November 14th 2010
Personal Essay
What is Leadership?
Leadership is defined as the position of a leader, the ability to lead. I assure you it is much more then that. Being a leader is not easy, I have learned from personal experience. Being a captain of a football team is hard work. It takes guts to stand up and be a leader. Leadership is respect. Respect by others. You can't force people to respect you; you've got to earn it. A good leader earns respect from his, or her, peers. They know he is their leader and when he tells them to do something, they do it, and they respect his position. A captain deserves respect from his teammates. The respect your team has for you helps drive your team to do their utmost. They see the “C” next to his name and know to look up to him and respect him. Leadership is responsibility. Taking responsibility for your actions and the actions of the people around you, being able to take the hit for what your peer has done. When a situation needs to be improved, a leader makes the choice to take responsibility. They take responsibility for the goals they seek with their peers. A captain takes responsibility for what his teammates have done. He takes responsibility for losing a game. The result of a game is the reflection of his leadership ability to the team. Leadership is example. Being able to not only use your voice, but use your actions. Having those behind you follow you as you lead by example. This is the ability to translate intention into reality. A captain should lead not by telling his teammates how to do something, but showing them how to. He should lead on the field, make huge plays and his teammates will look up to him and know that he is their captain, and they want to do what he does. If a football player sees his captain playing horrible, and having horrible body language, they will lose confidence in themselves.
Leadership is having a voice. A leader has a voice