Leadership Initiative Paper #1

Magali Huitron
CAMP Facilitators: Elizabeth Velasquez & Mayra Villarreal
Instructor: Dr. Viridiana Diaz
September 15, 2014
Ethnic Studies 21: Freshman Seminar
MW: 3:00 p.m. -4:15 p.m.

Todays workshop was a step towards the Gold Certificate for the Leadership Initiative.
The workshop was about our leadership styles and about the stages people working together as a
group go through. I took a few things from the workshop that I can apply to my role as a student.
The first thing we did was take a test to determine our leadership styles. The four styles were
direct, spirited, considerate, and systematic. I was diagnosed with considerate.
According to the handout, a considerate leader likes to provide harmony when it is
needed to accommodate everyone in a group. They like to reassure others during tough times.
They get devoted followers by providing them with support. They like to take other peoples
feelings and opinions into consideration. The main thing is that they are good at maintaining
team harmony. I do relate to this leadership style because in group work I usually ask others first
what their opinions are and then I consider them and try to incorporate them.
Knowing my leadership style is important to apply to my role as a student. I can use what
I learned in the workshop in any class setting when I have to do a group project. It will be easier
for me because I know how I can lead more effectively and I will be able to contribute to the
group correctly. For example I will be able to make everyone feel like they are being listened to
and I will try not to let things get too out of control. I will have to make sure that I contribute
some of my opinions too because one of the downsides of being a considerate leader is that in
order to accommodate others we will give in on important issues. Knowing my leadership style
will not only help me but knowing the other leadership styles will also help me. When I am in a
group I will be able to identify the other members style and understand why they are acting a
certain way. Then I will be able to maintain harmony in the group by accommodating the others
leadership styles and speaking to them in a way they will understand.

I took something from the stages of group formation of the workshop that I can also
apply to my role as a student. The stages of group formation are: forming, storming, norming,
performing, and adjourning. Understanding the different stages will help me in my role as a
student because I will be able to see if we are advancing and progressing toward the process of
coming to an end in a group project. During the formation stage I will know that it is important
that everyone knows each other so that throughout the rest of the project people will know each
others names. The storming stage will be the most difficult because it is where ideas begin to
clash. As a student I know that that this step is unavoidable and since I know it is coming I will
be able to make it less problematic for others.
The norming stage will be the easiest for me as a student because by this point everyone
will be closer to each other so sharing my opinions will be easier. Knowing that a performing
stage exists I will want to reach it since not all groups reach it. It is where the group is
performing at a high level. The adjourning stage is something I learned from that I will continue
to apply to my life as a student and that is to keep in touch with the members and celebrate
success.
Over all I learned a lot of useful things that I will be able to apply to my role as a student.
The most important was the leadership styles. I know that throughout my time at Sacramento
State I will always be put in situations where I will have to work as part of a group. In order to be
able to fulfill my role it is important that I know how others lead so that we do not clash. If I
know my leadership style I will be able to understand it more and develop better in the group
environment. By knowing a little about the other styles I will comprehend why some people are
acting the way they are and I will use what I know about their style to calm them down. Also

knowing about my leadership style is important because I learned my weaknesses as a

considerate leader so I can work on those weaknesses in the future.