Leadership and Learning

A good leader is knowledgeable and open minded to additional learning possibilities. Conventionally, "leadership" is defined as "directing others". In contrast, the insightful John F. Kennedy quote, above, expresses that there is more to leadership than just its dictionary denotation-that leadership is not just commanding, but convincing others to share a common goal. In order to convince, a leader must be able to use logic to explain the rationale behind a position. Strong reasoning is drawn from a large, factual foundation of knowledge which is achieved through learning. My leadership style is to continue to learn in order to successfully lead with strong reasoning.

As a child, "Because I said so" was a popular phrase with my parents whenever I questioned orders. This phrase became a representation of everything opposite of my leadership style-it is simply commanding with an empty reason. When I was younger, I had little understanding of why I was constantly being told to clean my room, study harder, or sleep early; it was always because mom "said so." Had someone taught me that cleaning my room promoted organization and hygiene; that studying hard would hone the skills needed to succeed in the future; that sleeping early was beneficial to my health, I would have been more enthusiastic about doing these tasks. Contrary to the "Because I said so" leadership style, my style of leading is to always teach others an understanding of what they are doing, and why they are doing it-to ensure that there is never a lack of motivation or enthusiasm. Purdue will provide me with the knowledge necessary to always have solid reasons on hand.

Decision making is a large part of leadership. A school club, Friday N...

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...en minded to learning from my team members' ideas helped immensely with the procedure. Notable suggestions included nailing our support beams for stability, substituting glue for Velcro to allow easy rollercoaster "track" adjustments, and adding wheels to the bottom of the project. Leveraging a strong knowledge base, with logic from learned experiences and staying open minded to additional learning possibilities, I helped to successfully organize and accomplish the project.

My leadership is a product of my learning. With aspirations of pursuing a career in engineering and becoming a leader of tomorrow, I seek to maximize my learning capabilities by receiving a quality education-an education from Purdue University. Leadership and learning are two arts intertwined, not only indispensable to each other, but also indispensable to my life.