My philosophy of leadership has developed throughout my academic internship experience through the integration of class material and real world experiences. One assignment that shaped my understanding of leadership was the Youtube video assignment on leadership. I chose to watch the video “What it takes to be a great leader” by Roselinde Torres. In her video she laid out 3 main questions that great leaders ask themselves: 

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1. Where are you looking to anticipate change?

2. What is the diversity measure of your network?

3. Are you courageous enough to abandon the past?

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These three questions shaped my understanding of leadership because they are so different from typical and mainstream definitions of leadership. Some typical definitions of leadership might lead to words like “power” or “control” or “influence”. These words weren’t mentioned in this video, which I liked. This video prescribed to the idea that leaders are made, not born. I agree with this definition of leadership, because I think my personal leadership style has developed over time. This relates closely with the leadership theory of “Authentic Leadership Approaches” which says that leadership develops over time and is grounded in moral values, and is purpose driven (Komives, Lucas, & McMahon, Exploring Leadership, p. 61). One of the biggest points I took from this Youtube video was how outdated the traditional view of a leader is. I too used to think of a leader as an "all knowing superhero type figure". One ah-ha moment for me was the quote "great leaders are not 'head- down', great leaders are looking around corners, shaping their future, not just reacting to it". One other thing that stuck out to me was the common scenario where a once thriving business full of leaders hits a market shift, and is forced to downsize or go out of business. This resonated with me as my dad owns a packaging business, and has been affected negatively by market changes in the past, and currently with the COVID-19 crisis. This is related to the speaker talking about the importance of anticipating change. I think this is a common problem among businesses and among leaders, especially in the 21st century, where things change rapidly every single day. One way that I define leadership is by having the courage and strength to influence others. This related closely to the video, especially the question that asked "Are you courageous enough to abandon the past?". The speaker then brought up the common saying "if you go along then you get along". I think this is a dangerous habit to get into, and that it will deter progress. In my opinion, taking risks and having courage is the only path forward. 

 

I think that my Engaged Learning experience has helped me to connect to Loyola’s mission of “We are Chicago’s Jesuit Catholic University- a diverse community seeking God in all things and working to expand knowledge in the service of humanity through learning, justice, and faith” in many ways. I feel that I served humanity through my internship experience by choosing to work at a nonprofit organization, Susan G. Komen. Through this internship, I had the ability to serve the Chicago community by helping to carry out the vision of the organization, a world without breast cancer. I could have chosen to pursue an internship at a for-profit organization, and potentially could have secured a paid internship, but chose to spend my time working for a cause that I had believed in. I will continue to integrate my philosophy of leadership into future academic and/or professional experiences by continuing to be a courageous and empathetic communicator.