Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.
– Jack Welch, former General Electric CEO (Success, 2018)
Am I a leader? I never really thought about it before this class. I always thought of a leader as the one who has all the answers and, therefore, can effectively guide others down the path. I certainly don’t have all the answers, although sometimes I may act like I do. How then could I be a leader when I still have so much to learn? I think the truth lies somewhere in the middle, and perhaps, as Jack Welch might say, I’m still growing myself so that someday I can grow others.
As part of our Recreation Leadership class, we completed the Gallup CliftonStrengths for Students assessment, a tool designed to identify our individual strengths and innate talents that we can leverage as we grow and develop our future successes. My top five themes and their meanings are:
- Competition – This theme is focused on the drive to win or be the best compared to others.
- Activator – This strength prioritizes action over analyzing and believes the best way to learn is to do, evaluate mistakes, and then react and adjust accordingly for the next time.
- Adaptability – This strength recognizes flexibility and a “go with the flow” attitude that is energized, rather than stressed, when things don’t go as planned and unexpected challenges arise.
- Significance – This theme focuses on the importance of how you are perceived by others – the fact that they recognize and acknowledge you and view you as credible – as the primary motivation to continue working hard and pushing to achieve even more.
- Winning Others Over (WOO) – This talent encompasses the ability and desire to meet new people and find common ground with them.
(Gallup, 2012)
Of these strengths, I find the Activator theme to be the most prevalent in my personality, so it seems logical for it to be the strength that I leverage this semester. I do prefer to dive right into activities rather than spending too much time thinking about them. I get antsy when I’m sitting still and not actively engaged in an activity, and thinking and analyzing often feels to me like sitting still. Action is energizing, and once you have the momentum of action on your side, it’s much easier to keep that activity flowing than it is to stop and start up again. Consequently, I feel motivated and excited by the prospect of diving into class activities, absorbing and experiencing as much as I can, and then learning from the results and adapting accordingly. That being said, I need to remember to proceed with some caution, as some level of planning and analyzing is needed to make sure I’m on the correct path. Otherwise, I could inadvertently waste a lot of time and resources, which as a student is bad enough, but could be devastating in a professional capacity.
As I grow my own skills this semester, I find myself thinking about it means to be a leader, specifically an effective leader. I think an effective leader knows his own leadership strengths, as well as the diversity and individual strengths of the members of his group, and uses them to their best advantage. A group is only as strong as its weakest member, so an effective leader will find ways to maximize his group’s strengths while minimizing and strengthening their weaknesses. By doing so, he helps each team member become the best possible version of themselves and successful and integral members of the team. To accomplish this, it’s essential for an effective leader to be approachable and someone that his team can trust and respect.
Although I may not have all the answers and haven’t made any formal leadership training, it strikes me that I do have some leadership experience. I’m a goalie on my hockey team, and as such, I really do serve as a team leader. I am the one position that always has to be aware of where play is happening, and so it’s essential I communicate that information to my teammates. When there’s tension in the locker room, I’m often the one who steps in and tries to resolve the conflict. If the team isn’t cohesive off the ice, they won’t play like a team on the ice either. In addition, I’ve worked as a goalie coach for younger players where I lead their practices and help them learn new skills and techniques. That type of coaching utilizes the same type of communication and team building skills that I envision in an effective leader.
My preferred leadership style is a combination of being demanding and pushing people balanced with respect, positivity and encouragement. People need to know that you believe in them and their abilities, but most people also need to be pushed outside of their comfort zone to achieve their best possible self. Respect is key because people will not trust you, the process, or what you are trying to accomplish if you don’t treat them with respect. I personally respond positively to this type of leadership style, and I find my goalie students do as well. I think many of my personal strengths, including my social skills and ability to easily build rapport with diverse personalities, my problem-solving skills and comfort with making decisions and adapting to the situation, and my positive and supportive approach to encouraging people while still challenging them are strong qualities that help me to be successful with this leadership style.
I’m excited about this semester and how I can apply the things I have and will still learn to the leader I hope to be. I look forward to the opportunity for my future self to reflect back on this time and how far I’ve come:
Dear Adam in May 2020,
Well, you’ve done it! The semester is over, and you successfully completed your Recreation Leadership class. You’ve learned so much about yourself, what you’re capable of accomplishing, and what it means to be a leader.
Your communication skills are so much better. Do you remember how you used to look scowly and angry all the time, even when you really didn’t feel that way? You’ve finally learned the value of a smile, and how that simple nonverbal cue positively changes how people view you as approachable and trustworthy. You’ve also improved your oral communication by letting your voice naturally reflect the excitement and passion you feel, instead of that monotone delivery you used to use.
Look at how much you’ve grown as a teammate! You’ve learned to step up and be a more proactive teammate from the beginning. Instead of just sitting back and waiting for someone to tell you what to do, you openly share your thoughts and advocate for your ideas. That helps build chemistry and morale in the team because you’re actively engaged and participating. It’s also helped you be a more supportive teammate because you can clearly see when and where your teammates need help and then use your Activator strength to take action.
Finally, you’ve improved as a leader. You’ve used your Competition and Significance themes to motivate and inspire you to be the best leader you can be, one worthy of the respect and recognition of others. You tapped the WOO in you to reach out to others and build rapport and interpersonal connections, and your Adaptability strength has given you the power to adjust and embrace these new skills and approach to leadership. Now, when you put this all into action, you are the effective leader you always imagined. You understand your strengths and how to use them, but you also know how to recognize and support your team and their own strengths and weaknesses. By doing so, you’ve learned how to motive, inspire, challenge, and support them as they grow into the best versions of themselves.
Good job, future Adam! I’m proud of you. I knew you could do it, and I’m excited to see where this new-found knowledge takes you. Always remember though, learning is a life-time endeavor so never stop looking for ways to continue to improve and grow your skills.
Sincerely,
Adam in February 2020
Works Cited
Gallup, Inc. (2012). Adam Lindeman: Your Signature Themes Report.
SUCCESS Staff https://www.success.com/author/success-staff/. (2018, September 6). 10 Powerful Quotes on Leadership. Retrieved from https://www.success.com/10-powerful-quotes-on-leadership/
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