Developing the Leaders Around You

Developing the Leaders Around you 

Session 1: 

From the first “Developing the Leaders Around You” session, my biggest take away was John C Maxwell’s Success Journey. John C Maxwell’s success journey details the steps he took to reach his success in terms of what his goals were. For example, his first goal was that he wanted to make a difference. His second goal was that he wanted to make a difference with people, and so on until his final goal was “I want to make a difference with people who want to make a difference and can make a difference, doing something that a makes difference.” What this means is that if you want to be successful as a leader and make a difference, working with like-minded leaders who have similar levels of competence can make your goal more accessible. He also means that being a leader means finding other potential leaders and making a difference with them. 

This principle is relevant to me, as I am a learner who quite frequently works on projects with other learners. On these projects, making a difference or, completing the project requires drive from me, but also requires effort from others, which is akin to Maxwell’s last step in his success journey. Finding others to work with, who are capable of making a difference, and who want to make a difference, can definitely make a difference in the success of a project, organization, or anything for that matter. 

I can apply this principle to future TALONS endeavors, especially in the planning phase, by working with others who want to make a difference, helping others to the level in which they can make a difference, and by making a difference myself. 

Session 2: 

The biggest principle I took from the second session of “Developing Leaders Around you” was the ‘Leaders Think Differently’ principle. This principle highlighted the diverse ways leaders think that can separate them from the rest. For example, a good leader is a big picture thinker, who can see what others see, and see more than others see. A good leader also can be a focused thinker, a creative thinker, a reflective thinker, a strategic thinker, and more. What this means is that a good leader possesses the ability to think in a variety of ways. Thinking in these unique ways can help the leader produce different ideas and perspectives that can boost the success of a company, organization, or project. 

I chose the “Leaders Think Differently” principle because thinking with unique perspectives can help combat any challenges one may face by offering that alternative outlook. In the TALONS program, using different thinking styles for different challenges and different projects is essential. For example, planning a cultural event would require both Big Picture thinking to have a view of the whole planning process, while it also requires Reflective Thinking to contrast the success and wishes of previous events towards the new event. Additionally, shared thinking can help aide group projects, and get everyone on the same page, while creative thinkers can help better projects that require a creative piece (art design for event invites and more). 

Session 3: 

Out of all the principles in the third session, The “I Model” principle was the most meaningful to me. The “I Model” principle surrounds the idea of people do what people see. While it is easier to tell people to do something or teach them, it makes a greater impact to lead by example, and model the lessons you want people to take. For example, I can tell people procrastination is bad, but since I do not lead by example, and I procrastinate, saying something like that would come from a place of hypocrisy, and just not make a significant impact on people. On the other hand, if I modeled good study habits, people might be more likely to copy said habits. 

I chose this principle because I am a believer in practicing what you preach. It is so much more meaningful to me if someone does as they say whether it is a sports coach demonstrating a move, or a career coach giving your life advice. 

 In TALONS,  the “I Model” principle can be used in a multitude of ways. For starters, if I wanted to get my peers to do their share of work on a group project, telling them to do it, and then modeling by doing my share of the work can help urge them to do their work. Another example of “I Model” would be me wearing all the right gear for TALONS trips if I was on the equipment committee. This is because if I told others to bring the correct gear, and then brought the wrong gear,  it would set the wrong example, and others might think bringing the incorrect gear is fine. 

Session 4: 

In session 4, one big principle taught by John C Maxwell was the “I Motivate” principle. This principle is all about motivating and empowering others, which is required to be a good leader. As part of the “I Motivate” principle, a good and empowering leader will believe in others, believe in teamwork, look for, and assimilate good leaders, attempt to raise others above their own level, invest time in developing people, and allow freedom of personality. In simplicity, this all comes back to believing in others and trying your best to raise them up. A good leader does not try to keep others below themselves.  

I wanted to focus on this principle because I think motivating and empowering others is a big part of leadership. I believe that alone or without support, someone can only go so far, but with support and motivation from someone else, they can be pushed to the next level.  

In TALONS, the “I Motivate” principle is used and can be used quite a bit to empower others. Working on future TALONS group projects with others, I can use “I Motivate” to raise my groupmates, compliment them on their work, and make sure they know they are appreciated. The same really goes for any time working or interacting with my peers. Being able to empower others is a great life skill.