Leaders can lead in many different ways, but the basic broad definition of leadership is one’s ability to make followers complete tasks they would not do on their own. But, I chose to see leadership less of making someone else do something. Rather, for me, leadership is about inspiring others to follow or emulate. A leader does not need to have a title like president or an alpha type personality to be an effective leader.
My experience with leadership has been through leadership positions I have worked in. I was a Student Senator in Student Government freshman, sophomore and junior year of high school, then Senior Class Speaker my senior year. I was a member of the Peer Support Team, a group of trained peer counselors in high school. Lastly, I was my school’s representative on the Nashville Mayor’s Youth Council my junior and senior year of high school. Through my experience as both a leader and a follower; I have found that I am most receptive to Servant, Team, Transformational, and Authentic Leadership. While, I consider myself to be more of an Authentic Leader.
Authentic leaders split their leadership into two categories: internal authenticity and external authenticity. Internal authenticity consists of self-awareness, consistent values (moral reasoning), purpose, and transparency. External authenticity consists of prioritizing vulnerability, inter-personal relationships, consistency, and leading by example. I strive to meet these commitments when leading.
Northouse’s Leadership textbook gives many different kinds of leadership, but this class focused on Adaptive Leadership, Trait Leadership, Psychodynamic Leadership, Situational Leadership, Behavioral Leadership, Path Goal Leadership, Authentic Leadership, Servant Leadership, Team Leadership and Transformational Leadership.
