Part 1: Significance (A Leader's Legacy)

Being a leader isn’t always about dedication but it definitely helps.  Having passion for something important to you means sacrifice.  You have to sacrifice a lot of time to be a good leader.  You also have to do what’s best for the group, not just yourself.  You have to be willing to give up certain things for the positive change to your organization. Something that stood out to me was that leaders are servants.  Leaders do what the people want, and what will benefit their organization in the best way possible.  The most important leaders are not the CEO’s but rather the people we see most often.  This section was full of new ways of thinking about the definition of a leader. 

Thanks to this first section, I now know how to begin my journey as a leader.  I know why being a leader is so important and how to attack the world through new eyes.  Being a leader isn’t all about who has the most knowledge or experience, but rather who can teach.  Something from this section that caught my attention was the phrase ‘the best way to learn is to teach’.  I had to think about it for a while but I agree with this statement.  I am currently enrolled in a class where the students all teach each other. While I thought this was a very lazy and peculiar way to teach a class, I have since realized that I do retain majority of the information that I personally present to the class.

Another section that stood out to me was about giving feedback.  I personally have no problem giving feedback, but I struggle taking it and applying it to my work.  I have noticed in any organization that anonymity holds preference for students over saying something to everyone.  Staying anonymous helps the person feel protected and they don’t feel the threat of rejection.  Thanks to this section I have realized that speaking out honestly is very helpful, so I will try to give more feedback because I know how invaluable it is and I will put these words into use for future leadership positions.  This first section got my thinking about what kind of legacy I would like to leave when I graduate and what kind of commitment I need to have for the future.  I hope through the suggestions I can take from this section I can do better for my organization and help out more by being a positive asset to the group.

-Erin