At the beginning of my leadership journey, I described four characteristics I want to develop. Now, it's time to self-reflect.
Self-management
I justified self-management as the ability to realize personal goals in my PDP. I wasn't so strong in front of difficulties because I thought the best way was not to crack the difficulty but detour it. I wished to spend a smooth life without terrible ups and downs. I thought that would be very scary. But now, I find my passion—helping broken people regain their confidence and strength for life, which becomes my faith and my eternal energy to overcome difficulties. My core value is trust. I want to explain it in three aspects; I am professional; I would never hurt people; I am happy to help as long as I can. I believe I can use my core value to realize my passion.
Relationship Management
I was having trouble dealing with conflicts. I tended to hide the conflicts rather than solve them. But now, I have some clues on managing relations during conflicts. First, I understand people who have different standpoints from me are not specifically mean to me and they are still my friends. Second, I am curious about different thoughts and I ask questions to know more rather than muffle them. Finally, I express my idea carefully to let people know what exactly I am thinking. Overall, I learn how to effectively and politely communicate during conflicts.
Change Management
I was the people always wanted to walk in a new way when I was in an entrepreneurship group. But no one thought it's worth trying except me. So I super desired a trick that let others value changes as much as I do. But now, I know there is no such a simple trick. People have to fully identify the problem that is the engine for changes. Then, people need to work in a safe environment where they stay focused but not stressed out. Despite these two steps, most of the changes die out because they are not carefully designed. Thus, amazing changes need detailed plans to realize them.
Social Justice
I thought I could contribute nothing to social justice because it should be the business of governments. I was not sure if I could stay high integrity when I was in a position of power. But now, I think I can contribute to social justice just by holding my judgments and trying to know people who they really are. Moreover, my passion gives me a lot of trust in myself that I can insist on integrity no matter what difficulties I will face.
A Summary of My Leadership Experience
My mind has become stronger after the leadership journey, which I never expected from this program. Also, I found answers to many of my confusions. This program has a very defined structure. It consists of theory learning like LEAD 260, theme training like i-program and workshops, and also free practice like group experiences. Moreover, this program invites professors as cohort mentors to address candidates’ more specific questions of leadership. Generally, I love this certificate program and I would very much like to recommend it to my friends who are also interested in leadership.
Before this program, I was aware of my wish wanted to do something meaningful for a long time. But I didn’t know how to do it and wasn’t sure if I could overcome tough situations. Through this program, I learned many practical leadership skills and was inspired by my classmates. What’s most important, I found my vision for life. I am confident and well prepared for any difficulties in my youth.
In my PDP, I defined leadership as “the capability of making people around me becoming better. Becoming better means that they are physically healthier, more authentic to themselves and others, financially richer, and willing to strive for good things. When I reflect on my definition of leadership, I found that it is derived from my belief in living a better life. Competing with each other can never lead to a better life but communication and cooperation can. In order to communicate and cooperate, people need to be true to themselves and empathetic for others, knowing their most important needs but not trying to despoil others’. In a word, I describe leadership as a win-win situation to create values for humans.” I am really impressed with my words wrote a year ago. I still believe leadership is meant to make people around becoming better. People themselves can improve their lives, but sometimes they desire a leader to help them trust this fact. My definition of leadership is my guidance for the journey. It helped develop my leadership style as stressing people and efficiency at the same time, which is very important for my career as a start-up manager.
I would pick a song called Love Is All Around by WET WET WET to represent my leadership experience. Because there were so many people who helped me through this program. Many thanks to all the staff at the Illinois Leadership Center for your beautiful arrangement for this program. Special thanks to my cohort mentor, Prof. William E Sander, for his explanations of my questions. I always pictured extreme situations and asked him for solutions. He is so experienced in team management and conflict management. I have the best wishes and many appreciations to people who have helped me!
Special thanks to Prof. Will
Dr. William E Sander is my leadership mentor. I appreciate very much that I could consult Prof. Will when I met leadership questions in daily life. Dr. Will helped me clarify the leadership theories I learned in LEAD 260. For instance, when I learned Servant Leadership theory, I was concerned about the organization's benefits since servant leadership emphasized followers. So I talked about my concerns with Dr. Will. He explained to me how leaders needed to balance followers' benefits and organization's benefits in real life. I understood theories better from his practical perspectives. Also, He was always generous to share his own leadership experiences in the industry. He evaluated communication as important as technical skills. So, when I met conflicts or obstacles, I was couraged to face the problem directly and solve it through positive communication. I could feel that Dr. Will took me as a future leader rather than just a student learning about leadership theories. It was really encouraging when your coach believed you could make it through the certificate program and you would become a qualified leader. Because of his encouragement, I truly trust that I would be a leader and learned leadership from a practical perspective. Dr. Will is a faculty member who had leadership experience in the industry. I am sure that he is the right coach for STEM students who want to be a leader in the industry.
