{"id":12652,"date":"2015-02-26T04:19:35","date_gmt":"2015-02-26T04:19:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/challengedetroit.org\/blog\/sarahrobb\/?p=39"},"modified":"2015-02-26T04:19:35","modified_gmt":"2015-02-26T04:19:35","slug":"leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/leadership\/","title":{"rendered":"Leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"

Leadership. A skill. A characteristic. A value. A trait that (in my opinion)<\/em> bears more value than any other. As I reflect on my mere 20-something years of existence, I\u2019m reminded of the great leaders who have taught me, trained me, and taken me under their wings. I\u2019ve learned a great many life lessons in my academic, personal and professional life. I have also had the privilege<\/em> of bad leaders as well. Through both experiences I\u2019ve identified detailed qualities that I believe make strong leaders which in turn filters down to those who are being lead.<\/p>\n

Accountability<\/strong><\/p>\n

Leaders don\u2019t make excuses. They recognize their faults, identify the problem and move on. Making excuses doesn\u2019t serve anybody. Doing so only prolongs work from being done and a lesson, if any, from being learned. Don\u2019t waste time making excuses, they\u2019re a hindrance on your and other\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n

Equal<\/strong><\/p>\n

Leaders establish an even playing field. An obvious hierarchy exists between you and your leader, but it should never feel that way. Look past the fact that they\u2019re making 3x\u2019s as much as you and the fact that you\u2019re doing the same work. What matters is that they\u2019re doing the same work. <\/em>A good leader never allows his team to do the work she\/he wouldn\u2019t also do herself\/himself. If you feel as though the workload is uneven (i.e. your desk is overflowing with work from last week after long hours while your leader is kicking back, enjoying long lunch breaks, and holds a closed door policy\u2026what do they do again?) chances are your hunch is right. < — I said it!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Empowering<\/strong><\/p>\n

Leaders create other leaders. They position their team members to fulfill new roles, encourage professional development, facilitate constructive conversations, and value your individual and unique contributions. They are receptive, constructive, and open. Do you have an idea? Do you want to run with it? OK, go and do it! That\u2019s the attitude of a great leader, mentor, and confidante.<\/p>\n

Caring<\/strong><\/p>\n

Great leaders recognize you have a life outside of work. Work-life balance is important and should be understood. Leaders go out of their way to greet you, ask you how you\u2019re doing, and should <\/em>know some details about your personal life. You may spend more time with your leader than you do with your family, why wouldn\u2019t they know some details about that part of your life? It\u2019s nice to know they care and go out of their way to ask how your family is doing also. These conversations make your leader seem more human as well.<\/p>\n

Trust the Process<\/strong><\/p>\n

Guess what? Leaders don\u2019t always have the right answers. Anyone that says they do is out of their mind. P.S. Don\u2019t follow those people, RUN!<\/em><\/strong> Leaders admit that they don\u2019t have the answer. Leaders will also go out of their way to find the person who DOES<\/em><\/strong> have the answer. Additionally, they make a point to find the answer quickly rather than waiting weeks to find the solution.<\/p>\n

Engaging<\/strong><\/p>\n

Great Leaders recognize the fact that you may want to grow within the organization. Professional development is never about stagnation but instead about growth and finding opportunities to excel within the company. Leaders help facilitate your personal and professional growth. They do this through regular check-ins, evaluations, and identifying what your strengths are and some potential opportunities to focus greater energies on, especially where your strong suits aren\u2019t displayed in the best ways.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been able to glean many desirable qualities from leaders I\u2019ve had in my life. Keep in mind these aren\u2019t entirely exclusive. I am so grateful for the CPT I\u2019s, the LT P\u2019s (Now CPT P), the many Non-Commissioned and Commissioned Officers, the Executive Directors, and the list goes on. I am grateful for all of these people who have made my journey to become a leader in my community and in my organization a little more defined. Each of them made me feel important, treated me as though I mattered, gave me a voice, and provided me countless opportunities to grow and be a better me. I want to be a leader. I\u2019m still trying to figure out the details myself.<\/p>\n

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Leadership. A skill. A characteristic. A value. A trait that (in my opinion) bears more value than any other. As I reflect on my mere 20-something years of existence, I\u2019m reminded of the great leaders who have taught me, trained me, and taken me under their wings. I\u2019ve learned a great many life lessons in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":312,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/312"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12652"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12652\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}