Reflections from McLauchlan Fellows

The first weekend of the McLauchlan Leadership Series had a profound impact on how I think about personal leadership. The engaging content, inspiring faculty, and experiential activities created a learning environment that was both challenging and rewarding. One notable insight is role that self awareness and personal reflection play in personal leadership.

Opportunities for personal leadership present themselves everyday, and you choose how to respond. Our session taught me how important it is to be cognizant of your energy, feelings, and core values when leadership opportunities arise. How will your feelings serve you in that moment? How will you manage your energy, emotions, and priorities to lead appropriately?

As Dennis Narlock, our guest speaker on Friday night, said, “Leadership isn’t accomplished. It’s something you share.” The first McLauchlan session was a wonderful beginning of a leadership journey, and I couldn’t be more excited to share.

It is amazing how much I have learned about myself in only 12 hours!  A key takeaway for me is the importance of reflective thinking.  As a developing leader, I now have the tools necessary to properly reflect on my performance as a leader at work and at home.  Understanding the seven levels of energy has given me a better understanding of my attitudes, feelings and actions which empower me to identify patterns and reactions which support my goals and those that do not.  Following this weekend’s learning focused on personal leadership, I am committed to daily self reflection and am already utilizing the format suggested by Dennis Narlock (Situation, Action, Expected Outcome and a blank space for Actual Outcome).  Thank you to all of the facilitators and fellows who made the weekend a great success!

Being accepted as a McLauchlan Fellow has been a true honor and highlight of my time in the Jenkins MBA program.  This opportunity is exposing me and my cohorts to resources and connections that we will be able to carry with us throughout our lives.  This past weekend was the first weekend of the three part series which focused on personal leadership.  It was an amazing weekend filled with cultivating relationships, listening to speakers and team building.

As I reflect back over the two days, I gained so much insight into what personal leadership truly means.  For me, there were several takeaways that will forever be etched in my mind.  First, leadership is not just about being in charge to direct and guide others.  There is a component of leadership that I think many people tend to overlook; the ability to lead yourself from the inside out.  Leading yourself means having a clear vision and direction for your life, the ability to listen to your inner voice when making decisions and personal time carved out to recharge. The second is to always be conscientious of your energy because it drives everything around us.  We have to ensure that we are projecting the right energy, especially when we are leading since it affects others.  And finally, we have to learn to let go.  Letting go can be a freeing experience.  It can free you to explore other challenges and opportunities. On the other hand, when we learn to let go, we have the ability to empower others with more responsibility.

As I move forward in this semester, I plan to apply these principles in my life.  I will take more time for myself so that I am always at my best.  I will make it a point to project the right energy at all times because someone is always watching.  And I will let go of some responsibilities to give others a chance to grow.  This was an enlightening series and I am excitedly looking forward to the next.