Reflective Essay (leadership Manifesto)

REFLECTIVE ESSAY #1 (LEADERSHIP MANIFESTO)

        What type of leader am I?  I think this is a question all new leaders have a bit of trouble trying to describe.  How are you supposed to know what kind of leader you are without someone else telling you?  What type of leader do I strive to be?  I strive to be an honest, caring, and curious leader.  If I had to sum it up, I would say that I strive to be a mentor above all.  

        In order to be an effective mentor you must use the transformational leadership style.  You cannot call yourself a “mentor leader” if you are not trying to give your follower motivation and an example to follow.  In order to be an example to follow you must practice what you preach as an NCO.

        I want to be an NCO that is able to provide a fair and consistent environment for my troops to develop.  It is imperative that I am able to effectively communicate when they are doing something right or wrong.  This is trickier then it may seem, plenty of people are in denial when they are in the wrong.  I will do my best to eliminate all opinion and bias from the equation when giving troops feedback.  When they do something right it is because I have set clear goals.  When they do something wrong it is shown in writing where they clearly did not meet standards.

        This is my strength and weakness in one.  Upon reflective thought I can say that this approach may make people think I am too robotic.  I am unable to extract the deeper meaning behind what it means to exceed or meet standards.  Even so, I believe this outlook is the root of clear and effective communication.  With experience I will be able to flex and tweak my leadership as I learn new ways of approaching my troops.

        My essence is a reflection of the type of leader I strive to be.  Honest, caring, and curious, these are traits that I hold very close to my heart.  These are the traits I hope others who I come into contact with see in me.  Traits that all people hopefully can relate to and adopt, while striving to become leaders themselves.