On Thursday, the 11th of June, we had our second leadership course. Our focus for the lesson was good communication and what types of leaders we are.
First, my group and I discussed what good communication looks like.
We decided that good communication is when people speak kindly and encouragingly towards others during class and playtime. It is also important to show good communication towards everyone, anywhere, because a leader leads by example and inspires others to do the right thing.
Secondly, my group and I started to discuss what type of leaders we were individually.
I wrote down that I am a democratic leader, which means being someone who gets everyone’s opinions and ideas when it comes to group projects so that everyone can agree on something that benefits them in multiple ways. In my eyes, I am a democratic leader because I choose to listen to other people’s thoughts and ideas so that we can come up with a plan that has multiple solutions to fix everyone’s problems, since there are many different ideas and opinions.
Thirdly, I also thought I was an autocratic leader because most of the time I tend to take charge and construct a plan for everyone to follow. It’s not just about being bossy; it’s about having the initiative and integrity to take the lead and bring everything together. For example, a music conductor. Most people think a music conductor just waves a stick around in the air, but behind the scenes, a music conductor is one of the most important people in a large choir or band because they make sure everyone stays on key and follows the plan so everything runs smoothly without any problems along the way.
Lastly, for our activity, we had to work as a team using good communication and see if we really were the leaders we claimed to be. Our activity was a mat game where two teams each had a big blue mat. Everyone on the team had to stand on the mat, and if we could flip the mat over without getting off it, we would complete the challenge. At first, everyone came up with ideas, but each idea failed. We kept trying different methods and continued to fail. It wasn’t until near the end that our instructor gave us a clue. She told us all to squeeze into one corner, then she flipped one side over. From then on, we knew what to do. We all climbed onto the flipped side, turned the other side over, and completed the challenge. What type of leader are you? “You can be several different types of leaders.”