My Leadership Vision
I have never really considered myself to be a leader in the usual sense of the word because I have never enjoyed managing people to the extent that they are forced to follow my lead. I think that everyone’s opinion is just as credible as mine, so I have never tried to pass off my views on the world as being the correct ones. I consider my greatest leadership skill to be my ability to help others by listening intently to their problems, providing a support system for them, and possibly even offering ways to improve their circumstances. I possess the “ability to remain quiet and open--simply to observe, never to judge.”[1] Personally, I feel that I lead best by collaborating with others in problem-solving situations, as opposed to discovering the answers entirely on my own. My interest in listening to people’s problems and trying to help them began at an early age and has led me to pursue a career as a therapist. As a therapist, I feel that I will be able to lead my patients along their personal paths toward healing. My dream is to have my own private practice where I will specialize in child and adolescent therapy. I really enjoy working with younger patients because they are much more willing than adults to adapt and try new things. I hope that my patients will always feel welcome in my office and to be comfortable enough around me to discuss every aspect of their lives. I believe that I can become a great therapist by learning leadership from several different sources, such as my parents (who are also my mentors), listening to the views and ideas of various types of people, and practicing my leadership skills by giving others the benefit of my own experiences.
From
a very young age, my parents have instilled in me a “will to excel with
integrity and the spirit that nothing is impossible.”[2]
This principle is the basis for my ideals about leadership. I believe that a
good leader is one who encourages others to strive for their best and teaches
them that anything is possible if they try hard enough. My parents are my role
models because their lives are proof that goals can be achieved 
through
dedication and willpower. Both my mother and father came from middle-class
families, and they worked hard to put themselves through college. After
college, they both continued to be dedicated to their careers in order to give
my sisters and me everything that we ever wanted or needed. My mother, a teacher of third and fourth-
grade students, has also taught me many lessons at home. She has shown me that
a woman can have a full-time job and still have the ability to be an amazing
mother and 
nurturer.
After picking my sisters and me up from school, chauffeuring us to our
extracurricular activities, and helping us with our homework, she still made
time to listen to our problems. My father taught me the importance of learning
from other’s experiences by really listening to them. The majority of my
father’s job consists of catering to his client’s needs, so he has become an
expert at paying close attention to people so that he understands what is
needed to please them. He taught me to approach others with the mindset of “I
want to experience you, listen to you--not to myself. I have already heard
everything I have to say. You are what is novel about this conversation.”[3] I learned that listening to an individual’s
concerns is the best way to lead that person toward solving their problems.
“Everyone has their own wisdom, their own answers within them,” and by simply
listening you can help them tune into these personal truths.[4]
By interacting with a variety of
people, one can learn a lot about how the human mind handles problems and apply
that knowledge to effective leadership strategies. Of all the traits a leader
can possess, “empathy matters most to visionary leadership. The ability to
sense how others feel and to understand their perspectives means that a leader
can articulate a truly inspirational vision.”[5] I
feel that I become a more empathetic person every time I meet someone new
because I have to try to understand them and adapt to their needs in a way that
differs from how I have interacted with acquaintances in the past. I have
always enjoyed spending time with a variety of people whose outlooks on life
are different from mine because it allows me to explore the various ways that
people choose to handle situations. I prefer interacting with individuals or small
groups of friends instead of large groups because it feels much more intimate.
By taking part in group discussions, I have observed that “there needs but one
wise man in a company and all are wise, so rapid is the contagion.”[6] I
have learned so many important facts by simply listening to the various
brilliant people who have surrounded me thus far in my life. Because I have
both younger school friends and older work associates, I am acquainted with
perspectives that come from different points of life experience. By
familiarizing myself with the coping mechanisms and problems specific to
different age groups and backgrounds, I will be better equipped to lead those
that come to me for therapy. In order for me to practice listening to people
that I have never met before, I plan to do some form of counseling, whether on
campus or in the community, by the end of my undergraduate studies in May 2008.
I have also recently considered joining the Peace Corp after I get out of undergraduate
in May 2008. I think it would be an amazing experience to be able to counsel
and work with people in a completely different country because they would
differ from me in so many ways. During
these times of employment I hope that I give advice that is heavily based on my
own life knowledge, because I feel the most genuine when I share my personal
experiences with another person.
I
sometimes get nervous when I think about being a therapist and having to
personally relate to and understand a diverse group of patients. I become
unnerved when I realize that my past twenty years is all I have to call my
“‘experience’. And from this seemingly shapeless, yet entirely individual
source, you [I] will derive whatever it is you [I] have to say.”[7]
Yet, I have found that the best advice I give when I am trying to lead someone
in the right direction always comes from my personal experiences. I fully
believe that people can tell the difference between speaking from the heart and
sharing a concept learned from a textbook. Disclosing personal stories is
easiest for me to do with my family members because we are very close and I
know that they value my opinions and ideas. Therefore, I cannot wait for my
youngest sister, Cara, to enter college next year because I will get the
opportunity to guide her through her first year by sharing the information that
I have already acquired as a university student. My personal goal is to be her
mentor during the 2007-2008 school year, so that her freshman year is as
fulfilling 
and
painless for her as it can possibly be. The main wisdom that I wish to impart
to her is one that I have learned in Dr. Bump’s class: “It is the education
which gives a man a clear conscious view of his own opinions and judgments, a
truth in developing them, an eloquence in expressing them, and a force in
urging them.”[8] I have
learned from my college experience thus far that the education I receive at the
University of Texas will not only give me the skills I need for a career but
more importantly will aid me in better understanding the world around me. I
hope that I can impart the truths that I have learned to my sister and
ultimately be a leader to her by example. I think that leadership by example is
the most honest way of teaching someone because sometimes the “example” you are
setting is that of what not to do in life. If you share the mistakes that you
have made, then you can possibly prevent others from making the same ones. In the future, my goal is to openly communicate
my experiences with everyone who can benefit from them so they can both follow
my good examples as well as learn from my shortcomings.
If
I take advantage of the opportunity to learn from my parents, friends, and
acquaintances and relate to others’ problems via my own experiences, then I
will have an adequate foundation for becoming a great therapist. I want to
continue to approach life with the perspective that “I cannot ‘make my mark’
for all time--those concepts are mutually exclusive. It is enough that I am of
value to someone today. It is enough that I make a difference now.”[9] I firmly
believe that I can make a significant impact on people’s lives in my community
right now, even though it will take four more years for me to become a licensed
therapist.
The more time I spend trying to help
others, the more expertise I will gather in tuning into each individual’s
particular needs. I do not want to be
thought of as a great therapist who had the miracle cure for every patient that
walked through my door. I will only strive to have my patients know that I have
done my best during every session to truly understand their problems and meet
their needs. My impact as a leader might be on a very small scale in comparison
to the number of people influenced by school principals, CEO’s of major
companies, and political leaders. However, if I successfully lead even one
patient to a full recovery, I will feel completely satisfied and accomplished. I
believe that success is not measured by how many people you impact, but on how strong
the affect is on those with whom you come into contact.
Word Count with quotes: 1, 701
Word Count (not including quotes): 1,493
Omitted Word Count: 121