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Andrew Mahlan

6/15/16
UNIV 392 Reflection 1
Scott Harris
To most people, the stereotypical view of a leader is a charismatic and energetic person
who is able to effectively command their followers. Through many experiences including
workshops and other classes, I have already learned that leadership is much more complex and
intricate than the idea of a stereotypical leader. Personally, I identify with a combination of
legitimate and reward power. In many situations, I wont take on a leadership role if I dont have
legitimate power because I feel that it is not my place to do so. I tend to always use reward
power because I feel that it creates the most productive and positive environment for work. To be
confident in myself as a leader, I rely on a combination of these two bases of power. For
example, I served as the senior patrol leader for my Boy Scout troop at a week long summer
camp a few years ago. During this time, I was in a place of legitimate power and I also made sure
that I was always positive and encouraging to my troop members. I made sure to remind them
that we were always working towards the Camp Cup. At the end of the week, we had ended
winning the Camp Cup and everyone was very happy with how the week went. I feel that the
leadership style that I employed very effectively motivated my troop to stay on task and to work
towards our common goal. I have also seen that a leadership style similar to my own has worked
well in other situations. My leadership style is very similar to what my boss has employed during
the past year while I have worked for Ramble Outdoors. I went through a training workshop my
second semester freshman year and then served as a facilitator all of this past year. Throughout
all of this, she has used a leadership style where she is always very encouraging in what we are
doing to help us grow, while also making sure to maintain her role professional role as our boss. I
really appreciated this leadership style as a follower because it made me more confident and
happy with whatever I was doing.

Andrew Mahlan
6/15/16
UNIV 392 Reflection 1
Scott Harris
I think that this leadership style ties in very well with the Jesuit ideals of leadership. St.
Ignatius believed that the best way for people to be successful is by giving them an environment
with greater love than fear (Lowney 5). I have been living this out in my leadership style
without realizing that it also aligned with the teaching of St. Ignatius. Another concept that I
think is very important to be an effective leader is to lead by example. I believe that if any leader
is asking their group to do something, the leader should be the first one to do what they are
asking. This helps to level the playing field between leader and follower and allows the followers
to more easily relate to the leader.

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