Becoming A Certified Student Leader

In today’s society, the definition of leadership is ever-changing and is always being improved. As a leader, my mission is to treat everyone equally and give them the respect they deserve. This semester was very challenging, but my leadership skills have improved. As a leader, my roles play a significant part in the lives of my constituents. I am eager to say, but I enjoyed every moment of my volunteer experience as a prospective Certified Student Leader (C.S.L). Taking the course, introduction to leadership was not a mistake, but a way for me to grow and mature as a leader. I must admit that I am staring to see the world differently, rather than to my own benefit. Considering this, I was able to grow with the help of my followers, mentors,

I have learned from my mistakes and I have also learned how to approach and handle situations differently. I would agree that the C.S.L. program has mold me and shaped me to become a better leader for the future. There is nothing that I would do differently or change about my experience. I have met new friends and mentors based on the mission and standards that I have set as an effective leader. According to Brown, “an effective leader should produce the potential for dramatic change, but an ineffective leader can also create chaos and even failure” (Brown 2006). Therefore, as an effective leader, one has to have a vision and goal setting in mind. A team depends on its leader to tell them where, why, and how they are going to accomplish their goals and challenges. Throughout the summer 2016 semester, I had the opportunity of volunteering for several organizations, including Caps of Love Charity, St. Paul A.M.E Church, and the Alzheimer’s Association. As of today, I try to keep in touch with the students and friends that I met during my volunteer experience and we keep each other motivated throughout the week via telephone. I was also able to incorporate the elements of a mindful leader throughout my C.S.L experience. As a mindful leader, I have embodied the “leadership presence by cultivating focus, clarity,

I have become more focus on the individuals that I met during my experience, rather than focusing on myself. I have also encouraged and challenged others to do things that they have never thought of doing before I met them. Considering this, I was also able to incorporate the qualities of a transformational leader, which “is a leadership style defined by the relationships between the leaders and the followers and the results they are able to achieve together to meet organizational goals” (Thomson MD, Rawson and Slade PhD 2016, 592).Therefore, one would agree that there is “a positive relationship between transformational leadership and followers ' individual-level creativity primarily due to the creativity-enhancing behaviors displayed by this leadership” (Gumusluoglu and llsev 2009, 461). Thus, as a transformational leader I am also “able to inspire subordinates by connecting with them emotionally, which provides the opportunity to share a vision. The emotional connection with the subordinate does not end with inspiration” (Vito, Higgins and Denney 2014). Considering this, “a transformational leader uses this connection to serve as a mentor or developer demonstrating to the subordinate a focus on them (i.e. individual consideration). The transformational leader encourages the intellectual stimulation of their subordinates. In