Success

I believe that in order to be an effective leader you must have success. People will only follow someone for so long until they need to see postitive results. You could be the most inspirational person ever, but if you do not lead your followers to a goal and achieve it, then you are not an effective leader. It is one thing to talk the talk, but you also have to follow through and walk the walk.

Comment on "Leading while staying connected"

Comment on "Leading while staying connected":

I think that it is very important for a leader to stay connected with his or her followers. The leader has to be relatable in order to gain trust. In order to connect and gain trust you have to emphathize and try to feel what your followers are going through. Staying ahead would be like foreseeing a problem and helping guild your followers past that particular issue

Focus

In any given situation, it is very important to maintain constant focus. In order to be an effective leader you need to have focus and keep your wits about you. It is easy to lose focus with all the distractions of people, technology, and many other things. Homecoming week is especially distracting. Coach Ritchie talks about it the whole week about not letting the events of the week distract us from our one goal: win on Friday night. To avoid these distractions keep your mind set on the goal you want to achieve. Do not waiver. Surround yourself with people with the same goal, and avoid distractions that might take you away from your goal. A great leader needs to keep his or herself and others focused on the goal at hand.

Charisma

I believe that in order to be a great leader, you need charisma. Charisma is compelling attractiveness or charm that can inspire devotion in others. This is a very important quality for a leader to have. In order to lead people they usually have to want to follow you. They want to follow you because you are a likable person and they are inspired in some sort of emotional way. Most of the greatest leaders of all time were so great because they were charismatic and got people to follow them. Napolean, Hitler, Churchill, Mandela, and many others were effective because they maintain moral more effectively than other leaders at that time which helped gain them a large following. Part of the reason why Obama was elected was because many people saw him as a charismatic leader and he gained their trust through his inspiring words and speeches. Charisma is an important quality of any great leader.

Comment on "No Results?"

My comment wouldn't post on Reader for some reason, some account error, so I hope it is okay that I just post my comment on "No Results?" here:

I think all leaders fall at least once. We saw a video earlier about how Abraham Lincoln lost elections and had a nervous breakdown, and he turned out to be one of the best presidents of all time. Even though something does not go as planned, we need to learn to roll with the punches and come back stronger the next time! Like Mr. Jepson said, we can not control 10% of what happens to us, so mistakes are bound to happen, it is how we handle our adversity that makes us who we are

Mr. Jepson

On Friday, Mr. Jepson was our guess speaker and talked to us about leadership. Mr. Jepson was a very influential person in my life. He left a lasting impact because he was my main teacher in 6th grade during very formative years in my life. I enjoyed my time in his class and thought he was a great teacher, possibly one of the best I ever had! Mr. Fritz talked about how good of a public speaker Mr. Jepson was and that was very evident. He has a commanding voice, makes eye contact, changes his pitch and tone to provide interest, moves around, and makes gestures. Mr. Jepson keyed in on the importance of trust in any relationship. It takes a long time to gain some one's trust, but maybe only a few seconds to lose it. That is advice that I will always remember. He also taught us about the 90/10 theory. That is you can control 90% of what you do. 10% is out of your hands. So you should think before you react because you can only control how you respond.

What influences how I see things?

Many factors go into how I see or perceive things. A major contributing factor is my family. I have been with my family my whole life of course, and they were very influential in my up bringing. My parents were my first teachers and my first social interactions were with my sisters. They taught me most everything I know today, and I am who I am because of the morals and values that they instilled upon me at an early age. My friends also a great influence on me. I spend a lot of time with my friends and the things we do together brings us closer. I grew up with my friend and learned more about social interaction and friendship with them. They too have made me who I am.  If I had different friends I would probably be a totally different person. My environment is also a very influential part in my life. Growing up on a farm taught me about good work ethic, and if you want something you have to work at it. It taught me good values and how to work with my hands to accomplish tasks. There's no such thing as a free lunch and to get things done you can not be afraid to sweat a little. Like Thomas Edison said, "Most people miss opportunity because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." Family, friends, and environment have helped influence me to become the person I am today!

True Leader

At the beginning of summer lifting, Coach Mathis told the team that you just can not become a leader on our football team. You have to earn it. You have to show your teammates and younger kids that your working your hardest to make our team better. You can not just show up and expect to be a leader because your a senior. They have to know that you put everything you had into every rep of the working. These words could not be more true. You do not get respect simply because of your age or showing up. You have to earn respect by doing your best in whatever you do!

Football

Last week I observed something that I have never seen after a football game. Usually after the game it is customary for the opposing coaches to shake the players' hands of the other team. After the Mt. Pleasant game, the Panthers' coaches didn't shake our hand. I have no idea why, because I personally thought it was a clean game. I thought this displayed poor leadership and poor sportsmanship on their part. It also set a bad example for their players. A true leader would shake the other team's hands as a gesture of respect regardless of the outcome of the game.

Football Game

Last night our football team played Mt. Pleasant. Over the past few years our team and Mt. Pleasant have played some critical games and have developed somewhat of a rivalry. During the game I observed several different leadership techniques. Some were verbal motivators, but saying inspiring words to get the rest of the team pumped up. Some lead by example by leader the team on long runs, or communicating problems in the offense. Chris Lehmkuhl really stepped up and gave a great speech before the game and went on the lead by example as he was throwing up during a play and still made the tackle. There were a lot of leadership skills on display, everyone is unique to that particular person.

Athletic Leaders

Although many people look up to athletic leaders on the field, they are not always the best example or role model off the field. Part of being a good leader is doing the right thing when no one is watching. Many of the highly paid star athletes we see on television appear to be good leaders during the game, but off the field they are probably like everyone else, or maybe even worse. A lot of people looked up to Tiger Woods, but the world soon found out that he had an affair, many times. Looking up to athletes or any celebrity may just be setting yourself up for dissapointment.