Part 3: True Vision

For me, the Chapter entitled, “It’s Not Just the Leader’s Vision” really stood out. More often than not people view leadership as a clear cut path of one individual that everyone else must follow. Yet, this is far from the true of the matter. Leaders should look to the future but not already with a predetermined “my way or the highway” state of mind, but instead with a mind open to all the possibilities the future has to offer. They should not only have this open mind toward future endeavors but also when it comes to working with others and listening to their ideas and concerns, to ensure the end result is the best version it can possibly be. One page 108, it states, “What people really want to hear is not the leader’s vision. They want to hear their own aspirations. They want to hear how their dreams will come true and their hopes will be fulfilled.” This perfectly expresses the idea that in order to be a successful leader, you have to include other’s ideas and ambitions. If all members are involved not only will everyone be more involved in the execution of the goal, but also they will feel a greater sense of accomplishment and pride in their work. Moreover, when people feel a connection to what they are working on the end result comes out better because their dedication shows through to their work. Next time you are faced with a leadership position, just remember it is not just you, who has an effect on the project; every member has just as much power over the outcome. In a way it is like present-day monarchs, at first glance they may seem to have all the power but they are just the glue holding it together while everyone else helps to ensure the forward advancement of the country.  

Part 4: Courage

The final section of A Leader’s Legacy deals with courage. Initially, when I read the topic I was skeptical on how this relates to being a leader and leaving a positive legacy behind. As I read the first chapter I began to understand exactly why the indeed are related. When you ask people, “what is courage?” some of the first responses may include superhuman feats, life-and-death struggles or overcoming impossible odds. This is, in fact, incorrect. Courage is defined to be, the ability to face danger, difficulty, uncertainty, or pain without being overcome by fear or being deflected from a chosen course of action. The word that stands out the most to me in that definition is “fear”. Everyone has something different that they fear. For example, a common fear in young adults is public speaking. Some people just don’t like to talk in front of a group of people especially if it’s a group of their peers. While others love expressing themselves and have no problem getting up in front of others.  Courage is acknowledging ones fears and facing them. So for someone who hates public speaking, it would take them courage to make a presentation in front of a class. Everyone can show courage in everyday situations. When people take a step out of their comfort zone to better themselves or to be there for others, that can be a moment of courage.

But being courageous isn’t always easy. “If they were easy, they wouldn’t require courage.” A lot of the time, situations that involve courage is a back and forth decision. Its when people use the “what if” scenarios to help them make an overall decision.  The book talks about how they asked people to think about a time of courage. I wanted to think of a time that I displayed courage. It was hard at first but then I realized that being a leader in my sorority has brought out some of my courage. For instance, when I was first nominated for a coordinator position I was so excited. But then I was thinking that all eyes are on me and how all my sisters are relying on me to do my job in order for our chapter to succeed. I kept thinking, “What if I do a bad job?” or “What if nobody likes my ideas?” but I took a leap of faith, ran for the position and got it! Now I try my best everyday to for fill my tasks and it is really paying off. My sisters really see my efforts and its giving me the confidence to run for even more positions and take on more leadership responsibilities. I realized that life goes on. I decided to go for it and be courageous and it as allowed me to grow so much more. “Fear and Courage go Hand in Hand.”  If you didn’t fear it, then it would never of took you the courage to overcome it.

One of the chapters discusses how “It Takes Courage to Make a Life.” It takes courage to have a meaningful and significant life. This interested me because I never considered myself a very courageous person, but after reading this it made me think about all the life changing decisions I made and how it has helped me grow over my life. I also took the time to think about what my life would be like without those life changing decisions. I thought about “Would I be as happy as I am now?”  But my life wasn’t easy and still isn’t. I work hard for what I have and what I have accomplished. But I wouldn’t of been able to do so if I wasn’t humble.

The final thing I took from this last chapter was about failure. People as ways say things like “failure isn’t an option” or “get it right the first time” but those two saying are just wrong. If it wasn’t for the mistakes in our lives then we would of never learned how to fix them and how to grow. “The reality is that despite the probabilities, professionals (leaders) believe in the possibilities.” This has become one of my new favorite quotes becasue it is so true. If you are not optimistic about overcoming obstacles then how do you plan to succeed in anything challenging?

Part 3: Aspirations

One of the most important messages that I got from this part of the book is that when you are leading others you have to not only think of what you want to achieve but what the group as a whole wants to achieve. There was a quote that I liked that fit the message of the entire part of the book: "If we are to leave a legacy that means something to others, you have to think about what they want and what they aspire to achieve. Leadership isn't about selling your vision; it's about articulating the people's vision."

After reading and rereading part three in A Leader's Legacy I finally understand that in order to be a good and effective leader we need to know our own values and passions before we try and force them on to other around us. In order to do this one needs to know their own aspirations because if you don't know you aspirations than how can you expect to be a good leader.

Out of this chapter I also began to understand more that even a good leader needs both help and advice from the people around them. If a leader believes that they can do everything on their own, without the assistance from others will most likely fail in what they are trying to accomplish. Being in a Greek organization means that you have to be willing to work together with others and help each other grow as leaders because if we don't do this our organizations will not be able to reach their full potential.

GLAD has really helped me understand what leadership is really about and how important it is.

A Leader's Legacy Part 3

Part 3 of A Leader’s Legacy, deals with aspirations.  It gets in detail the goals of leaders and how to accomplish those goals. Chapter 11 brings up Leading from the inside out. To be honest, at first I wasn’t sure what that meant. I was always told not to let your heart get in the way of positive decision making, but then after more reading I realized exactly what it meant. It was about finding yourself, your morals and passion. Before becoming a leader, one must find it within themselves why they want this position, or how important this means to them. For example, in a sorority we have many leaders. These are the people we count on as sisters to make sure our chapter runs effectively and smoothly. With that being said, the most desirable leader is one that is passionate about what they are leading. A genuine leader must find that excitement within themselves first in order to let that enthusiasm set free for the followers to see. Once they see how hard and dedicated you are as a leader in what the team is trying to accomplish, it will make them motivated as well. One man who described his new found realization was Mike Sullivan who said, “I realized that passion inspires me to lead and that I will need to make manifest in my work those things I am passionate about in order to want to lead and to emotive and empathetic with my constituents.”

Forward-looking is a leadership prerequisite is the title of the next chapter. It discusses the importance of leaders looking to benefit the future of their work or organization now. One statement that I love was, “They are the custodians of the future, and it’s their job to make sure that they leave their organization in better shape than they found it.” Nobody and definitely no group is perfect. They can have good times, but everything can evolve to get better. This concept, I feel, is important because even if it’s your first year or your last, it is vital to improve your followers to make the best results. However, one person cannot do it alone. They need support from various people in order to make the needed changes and achievements. This leads into chapter 13; it’s not just the leader’s vision. Being the leader means all eyes and decisions are on you. This job can become very stressful if you don’t have the right team behind you. Also, one person doesn’t know the answer to everything. By having support, these people can help brainstorm different ideas to go about situations. Leaders are like a coach. They make plays and motivate others but they don’t know what it’s like on the field. Sometimes having a player give a suggested play could be beneficial because they know what’s going on first hand. Not only is the coach being relied on for a victory. Everyone has a leader within them that needs to shine. Leaders are followers too.