Leadership Reflection Essay-Laura Andrea Prieto

The leadership styles that I believe in, follow, and use have a common theme of love and

trust. While this shows up differently for the types of leadership that I observe in different

contexts, leading should have the goal of enabling others to act and fostering trust and love

among the people you lead. The leadership I believe in is one that encourages constituents to use

their talents in creative ways to collaborate and create a more efficient, more compassionate, and

more understanding space then when you began.

Trust is an incredibly important factor on how I view leadership because I believe that

this is the only way that we can elevate each other in order to develop each of our own leadership

skills. Trust implies a degree of risk and uncertainty[and] empowers others and

communicates that the leader believes in their abilities (Caldwell, p.95, 2009). Having this trust

is what motivates me to get work done and invest myself into the community. The leader must

relinquish part of their control and power to understand that what they planned may fail

miserably. I have been in projects where the leader of the project did not allow me to fail, these

projects left me unsatisfied with my work, but also questioning my own abilities. Trust is

important so that the team that you are leading can become aware of their weaknesses and also

become responsible for how their actions may affect the team. For example, teaching fitness

classes at a retirement home this past summer required me to arrive at 8am before the residents

arrived and set up the equipment. My supervisor trusted me with this responsibility. If I was late,

it could only be blamed on me. Trust allows a team to take ownership of their actions and how

each action fits into the overall mission of the organization.

 Trust develops the foundation for love. Trust allows leaders to care for the other party and

invest in the other party despite the possible risks (Caldwell, 2009). This requires an authentic

form of care to be invested in the individual who is being led. Caldwell (2009) further argues that

successful leadership can be viewed as a form of unconditional self-sacrificing love for others

without regard to self-interest (p.93). While this may be the ideal a leader aspires to it does not

take into consideration the tremendous effort that is required of a leader if they were to achieve

unconditional self-sacrificing love. I believe that leadership must begin with your own self-

love and that this then is transformed into you outpouring this love into others. I have developed

this idea through the time I have spent exploring my own identity as a woman of color in the

Loyola University Chicago Empowering Sisterhood (LUCES) group. A common narrative

shared by woman of color is that we are responsible for carrying our families and responsible for

our whole race. This narrative relates to this self-sacrificing love that is intense and continues

to oppress woman of color as they find their own leadership narratives. While Caldwell (2009)

still states that it is necessary to love yourself first, the emphasis is on pouring that love into

others. While I believe this is a fundamental component of leadership, I also believe that there

should be a healthier balance between self-love and self-sacrificing love because if we cannot

preserve our own efficacy, how are we supposed to inspire the same in others?

This emphasis on self-love that I believe is lacking in Caldwells description of

leadership speaks to the value of support systems discussed in the book The Successful

Internship by King and Sweitzer. King (2014) notes the importance of having external support

systems that can support your variety of needs while also engaging in activities that bring them

pleasure. King also notes the importance of support systems [as] a way to relieve stress and

frustration...it is very comforting to know that you have someone to fall on when needed (King
et al., p.68, 2014). Similarly to how members of a team should be considered to be in a

partnership with the leader so should an external support system support the needs of the leader.

Leaders need the social support of others, yet they also have a responsibility to enable

others to act (Kouzes and Posner, p. 18, 2007). Engaging others to act results in them becoming

leaders themselves because they believe in themselves and are confident in their power to build

relationships. A leader must be able to engage their constituents by including them in the

decision making process by asking them what they think and realizing that leadership is a team

effort. This article speaks to how small actions can show the leaders style and how they view

their constituents. Even the frequency of the word we becomes important in understanding the

perspective of the leader and how they see the role of the constituents in developing ideas and

maintaining the integrity of an organization.

The leadership I follow can be clearly seen in the type of leadership I observe during my

internship. Eric describes how a leader should love what they do and that this will inspire others

to work for them and be the best they can be. It is clear the leadership styles that Eric has

witnessed during his time on the water polo team and during college have influenced how he

views leadership. Just as the leaders he had strived to create an environment where they were

friends with their team, he does the same at Misericordia. Being a friend does not mean that you

are a pushover, but rather that you are invested into the relationship and that Having a leader

that has a personal commitment and inspires others to mobilize is important because if someone

believes in something authentically they are able to create change. Gaining this perspective was

the most valuable take away when finishing the leader profile. Erics leadership style is well

received by the group of volunteers that comes weekly. He lets everyone know that he is

available as needed, but also encourages the volunteers to engage on a personal level with the
residents. I enjoy Erics leadership style because he allows people to discover their own strengths

and weaknesses while also being a support system, which demonstrates an optimal balance

between self-love and self-sacrificing love.

Completing the leadership profile on Eric as well as doing the readings allowed me to

connect theories to practice. It also has allowed me to understand how much I value trust, love,

and autonomy within leadership practices. Being a leader is about practicing, failing, and

recalibrating and I intend to grow into my leadership style by demonstrating love and trust.