ok this is the final version, it's not my best work but with the conditions i wrote it under i would say it's pretty damn good

As I look back over my 3 years in band I can't help but notice how I have evolved. I entered the Klein band program as a stubborn, egotistical, slightly narcissistic, freshman, yet with each new mistake (and oh have there been many) my greatest flaws are evolving into my greatest strengths. I obviously have a long way to go to becoming a respectable leader but I believe I’m on the right path. Last week we narrowed down good leadership into four categories, vision, decisiveness, communication, and moral courage, in all 4 categories I discovered major flaws in myself that needed attention.
My problem in the first category lies not in my lack of vision for the band, but in how to turn that vision into reality. The only way I can see to solve this problem is to spread that vision to others. To make other people want to succeed as badly as I want to. Only with our combined efforts will the band ever become a successful winning machine.
I have always viewed myself as a very decisive person. It wasn’t until your seminar that I realized that what I thought of as being decisive was incorrect. When I thought of decisiveness I thought of attaining a decision and supporting it through thick and thin. Your seminar helped me to understand that decisiveness has more to do with the ability to quickly and effectively make decisions that will be good for the group as whole in both the short-term and long-term. Looking back on my other leadership roles, that has always been a major problem for me. Many a time I have made rush decisions in order to escape the disapproval of a supervisor. But as I have worked more and more in leadership positions I am beginning to understand the significance of educated decision-making.
Lack of communication has been, and still is a significant issue for me. My not being able to communicate my ideas and thoughts to those I’m leading in an effective manner has hindered the efficiency of the group as well as the respect my peers have for me. The only way to improve communication skills is to put oneself in a position demanding precise communication of one's vision. Which is what I would be forced to do as section leader.
The issue of moral courage is by far the most significant to me because in the past I have had a tendency to be stubborn and, dare I say, egotistical. The issue of moral courage ties directly into that of decisiveness. In the past I have often chosen my own ideas over those of someone else to achieve a goal or vision. Being the stubborn person that I am I was blinded by my egotism to realize the simplicity of the situation. I was not willing to sacrifice personal glory for the good of the group and because of that, gained neither in the end. To amend this problem I hope to keep myself connected to each and every member of my section as well as the band in general, in order to understand the direction we are moving and to act accordingly.
To be a good leader one must know one's goals and be energetic in achieving them. One must be able to make decisions in a way that gains that vision most effectively and efficiently. One must communicate his vision and decisions to those he is leading, and must have the moral capacity to act for the group as a whole. Yet good leadership takes more than just accomplishing these four things, to be a successful leader one must be dependant upon the group yet is independent from the group at the same time.


  posted by Unknown @ 12:59 ap.