Leadership Portfolio
a) My assets and areas for development.
I am a good listener. I listen to people in a non-judgemental way; I make them feel heard and cared
for. I am flexible and easy to adapt to changes; I seek to resolve conflicts through conversation, instead
of ignoring the issues. I delight in being helpful. Most of all, I enjoy learning.
I need to further develop my self-reflection and self-awareness; I tend to focus too much on tasks to
be done and deadlines, and end up forgetting to set time to stop, reflect and self-evaluate. I also need
to improve my self-confidence when speaking in public, as well as in written communication. English is
my second language and I still fear a bit speaking in public. Moreover, I need to grow my emotional
intelligence, an area that has great impact and influence in the people around me. I need to learn to be
more patient and think twice before saying something or acting without proper reasoning. I am sure I
need to improve my social skills too, especially when I am facing large groups. I tend to feel
uncomfortable in a closed space with a large number of people talking; it is hard for me to focus and
have meaningful conversation within these environments. I prefer to relate to people one to one, in a
quiet, relaxing environment. I know that networking and building relationships are very important to
my profession, so I need to learn to build relationships and make good connections in any type of
environment. Conflict resolution is another area that I want to explore further.
b) Objectives for my leadership development over the next five years.
Over the next five years, I will:
 Increase my self-awareness.
 Grow in emotional intelligence.
 Improve my communication skills (oral, written) and step outside my comfort zone (like being in
groups of large number of people).
 Improve social skills.
 Learn conflict resolution.
 Find a mentor.
c) Specific actions to be taken over the next two years to reach my objectives.
Over the next two years, I will:
 Connect with peers and find a mentor.
 Learn from leadership books, quotes and movies.
 Write journals, even if it is a few minutes a day.
 Slow down and calm down.
 Have a routine of physical exercise.
 Put myself in someone else's shoes.
 Attend conflict resolution workshops.
 Attend a Toastmasters club to develop and practice public speaking and improve my
communication skills (oral and written).
 Take courses on written communication, business writing and etiquette.
 Read books on how to learn to praise others.
My Evolving Leadership Style
My concept of leadership has changed since I started this course. It was during this class that I
learned about transformational leadership theory for the first time; I then recognized that I knew little
about being an effective leader. I had an “a-ha” moment when Kim Humphreys shared a quote from
Max DePree with us. The quote says: “Leadership is more an art, a belief and a condition of the heart
than a set of things to do” (Humphrey, 2012). This quote touched my heart. I found that leadership has
to do with my feelings; i.e., to become an effective leader, I first need to become self-aware and identify
my own values. Fisher (2012) agrees with that. He said: “transformational leaders are able to set a
direction, support the development of other leaders and, most importantly, know enough about
themselves”.
Through class discussions, group work and assignments, this course greatly impacted me as a person
and as a professional; it was key to my evolving sense of leadership. It really opened my understanding
about the characteristics and qualities of an effective leader, and made me rethink, in practical ways,
who I am as a person, what my own character is, and how I influence others; in other words, it
expanded my self-awareness. I started to reflect whether I truly have the qualities and characteristics of
an effective leader or something is amiss. And if an essential trait is amiss, then what is it, and how to
develop it?
During my most recent work experience, I was part of a leadership team for a project called Food ‘N’
More supported by the City of Calgary, where I did my first practicum. Our team tried to implement a
project called “Food ‘N’ More within the NE Communities of Calgary”. The program was a type of “bulk
buying group” where people from Northeastern communities of Calgary could get together and buy
groceries in bulk at a lower price. This was an opportunity to provide affordable nutritious food to
families that could not otherwise afford. Unfortunately, this project did not work well. Our group did
not share the same vision, and as a result, we feared failure regarding participation of the community.
In the meetings, our team members only share concerns with the project, worries, and frustration with
the obstacles and problems. Some even verbalized concerns about our group, not wanting to follow the
rules and procedures of the project. Other members demonstrated being overwhelmed by the list of
individualized products they would need to get before the order date.
If I knew about transformational leadership at that time, I would have made sure that everyone
shared the same vision before the project started, so our conversations would have been a bit easier.
People jumped in the project not having a clear common vision; it was just a job for some of them. So,
obstacles, challenges and problems were being faced with frustration, disappointments, complaints and
lack of ideas on how to solve them. Armed with transformational leadership techniques, I would have
set a time for our team to build good connection with one another before our work; good connection
gives meaning and purpose in our lives as Brené Brown pointed out in her TED Talk (Brown, 2010). My
supervisor was a “typical” manager and was focused only on results, leaving behind the whole process;
engagement and connection within our team members was not given enough care. Margareth
Heffernan in her TED Talk taught me that a transformational leader deals with conflicts collaboratively
(Heffernan, 2012). She also made me ponder when she said: “(…) people should talk and expose their
needs in a constructive way” (Heffernan, 2012). Had I known that before, I would have seen conflicts in
my team as an opportunity to grow and improve our project. There is no way to achieve goals without
conflicting ideas; a conflict is part of the daily life of an organization. Now I know that I should have had
visionary approach to conflict. I learned that conflicts should not be ignored. I need to deal with all
conflicts effectively, bringing positive results for my team or organization. I can now see that listening to
one other would have been the first step for the project to advance forward.
The theories I learned in our course taught me to stop, reflect and evaluate my actions. They made
me think about what I do to serve my team. Now I know that a transformational leader is a servant
leader and is there to serve the team. Had I known that before, I would have worked and walked an
extra mile for my team without losing my hope or getting frustrated. I would have embraced a firm
vision for the Food ‘N’ More project, shared it, and made a difference in people’s lives by putting
affordable food in the table of families in need. As a transformational leader, now I think about my
purpose, that I could have inspired and helped my team members to grow, instead of giving up. I could
have empowered and influenced my team members to do their best and implemented our project to
change people’s realities. I could have been more holistic and seen the big picture and the root of our
problems, not just dealing with symptoms. As Roger (2010) affirmed “the leader needs to be integrated
and holistic, and that means not just using heads and hands but also […] their hearts and souls”.
My evolving leadership was also shaped by other “a-ha” moments during our course. One took
place during our discussions about Drew Dudley’s TED talk. According to Dudley, “many of us make
leadership bigger than us and beyond us,” and “we are unaware or too scared of the leader within us”
(Dudley, 2010). He also said that “it can be frightening to know that we matter that much to other
people” (Dudley, 2010). We start making excuses about expectations from ourselves or each other.
From our discussions, I realised that I should also work on my fears and take the lead on influencing
people positively. I have now redefined the concept I had about being a leader. I now recognize that
when I empower just one person, and change his/her perceptions of the world, I am changing the world
too. I learned that I need to recognize small acts of leadership in my everyday life, the “lollipop
moments”, as coined by Dudley (2010). I understood that change starts right now, by having a positive
and inspiring posture with people.
As a social worker, I need to learn how to become an effective leader. I will work with purpose on
my actions and by doing that I will try to “awaken possibilities in other people” as Zander (2008) pointed
out. My journey to leadership has had a 180 degree turn. I am glad I steered to the right direction now.
I learned many tools in our course that will facilitate my career as a transformational leader. I will
ground my actions on my vision, mission and values. According to Rogers (2010), the characteristics of
transformational and effective leadership approach are based on a vision, a mission and values.
References
Brown, B. (2010). The Power of vulnerability. TED. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_
brown_on_vulnerability.html
Burbridge, J.A. (2012). Servant Leadership. Corrections Today, pp. 45-47.
Dudley, D. (2010). Everyday leadership. TED. Retrieved from: http://www.ted.com/talks/drew_dudley_
everyday_leadership.html
Heffernan, M. (2012). Dare to disagree. TED. Retrieved from: http://www.ted.com/talks/margaret_
heffernan_dare_to_disagree.html
Humphreys, K. (2012, July 19). Leadership. Lecture presented in SOWK 667 Leadership Theories In
Action, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB.
Rogers, G. (2010). Leadership in social work education – The intersection of head, hands, heart and soul.
Canadian Social Work Review. 27(2): 1-7.
Zander, B. (2008). The transformative power of classical music. TED. Retrieved from http://www.ted.
com/talks/benjamin_zander_on_music_and_passion.html
Lidia Cruz
Nov 23rd, 2012