Leadership and Service in this Institute of Technology

 Leadership involves the ability to provide direction in a group of people with common agenda or an organization (Adeniyi, 2007). I have demonstrated my leadership qualities by participating in various extracurricular activities in college and being involved in volunteer activities which allowed me to be of service to the community. My leadership role was developed by playing out the strengths in me while getting involved in activities that I was passionate about.   The extracurricular activities especially clubs and community service formed a big part of my college application but just participating was not enough. To demonstrate leadership I have had to set various goals and take initiative to ensure that these goals are accomplished.  I have gone through this experience by deciding the best activities to take part in, developing a plan and implementing this plan in order to have an accomplished personal growth.

I have been part of club management which involved planning for activities such as raising funds to provide support for community services such as raising awareness of issues affecting the society such as drug addiction and environmental degradation. By being part of the leading team in these activities, I have been able to experience the various responsibilities that a leader should undertake for a team to achieve the set goals and the various challenges one has to undergo. Hence, forming strong teamwork within a large group of people undertaking the same project has demonstrated my organization skills and this has played a role in bolstering my confidence in management. Moreover, I had been impacting such knowledge to my fellow classmates and club members by providing direction and motivation when our team has faced handles that may prevent us from achieving the set goals. These qualities have been enhanced through undertaking initiatives in tasks that seem impossible to achieve or those which requires effective decision making from a leadership position.

While not taking on the leadership roles in clubs and various projects, the smaller jobs have been helping me to learn a lot. These smaller roles have been providing me with an opportunity to acquire people skills through interaction with students in the lower rank in a project team and clubs.  Effective leadership involves instilling good communication skills which help in building teamwork and solving any crisis that may arise in such teams (Adeniyi, 2007).  My communication skills have been demonstrating through the facilitation of various debates, conversations in a one-to-one setting and encouraging question and answer platforms that will enable team members in a club or project have information about progress achieved. Time management has been an important aspect of the various projects that I have been tasked to undertake. This has involved structuring time schedules and organizing work so that deadlines are met inside and outside classroom activities.

At times, I have not have had the chance to assume leadership positions due to academic work or lack of an appropriate opportunity. During these times, I have considered participating in community service projects especially in honor of various holidays. The services have also involved taking part in initiatives that are aimed at addressing various issues affecting the society more so drug and substance by creating awareness. These activities have provided me with an opportunity to showcase my planning, organization and implementation skills which are a major aspect that develops my prospects in project management.

Reference

Adeniyi, M. A. (2007). Effective leadership management: An integration of styles, skills & character for today's CEOs. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse. 3, 109