1. How have the workshops and discussions on leadership this week changed your understanding of what leadership means?
The leadership workshop was a reminder of how important it is to be intentional about the ways you lead and what values you want to be at the forefront of your actions as a leader. If I want to lead with empathy, which means carefully choosing my words and ensuring our group actions accommodate everyone. My understanding of leadership changed in regards to how in tune with yourself you have to be. The idea of self-acceptance and doing the work of being self-aware was really driven by Pamela Sohn, and that has not always been my priority when leading.
2. How might you imagine applying one of the four ways of leading during your summer on campus?
I imagine centering transparency and courageous conversations when being a “Leader in Front.” With researching a health system foreign to the United States, it is beneficial to be honest about the concepts I do not understand as it will lead to productive conversations and understanding of the UK National Health System. Being courageous in terms of asking the hard questions when it comes to the current state of the system and how it interacts with its citizens will lead to an effective and informative paper.
3. What is everyone most excited about engaging in as part of their summer research project?
I am most excited about the meetings with our graduate mentors. The curriculum we established, like how to put our ideas to paper and how to structure our research, are really important and fascinating topics to me. I look forward to hearing my graduate mentor’s perspective about how she pursues writing and research, and how I can apply these to my own planning and execution of my project.
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Hey Jacques! Really love the thoughtful reflection on these short past few days. For the first question specifically, I think you are so right about the importance of leading with empathy. This, I believe, is a much neglected value when learning about leadership.
One thing which I have been thinking a lot about is the importance of leaders doing what is best for the community and not just themselves. As someone who worked in restaurants, I always find it respectable when a manager helps to do much of the dirty work, such as "bussing" (cleaning) plates and tables. I've had managers refuse to do that sort of stuff because of their own personal pride instead of doing what is best for the organization. But doing so not only helps the community, it also helps to develop empathy with people, which results in a better, more connected group overall.
Looking forward to discussing more!