Leadership Autobiography PDF

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My Leadership Autobiography By McKenzie Murphy When did I become a leader? When did I want to become a leader? What is it? And how did I come to possess it? To me, leadership is not a title or position, but I think many people tend to confuse leadership with position, title, and authority rather than someone who has followers, sets examples, and showcases responsibility. Personally, I think a leader is more than someone who just commands or headlines a group. I think a leader creates an inspiring vision of the future and motivates and inspires people to engage with that vision. When I was a Sophomore in High School, I discovered something that had a massive impact on my life and I believe it shaped me into the person I am now. Around that time, Netflix was becoming extremely popular despite being active for over a decade prior. In 2010, while I was a Sophomore, Netflix began expanding its streaming service to the international market. That’s when I discovered Korean media and music for the first time. I had watched a lot of Japanese anime in middle school, but Korean spoke to me in a different way. I became obsessed with researching more on Korean culture, history, television, and music. I even influenced my brother and two sisters who have now become extremely enveloped in Korean media. In my junior year, I took a computer class through Butler Tech that taught me more about how to use Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Taking that class automatically inducted me into Business Professionals of America. Becoming top of the class by mid-term and being inducted into National Honor Society, I was one of five selected out of six different classes to be a part of the Parliamentary Procedure Team where I learned about Robert’s Rules of Order and how to properly conduct business meetings. This also taught me a lot about teamwork and our

group competed at state and regional levels where we placed 1st and 13th place respectively. This is where I believe I obtained the liking for business. Truthfully, I would say I didn’t fully recognize my leadership potential until I began working my first job at McDonald’s in the summer of 2012, right before my senior year. A lot of people told me that I was very sweet and not very outspoken when I first started there. In fact, I even had a fearful mindset of my general manager. Over time I learned to overcome that fear and realized that she was just another person like anyone else and as long as I did my job well and followed policies and procedures, there was nothing to worry about. After about 2 years with the company, my manager asked if I would be interested in creating the enthusiasm calendar where I would display employee birthdays, anniversaries with the company, holidays, fun days, and special events. She even entrusted me with the company card and allowed me to buy supplies and decorate the crew room for events. After about a year doing that, the assistant manager who creates the crew schedule asked if I would be interested in doing that after she leaves. I agreed and began creating the schedule for 70+ employees which was a huge responsibility that involved managing everyone’s availability, request off’s, and dealing with scheduling mistakes. After discovering my interest in business, the only thing left to determine was where I wanted to go with it, what I wanted to do, and how to make it something that I could get overly excited and enthusiastic about. Eventually, I found a way to tie it in with my love of Korean. In the summer of 2014, I took a trip with a friend to Chicago where we stayed in the heart of China Town. Right around the corner from our hotel was a quaint little K-Pop store. After seeing all the merchandise that they had, and all the various artists and idols displayed, finally, the idea clicked to open my very own K-Pop retail store.

My love and devotion to Korean culture is what drives me to accomplish my long-term goals. In fulfilling these goals, I first need to address the people I would have on my personal board of directors. In terms of the five essential elements of a successful board of directors, I would say my sister, Dana would be the dreamer. She’s one of the only people that shares my love of Korean. She understands my dreams because she experiences them too and she even boosts my confidence and motivation to make those dreams a reality. My best friend Josh would have to be my mentor. Not only does he share the same major in business that I do, he also has acquired a similar interest in Korean. He is very supportive and understanding of my dreams and goals and he always gives the greatest advice. My other best friend and roommate Emily would be the shoulder to cry on. She is one of the greatest listeners I know and can sympathize with me when times get tough. She also always knows how to pull me out of a slump and help me keep going. My friend Rachel would be the accountability master. Although she knows when to sympathize, she also knows when to tell me how it is and keep me in check. She’s one of the only people who will be honest, upfront and give it to me straight. My mom would be the connector. With as much as my mom name-drops, I don’t think there’s a single person she doesn’t know. Whenever I must solve an issue or deal with a problem my mom is always very knowledgeable, and she always seems to know who to contact. Being a leader isn’t about the role, but always about the goal. As a leader, I aim to inspire others to dream the wildest dream, empower them to be in it for the long haul, as well as motivate them to have a vison and fight for it. It is my job as a leader to turn followers into leaders and to become a mentor. I like where I am and where I’m going. I am a leader....