1.According to Professor Paul B. Thornton, the aim of genuine leaders is to nurture talents. They are to help people, nations or organizations to build confidence in themselves, open up and dig deep to find where their talent lies. So there are four types of leaders: thought leaders who always channel their efforts in the right direction to make a reality of ideas. Another type of leaders is courageous leaders. They try hard not to let hurdles block their path to success. They are focused on their mission, vision, and values. Inspirational leaders belong to the third type. Their call is to bring people out of their shell. They help people to boost their confidence and put things into perspective. The last type is servant leaders. As far as I am concerned, their goal is to take care of people. They stimulate us to have no barriers in our mind. They are determined to create an atmosphere in which people feel comfortable and ambitious. Therefore, I think that for servant leaders unlike for other leaders the needs of their followers come first and they are eager their partisans to become advanced, elaborate and achieve something. They do not concentrate on themselves (Training Magazine, 2013).
In addition, I will mention Mary Kay Inc. It is an American private company that sells cosmetics products. I must admit that this company belongs to servant leaders because its focus is welfare and growth of their employees. They make a difference in people’s lives. They aim at achieving a potential and supply their workers with comfort, personal and professional development. Their call is to give every opportunity to their employees to become better and grow higher and higher. As I can say, they sacrifice their time for the sake of their workers (Marykay.com, 2015).
2. I think that I belong to servant leaders because I always stimulate my family. So you see my sphere of influence is my dearest and nearest. I am convinced that I must be responsible for their positive environment where they can develop their untapped talents. First of all, I want them to feel that they live in a caring and loving home. I tend to ask them how I can help them to improve their development. I try to remove all the obstacles that prevent them from achieving their goals. When I make mistakes, I never stop and hope that this bad will turn out to be the best and it will make me stronger. I never give up and continue helping them succeed. I am sure that it is a hands-on experience for me and it only empowers me to be there for them and become better. I have matured from a newbie to a leader and I am prepared for the trials and demands of the life. That is why I am trying to teach them to pursue their goals as no obstacle is ever insurmountable. To be honest, it did not come easy to me from the very beginning, but little by little I was getting better and only my family helped me because my call was always the same – the members of my family must come first. I never ignored them and always had their best interests at heart. I started out as a good listener, but I grew into a leader. I must admit that my leadership roles include leading by example, setting shared values, setting an example, showing respect, making others feel included, encouraging my followers and building a real team, whose members stand by each other.
3. You know that when you compare your work with others you spot your mistakes easier. As I always polish off my personality, I think that my peers help me to recognize my drawbacks. While we were discussing how leaders could fail, I understood that only the leader himself must get all the blames. I did not think so, but my peers convinced me. While I was reading the papers, which were handed out to us, I realized that the true leader must always give compliments to their followers and avoid sarcasm because it badly influences the public. I understood that it indicates that you are aggressive and angry. Besides, it is really important not to go too far and always estimate person’s abilities and issues. You must balance them so a person can achieve goals successfully. By the way, criticizing never works for you. Leaders must turn criticism into suggestions or questions (Maxwell J.C., 1993).
What is more, on one hand, effective leaders are true spokesmen and diplomats. They are cut to be leaders and they must develop their growth. On the other hand, even such leaders need to live through the experience to improve their growth. After some discussions during our classes, I understood that they must have charisma. I am sure that these classes made me a better leader. I really appreciate such practice.
4. I have understood that I sometimes lack words and is weak in giving talks especially when it comes to an important way of transmitting information about my family roots. I am eager to own a charismatic personality. Why so? Sometimes I can be overshadowed by my followers. I want to be an electric light. Well, to be a good leader I must be more vulnerable to the skills and talents of others. In addition, sometimes I do not remember to express appreciation. In turn, it leads to failure to encourage others and I do not take pride in them to the fulliest. As far as I am concerned, it does not sound as leading through serving. I do have high hopes for being able to relate to audiences at meetings and they will respond well to me. Currently, I am working on it. I am trying to deal only with actions the person can change in order to avoid frustration in our circle and build up confidence in our relationship. Besides, our meetings have helped me to realize that staying too long in the position is not a good idea, so I am sure I will manage to share it with others as they will share their burdens with me. Sometimes it is not easy to have a vision because it is difficult to give up focusing on the past. I must stop at nothing to break it and feel free. I hope I will do it all the time and I will set a good example for my followers.
5. The Bible is my guidebook and Holy words support me every day. I cannot do without it. It opens my eyes and it is uplifting for me. However, I have chosen three scriptures which impact the most positively on my behavior. According to the Bible authority, is supposed to be sacrificial and servant, leaders must care deeply about people. So, Our Jesus shares His kingdom with those who are expected to drink His cup with Him (Matthew 20: 25-27). It is understandable that we must share our burdens. In that case, I am responsible for teaching this to my followers.
The Lord wants his precious creatures to rely on his promise to be present in their ordinary lives, and he wants to pour into their hearts the love of the Trinity to encourage them. So, people must be taught by me to be open to His Words. I want to interpret and spread them to my followers. As a result people who are in need of Lord’s words interpretation will become free and they will be able to grow much better personally and professionally as they will say no to fears (Matthew 28: 16-20).
References:
Bible Gateway,. (2015). Bible Gateway passage: Matthew 28:16-20 - New International Version. Retrieved 18 June 2015, from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2028:16-20
Bible Gateway,. (2015). Bible Gateway passage: Matthew 20:1-16 - New International Version. Retrieved 18 June 2015, from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+20:1-16
Bible Gateway,. (2015). Bible Gateway passage: Matthew 20:25-27 - New International Version. Retrieved 18 June 2015, from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+20:25-27
Marykay.com,. (2015). Be A Beauty Consultant. Retrieved 4 July 2015, from http://www.marykay.com/en-US/BeABeautyConsultant/Pages/Default.aspx
Maxwell, J.C. (1993). Developing the Leader Within You, (pages 124-125). Nashville. Tennessee: Thomas Neison.
Training Magazine,. (2013). Four Types of Leaders. Retrieved 29 June 2015, from http://www.trainingmag.com/four-types-leaders.
