MSLD 511 Module 2- Reflecting on Leadership Traits

In the previous course (MSLD 500), students were assigned a project to study on a topic that ties with critical thinking and leadership. For the project, I decided to study on the importance of empathy in leadership. I learned that empathy not only establishes better relationships, but it also serves as an opportunity to gather data: which is necessary for effective decision making. In conclusion, leadership is more than just “getting the job done”. I see this clearly in my position as an academic advisor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Worldwide (ERAU). Though it is important to proactively assist students with general questions, it is also critical for me to maintain a strong relationship and aim for the success of my students.

Northouse provided a list and description of five major leadership traits: intelligence, self-confidence, determination, integrity and sociability (2015). Of the five, I heavily rely on sociability. Sociability is the most critical of the five traits because without it, I wouldn’t be able to perform my job. My position is entirely people-oriented and since students rely on me from the time they are admitted to the day they graduate, it is important for me to maintain a strong relationship to work efficiently.

Keeping in contact is one thing, but for any people-oriented position, it is important to be empathetic. Most of my students admire me for having this trait because I truly understand the feelings students go through: especially when students are dealing with frustrating situations. I often share my feelings and relate students’ issues with my personal experiences. For instance, I often have students complain about our Pacific Time versus Eastern Time (where most ERAU services take place). To ease the stress, I share some feelings of frustration due to the fact that I am a current student and also have to deal with the same problem as a staff. I also try to give a good laugh to my students by saying things such as, “even staff are students too!” to help them understand that we’re not simply here to “just get the work done”, but to show that we care.

The care shown strengthen our people-oriented business and encourages students to comeback and even recommend our campus to other potential students. It is a positive image and keeps us going. Another example that demonstrates the importance of having various traits in leadership was from a spokesperson from a TED video I watched for my previous assignment. Linda Cliatt-Wayman was a former principal at the Strawberry Mansion High School in North Philadelphia. The school was “broken” by the time she first started working and was heavily influenced by the high crime rates and deep poverty in the area. Rather than students and staff complaining and trying to ease their situation, they instead “just got their job done”. Wayman knew that a leader cannot work alone and focused on everyone and everything involved to reverse the damage the school had. Though training and building renovations were involved in the process, Wayman stated that the most important thing she did was to show and establish a caring and positive environment for every student at the campus. As a former student of North Philadelphia herself, she truly understood the hardships that the Strawberry Mansion High School students had to go through. To show this care, she used her personal experiences as data and implemented it to make effective decision making. In the end, Wayman was successfully able to increase proficiency in various studies as well as removed the title of the most dangerous school for the first time in five consecutive years (2015).

References:

Cliatt-Wayman, L. (2015). Linda Cliatt-Wayman: How to fix a broken school? Lead fearlessly, love hard [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/linda_cliatt_wayman_how_to_fix_a_broken_school_lead_fearlessly_love_hard?language=en

Northouse, P. G. (2015). Leadership: Theory and Practice 7th ed. Los Angeles, CA:
     Sage Publishing