Leadership

Leaders are made, they are not born. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile.” 

      Vince Lombardi

What is Leadership?

Leadership is recognizing and capitalizing on personal and team strengths to achieve individual and organizational goals. Other ways of capturing the essence of leadership’s importance should include influence and a call to action. Leaders translate vision to action: it is something you do. Click on the video for more examples of how leadership in action can work:

*National Association of Colleges and Employers definition

WCSU Opportunities to Grow your Leadership Skills

Lady in business attire smiling and crossing her arms in a confident pose as two other business people in the background shake hands

How can I demonstrate my leadership skills to a potential employer?

You will find many competencies, like “Leadership,” in job descriptions because these are the attributes that employers need for the success of their business. You can feature your leadership experience in resumes, portfolios, interviews, on LinkedIn, etc. (and the Career Success Center can help you)!

 

Sample Activity 

Example

You recognize, utilize, and support the strength of others to achieve common goals

“Building a good connection with my team is key to achieving common goals. I try to know how everyone works and what their strengths are.”

You organize, prioritize, and know when to divide large tasks amongst multiple people

“I designate a time and duration for my tasks. I also know that it’s okay to ask people for help with large tasks that may seem impossible to finish within a certain time frame.”

You use interpersonal skills such as active listening to coach and develop others

“I think active listening is essential in communicating. In my experience as a mentor, I always try to incorporate this skill by visualizing what is being said. I respond with what my mentee expresses to me first with rephrasing what was said to ensure I understood it correctly, so that my response is relevant and constructed in a way that best reflects my thoughts.”

You understand and manage your own emotions and those of other people. You use empathic skills such as putting oneself in another’s shoes in order to guide and motivate

“It can be really easy for me to see when a team member isn’t on board or wants to move in one direction when the others want to move in another direction. It’s important to me to understand what they are processing and what they’re thinking of something else. I then try to see if I can address it or incorporate it into the direction the team is moving toward.”