Final Introspective Paper- danielle PDF

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dave wilde
final essay
leadership and innovation...

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1 Danielle Rivas Wilde Bus5-16 Sec 64 12/5/19 Final Introspective Paper Business leadership and innovation was not the class I expected it to be. Coming into the class I definitely thought it was going to be more focused on taking notes and observing bigger successful companies, and lots of group work, but I’m happy that it wasn’t. The ideas presented by Northouse are all valuable in the sense that there is no right way to be a leader or even that there is such a thing to be born a leader. The guest speakers that I was able to experience and connect with really opened my eyes beyond what a textbook could, and because of Northouse I was also able to identify characteristics that correlate to the type of leader the speaker was, which rhetorically gave me a better understanding of their perspective and situations they discussed. Even outside of the term leadership, as an individual, all the different leadership styles and tactics, have helped me grow. I am much more efficient in conversing with others and empathizing with them to connect better due to the simple fact that this class has overall taught me how to analyze a situation, person, or even problem and then be able to visualize how I could potentially solve and execute it. In my personal experience, exploring the different styles of leadership have helped me explore myself and see what works for me as an individual. Currently, I am a supervisor at MCM Handbags, and before I was a makeup artist at Impulse. From these different experiences, I was able to interact with customers and become more confident in myself as I made sales and talked to people about myself and my work. I overcame the fear of what others were going to think of me and began to just be myself at work and see where it takes me. From this more relaxed mindset of just being myself after being exposed to new information on leadership and styles of leadership, I realized my own capabilities in regards to

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makeup and fashion. People would come to me for help when they needed to decide what to buy or needed knowledge on something beauty or fashion related. This allowed me to feel more confident in what I was doing and help people that wanted my help. It felt refreshing and accomplishing to see my efforts paying off and people being satisfied. What I learned through reading the book Leadership by Northouse is why being conscientious is important, especially when building/leading a following in the real world. It’s important to have a genuine mission and set of values when being a leader. Personally, I want to pursue a career in beauty and fashion, and I have my own set of values that I would like to instill in whatever it is I am doing in my future. I also found from reading Northouse that it’s always extremely critical to be able to work with others and have problem solving skills, regardless of whether you’re the leader or follower. Finally, everyone is different. It’s impossible to please everyone, but it’s important to be able to understand that everyone is different and accept these differences. An open mind is truly critical when talking about leadership and followership. Furthermore, I was able to relate a lot of the teachings from Northouse with articles I’ve read for other classes or in general. For example, in Northouse, we learned about how leaders are often able to lead so well due to their sense of passion for something. In an article I read called “7 Traits of True Leaders,” while the title suggests that leaders can only be leaders if they have a specific set of traits, the article is very informative of what it takes to be a leader in general. It talks about having a purpose to serve and the ability to be independent, as well as being able to work with others. There are so many ways in which leadership can be discussed. Essentially, there is no single correct way to take on leadership. Being a leader is open to interpretation. There isn’t a right or wrong way to be a leader, and that’s the beauty of it, is that each person can be a leader in their own way and it would be impactful, if that person chose to do so. Something else I’m able to take from this class is the headstrong attitude associated with leadership. As we read through the different chapters in Northouse, I realized how each thing depends on

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one’s fearlessness and willingness to tackle different situations and opportunities in order to better themselves. In my own life, I have been inspired to do the same. I realized how women play a role in leadership. From the concepts we covered in class, I connected the idea of not being afraid to try new things and accepting all opportunities to the idea of women becoming leaders. I feel empowered to further pursue my career in beauty and fashion as I am already a supervisor at MCM Handbags. I feel that I would be able to so successfully simply because I know I have the strong mentality needed for it. I would also not have this confidence if it were not for this class and the teachings of it, explaining how it’s important for each person to embrace themselves and their strengths, and most importantly, to be happy. The idea of women progressing as leaders reminded me of an article called “Women Rising: The Unseen Barrier,” which discusses how women are able to grow their own success through internalizing the leadership process. In conclusion, this class is so much more than your typical “how to be an alpha” guide. The topics covered throughout the semester are valuable in and out of the workplace. In my own life, I’m able to see how I’m incorporating leadership in my daily life routine or at work. One way or another, I am working to improve on myself and staying true to myself. My goal is always to be happy with what I am doing, and with this class, I am truly able to say that I am happy with the efforts I am making in my school work, work life, and social life. I would say that one of the better parts of this class was definitely being able to see the progress I made as an individual. It’s surprising to see how much I’ve changed since the start of the semester. Without this class, I’d confidently say I wouldn’t be where I am with my job or my confidence level. I gained knowledge about how to manage my time and find a way to be happy amongst all of the work and stress that comes with life. The class has also given me an insider understanding of leadership that is crucial to the growth of myself, my writing, and simply being able to convey messages well enough to build a following.

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Bibliography -

https://www.inc.com/magazine/201306/leigh-buchanan/traits-of-true-leaders.html

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https://hbr.org/2013/09/women-rising-the-unseen-barriers...