FOUNDATIONS OF LEADERSHIP REFLECTION QUESTIONS Anna Moncada

HOW DO YOU DESCRIBE LEADERSHIP? BEGINNING OF COURSE END OF COURSE I describe leadership as the ability or power to guide other individuals without force. I believe leadership is all about actions. These actions must set the leader apart from others. Leadership is not a title, but the actions that an individual takes in order to inspire others to follow them. The way I describe leadership now is not much different from the way I described it before. My current understanding of leadership is a lot more in depth. However, still has similar components. My understanding of leadership is not mainly based on the leaders actions like it was before, but also involves the intellect, guidance, respect, charisma, of the leader and their followers. Leadership is the ability to work with a group of people and bring them to achieve personal goals and the goals of the team.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO LEAD? BEGINNING OF COURSE END OF COURSE To lead, one must have similarities to their "followers" but must also be set apart in some way. The people that they are leading must see similarities between them and their leader so that they have a common ground and believe that they may be the similar to the leader in the future. Some leaders may not necessarily know that they are leaders, but their actions inspire others in some way. Leaders need the ability to work with a variety of followers. Their team may not consist of similar people with the same abilities, strengths, weaknesses, intellect, etc., and because of this, the leader of the group must have to ability to connect to each one of their followers. In order to lead an individual and a group, the leader must understand what each person needs and what the team as a whole needs in order to meet the goals set out. To lead is having the ability to guide followers to meet personal goals while simultaneously meeting the goals of the team.

HOW DO YOU LEAD? BEGINNING OF COURSE END OF COURSE I try to lead by example. Whenever I am in the classroom, I make sure I am always doing my part of the learning bargain. I believe that students won't do their part, if their leader is not working hard. Because of this, I try to show through my actions that I am willing to work hard for them to learn and they should be willing to work just as hard as well. Similar to this, while I am coaching various sport teams, I often like to play with the team. Showing hard work and determination is a lot easier for me to show then to explain. If students and players see that my actions can make a positive difference, I hope that will they follow my lead. I lead by connecting to each one of my students. In order for me to lead my students to meet their own learning goals, I have to know their interests, their strengths and their weaknesses. In order for me to understand all of these things, I have to be able to think the way they think. Once I can understand each one of them, I come up with a plan for myself on how I will lead each student to achieve the next step in their learning. It is important to have class goals to make students aware of what we are learning; however, I believe it is more important to have personal goals for each student because every one of them is at a different level and should be guided to develop the skills they need to work on and these skills may not be similar to their classmates.

WHAT KIND OF LEADER ARE YOU? BEGINNING OF COURSE END OF COURSE I believe that I am a demanding leader. Although I often try to lead by example and through my actions, I know I often get frustrated when things don't go the way I want them to. I am not very patient and I expect others to follow immediately. I believe that I am a transformational leader. I now believe this is the leadership style that best describes my leadership style because I often try to enhance the learning of my students by inspiring and motivating them. I believe I do this by connecting to each of them on a personal level but still creating a strong sense of community within my classroom. I often lead by example and by doing this I am a role model to my students. In all aspects of the classroom whether it be academics or character education, I challenge my students to always give their best effort and take ownership for what they have done. By learning each students’ strengths and weaknesses, I can give each student their own tasks and differentiate goals in order to achieve the overall classroom goal of learning new things everyday.

WHAT KIND OF LEADER DO YOU ASPIRE TO BE? BEGINNING OF COURSE END OF COURSE I hope to be a patient and supportive leader. I believe that I have the right idea about leading through actions but I hope to be more patient and supportive when others don't understand things immediately. I hope to be able to still lead through example and stand out through my actions, but to not get upset when the people I lead take some time to learn what I hope they learn. I still hope to be a patient and supportive leader. I now believe that I have the right idea about being a transformational leader by being a role model to each one of my students individually, but I still hope to be more patient and supportive when others don't understand things immediately. After completing this course, and critically thinking about my leadership skills while in my classroom, I have realized that being patient and understanding are the two characteristics I need to enhance. Therefore; my personal goal for the future of my leadership skills is to not get upset when the students I lead take some time to achieve the goals set out.