Running head: LEADERSHIP ANALYSIS

Leadership Analysis
Michelle D. LiButti
Medaille College

Author Note
This paper was prepared on January 17, 2016 for MOL 630,
taught by Professor Marianne Sullivan.

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2
Introduction

Since I started working at the age of fourteen, I have always felt a sense of determination.
My first job was in the food industry, but every job since has been in the field of Human
Services. I believe that I am a natural born leader, but I was shy my whole life and limited myself
to what I could do. At this point in my life, I have gained the skills and knowledge that have
given me the confidence to lead others effectively, with both empathy and enthusiasm. My
journey at Medaille is coming to an end, and I cannot wait to see what possibilities await me. I
am so grateful for all that I learned and I am ready to go out there and be the best I can.
Experience, Maturity and Skill Level
I have a Bachelors Degree in Psychology and a CASAC (Certificate in Alcohol and
Substance Abuse Counseling). I have been working in the field of Mental Health and Addiction
for the last 15+ years. I was an Addiction Therapist at Rochester Regional (formerly Unity
Health) for 6 years before becoming the Coordinator of the program. When I started the MOL
program I had less than a year of experience in my position as Coordinator at the Womens
Community Residence. Even though I had a lot of experience in the field, I did not have a lot of
experience with being a supervisor. I did what felt natural to me, which was listening to the
needs of the employees and residents and trying my best to make them feel valued, while still
holding them accountable for their responsibilities. I wanted to learn more about being an
effective supervisor and I had always dreamed of going back for my Masters. I started a
Masters Degree in Psychology in 2000, and stopped going to attend CASAC classes because
they were being offered through my employer at no cost. After that, I never finished my degree,
and I always regretted that. My husband was finishing his PhD, and I thought there was no way

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that he and I could both be in school, so, I put it off. My husband graduated in May 2014, and I
decided, with the help of my Manager, that it was now time for me to go back. In June 2014, I
started at Medaille, and could not have imagined that I would have a Masters Degree by March
2016.
Activities/Assessments
The second DiSC showed me that I went from an objective thinker to a perfectionist.
Having to complete an assignment to look at why these changes occurred has given me insight
into the past year and how the struggles we had to deal with at my site really affected me. That
assignment showed me my dramatic response to the incidents of the year and helped me to
realize that I dont have to do everything myself and that I need to trust others to be able to be
responsible and help them develop their own skills. For the Capstone Book Project I read
Leaders Eat Last. Reading that book has really brought things back to the very first class where
we learned about servant leadership and the difference between being a manager and being a
leader. That assignment, along with the DiSC, have rejuvenated the leader that I started out as
even before the MOL program. It has always been my intention to help others, but through this
program, I have learned better and more effective ways of doing so. The feedback from the ESCI
gave me insight into how others perceive me and what I needed to work on to be a more effective
leader. It also showed me that sometimes I may not give myself enough credit for things that I
do, as others rated me higher than I rated myself. Overall, the scores were pretty close in
comparison, so it showed me that I am also being genuine. Team work gave me the opportunity
to work with many different people and learn how to share responsibility and work together
toward a common goal. I realized in the Diversity course that I had a very narrow view of

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diversity. I learned so much about how to be more aware of many differences and how to stay
ethically responsible.
Challenges
When I first started school, my husband was working nights and kept that schedule until
recently. We have two children, who were 8 and 9 when I started the program and they are now
10 and 11. Both of our children are in sports and both my husband and I work full time. It was
very challenging to try to take care of my family, while still finding time to complete my work. I
didnt want school to interfere with my daily life with them, so I hardly ever did my homework
until they went to bed. By that time it was so late in the evening and I had worked all day and ran
them around to sports that I was so tired, but I just kept pushing. After a while, I just got into a
groove, had a schedule of balanced time between school and home and just did the best I could.
My husband also switched his work schedule a few months ago and that has been a huge help to
relieve some of the daily responsibilities. Another big challenge for me is that I want to do
everything and I want to do everything right. I had to accept that I was not going to get 100% on
every assignment and that is OK. I had to accept that maybe the house wasnt going to look
sparkling clean like it used to and that is OK. I had to prioritize to meet the demands of what I
chose to undertake and I will get back on schedule with how I used to do things, or maybe this
has even taught me that I dont have to do things like I used to and that I can stop putting so
much pressure on myself. Another thing that I found challenging was the group work at first. I
had never taken online classes so getting used to that was a bit challenging at first, but the real
challenge was working in an online group, because of the lack of face to face interaction. It was
also sometimes difficult divide work evenly. There were a couple of people in my group in one

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course or another that I didnt really like working with, which made that part of those particular
classes challenging. Luckily, I was in group with at least one familiar member throughout the
program, so that helped, and I think just time helped as well, because after a while, it just seemed
normal and flowed easily. I also found the financial course and the e-leadership courses to be the
most challenging. I knew this ahead of time because they are not subjects that I am interested in,
so it was hard to stay focused. To get through I just did my best and remembered that this was
preparing me to be a better and well-rounded leader.
Definition of Effective Leadership and Evaluation of Self Compared to that Definition
I believe that leaders have certain characteristics that set them apart from others. I think
that an effective leader is someone who is ready, willing and able to fulfill their responsibility of
serving others. I feel that they are people who are empathetic and caring toward others and really
want to see others succeed. An effective leader wants to help others to learn and realizes the
benefit of learning from mistakes or failures. I think that an effective leader listens to others,
while also sharing their own insight and thoughts in order to work together to fulfill the mission
of the organization. An effective leader knows how to stay humble and realizes that they dont
know everything or dont know best in every situation, therefore understanding and promoting
teamwork and collaboration. An effective leader understands the need for change and is able to
properly manage change. They have the ability to problem solve and make good decisions. They
also have the ability to balance Theory E and Theory O to do what is best for both business and
the people working in the organization. They understand the value of people in the organization
and therefore take the time to get to know people and are responsive to peoples needs. They are
able to communicate effectively and honestly. They are also willing to accept feedback and will
take the time to reflect on this feedback and alter their behavior if necessary. I think that an

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effective leader understands and promotes diversity, treats others with respect and maintains high
ethical standards. An effective leader is encouraging and motivates others.
I feel like I was an effective leader before but what has been significant for me is learning
the difference between leading and managing. I have realized that I am more inclined to being a
leader than a manager, and I think that this is why I have shied away from taking a management
position in the past. I realize now that my behavior defines my position and I can carry out
responsibilities differently than the traditional way of doing things, no matter what my title is.
Much of what is included in my definition of an effective leader, comes naturally to me. The
coursework at Medaille has enhanced the skills that I already possessed and has taught me much
more than I knew before and has given me different perspectives to work with. I have taken the
time to practice what I have learned, therefore I feel that I have become much more of an
effective leader than I was before starting the program.
Evaluation of leadership skills and behaviors, both natural and learned
I am naturally empathetic and caring. Before the program I was apprehensive to give
feedback that I thought would hurt others feelings. I have learned that I need to give honest
feedback in order for others to grow. I am a good listener and give my full attention when
someone is speaking to me. What I have learned has just reinforced the importance of this and
what value there is in really investing in the people of the organization. I have learned that I
need to allow others to help make important decisions and teach them how to become leaders
themselves. I have a tendency to want to do things myself because I know that they will be done
properly. Sometimes I feel that it is easier to do things myself, but this is not helping me because
I am feeling overwhelmed and it is not helping others because they are not learning. I have

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learned that it is my responsibility to help them to grow and learn all that they can to be
successful. I have learned to be comfortable with who I am. I thought that I was doing something
wrong because I didnt act like the typical supervisor or the traditional perception of someone in
that kind of role. Others would tell me that I needed to exercise my authority to get people to do
what they were supposed to. That approach never felt natural or comfortable to me. What I
learned is that I do possess the skills and behaviors of a leader and I would not want to be in the
position that I am in if I had to carry out my responsibility in a way that didnt value people or
treated them as if I was authority over them. The MOL program has showed me that I can still be
myself, while learning to improve upon some skills, but that I dont have to alter my approach to
fit traditional views of managing people. The MOL program has also given me the opportunity
to be prepared for the next level within my organization, which for me would be the Manager
position. In this position, I will be expected to make financial decisions and work with the budget
each year. This will be new to me, and I feel that, even though the finance class was not my
favorite, that it has given me a bit more confidence and a higher skill level than I had in the past.
Mission Statement
If I were to create my own personal mission statement it would look like the following:
I am dedicated to serving people to help them learn and grow. I will strive to inspire others to be
their personal best to help them to live a better and more fulfilled life.
Future Plans
Having this degree and my prior experience will give me the chance to be the Manager of
the current site I am working at. I plan to advocate for myself to be able to obtain that position,

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which will give me the opportunity to continue to carry out my vision for the program and utilize
all that I have learned at Medaille College.
Conclusion
I am grateful for all that I have learned in the Organizational Leadership program. By
completing the program, my portfolio and this leadership paper, I have learned so much about
myself and feel that I am ready to move forward in my career. I am excited to have learned how
to write a cover letter and resume in order to assist me in advocating to become the Manager of
the current program I am working in. I feel like the opportunities are endless and I cant wait to
see what the future holds.