Leadership Portfolio:

The following are excerpts attempting to explain how I have arrived at my personal
leadership philosophy. This is not an all-inclusive list and is meant to be raw in nature.

How I Arrived At My Personal Leadership Philosophy:

 People:
o My mom ~ She has always inspired me to strive to better myself and attain my
dreams & goals. She, to this day, picks me up when I feel defeated and
encourages me to keep pushing forward. My mom has taught me how to be
independent and to teach myself things, which I believe is invaluable. Because of
her I have confidence in my ability to work on home improvement projects and
that gives me a tremendous sense of accomplishment. My mom has also taught
me about how to make financially sound decisions. When I hear other students
say, “hey lets get X, I have my mom/dads credit card”; I am appalled. I would
never dream of spending more on an item just because my mom was paying for
it. No matter whose money is being spent I am conservative. All my life my mom
has told me positive affirmations that I believe have impacted me to the point of
internalizing them. She would tell me I am “strong minded and smart”. I believe
that these positive affirmations have helped shape my identity and my self-
efficacy.
o Kimberly Clark ~ Kim is my moms best friend and she has traveled with us to a
great many of places. We have developed a very close relationship and I feel
very comfortable sharing my troubles with her. She has taught me about self-
discipline and a great many ways about how to save money, which is something I
value. Kim also taught me about making rational decisions and using logic to be
more efficient in my actions.
o Simon Nance ~ He was one of the first people to recognize my leadership
abilities and give me confidence in them. He was working for STIHL inc. in
Virginia Beach, head of human resources, hosting a summer manufacturing and
technology camp. The camp was held during my sophomore year of high school
and did not have a clue about manufacturing. In fact I was quite intimidated by
all the men who were participating in the camp and those running it. However,
Simon was a great mentor and coached us through the camp. At the end, I had
developed a new network of professional connections, newfound confidence in
my leadership abilities, and enhanced self-efficacy through building a CNC
machine.
o Allie Pena ~ She is my best friend and has taught me the value of true friendship.
I have only known Allie for the last 3 years, but it feels like a lifetime. She has
been there for me through thick & thin. She encourages me to be true to myself
and stay committed to my goals when I doubt myself. She has taught me to stay
positive and keep my head up when I feel hopeless.
 Places:

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 o I have had the opportunity & privilege to travel around the world to quite a few
European countries: France, England, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, and Greece,
32 states, including Alaska and 3 provinces of Canada. Traveling has provided me
so many unique experiences and I have met so many wonderful people. It has
opened my mind to new cultures, people, and fantastic food and has taught me
so many invaluable skills. For example learning how to get around in a foreign
country, communicating with people of diverse backgrounds, and respecting
different cultures. People have welcomed us into their homes and been so kind
to us. Their kindness has taught me about compassion and empathy. Some of my
greatest memories have come from traveling.
 “Traveling is the only thing you buy that makes you richer” ~ Unknown
 Events:
o The Madison Leads Conference taught me to be self aware and think about the
perspectives of others. It reinforced the idea to think critically and stay informed
of the needs of those around me to be a better leader. What do people value
and how do those values motivate are some of the questions I can ask myself to
better understand where people are coming from and how their inputs effect
their everyday lives. The conference talked about the importance of being
vulnerable and not being afraid to take risks. Another concept they discussed
was to continuously build relationships and connecting with others. There is a
certain power to staying connected and networking with others. The key note
speaker discussed in her speech the importance of staying intellectually curious;
always make improvements to better your mind. She said to remember, “You
cannot (and did not) do it alone”. Too often we listen to reply when we should
listen to understand.

Role of personal Values:

 Over the course of this semester I have been taking a personal inventory of what exactly
it is I value to better understand how I react in certain situations. This is what I have
come up with:
o Trust o Fitness/ Healthy lifestyle
o Knowledge/ Education o Patriotism
o Self-improvement o Adventure
o Work-life balance o Family/ Friends
o Meaningful work & o Efficiency
relationships o Integrity
o Commitment to innovation & o Discipline
excellence o Financial Stability
o Sustainability/ Environmental
friendly activities
o Open-mindedness
o Good sense of humor
 Traits I believe exemplify good leadership:

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 o Intelligence o Optimistic
o Integrity o Innovative
o Determination o Ambition
o Motivational o Humble
o Self-Confidence o Dynamic
o Passionate o Integrity
o Adaptable o Persistence
o Empathetic o Curiosity
 How am I motivated?
o Travel & adventure
o Work-life balance
o Meaningful work & relationships
o Financial stability
o Self-improvement
o Curiosity
 Tips I have collected from various texts on how to motivate future colleagues:
o Understand what motivates different departments (sales, etc.)
o Remember employees are individuals with personal goals
o Recognize and reward achievements
o Thank employees
o Develop trust
o Be authentic
o Provide incentives
o Create a (+) work environment
o Gain respect
o Set goals

Self-Assessments:
 I have taken quite a few self-assessment quizzes over the last few weeks in an attempt
to learn more about myself. I believe that knowing yourself allows you to enhance your
strengths and build on your weaknesses. I believe you must grow yourself before you
can grow others. I think that these self-assessment leadership scales were really helpful
in identifying strengths and weaknesses. Some of the outcomes I was expecting, such as
being rated lower in areas of extroversion. I have recognized it is not in my nature to be
extremely bubbly or talkative in social situations. I am more comfortable taking a back
seat role, however at times when need be I can be sociable and outgoing; a lot of it
depends on the situation (task & people around me). Moving forward I will attempt to
take more self-assessments to continue to discover strengths and weaknesses so that I
can be more self-aware.

o Tests:
 Big 5:

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  Extroversion = 1.7 compared to an average of 3
 Agreeableness = 3.2 compared to an average of 3.84
 Conscientiousness = 3.4 compared to an average of 3.38
 Neurotic = 2.6 compared to an average of 3
 Openness = 2.6 compared to an average of 4
 This test enlightened me on where I stand in relation to
personality traits that have been identified in the emergence and
effectiveness of a leader. It shows me where I can improve.
 Conceptualizing leadership:
 This test helps me identify how I personally conceptualize
leadership and what I value in a leader and their abilities.
o 1st = Skills
o 2nd = Relationships
o 2nd = Process
o 3rd = Ability
o 3rd = Behavior
o 4th = Traits
 According to The Global Leadership Foundation Emotional Intelligence
test: I rank pretty high in emotional intelligence.
 According to another test on Tolerance Ambiguity by The Global
Leadership Foundation: I rank low on my tolerance for ambiguity, which
was surprising because I thought I was pretty comfortable not knowing
the exact direction.
 Colors of Leadership:
 This test defines different colors and where you predominate, but
then re conceptualize the negative to a more positive outlook.
o Orange: Optimistic, bold, eager, “show-off”, future
oriented, respond to tactile, tangible activities, live in
moment, use intuition, short attention span, interested in
ACTION
o Blue: Value harmony above all else sensitive to others,
good at reading people, understand human dynamics,
emotionally based decision-making, empathetic,
perceptive
o Green: Competent, asks “why?”, vulnerable to “all work &
no play”, good at problem solving, objective, quantitative,
most self-critical, respects abilities, skills, ingenuity,
individualistic, and theoretical.
o Gold: Value responsibility, & duty above all else,
dependable, true, good at organizing vague, thoughts &
putting them into action, detail oriented, practical,
realistic, “be prepared”, stable
o Re-Conceptualizing:

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  System bound efficient
 Judgmental  decisive
 Unimaginable  realistic
 Rigid idea of time  goal oriented
 Dull/boring  dependable
 Naïve  idealistic
 Afraid to open up  controlled
 Not on my side  objective
 Pathetic  empathetic
 Soft  great communicator
 Non-committal  sees shades of gray
 Resists closure  deals with chaos

I Believe In A Fundamental Differences Between Leaders

& Managers:
 According to Zaleznik, "the difference lies in the conceptions they hold deep in their
psyches, of chaos and order”. They have different orientations towards goals, work,
relationship and decision-making differences, as well as tolerance for disruption. They
differ based off their motivation, personal history, and in how they think and act.

 Managers tend to be creatures of habit so to speak, meaning they desire for work to be
controlled and planned. Stability is their measure of success. Managers’ problem-solve,
plan & budget, organize & staff. They are the ones implementing a vision through
systematic processes to achieve targets, control mechanisms, detect flaws, and correct
quality issues (Kotter). They tend to view work as an enabling process with structural
solutions, narrow choices, & scripted decisions. They tend to lack empathy & intuition
and tend to treat people as part of a larger process. Managers communicate using
indirect signals rather than messages like leaders do. Signals create ambiguity while
messages clearly states a position. Managers relate to people according to the role they
play in a sequence of events or decision making process, while leaders, concerned with
ideas, relate in more intuitive and empathetic ways. House concurs when he says the
management process consists of implementing the vision and direction provided by
leaders, coordinating and staffing the organization and handling the day-to-day
problems.

 A leader creates that vision, sets a direction for the organization & strategizes ways to
accomplish that vision. The challenge her is finding a way to communicate and align
people with that vision. By involving people in the vision and supporting your followers
you can create better alignment. Leaders invoke a sense of motivation among their
colleagues and inspire and advocate for change. The exploit opportunities while
empowering others and energizing them. Leaders are more risk tolerant than
managers and welcome competition, aggressive interactions, & challenges to ideas. A
leader takes an active role in shaping ideas instead of responding to them. A leader

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 understands and leverages human needs. Leaders can handle ambiguity and
uncertainty and can leverage it by exploring opportunities. Innovation is the measure of
success for leaders.

 Kotter notes that both managers and leaders are necessary for organizational success.
He says managers and leaders are distinct but also complimentary to each other.
Zaleznik recommends emphasizing less logic and strategic exercises and be more
creative; think outside the box.

Leaders: Zaleznik, 1977 Managers:

Passion
Develop fresh approaches,
excite & mobilize people
RISK
Understand & leverage human
needs. Communication =
messages
Focus on outcomes of decisions
Tolerate/welcome competition,
aggressive interactions, &
challenges to ideas
Orientation towards goals Necessity
Orientation toward work Enabling process – structural
solutions, narrow choices, &
scripted decisions CONTROL
Relationships Difference Lack empathy & intuition – treat
people as part of larger process
Communication = Signals
Decision Making Focus on decision making
process
Tolerance for disruption Minimize conflict & disruption

Leaders: Managers:
Set direction & create vision/strategy Implementing vision
Align people w/ vision Control/demand – organize & staff
Motivate & inspire Problem solve
Success = innovation Success = stability
Advocate change Plan & budget
Exploit opportunities Deliver promises
Concerned with peoples beliefs Reliable & efficient
& gain commitment
Empower & energize Control mechanisms – detect flaws
Support & coach Stability
Intrinsic Approach – human Extrinsic Approach – reward/punish

How (my) gender, race, & cultural constraints plays a

role defining leadership:

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 I believe the racial stereotypes and the perceptions we hold regarding leadership play a
critical role in the complexity between gender and leadership. People have these initial
perceptions about who a leader is, what defines leadership, and the competencies it
takes to be a leader. So when a person of color is regarded as a leader and it doesn’t
quite fit these mental descriptions a person has, it severely limits their ability to work
with that person. Everyday our world is becoming more and more connected increasing
the interactions we have we people all over the world. This surge in communication just
enhances the importance of a leader being able to relate and connect to diverse
employees. As we saw in the HBR article, building relationships is a crucial part to
effective leadership. Having the ability to be respectful of people of all different races,
ethnicities, economic status, etc. while challenging assumptions and asking tough
questions is critical to good leadership in today’s modern world.

 I think there are a lot of cultural constraints such as how we define masculinity and what
it means to be a man that effect organizational constraints. Seasons of Life by Jeffery
Marx even makes the point of redefining what it means to be a man. He talks about a-
lexi-thymia, the inability to put emotions and feelings into words. I think that a lot of
men probably face strict societal constraints disenfranchising them from being able to
express certain emotions. This blockage has developed a pattern most men feel the
need to follow. Men who are choosing to not take paternity leave see other men not
taking it and assume that if they do, a part of their masculinity will be revoked. I think
taking paternity leave is a good progressive practice and solution for those who have
authority over others, to show compassion and acceptance for other dads who would
like to do the same, but fear repercussions. That is all assuming the company even
offers paternity leave.

I think men don’t know how to be men; they haven’t been taught or given the ability to
fully express them selves. Even when you look at self-help books, more often you see
the topics geared towards women. The girls guide to loving yourself by Diane
Mastromanio is a book I grew up with as a girl. Chances are extremely slim that a boy
grew up with a boys version. I think that’s where the disconnect is when you look at
organizational constraints. It’s all in how we teach young boys growing up, the language
we use, the actions we portray, the media you listen to; all of it limits the ability to be
better men. The same thing goes for women; it’s a vicious cycle that keeps turning. The
only way to stop the cycle is to talk about the issues and educate yourself and others. I
would agree with the author that you have to have both sides teach each other,
because both are going to experience direct losses, experience disloyalties as well as
incompetency in challenging situations such a position of authority or leadership in
organizations.

In regards to the shifts in gender equality of domestic responsibilities, and child bearing,
I think a lot of women bear the brunt of the burden. However, you are seeing more and
more stay at home dads for various reasons. The Off-Ramps and On-Ramps article by

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 Hewlett and Luce cite the push and pull factors that contribute to men and women
leaving the workforce. More often 44% women feel obligated to leave to raise children
or take care of elderly parents compared to men at 12%. My mom is one of those
women who took an off ramp in her career in order to raise me. She had a biology
career (which already has few women) but choose to leave that for teaching so she
could have the same schedule as me and be off in the summers to spend time with me.
Now that I’m in college, I hear her say she would like to go back into the field but cant.
She has been gone too long and her current skills and not relevant to that career so she
feels stuck in teaching.

 The cultural message we hear about leadership often use language that has
predominantly masculine characteristics. The Through the Labyrinth (p 94) text even
explained this; how agentic traits, conveying assertion & control, are often used to
describe successful leaders. I found this text particularly interesting to read because of
how well it articulated these differences between feminine and masculine leadership.
There was one point where it discussed women holding middle-managerial roles,
however their success at attaining such a position was diminished because their role
was “to foster cooperation, handle human relations (a feminine role) and develop
subordinates”. Somewhere in the text it talked about how even when we are aware of
these gender stereotypes and try to avoid playing into them, our actions can sometimes
inhibit our goals. I found this to be interesting because it’s like even when you are
educated on them, you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place. Sometimes I suppose
there may be advantages or disadvantages to playing into stereotypes, but I would hope
I would never be chosen for a position of authority or subordination based solely on my
sex. I would hope I was chosen for my merits and work ethic, although I realize this may
not always be the case and is something I will struggle to come to terms with.

 I think that being a white female coming from a very privileged background has had a
tremendous impact shaping my perspectives and how I experience everyday life. I know
that for a fact. I am truly humbled to have grown up the way I did. The culmination of
being a white female have probably shaped my conceptions of leadership in ways I can’t
even being to transcribe. Knowing this though I will work to always be aware of my
privilege and how my perspectives impact those around me.

Experiences/activities in class that have shaped my

philosophy:
 Reese Witherspoon’s speech “Ambition is not a dirty word” at Glamour’s 2015 Women
of the Year Awards ~ The speech was empowering and I loved how she was creating an
outlet for strong women and their work to be shown through Pacific Standard. It left me
inspired and motivated to keep working to achieve my dreams and help empower
women. I would love to see more women at the forefront of Hollywood films showing
their unique strengths.

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 Amy Cuddy’s Ted Talk “Your Body Language May Shape Who You Are” ~ I thought this
was a very interesting video and made a lot of really good points surrounding body
language. My mom has reinforced the idea and importance of how I position myself in a
job interview. She will always remind me to hold my shoulders back in order to portray
confidence to the employer and to be honest I feel more confident in myself when I do. I
have often heard the phrase “fake it till you make it” and it concerned me that if I faked
it, then I wouldn’t be true to myself. I really liked how she talked about the importance
of staying authentic in your actions and editing the phrase to “fake it till you become it”.
I strongly believe that you have to internalize those positive affirmations and that will
make your actions feel authentic. For me personally I believe I am strong-minded and I
can do anything I put my mind to. I recognize I will run into obstacles, but I believe and
have confidence in my ability to overcome them. I practiced power posing once right
before I was about to give a speech and it helped significantly. It didn’t fully alleviate all
my nerves, but it gave me courage and the confidence I needed to start.

 “Everyday Leadership” by Drew Dudley ~ I loved how this talk was relatable and made
leadership attainable. Too often we conceptualize leadership as this thing none of us
can attain, because we don’t deserve it. This talk conceptualizes it for the everyday
person.

 Always Commercial #LikeAGirl ~ this commercial just makes me feel empowered and
strong. I love the message.

 Keith Urban “Female” ~ I love the message of this song and how it makes you think.

 “The Power of Introverts” by Susan Cain ~ I consider myself an introvert and I liked she
allowed me to feel good and secure in that identity. “We need introverts 2/3 of people
in the world are”. So often in life we are pushed to live outside our comfort zones, and I
don’t disagree, but I feel socially constrained to be extraverted allll the time. So a lot of
times I feel like an outlier. Susan empowers introverts and explains the importance of
introverts in leadership positions. “Solitude matters” to introverts “ it’s where they
thrive”.

 I think music has played a much larger role than I can possibly imagine. Hearing subtle or
overt messages from artists either striving to improve empower women or degrade and
sexualize them. In fact, the media we watch and listen to plays an enormous role in our
lives. I believe that overtime we tend to internalize these messages which ever they may
be and they become part of our identities and how we act and behave in the world.

 My freshman year of high school my mom asked me a life altering question: Keep in
mind there was only one vehicle in our household of 2. She said, “Either you can have
the jeep hand me down in high school and I’ll buy a new car and you’ll be able to get
around on your own. OR you can go without the Jeep all 4 years and we will take a 30

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 day trip to Europe.” – One of the best decisions of my life to choose the Europe trip
(obviously). I think this decision taught me a lot.
o 1. In real life, it’s rare to have instant gratification
o 2. Good things come to those who wait
o 3. Being immersed in different cultures is one of the most rewarding things you
can do in your life

 I believe that the power of positive affirmations have also played a large role in my
development of a leadership identity. My mom has told me all my life that; one I am
strong-minded and can do anything I put my mind to and two being that I am smart.
Hearing this all my life I think has given me confidence and resilience when times get
hard. Additionally I know I am smart enough to figure out the problem or find resources
to help me along the way. I have also placed little sayings around my apartment that
subtly remind me that I can overcome any obstacle I face. Sayings like “ I am fearless,
strong, and worthy enough” are placed on the back of my door, so every time I leave the
house I am reminded. I also have a sign that say “ Thank you for everything JMU”, which
provides me a reminder to be humble to those who have played a role in making my
goals a success.

Articles & excerpts impacting my philosophy:

 Quotes I love that have shaped or empowered me:
o A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough
decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. She does not set
out to be a leader, but become one by the equality of her actions and the
integrity of her intent. ~ Douglas McArthur

o Anything that annoys you is teaching you patience. Anyone who abandons you is
teaching you how to stand up on your own two feet. Anything that angers you is
teaching you forgiveness and compassion. Anything that has power over you is
teaching you how to take your power back. Anything you hate is teaching you
unconditional love. Anything you fear is teaching you courage to overcome your
fears. Anything you can’t control is teaching you how to let go. ~ Unknown

o Kat Cole - President of Focus Company, parent company Cinnabon “A piece of

career advice I received when I was incredibly young was that anytime you get
criticized, take a moment and assume the criticism is accurate. Assume the
person criticizing you is right, just for a moment.”
 "When we get our sense of self from only one place, when something
goes wrong and the inevitable happens, it can crush you emotionally,
spiritually and physically. So it’s important not to believe you are defined
by one place, one relationship or one thing, and to find ways to keep your
sense of self strong."

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o Jean Brownhill Lauer - CEO of Sweeten, “My advice to women in tech, and
women who want to start their own companies, is to be joyful and passionate –
maybe some people will call these 'feminine' traits – but don't allow people to
convince you that you are on the wrong path.” “You need to tap into what might
be conventionally perceived as a strong masculine drive but hold on to and
highlight what might be conventionally perceived as feminine enthusiasm,”

o Meg Whitman - Hewlett-Packard, “My advice, having done this a number of

times, is to go into an organization and figure out what that company's
doing right, and do more of it. You'll eventually get to your to-do list and to your
fix-it list, but if you come in and just talk about what's going wrong, you will lose
hearts and minds.”

o Sheryl Sandberg - Facebook COO, “Someone who takes feedback well. Because
people who can take feedback well are people who can learn and grow
quickly.” "Being confident and believing in your own self-worth is necessary to
achieving your potential."

o Marissa Mayer - Yahoo tech executive, “I always did something I was not ready
to do. I think that’s how you grow. When there’s that moment of ‘Wow, I’m not
really sure I can do this,’ and you push through those moments, that’s when you
have a breakthrough.” "Work for someone who believes in you, because when
they believe in you they'll invest in you.”

o Safra Catz - CEO of Oracle, “Listen, think and don’t be afraid to change your
position based on new facts.” "The most significant barrier to female leadership
is the actual lack of females in leadership. The best advice I can give to women is
to go out and start something, ideally their own businesses. If you can't see a
path for leadership within your own company, go blaze a trail of your own."

o Lori Greiner- Shark Tank, “Inspiring hope in a cynical world might be the most
radical thing you can possibly do. ”I don’t know the word ‘no.’ So I would say be
fearless, be driven, be confident and don’t worry about what happens, make it
happen.”

o Susan Wojcicki - CEO of Google’s YouTube “Whether it's salary or a promotion or

a job, I think it's important for women to ask for what they think they
deserve,”.. "Rarely are opportunities presented to you in a perfect way. In a nice
little box with a yellow bow on top. 'Here, open it, it's perfect. You'll love it.'
Opportunities -- the good ones -- are messy, confusing and hard to recognize.
They're risky. They challenge you."

o Maureen Chiquet - CEO of Chanel, “In retail—as well as in other industries—

you’ve got to have a strong point of view and present it effectively. But to lead

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 effectively and achieve real business results as the head of any enterprise, you
have to listen. You’ve got to constantly ask questions and seek out diverse
opinions, and remain humble enough to change your mind—whether about a
product or a person.”

 Through The Labyrinth by Alice Eagly & Linda Carli ~ This book articulates the obstacles
women face that I had no idea existed. It educated me about on the issues and informed
me of some ways I can combat those obstacles. I feel that this book has given me a
fundamental understanding of future obstacles I will face and the ability to at least
recognize obstacles when they arise and potentially the knowledge and skill to
overcome them. After reading this book I feel more aware of my gender and how I
experience everyday life. I find myself connecting things and analyzing communication
and power dynamics.

The following are quotes from this book that I feel have helped shape my leadership
philosophy in some form:
o “People aren’t hired simply because they work hard. It happens because the
decision maker knows the character of the person and feels confident about his
or her ability not only to do the job but also to do it in a way that promotes
collegial team relationships”. – Chap. 9
o “Empirical evidence has shown that managers’ social capital especially their
relationships with people in other organizations, fosters their advancement”. –
Chap. 9
o Chapter 3 offered some really good information on “Are men natural leaders?”. I
find it particularly interesting learning about the relationship between gender
and leadership and power and their interconnectedness.

 I really liked the HBR article, Leadership Is A Conversation; the model they developed
called ‘Organizational Conversation’ seemed to really resonate with me and just make
sense. Shifting from a top-down approach to bottom-up exchange I believe is essential
and where a lot of potentially really innovative ideas can come from. The attributes it
contains; intimacy, intentionality, interactivity, and inclusion do a good job priming a
candidate to become a good leader. I think the different elements provide a great deal
of value in establishing trust, promoting authentic dialogue, and thoughtful interactions
to accomplish the businesses goals and strategies. We discussed in class, which of the
elements we believed was most important, and I would make the case for intentionality.
Rather than commanding an action to be done, leaders explain how such an action will
contribute to the overall goal. I believe it gives employees faith to know that the work
they do matters, which could lead to enhancing productivity and a better work moral.

I think a lot of times we negatively stigmatize the work of managers and after reading
these articles I feel like I have a greater appreciation for their important role. A leader
can’t exist without a manager and vice versa. The work managers do is essential to
implementing a leaders strategy and after learning more about the differences between

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 the two, I feel a greater appreciation for the important work they do. I think that having
a vision is important, but being able to implement it into reality is what is aspirational. I
think you can relate it to being like an entrepreneur; you may have a great idea that
could be world changing, but if you can’t implement a strategy to make your product or
idea successful then your business idea is going to fail.
Motivating people has been stressed as a particularly important function of leadership,
and I would like to learn more about the different tools I can use to motivate people to
action. The What Leaders Really Do article talked a little about this; how “articulating
the organizations vision in a manner that stresses the values of the audience they are
addressing, involving people in decision making, provide coaching and feedback to
enhance employee self-esteem, reward successes” were all great ideas.

 We completed an activity to think of a leader & identify 3 traits that great leader
exemplifies and then categorize them into emotional intelligence, IQ, or technical
abilities. Surprisingly most people identified the emotional intelligence as being the
most important, but when you think of a job description most of the criteria to see if
you would be eligible or even qualified for the job includes technical skills or IQ
elements. I think it’s interesting how there is such little emphasis placed on these traits
of which most of us agree is so important for a leader to have.

 I particularly enjoyed the Influence of Transformational Leaders article describing

how they can affect the organization function, its performance, & the people within
it. I think that developing this style is the ultimate aspirational leadership style. I
would like to find new ways to involve myself with more professional development
opportunities to enhance my leadership capabilities. The article talks about
experiencing personal transformation before you can transform others, which is
something I agree with. I would like to take steps to connect my life experiences
with transformational behaviors. I was hoping that the leadership conference I
attended Saturday would enhance my professional development. I think that my
JMU education has provided me with a solid foundation to understanding and
addressing the perceptions of reality and influencing the psychological
understanding of existing organizational structures as discussed in the Process of
Change section within the article. I think this is an asset I can take with me.

 Reflecting on the original notions made about followership in the traditional

leadership process; it does seem surprising to me regarding the lack of emphasis
placed on the influence of followers and how they can and do shape leadership. I
think it is intuitively known followers have an effect of leaders, but the degree of
impact is not usually discussed. I do think it is important to discuss the impact of
followers on leadership. So far we’ve regarded followers as these passive recipients
of leadership who lack competence and motivation and don’t do anything but obey
commands given by the leader. However, I tend to disregard this passiveness; I
think I tend to take a more constructionist philosophy regarding followership. I
think it’s important to discuss a follower’s free will and autonomy to accept or reject
a leaders request. I think there are a lot of factors at play regarding why a follower

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 may follow a leader like likeability factors and conformity reasons, but there is a
need to explicitly state a follower plays a large role in granting a leader the ability to
have an influence over them or a group. Followers will exercise individual
judgments regarding the credibility and type of power a leader has and then grants
leaders certain degrees of influence. Key point I’m trying to make here is followers
have autonomy when choosing leaders.

I think it would be helpful to learn more about ways to prevent toxic followership
and knowing how to deal with coworkers who may be toxic, but your job prevents
you from distancing yourself. I know we discussed in class the phrase “that has not
been my experience”, but may other phrases we could arm ourselves with would be
helpful as we enter the workforce.

 Servant Leadership has some really good qualities I can see value in possessing as a
leader and follower. I understand that the 7 dimensions Greenleaf discusses, is an
orientation a leader has towards their followers. Do these 7 dimensions play a role in
Patterson’s model? In the Winston’s Extension of Patterson’s article, it states that there
is not a well-articulated research regarding a follower’s commitment to the leader. I
think I understand Winston’s extension model on a surface level, but I am unclear as to
why a follower would almost innately identify with the leader. If the leader does XYZ for
the follower, then they feel gratitude towards the leader and therefore are willing to
perform positive behaviors to achieve the organizations goals? However, that’s
assuming the follower will feel gratitude and want to reciprocate similar behaviors. I just
feel like there has to be something that comes before a follower’s commitment to the
leader. I would propose switching ‘commitment to leader’ and ‘intrinsic motivation’. If
you have love for the organization and the purpose it serves then it seems you would
love the work you do. Having this job satisfaction first would seem, at least to me, to
open you up to being committed to the leader and the direction they take the
organization.

I think it is important to distinguish this as a philosophy or “way of life” seeing as there

seems to be so much innateness built into it. I think the reason there is so much
complexity to this model is, because we are not all rational beings. There are so many
factors to account for in our commitment, expectations, trust, values, and desire to
perform a certain way.

 I really liked this article “Women Rising: The Unseen Barriers”, because it points out the
necessity of a ‘fundamental identity shift’ needed for someone to see them selves as a
leader and have corresponding behaviors and actions. I agree with the claim of
‘internalizing a leadership identity and developing a sense of purpose’. I think it is
absolutely important that one sees themselves as a leader and acts accordingly. The
actions you take are critical to the way others perceive you and your competencies as a
leader; there will either be encouragement and affirmation or discouragement and loss
of self-confidence, which is something I would like to avoid.

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 As a woman about to enter the workforce I feel the urgency and importance of
establishing my leadership identity. As the article suggests I need to develop mentors,
and establish an executive “presence”. This is the third article I have read demonstrating
the importance of having a ‘presence’. My mom always reminds me to hold my
shoulders back in job interviews, standing tall, and having a firm handshake. I think a
handshake has a great deal of importance when establishing a presence as well as
speaking up. Speaking up is something I know I need to work on. I have confidence in
my education and ability to learn new things, but tend to be shy when sharing ideas or
opinions. One thing I want to do in the near future is find a female and male mentor I
can solicit advice from.

Something I found surprising in the article was “a powerful male tends to sponsor other
males when leadership opportunities arise”. However, it doesn’t explicitly suggest a
female look for a male mentor. I’m curious if there was a mentor relationship developed
between a male and female, if he would advocate for her instead of a male? I read a
book by Jeffrey Marx called Seasons of Life, describing the importance for males to
mentor females for this very reason.
o Referencing “Women Rising: The Unseen Barriers” by Herminia Ibarra, Robin J.
Ely, and Deborah M. Kolb

 As I read these articles relating to gender and leadership, I can’t help but wonder what
my experience is going to be like. How am I going to be effect, will I know it when it’s
happening and be able to do something or will I realize it later on and feel helpless? It’s
easy to think about what you would want to say in those situations, but what how will I
really react. I believe that my continued education on this issue will help prepare me in
some ways, but realistically I understand there is no handbook for every situation. I
think my education will give me a fundamental understanding of the workplace and help
me recognize when subtle barriers arise, so that I can recognize them and overcome
them.

The “Why Women Aren’t CEOs” article discusses how when women try to be assertive
or act out typically male behaviors their likability factor goes down. It’s frustrating trying
to figure out how exactly you should act while also being authentic. I grew up around 7
all boy cousins and in a lot of ways I feel more comfortable around guys than girls. I am
curious how this will affect my work experience.

I think it is also important to look at this issue from a males’ perspective, because the
article mentioned something I thought was really interesting. It was; that males felt
asking a female out to drinks after work would be considered flirtatious, but also felt
this was an important form of corporate bonding. I think having this perspective is
essential to better communication, potentially the breakdown of some barriers, and
making more men allies to empowering women in leadership positions.

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 “The Best Leaders are Insatiable Learners” by Bill Taylor wrote an article for The Harvard
Business Review. In it he wrote about John W. Gardner’s Speech to McKinsey & Co., “Be
interested,” he urged them. “Everyone wants to be interesting, but the vitalizing thing is
to be interested...As the proverb says, ‘It’s what you learn after you know it all that
counts.’” I agree that in order to be a great leader we need to constantly learn new
things and evolve their minds.

 I think the Leadership, Authority, and Women article by Ronal Heifetz had a really
strong and profound message that seemed to resonate with me. For one I would
agree leadership and authority are two different concepts. It’s true many people
don’t make the distinction between them, and our language surrounding the terms
does us a disservice to more fully comprehending their differences and how they
each play a role. My other class had a unit on a similar distinction regarding
management and leadership and through further study I find it even more
important in my own personal language to distinguish the three terms. It’s like the
author said, “we intuitively know the difference between leadership and authority,
but don’t quite distinguish them in our everyday language. I find the absence of this
distinction common in a JMU college of business class I’m enrolled in now. The
professor uses the terms interchangeably.

The distinction aside I really liked the authors point regarding the importance of
men and women learning from each other. I’ve always believed that anyone you
meet on the street can offer you insight or perspective, but many times cultural
constraints (like learning from a man) can inhibit my ability to do so, due to
historical injustices. I liked the connection he made between the girl in the ER and
the three points of learning (direct losses, disloyalties, and incompetence). Having a
deeper understanding of the changes we are asking of the opposite gender could
have a profound impact on the improvement of relationship between men and
women and their openness to learn from one another.

 I found the Williams, What Works for Women at Work, text difficult to stomach reading
because of the gut wrenching testimony by these women of color. I honestly can’t
imagine having to deal with the Prove-It-Again bias, it sounds utterly exhausting and
very discouraging. I think we as a society have a long ways to go in overcoming these
boundaries all women face. This Me Too movement gives me hope that we are moving
in a direction of positive growth. Creating more of an acceptable culture to come
forward as a victim of assault and know you don’t have to stay silent. I hope this type of
culture in a sense translates into leadership positions and it being customary to have
women in CEO positions, high-ranking political offices, and roles of leadership within
their communities. I believe that a lot of the work to be done comes form educating
young boys how to treat and respect women. Working on a daily basis to change our
limiting and divisional language to be more inclusive and limitless.

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  What Leaders Really Do by John P. Kotter describes the differences between motivating
and controlling. There are some key takeaways form the article I believe are beneficial
to remember as I enter into leadership positions:
o 1. Articulate the organizations vision in a manner that stresses the values of the
audience they are addressing
o 2. Involve people in decision-making, this gives them a sense of control
o 3. Support employee efforts to realize vision by providing coaching, feedback,
role modeling, and empower them to grow
o 4. Recognize and reward success, which provides a sense of accomplishment and
belonging to an organization (intrinsic motivation)

 These days I frequently catch myself relating my leadership education and the
interconnectedness between gender and power dynamics. It makes me so happy and
excited to see myself growing. When I watch TV or analyze communication I can see the
relationships and how things connect. I am beyond thankful for my JMU education,
everything I have learned though my experiences at JMU, and the professors who have
worked with me diligently and encouraged me through it all.

My Personal leadership philosophy:

 At the beginning of this course I did not have a strong sense about how to define
leadership or even my capabilities to become a leader. I thought that leadership was
predominantly for those who are in authoritative positions, but this notion severely
limits how I conceptualized leadership.

 As my final semester of undergraduate school comes to a close, I have a lot of people,

experiences, and literature to attribute my newfound confidence to. Special thanks to
Drew Dudley and his Everyday Leadership Ted Talk, which has played a fundamental role
in how I now conceptualize leadership to be more attainable. I have learned that
leadership can occur at any point during your day, even in instances when you are not
aware. To me leadership is about: (1) Growing yourself to be better in every sense. This
can be done by exploring new activities, cultures, literature, etc. (2) Empowering and
motivating others so that they may grow and become better citizens of the world.
Empowerment may be done by simply being a mentor. It could also be done through
the power of delivering positive affirmations or providing someone with resources they
can reach out to and get help from. (3) Leadership is about creating a way of life to
foster development in yourself and others and being humble in that process.

 In essence the culmination of this portfolio has lead me to develop my own personal
leadership philosophy and the expectations I have for myself as a leader. It is as follows:

I will aspire to be a leader who makes efforts everyday to grow myself as well as others.
Taking opportunities to learn about new innovations, philosophies, cultures, literature,

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 ideas, etc. I aspire to be a leader who actively reflects on my decisions, so that I may
take inventory of my strengths and weaknesses. I aspire to be a leader who is authentic
and receptive to feedback and criticism so that I may grow wiser. I aspire to be a leader
who empowers and encourages others to achieve their goals. I aspire to be a leader who
connects with others to create a network of empowerment and inspiration.

Leadership Development Action Plan:

 Element #1:
o The key skills, behaviors, attitudes, perspectives, or knowledge I believe I need
to acquire to improve my leadership and what I plan to do to acquire these.
I plan to develop my technical skills relating to my future career in
communications, which will be done by continuously learning how to
efficiently utilize technology to be more effective at my job. I will work to
develop my human skills, knowing how to work with people, so that I
may better assist them. This can be done by continuously reading new
literature on techniques to effectively communicate, so that I may foster
cooperation among members of the organization and create a positive
work environment. I plan to develop my conceptual skills, involving my
ability to work with ideas. Conceptual skills are central to creating
strategic and visionary plans. I will work to develop my problem solving
skills so that I may better understand how best to solve the problem at
hand. I will work to develop my social judgment skills, so that I may gain
an understanding to how my colleagues are motivated and how they will
respond to proposed changes in the organization.

I will work tirelessly to be a leader who is: flexible, receptive, authentic,

empowering, motivational, adaptable, passionate, persistent,
empathetic, fierce, innovative, and honorable because these are the
attributes I believe that make a great leader.

I will work endlessly to be a leader who is optimistic but also realistic. I

will never stop developing my knowledge and make personal efforts to
learn something new everyday. I will make efforts to read new literature
so that I may be aware of new innovations to my field of study or related
career.

 Element #2:
o I have developed a passion for leadership and how current scholarship analyzes
all of its’ complexities including its’ interconnectedness with gender. I would like
to become more involved with the AAUW, American Association of University
Women, so that I may foster the development of young girls who want to

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 become future leaders of the world. By developing a relationship with this
organization I will join a force of women who work to enhance women’s
equality.

 Element #3:
o The following are resources I can utilize to continue my education:
 My mom, my peers, previous sports coaches, the library, the Harvard
Business Review and other scholarly articles, the AAUW, social media,
travel, my family, and women in or retired from Corporate America are
all resources I can use to advance my education.

 Element #4:
o Over the course of the next year I will:
 (1) Work to develop a network of female and male mentors who can
provide me with life and career advice and sponsorship.
 (2) Work to further my leadership identity
 (3) I will negotiate my salary
 (4) I will travel and experience something new that’s outside of my
comfort zone
 (5) I will provide mentorship to a young female and encourage her
leadership identity

o By working towards these goals I will be working to improve those around me

and myself; thus corresponding with my personal leadership philosophy.

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