack of healthcare, however a lot of the issues that go on abroad also go on in our own backyard. Someday I hope to serve in Doctors Without Borders and provide healthcare to those that weren’t born into the kind of home that I was.
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Opportunity maker
Throughout life I have noticed that so many of the opportunities I have taken advantage of have not just been thrown in my lap. I have realized that if I want to do something that I have to one day take the initiative to try and figure out a way to do it. For me this was volunteering in a hospital, instead of waiting to see a poster about it or hear from a friend about it I spent hours researching for myself what the local programs are and seek one out.
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