Leadership Philosophy
I define leadership as finding a common goal with others, being willing to be vulnerable and be genuine, and to put others before yourself.
This Leadership Minor has helped me understand what kind of person I am and what skills I truly possess. Being an authentic leader is what most aligns with my values. The role models and other leaders that have led me to create this definition of leadership have shown me through their actions what it looks like to be genuine, true to yourself, and an authentic leader.
Over the past three years, specifically during my professional career, I've had the opportunity to work under some amazing female mentors who showed me what it means to be a supportive teacher. I initially thought that a leader could only follow the Great Man theory, and that you needed to be born with the skills to be a leader. I now know that anyone can still be a great leader just by developing the skills that are needed in order to be one. I developed the skills to be seen as not only a respected leader of the classroom, but as a friend who just wants the best for my students. I never needed the Great Man skills of being loud, or bold, or always in the forefront in order to just be respected as Ms. Rachel, the teacher.
To truly solidify my leadership journey and highlight how I took control over my own identity destiny, I must introduce my first role model. It was my mother, and she was a major turning point in my life in regard to choosing my leadership path and career. She passed away when I was 16 years old from Ovarian cancer, and shortly after her, my best friend who was also 16 passed away from Oral cancer. It felt like my life was surrounded by cancer and death at the time, and I watched two people very close to me choose to go into the medical field in order to honor those who have passed from it. I felt this immense pressure to also go into the medical field as a way to honor my mother and best friend. But, something about that career path just didn't sit right with me. I couldn't realistically even handle medically-related stuff because of the trauma I had already endured watching them go through it. My mother had always told me that my skills lied within the realm of the communication world, and I felt truly connected to that world. Even with the guilt that I felt not following the same path of "honor" as those around me, I knew I could do something even better, more authentic, and honorable with the skills that I truly possessed. I have learned now that my innate skills shine the most when I apply them to what I'm actually good at and enjoy - communication. I'm so grateful I was pushed in the right direction to learn my leadership identity and to be able to develop my identity even further so I'm actually able to make the change I'd like to see in the future.