According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a leader is “a person that leads”. This definition was useful to me as a child but is very vague to me as an adult. The concept of leadership was introduced to me at a fairly young age, so the official definition of leadership quickly became obsolete. I started learning about leadership when I did space camp and then Air Force JROTC in high school. My idea of leadership evolved from a person that leads, to the person in charge, to a person that exhibits specific qualities. Some of those qualities were integrity, service, and excellence. When I was in Air Force JROTC I started to realize that a person does not have to be in a leadership position to be a leader. As I have continued to mature and gain experiences through jobs and school, my philosophy on leadership has progressed. A leader must exhibit certain qualities, but they are not necessarily born with them. Being a good and effective leader involves hard work and training, just like anything else.  I think that a leader must be able to listen and receive feedback. They must know when to take charge and when to work as part of a team. They must never leave others behind and always be a reliable resource for those around them. They should be open to improving themselves and be able to acknowledge their weaknesses. They should use their strengths and combine them with other people’s strengths to help the best outcome for any situation come to fruition.

My philosophy on leadership is continuing to evolve and that is true even through this internship. One of the main things I took away from this internship and Experiential Learning course is that leaders can posses many different qualities. Some qualities are more apparent than others, depending on the leader and their leadership style. The first time I realized that in this course, was when we took the Clifton Strengths test. Each of us had our own individual strengths and I learned that we should celebrate our strengths, and combine them with the strengths of others in our organizations, to achieve the missions and goals of the organizations. Our strengths can help guide our leadership styles, as well as help us find careers that play to those strengths. For example, my top five strengths were adaptability, ideation, communication, empathy, and maximizer. All these strengths played well into my internship position. All of them combine to allow me to manage 11-16 students, all with their own personalities and strengths, and still teach a project with a STEM concept in an hour and a half. These are strengths that I am proud of, and I want to continue to cultivate and hone them in order to excel in any position I may take and also in all other aspects of my life.

In the “The Changing Nature of Leadership” from Komives, Lucas, and McMahon’s Exploring Leadership, we explored how the concept of leadership has evolved in society. Like my own philosophy of leadership, society’s view has changed over time and become more complex. I don’t feel that I relate to early leadership theories, such as the Great Man Approach or the Trait Approach. These theories allude to leadership being about what a person is born with or their personality traits. I don’t believe, for example, that just because a person is charismatic, they are a natural born leader. Society has learned that these theories are either incorrect, or at the very least incomplete. Of the modern leadership theories, I think I relate to the Complexity Leadership Theory the most. This theory acknowledges that the world is complex and that the ability to adapt and adjust is vital. A person’s experiences and strengths help shape how they react to situations. As new situations arise, their leadership and organizations evolve to meet the challenge. I think this is something I try to do in my personal leadership style. I live by the philosophy that I should always be trying to improve; so I acknowledge that many things can have an affect on me and I should do my best to take lessons from them.

I’m not entirely sure it this Engaged Learning experience has helped me connect to Loyola’s mission. I think this is mostly because I personally, am not religious, so I am still figuring out how to adjust the mission to my world view. I can, however, say that I relate to the aspects of the mission that relate to service through learning and justice. I want to make a good, impactful difference in the world. My Engaged Learning experience has helped me explore how I can do that. I am going to use my ever-developing philosophy of leadership to continuously improve how I approach my academics and professional life. I think my ability to want to make improvements, will allow me to adapt and change when necessary in both life and my career.

Leadership Pictures by Kaylynn on Scribd

These are the two pictures I chose when we were asked what first popped into our minds when we heard the word leader. I chose the military because I grew up around it, and it was my first exposure to being a leader without neccessarily being in a leadership position. I chose Walt Disney because he constantly used his surroundings and the people around him as inspiration to always be improving. I think he would also exhibit some of the same strentghs I do. 

Clifton Strengths Report by Kaylynn on Scribd

This is my Clifton Strengths report. I got adaptability, ideation, communication, empathy, and maximizer as my top 5 strengths. I think these are aligned with how I view myself as a leader.

Clifton Strengths Reflection by Kaylynn on Scribd

This is my reflection on my Clifton Strengths Results.

Cajita of Leadership Box by Kaylynn on Scribd

This is a picture of my Cajita Box of Leadership. The items inside represent how my experiences and cross-sectional identities have helped form who I am as a leader. For example, the Disney nametags have Colorado Springs, CO and Chicago, IL on them because I claim both as home, and both have been places I have learned and evolved my leadership philosophy. The nametags represent the significance working at Disney World has played in my life.

These are the Air Force Core Values and they were one of my first introductions to leadership as a philosophy, instead of just a definition. My time in Air Force JROTC is where I first saw that leadership is not just a position.