Going into my first semester of college I had no Idea how it would unfold, I had been to boarding school and month long summer camp and leaving home was nowhere on my list of concerns in fact I was excited. After an unfortunate senior year I was eager to become part of a community again, but as COVID-19 cases rose I was unable to take classes on campus. Instead I prepared for a semester on my computer at home. As I’m sure many have experienced the isolation of staying at home every day is intense and at times very challenging. Much to my surprise as my semester continued to unfold a community began to form within my classes and suddenly the semester became comfortable. Zoom was far more natural than in March and discussion began to grow to something far more than just surface level.
The LDR course gave me a unique opportunity to study leadership and begin to analyze and think critically about myself and the world around me. I have never struggled to understand who is the directing leader in the room, they often maintain control of a conversation and are capable of directing with confidence not always effective but for many it is what comes to mind. But what does it mean to be an unconventional leader? This idea really sparked my thinking about how I can lead better. How do you lead in a way that people want to follow you? The first thing that I came to understand fairly quickly was that without passion for your goals leadership begins to lose its effectiveness. Yes, there are plenty of fine leaders who lead on facts or what lobbyists want them to achieve but true honest excitement is contagious. When passion meets a grassroots movement they have the power to attract a following and make significant impacts on communities.
This sense of understanding of the necessary passion helped push me outside of my comfort zone to speak my mind even when it might not be in the majority and starting conversations to better understand where each person is coming from. Not only did I then gain an understanding of others’ values but it helped me to question what I believed in and solidify my values. Although confidence is a part of public speaking, for me it had less to do with my ability to speak to a group but rather how to feel comfortable with expressing ideas that might not be embraced by others. Until then I hesitated to speak my mind if it could potentially paint me in a negative light.
Learning these things through LDR still brought me back to one question. What makes a good leader? That is a complex question whose answer I can only hope will evolve throughout my life. But for now I have come to understand the complexity of leadership is far greater than giving a set of instructions. The best leaders are people passionate about something bigger than themselves, and a hope of making an impact on their communities. Who work to start conversations and form relationships with people to advance their goals. But most importantly I have learned that leadership is far more than a politician or a CEO. Leadership is people deciding to live an intentional life with a global view point.
