Shayla Schumacher

Leadership Essay

September 29, 2017

What Makes a Leader

Over the course of these last few weeks in class, I have learned that there are many

different ways to be a strong leader. Leaders can be outgoing, but they can also be introverted.

When many people think of a great leader, they imagine someone who is outgoing, loud, and

charismatic. Yet, as stated in Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking

by Cain, more introverted people can be great leaders and more successful than extroverts. Many

of the successful CEOs and leaders of companies are not outgoing, rather they prefer to work

with small groups of people. This resonates with me, someone who is more introverted and

prefers to work with small groups of people. I have learned that some of my strengths as a leader

include being a maximizer, empathic, and an upholder; knowing these I can apply these strengths

to my life and be a strong, successful leader.

According to Strengths Finder quiz by Clifton, my strongest strength as a leader is

maximizer. It is described as someone who, “focuses on strengths as a way to stimulate personal

and group excellence. They seek to transform something strong into something superb” (Rath,

2008 p. 203). This accurately describes me, as I do tend to spend more time with people who

think and act similar to me, and who recognize my accomplishments. I also prefer to focus my

attention and efforts on projects that I know I can excel at. I also like to push and help others to

achieve more and do the best they can. This can be attributed to my second strength, which is

empathy. People who are empathetic can picture themselves in another person’s shoes and think

about their lives and what they have to face (Rath 2008). I often try to look at situations from
another person’s perspective and try to understand why they act that way or why they have the

beliefs they do. I try to be mindful of others and their strengths. My other strengths, which I

agree with, are individualism. connectedness, and learner.

According to Gretchen Rubin’s Four Tendency quiz, I have a tendency to be an upholder.

This means that I like to have a plan and be organized, I am also intrinsically motivated. I mostly

agree with this assessment; I can keep commitments to both others and myself and prefer to

follow a clear set of rules. However, I think I might also be an obliger, sometimes I am better at

meeting other people’s expectations over my own.

I also have several weaknesses that may hinder me as leader. I am not very authoritative

and don’t like confrontation, which may make it harder for people to take me seriously. I don’t

like to tell people what to do or how they should do it. I also don’t like confronting a person who

I disagree with, I prefer to listen to their ideas and make compromises. While this can be a good

trait, it can also hinder performance in certain situations. I am also more quiet and introverted,

and while introverts can be very successful and make incredible leaders, it can also be hard to get

your voice heard. I have noticed that I do better in smaller groups than large groups. When there

are a lot of people, it is harder to get your opinion heard over those who are louder. I have and

will continue working on making my voice heard and speaking up when I have something to

contribute.

One way to be an effective leader is by personal leadership. Authors Schaetti, Ramsey,

and Watanabe (2008) write on leading from the inside out, with a focus on self-reflection and

having positive energy. I have applied this when I was a nanny. I found that when I had a

positive attitude and was more energetic, the boys responded to me better and we all had a better

time. I also drew on my own personal experiences, like how my parents raised me. For example,
I used rewards to encourage good behavior. Looking at my life and my energy state had a big

impact in my leadership abilities.

Another part of being a leader is being able to work well in a group. In the Lost at Sea

activity, we had some experience with working with others. As expected, every person had

different answers, this meant that we had to collaborate and compromise. We decided we would

just talk about each item and why we think it is important. All of us were open to suggestions

and were able to give our input. In this group, it didn’t seem as though we each took different

roles, we all equally contributed and everyone was heard. While it is good that the group was

inclusive, we also went by majority rule. This meant that the best decision wasn’t always made,

because the majority ruled against it. Overall, we worked well together, and everyone’s

personalities complimented each other.

Throughout the leadership unit, I learned more about myself, about how some of my

strengths as a leader is being a maximizer, and being empathic, I also tend to be more upholding

of rules and expectations. This unit also reassured that just because someone is an introvert

doesn’t mean that they wouldn’t make a good leader. In fact, some of the best, most successful

leaders are introverts.

 References

Cain, S. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking

Rath, T. 2008. Strengths Based Leaderships. New York, NY: Gallup Press.

Rubin G. (2015, October 21). A Close Look at the Upholder Personality; Are you Like Gretchen

and Hermione? [Podcast]. Retrieved from https://gretchenrubin.com

Schaetti, B. Ramsey, S. & Watanabe, G. 2008. Making a World of Difference Personal

Leadership. Seattle, WA: FlyingKite Publications.