Situational Leadership

Ok guys, or just Audrey since chances are you're the only one reading this, there has been a change in my leadership role due to complications and misinformation. I'm still participating in TOPS but, my class has been changed from the special education class to a second grade class.
So this week's speaker was really good with his points about different kinds of leadership. I especially liked how he related the competence and commitment of the followers to how one leads. The Tower O' Cups was a good way to show how different leadership techniques are needed for different situations (blind, foreign, deaf, handicapped...). So these are the four real life situations I have come across that fit into the four quadrants of the Situational Leadership Model:
Directing: When I am cooking in the kitchen with my friends I have the recipes and they just follow my directions exactly. They don't compromise with me on how many eggs should go in or try to change the bake time to fit their schedule. They take the instructions, whether by mouth or written down, and follow.
Coaching: I realize that this all depend on who it is that I'm teaching at the time but, when I teach swimming lessons I tell my students what to do, help them with it, analyze them, listen to their concerns, and then modify my instructions. There is two way communication where I am concerned about both the student them self and the task they are preforming. I want them to succeed.
Supporting: When I am planning a party or an event in which I am in charge I will have the major say in what will or will not go on in the end but, I listen to my friends and their suggestions. Together we all plan the event but, when all is said and done it is up to me to approve or disapprove of the on goings. Many great (and not so great) ideas are thrown out but, not all can be used at the same time so there must be someone to put them all into a organized event.
Delegating: In my apartment we have weekly chores that we do on Saturday. Each week they need to be assigned out so that everyone knows which to do. I will delegate the chores to my different roommates so that they will all get done. I don't hover over them but, rather trust them to do them on their own.

Interview

I interviewed my mom this week because she is a great leader in multiple facets. For one she is the co-leader of my family. She loves and cares about all of us kids and makes sure that we are all taken care of and do our parts to make life run smoothly. The qualities I found in my leader were: persistence, patience, love, kindness, charitable, smart, a listener, a quick thinker, and a good bled of be strict in some situations and lenient in others. The quality that she find to be her greatest strength is, "being able to listen and figure out what [she] should do."
She is a great influence for good as she serves to her fullest capacity our family, friends, in her calling, and anyone she sees who is in need of assistance. She lives a good, righteous life and strives to make sure that all who are in her care are well looked after or provided for. Though she does not work (as in have an occupation), she has served in many capacities as a leader. She has been called as our ward's Relief Society president, Primary president, Girl's camp director, and Nursery leader. In all these positions she has had to assess situations, resources, and events then decide what needed to be done with what they had. She has directed others in a kind was that does not diminish their importance. She told me that when she was first the primary president she was getting so stressed out because she was trying to do it all on her own. She said she realized that she had a presidency ready and willing to help her and being a leader did not mean she had to do everything but, that she just needed to trust others and make sure everything was in some way accomplished.
I can learn a lot from my mother. I can learn that just because you may be in the lead that doesn't mean that you are too high to get down on your knees and help. She always is serving everyone and is a trusted friend. As a mother, she leads my family in kindness. Things may not seem to be perfect at a glance but, they are perfect for our family. If we eat too many sweets or our we are allowed to watch TV before our rooms are clean it is made up by other qualities my mother has decided to stress like love, family togetherness, peace, and gaining knowledge. I have learned that you cannot win them all so you must pick your battles, deciding what is most important. I only hope that I can be half as good as a leader as my mom because everyone who knows her loves and respects her and listens to her advice and opinions because they know that she has their best interest at heart.

Leaders from History

This week's speaker reminded me of my 9th grade history class. When our teacher was out we always had the same sub. She really had no idea what she was talking about and our class was full of very strongly opinionated debaters. One day we were talking about WWII and Hitler. In passing she said he was a "bad leader." Lecture would have gone on with us thinking nothing of it except on student raised his hand and refuted the statement. He said that Hitler was indeed a good leader but, a bad person. Soon the entire class was thinking about it and agreed. The sub did not want to give in and the rest of class was a heated debate with all of us against her trying to prove that his methods were effective for what he was trying to do and it was just what he was doing that was bad.
Nathan Ward made this same point that I have always considered since that day when speaking about leaders. It is the motive behind the methods that makes a leader one that we can admire, look up to, and try to emulate. His other points were good as well but, motive is what makes a leader to me. Why they do what they do. It makes me think of why I do the things I do. Not just in leadership roles but, everything I do. Do I serve to help others or so I can be seen serving, do I work hard to learn and put what I learn into action or to get a grade, do I go to church to worship God or to say that I did it. Motive is everything. It doesn't matter where we lead as long as we do it for the right reasons, to the best of our abilities, and to reach a righteous end.
With that in mind I will strive to do my best in my leadership role. As I stated last time, (oops! I didn't know when I should. ;p) my leadership role is being a tutor for TOPS.

And now we begin...

My thoughts on leadership:
Leadership is a role for everyone in one way or another. Not everyone can be a leader at the same time over the same things but, everyone should be a leader of their own life. We are not sheep to mindlessly follow whoever moves first but, men and women endowed with intelligence and the capacity to think and learn on our own. We may not all have leadership titles and major positions where we are respected and treated as leaders like the president or boss but, if we all take control of our lives we can lead in other ways like being a good example and influencing those around us. My leadership role is nothing grand but, rather a tutor in TOPS at Wasatch Elementary.
Leadership does not mean that we have to be in control of everything and everyone but, that we can take care of and handle what we have been given. Part of being a good leader is knowing when to delegate or ask for help. You never have to do it all on your own.