My Path to Leadership & Leadership Growth
The first leadership experience I had was becoming a squad corporal. I had a responsibility to inspect and instruct the rats. The second leadership example that I am still trying to get a grasp of is being a PSG. Something that I am learning how to do is how to be less of a bulldog and more of an inspirational speaker. That is something that I am working on currently. The third leadership experience that I experienced was during high school and I was the concert master of the orchestra. The responsibility of the concert master is to ensure that everybody has the correct sheet music and instructions. (a)
As a corporal I led by instructing rats because I had more experience than them and spread my knowledge. I also tried to build the rapport and respect. My leadership as a PSG came to be when I realized how amazing being cadre was. I’ve learned so much about leadership from being a corporal and being a PSG brings a whole new set of challenges. What I enjoyed most about being concert master was being able to help others and spread my knowledge of the violin. (!)
The thing I struggled most being a corporal was my confidence. It was apparent because I was doing something unfamiliar to me. What I struggle now as being a PSG is how not to be a corporal. I have to understand my bigger role as an instructor and to inspire others. I also struggle with the leadership style that I want to use. I seek to inspire others, however, being cadre means that I have to have a stricter leadership style. What I struggle with during my time with the orchestra was the stress and passion. I did not really enjoy playing the violin and it was a struggle to keep playing it. (b)
The most important thing I learned about being a corporal is to treat everyone with respect, professionalism, safety, and honor. I realized that trying to be mean and intimidating is not a good way to get someone to respect and follow you because they want to. The most important thing that I learned currently is that actions speak louder than words. There are many things that I want to get better at and I realize to get better at those things, I have to do them. So I speak out more and when it is time to step up, I do. My followership style can be seen using Kelley’s Followership questionaire. It has 2 measurements, one of Independent thinking and one of Active Engagement. Independent thinking defined as the ability for a follower to think for themselves. Active engagement is defined as a follower who does more than they are expected to of their job. The survey is on a scale from 0-60 with the lower number indicating lower abilities of the characteristic in the sub scale. I score 37 on independent thinking and a 42 in active engagement. For independent thinking, I am within 1 SD of the mean of 41.4. For active engagement, I am within 1 SD of the mean of 43.4. According to the survey, I can be described as conformist which is most likely related to my 4th class year and currently where everything is planned out for me.(c)
During my 4th class year, my experiences taught me how to follow. I do believe that someone has to learn to follow before they can lead. My conformist typology benefitted me here because I was able to follow commands. It harms me now because I am the one that has to make decisions and it is difficult for me to make decisions on the spot. I would consider my active engagement during the ratline to be low because I was following orders of everyone else. My independent thinking is also low at that point (d)
It was during my third-class year, when I really valued suffering and realize how amazing it is to be here. That is also when I got my first leadership position and learn about leading by example. At this point in my cadetship, my conformist typology is still harming me because I was taught to follow orders of everyone else. My active engagement has increased because I am not in such an adversarial environment. My independent thinking as a third is still low because I am still following what the sergeants are saying.(e)
As a second, I am still in the process of learning how to do my duty as a PSG. There are so many amazing people that I always observe and learn from and I would say that this is the year where I have learned the most about leading. I will have to work on my ability to not be a conformist because I will need tomato decisions on. my own. My active engagement is high now because I have been inspired by people around me to do my best. My independent thinking is higher than when I was a third but there is still improvement to be had.(f)
First class year will be another challenge for I will have to be a mentor and learn to step back however, observant. I expect to learn how to speak to a large group of people and instruct the rat as well. I expect to be less of a conformist because I hope to have a leadership position. I hope to increase my active engagement and independent thinking more by thinking before I make a decision and having more confidence.(g)
The first goal I want to reach is that I want to learn how to be inspiring and use my work ethic to show others the value of effort. The second goal is to improve my communication skills and to improve my confidence and work on my command presence. I do not talk with a lot of people so I would like to interact with more people. I want to not get emotional when being a leader and have an understanding of my subordinates. I have achieved my first goal, there have been so many experiences were I was able to push people beyond what they thought was capable. Throughout the year, I have also maintained by belief of leading by example and not taken any privileges that were given to me. For my second goal, I have improved on my communication skill, however, there is much more to work on. How I hope to achieve this is by applying for leadership position in the corps and in the army. For my future goals, I want to succeed in my academics next semester and earn A’s in all of my classes by the end of the year. My second goal for the coming six months is to go to the gym consistently and go everyday. I hope to begin during break and continue to do so after 6 months. My third goal is to become friends with the Rats after breakout so that they get to know who I am as a person.(h)