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Leadership Reflection

In: Business and Management

Submitted By mkoziol
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Leadership Reflection Assignment

The ability to lead is a quality that many people posses, or wish to possess, but is a quality that is very difficult to define in one specific way. Many different people lead in many different ways, and this makes it nearly impossible to assign the term leadership with a set, universal definition since there isn’t a set, defined way to universally lead a group. The individuals involved and the situation they are involved in are what help to define leadership. According to Robert Crandall, Chairman and President of American Airlines, in McFarlane, Senn, and Childress’ article “Redefining Leadership for the Next Century,” “The ideal leader for the 21st century will be one who creates an environment that encourages everyone in the organization to stretch their capabilities and achieve a shared vision, who gives people the confidence to run farther and faster than they ever have before, and who establishes the conditions for people to be more productive, more innovative, more creative, and feel more in charge of their own lives than they ever dreamed they could.” Although this is a great definition of the term, I believe leadership can be much more simply defined. To me, leadership is the ability to bring out the best in every individual involved in the group in an effort to enhance the overall quality of the team’s performance. Although I already had a definition similar to this in mind before engaging in the compass program, this course has allowed me to see how my own personal traits, strengths, and values play into my definition and has made me realize how to better utilize my strengths to positively influence my leadership abilities so I can be a better leader in the future. In order for a leader to bring out the best in every member of the team, he/she must be able to set difficult but reachable goals and must have the

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