The Discovery of True Leadership in all of us

It is difficult to imagine what exactly leadership is, where it comes from, how it is used, and what exactly makes a good leader. I believe leadership is something which can be found in all of us but is only discovered at certain points in our lives, after having certain experiences. Some people may never uncover leadership within them, while others discover it very early, making them appear to be natural born leaders. I also believe that leadership is something which belongs to one person or a small group of people by definition. My view of leadership is that a person or a group must have some power over other people in order to lead them or be in control. This does not mean they have total control because a system of checks and balances can be used like in our government. I believe this, contrary to the belief that leadership comes from simply participating and taking action, because this is more like cooperation and collaboration, not true leadership. In order for a person to be a leader, they must assert themselves in some way. Finally, what makes a good leader is not just this first step of having some power over the group, but the will to listen to others and value their opinions regardless of the fact that others don’t have the same amount of power that they have.
Leadership is often thought of as something which people are born with, some kind of a gift that they were given and are expected to use in society while it is the job of everyone else to stand behind them. Still, others believe that leadership is something that can be taught through lessons or possibly it is something that every member of a group can posess. I believe leadership is something that is discovered but cannot be taught. I don’t believe people are born leaders, though I also don’t believe that leadership can be learned in class or practiced. Leadership takes boldness, bravery, respect and intelligence. No one person is born with these qualities, nor can they be taught to obtain them, though through life experiences which may have nothing to do with leading a group, they may hope to gain some of them. Though some people have a natural ability to draw followers to them, organize groups and make decisions for them, this does not make them a leader. A leader must have some direction and some foundation to rely on and this only comes from careful observations of other leaders and a reasonable idea of what decisions may work and which ones won’t which only comes from experience.
I do not believe that an entire group of people can truly be leaders because separation from the group and a certain amount of executive power is in the definition of a leader. It is possible for all members of a group to participate and contribute to group decisions in an orderly, democratic fashion, but it is impossible for a group made up of so-called “leaders” to function without mishaps. Again, leadership is something which separates people from the group because without some separation, it is impossible for a person to lead other people; what was once leadership becomes cooperation. It is possible to view these ideas of cooperation and leadership as being the same thing, though I believe they are very different, and leadership is a position that belongs exclusively to one person or a small group of people inside the large group. Still, simply because a person might have power over a group, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are a good, respectable leader.
One of the most important qualities of leadership is not only power, but also respect for the group and understanding for their needs. Leadership involves making assertive decisions that don’t only benefit that one person or small group, but rather decisions which will benefit the entire group and avoid conflict between people. Leadership does involve great amounts of power, but a good leader should always remain humble about the power they are given and keep in mind that in the end, all people are equal regardless of the fact that some have more executive power than others do, and everyone’s opinions must be valued. History proves that people prefer this democratic form of government as opposed to monarchies, oligarchies or other corrupt forms of leadership. Sharing power is difficult to do because holding power and keeping it is in our nature, since it helps us to survive. Still, leadership is a position which requires integrity and plenty of moral guidance.

Initiative #2 The Invisible Maze

I felt a lot more confident overall in this initiative than in the last one. I felt that we cooperated a lot more as a group as opposed to multiple small groups focusing on different issues. I personally felt that I participated a lot more because I felt comfortable going through the maze even when only a couple of people had gone before me and I was unsure of many of the steps. Another thing which helped me to feel more like an active participant was the fact that I cooperated with other people in figuring out where to step next by using process of elimination, and helping guide others through the maze after or before I had gone through myself. I thought it was easier to help others while I was standing and watching because there wasn't as much pressure and I felt like I had a better view of the path from wherever I was standing at the time. For example, I stood on the other side while we did the second maze so I learned it from that perspective and it was hard for me to actually go through it. I felt like I cooperated with a small group of people in completing this task and in my opinion we all relied on each other equally within that group. We were able to accomplish this task by having different people go through the maze and memorizing the paths they took that "worked." This is much like everyday life because we do tend to copy the steps of those who are extremely successful in order to achieve the same goals they did, which is perfectly logical. I believe without a doubt that it is easier to solve a problem while you are watching someone else go through it and it is no you yourself because there are all kinds of paths and choices that you can see and they might not be able to see and for you as a spectator there isn't nearly as much pressure to get it right. I thought there were definite challeges both with and without talking. When we weren't able to talk it was much more difficult to collaborate and decide which path to take and also to guide people through the maze from the outside. However, when we couldn't talk, people watched and focused and were usually able to figure out the path on their own without needing as much help. When we could talk, I felt like there were a lot of people who were not paying any attention to what was going on and when it came time for them to go through the maze, they relied heavily on the rest of the group members to get them through. All in all though, I thought this was much more of a group effort than the first initiative.

Spectator and/or Active Participant

In most situations I tend to be a spectator because I am usually afraid that if I try to contribute, my ideas might not work and I don't want to be the one to blame. I know that I should try to contribute more because I'll never really know if something will work or not if I never try it. I felt like I was more of a spectator in our first initiative because I didn't try very hard to come up with a solution to help get us untangled and the ideas that slipped in my mind, I kept to myself because I felt uncomfortable with the new group of people. In this situation I could have made more of an effort to help the people who had already established themselves as the leaders. I realize that being an active participant doesn't necessarily mean I have to be a the leader, I just need to contribute a few more ideas. In english and history I feel more comfortable participating in group activities, usually because the group is much smaller and because at this point I know the people in my class better. I think what helps sustain this active participation for me is that I know that everything I say counts as a valuable contribution and usually there aren't one or two leaders who stand out more than everyone else.

Day 1-Opening Thoughts

1. I believe that Abraham Lincoln, who has been called our country's greatest president, was an amazing leader becuase he was able to do something very important for our country. It was president Lincoln who was able to preserve the Union during a time of war and crisis and brought hope to many, especially slaves in the South. I also believe that Susan B. Anthony was a great leader because she was willing to stand before people who did not know or respect her and fight for what she believed in. Many women and men felt empowered by her and because of her, felt they could fight for the cause as well. I also believe Ghandi was an affective leader because he accepted all followers and was not cruel or abusive to his power. With his policy of nonviolence, he was even kind to his own enemies.
2. I wish to be able to identify problems and be able to identify strategies to solve them, much like the way Lincoln was able to solve the problems occurring in the Union. I also wish that I had the strength to start a revolution for my own cause no matter how dangerous it may be, much like the way Susan B. Anthony fought for women's rights. Also, I wish to have the patience to deal with my enemies the way Ghandi did; through acceptance and nonviolence and to never abuse my power.
3. My definition of leadership is the ability to use sense and reason to solve problems while maintaining honesty and justice towards followers because what is most important is not your own needs or your own power, but the well being of others.
4. From this course, I hope to be able to speak up when I have ideas rather than let other people always take control because I think this is a very valueable skill to have in life. I know that if I try, I can make a lot of useful contributions to the group and I hope to be able to accomplish this in this course.
5. In initiative #1 I am not sure that I contributed as much as I could have because I did not sugguest many ideas. In the beginning I was not as tangled up as some of the others and therefore I didn't have as much of a need to participtate, though I probably should have because I could clearly see some of the knots from where I was standing. Later on, I began to take the advice of other people even though I had doubts about it myself and it ended up not working. I should have spoken up more and tried to solve some of the problems myself rather than let everyone else think of strategies and tell me what to do. I know that it is hard for me to do this with a group of people that I don't know very well, though I can't just use that as an excuse for not trying becuase that is the very thing I need to work on. I think as a group we should have worked together more because it seemed to me that after some people got untangled, they stood off to the side and didn't try to help or make suggestions to the people who were still stuck. Being able to work together as one giant group no matter what size rather than a bunch of little groups is probably something we need to work on, even though we don't know each other very well yet.