Leadership Trianing

the Leadership Institute

Week-long leadership training, January 6-12 2019
Illinois Leadership Center & College of Fine and Applied Arts
For the 10-hour Leadership Workshop & Training requirement

“Leadership involves living in the state of possibility, making a commitment to a vision, developing relationships to move the vision into action, and sustaining a high level of integrity. Effective leadership takes place in the context of a community and results in a more equitable society.”

Participating in this leadership retreat is one of the best experience I have ever had for leadership development. All the theories were taught through activities and discussions, through which I gained insight on my group-working style and motivation in making a difference. I learned a lot more about myself through the Johari Window and the Personal Development Profile. For my leadership profile, I am in between a creative and objective thinker. I’ve learned that my dominant public trait is “conscientious” – I tend to work quietly and make fewer mistakes, use indirect ways to settle conflicts, may critique the quality of work, and prefer to be observant and gain recognition for accomplishments. I will have to learn to speak directly and share my views with others. My hidden area shelters my weaknesses, which encourages me to face conflicts instead of avoiding them. Through the experience, I also summarized my blind areas to be optimistic, funny, and friendly. I was told by my family cluster members about how my positive energy had brought the group together.

One of the hardest activities for me is to build my vision and know my core values. Educated to become a future urban planner for the past three years, my vision is to build an equitable city, which I know is impossible to create. Staying true to myself, my core values are: Authenticity, Achievement, Happiness, Security, and Wisdom. Sharing core values with each other help me realize that everyone has their sore experiences to protect, but at the same time they all have big dreams to achieve. Sometimes the core values conflict with each other, and sometimes the values could be non-ethical but important to that particular person. It is important to understand that there is no right or wrong values, so I should be less judgmental and learn to resolve conflicts. This was a key lessor preparing me for my future endeavors.