Growing up, I viewed leadership as something I would not be able to possess. I saw leaders around me and it felt as though they had endless grace, charisma, and enjoyed public speaking. As someone who processes internally and is more of an introvert, leadership felt like something I would witness from afar, not possess. However, over time I have been able to refine what it means to be a leader and eliminate the idea of leadership as exclusionary. For me, being a leader is not necessarily being the loudest voice heard but speaking and acting with intention, taking the time to build connections through empathy and belief in individual worth, and embracing the ordinary.
Intentionality is a personality trait that I take a lot of pride in. I strive …show more content…
For me this, this is done building relationships based on empathy and authenticity. I believe that my experiences working with student-athletes are unique in that I am seeing them at their most vulnerable. Athletes, especially those at competitive athletic institutions, are often viewed solely through the lens of top athletic talents. In their respective sports and in the media they are the best of the best, competing and portraying themselves with confidence and fearlessness. However, much of that fades away when working on academics. Many of the student-athletes that I work with have been told and shown that their worth is in athletics, not academics. By the time they come to college those beliefs are ingrained in them. creating a space for my students to be authentic and vulnerable in who they are away from their athletics platform is how I strive to lead. I have built rapport with the students that I have been assigned to work with and have been given the opportunity to continue working with them semester after semester. One of my proudest moments was when I was told that each of my students requested to solely meet with me the next semester and when they confide in their coaches and athletics staff that they appreciate the approach that I take. My commitment to empathy and relationship building as a leader has provided me opportunities such as creating and
Intentionality is a personality trait that I take a lot of pride in. I strive …show more content…
For me this, this is done building relationships based on empathy and authenticity. I believe that my experiences working with student-athletes are unique in that I am seeing them at their most vulnerable. Athletes, especially those at competitive athletic institutions, are often viewed solely through the lens of top athletic talents. In their respective sports and in the media they are the best of the best, competing and portraying themselves with confidence and fearlessness. However, much of that fades away when working on academics. Many of the student-athletes that I work with have been told and shown that their worth is in athletics, not academics. By the time they come to college those beliefs are ingrained in them. creating a space for my students to be authentic and vulnerable in who they are away from their athletics platform is how I strive to lead. I have built rapport with the students that I have been assigned to work with and have been given the opportunity to continue working with them semester after semester. One of my proudest moments was when I was told that each of my students requested to solely meet with me the next semester and when they confide in their coaches and athletics staff that they appreciate the approach that I take. My commitment to empathy and relationship building as a leader has provided me opportunities such as creating and