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February Journal
Lauren Vahldick
Leadership is something that can be constantly reflected upon and improved. This is
something I have been working on through my leadership role on the executive board of the
Public Relations Student Society of America. By bettering myself as a leader in the position, I
can help to leave a lasting legacy on the chapter, grow personally, and prepare for my future in
the public relation field. The best way to go about this is through the study of leadership and
applying it to my day-to-day actions in PRSSA.
I learned a lot from writing my January journal and thinking more critically about the
way I represent myself as a leader. Throughout the month of February, I believe I have taken the
things I learned in January to heart. I have found myself being more patient and open-minded
with my fellow leaders, and also more available and assertive with those I lead. I am careful with
how I communicate, how I express disagreements, and how I set expectations. There is still more
room for improvement, but it is important that I have realized my way is not the only way.
This months readings focused less on finding out how I am as a leader and more about
what makes an excellent leader. The consensus I got from the content is that being a successful
leader is about results rather than traits. It doesnt matter if I am a democratic leader, task-based,
laissez faire, etc.; what matters is what works for a specific organization and specific situations.
On paper, a person could look like a great leader, but if they are not successfully helping their
followers, it means nothing.
Having a leadership title does not make a person a leader. One line that I found
particularly inspiring was in the article Personality and Leadership: A Qualitative and
Quantitative Review, Leadership is not a matter of passive status or the mere possession of

some combination of traits (Judge, Ilies, Bono, Gerhardt, 2002, pp. 765). Too often, I feel as
though leaders take advantage of the role they are in. They see it as something to help
themselves; whether it be a resume builder or just a position of power. Leaders are successful
when they are knowledgeable but also willing and able to pass along that knowledge. The point
of a leader is to be a reference, a teacher, and an advisor. Being a leader is an honor too many
confuse as an ego-booster. It is a position of responsibility, not of power, because it is up to the
leader to help people and use their judgment to do what is best for the group, not themselves.
If Im being honest, the main reason I applied for a position on the executive board of
PRSSA was because I knew it looked good to be on the board. This isnt necessarily a bad thing
and I do hope PRSSA and my connections from it help me in the future, but there needs to be
more than that. Doing something because it looks good isnt strong enough when all the work
and responsibilities affiliated with the position come rolling in. To do the job and to better the
organization, a leader needs to care about the organizations fate and for its members. If a leader
leads for the wrong reasons, the organization fails.
In order to continue improving as a leader, I need to prove it. One of my favorite passages
I read was from Journal of Public Relations Research which stated, Leaders behaviors remain a
central area of study and are likely to continue to be, so long as walking the talk and show it,
dont tell it are important to organizational members (Meng, Berger, Gower & Heyman, 2012,
pp. 21). This reinforces what I believe it means to be a true leader. It is not a title, it is not just
calling oneself a leader: it is in the leaders behavior.
All of these readings about being an excellent leader relate very well to a minor problem
that recently occurred in PRSSA. In a nutshell, the development committee and members of the
executive board disagreed about where to host our annual semiformal event occurring in April.

Having no personal preference to the location, I was put in the middle of the situation, not
wanting to disappoint any members of either side. There was a strong lack of communication
between these two sides. Cassidy was representing the executive board, Calysta was representing
development, and they were both coming to me with their difference of opinions. I saw both
sides and while I believed everything was being blown out of proportion, I also knew that a good
leader would not just stand by idly, as such strong emotions and opinions were being thrown
their way.
The decision I made was to stand by my committee because I believed that is what a
good leader would do. I believe that I showed my leadership by sharing their voice, since they
felt no one was hearing what they had to say. I was in a higher position of power than them, and
was able to share their side a lot easier than they could. As a supervisor of the development
committee, I felt as though it was my duty to prove to them that their opinions do matter and that
I am listening to them. The struggle I had here was going against the other leaders of the
executive board, with whom I had a duty to as well.
As a member of the executive board, it is my overall duty to work with my fellow board
leaders to try to make decisions that are best for the chapter. In this situation, it was my personal
opinion is that Firehouse or a similar option are both equally good for the chapter, so the main
problem I had was my duty to my board members.
To solve this problem, I invited Frank over and we called Cassidy so that the tree of us
could discuss the situation. While I still believe that development should be able to make the
decision on where the location is as long as it falls under the acceptable criteria, it was clear that
I was the only one. This is part of being on a team and I understand that. The most important part
of the conversation was not making the decision, but the way of implementing the decision. We

decided the three of us would sit down with Calysta and explain that we are not trying to take
away experience from her and the other members, but we are trying to do what is best for the
chapter.
While I did lose in the situation, I still stand by what I did and am happy I attempted to
stand up for development. I am not sure what the best way a leader would handle a situation
similar to this. In retrospect, I believe my decision to stick up for my committee had a lot to do
with my personality: that I root for the underdog and am protective of my committee. In this
sense, I would say my decision to stand up for them was what I believed was ethically right and
best aligned with my values.
Looking ahead, I am not sure how I am going to feel ethically about sitting down with
Calysta and telling her that I think it the social needs to be at Firehouse when that is something I
dont necessarily believe. Im not sure what that says about my leadership: whether I am being a
good leader by accepting my loss since I disagreed with the majority of eboard, or whether I am
being a bad leader by giving up on my committee. At the same time, I dont think there is an
answer to that.
This was a good experience for me and something to keep in mind as I continue in the PR
field in the future. Im sure a similar situation like this will come up and this will make it easier
to deal with it. I think the most important thing I learned from this experience is something Dr.
Smudde said in his email to me about the situation: my main purpose as a leader of PRSSA is to
make decisions that are best for the overall chapter. This is something I need to keep in mind in
similar situations. I need to take emotions out of it, my personal opinion, and make the choice
that is best for the organization as a whole.

One quote I found that speaks to my internal struggle of whether or not I was a good
leader stated, Excellent leadership in public relations is a dynamic process that encompasses a
complex mix of individual skills and personal attributes, values, and behaviors that consistently
produces ethical and effective communication practice. Such practice fuels and guides successful
communication teams, helps organizations achieve their goals, and legitimizes organizations in
society (Meng, Berger, Gower & Heyman, 2012, pp. 24). This is a vague definition, but
basically shows the complexity of being an excellent leader. There is no one answer or formula
that a leader can reference in any dilemma. They need to consider their values, the organizations
goals, and their team. Every situation is going to be different, so excellent leaders need to have
the qualities to assess these situations on the spot and evaluate what is best for the group. There
is a lot more about being a leader than people think and it takes practice, reflection, and research
to become an excellent leader.
I know I am nowhere near being the best leader I can be, but my research and reflection
of this month has shown me that this is okay. I am learning which means I am well on my way. I
have noticed myself evaluating myself more closely and asking myself what an excellent leader
would do in my leadership positions. My goal is to one day be an excellent leader, and I hope by
next month I am at least a little bit closer to that.