Leadership Insights

In this essay, I am going to write:

• What are top 5 insights about Leadership that I’ve learned from this course? 
• How did I see these insights manifest themselves in the cases we have covered? 
• How will i use these top 5 insights to make changes in my life
• What is my plan to develop Leadership Qualities
• What do I recommend you change in the program to make it better?

Leadership has been described as "a process of social  influence in which a person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task. For example, some understand a leader simply as somebody whom people follow, or as somebody who guides or directs others, while others define leadership as "motivating and organizing a group of people to achieve a common goal. To my mind the ability to lead effectively is based on a number of key skills. These skills are highly sought after by employers as they involve dealing with people in such a way as to motivate, enthuse and build respect, develop a vision, align people, communicate, inspire them. As we learnt, leadership are key qualifications, like Communication skills, Emotional Intelligence, Resilience, Drive.

As for insights, it is very difficult to choose 5 favorite, so I will write what I think is most important and I will not count. From this course, first of all I learnt that Leadership is a learning process that never ends; you’ll never be at a point where you can say you’ve learned it all. As with any long-term initiative, it’s inevitable that we’ll face obstacles or forks in the road where we have to re-evaluate our approach going forward. In those moments, it’s easy for us to resist the forces of change, insisting on sticking to what we know. And it’s here where we can begin to appreciate the differences in being persistent instead of being stubborn. By being stubborn, we close ourselves off to new understandings, new realities, and even new opportunities. Persistence, on the other hand, allows us to be malleable to discovery and learning from these new insights, while at the same time being resilient in achieving our shared purpose. By being persistent, we’re able to see obstacles and challenges as opportunities to learn and evolve; to find new avenues where we can become stronger and do a better job serving those under our care.

It’s only when we think that we can do better that we are driven to make things better. Unfortunately, in so many circles of modern day life – both in the public arena and in the private sector – we’ve collectively become resigned to think that such change or to have such expectations of those in charge is unrealistic or unattainable. And yet, if we are to truly live up to the potential that’s out there, if we are to benefit from the foundation that previous generations have created for us to build our present and future on, then we need to expect more of those who step forward to lead us. We need to expect more of ourselves as well, of what we’re willing to commit of ourselves to make such visions a reality, both for ourselves and for future generations.

Successful leaders treat those they lead as individuals who they strive to build relationships with. Our compassion arises from our innate curiosity to listen, learn, and relate to those around us. Create an environment where we inspire and enable those around us to bring their best selves to the table - we can collectively succeed and grow.

As for the impressions from specific things in this course, the movie “Peaceful Warrior” left a really big impression on me with the message it held in the plot. Some films make a difference: viewing them can give us a story that is memorable and leave the viewer with powerful food for thought that continues to influence thinking long after the film is over. Such is the case for “Peaceful Warrior”. The one quote that really touched my heart is: Where are you? Here. What time is it? Now. What are you? This moment.” We become accountable for our choices, we begin to feel and act as a part of the whole and acknowledge that which unites us. We are all brightly lost in the dream.

We must all overcome certain obstacles in this life. Each person's path has it's rocky patches. The mind can become mired in it's own processes. It's only with the heart that one can see clearly. This is one of the few movies out there that will inspire you to make changes in your life and this film shows us that we all have the power within us to make them. This movie reminds us of what really matters in this life, what we're supposed to be "doing" or "enjoying" or "living" in this world instead of filling our minds and hearts with what doesn't matter.