Running head: LEADERSHIP REFLECTION 1

Leadership Reflection
Tyler Sanders
Western Michigan University

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Leadership Reflection

Leadership is at the core of everything in the world. From little league baseball teams to
multi-billion dollar corporations, the idea of leadership is the driving force that can be directly
related to the success or failure of an organization. While leadership looks different in each use,
understanding some of its key concepts can be important when an individual is put into a
management role. In student affairs, professionals are responsible for the task of managing a
bevy of different moving parts in the programs and initiatives that their work entails. This
reflection takes a look at some of the surface elements in the consideration of leadership, how
these ideas have enhanced my personal and professional development, and how honing in on
these skills will help with current issues in student affairs.
Leadership Synopsis
The definition of leadership in the simplest form is the ability to successfully complete an
objective with support by followers. However, it is important to recognize that the concept of
leadership is more complicated because of the multitude of factors that are a part of it. Astin and
Astin (2010) defined leadership as the use of formal and informal power by individuals and
groups to achieve their goals in organizations (p. 426). Formal power is the leadership that is
seen in a supervisor or advisor because they have been given the power through experience and
wisdom. A rarer form of power is seen in the informal power in which a regular individual
begins to do extraordinary things. No matter where the power derives from, the central tendency
is that of achieving. Through successful leadership, the individuals with power have the ability
to assist in completing goals that an organization has set or hopes to complete.
While power can have an essential role in leadership, another important factor is the
followers. Kouzes and Posner (2007) explore the fact that the individual in power must be able

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to bring a team together. As discussed previously, the team can be brought together by an
organizational goal, but this can also emit by shared vision. Bringing together a group of
individuals can be hard at points, but this is how a leader is found. When an individual is able to
get an organization behind the vision, they can then start to figure out the dynamics of the group.
Johnson (2010) explains the theory of Bruce Tuckman in how leaders are able to work with
organizations as they go through the process of forming, storming, norming, and performing;
which each group goes through before becoming successful. With knowledge of group dynamic,
leaders are able to make a group work efficiently and effectively.
While interactions among organization members is significant, Kouzes and Posner (2007)
explain that the best practices of good leadership depend on strong relationships created by the
leader. This is definitely a key to being a successful leader and anyone trying to develop this
skill to develop healthy relationships among those who they serve. It is hard to know what
constituents want without having an open relationship where they can share their opinions. From
this relationship, leaders not only benefit by fostering healthy relationships, but the followers can
as well. When relationships form, leaders become inclined to empower followers and value the
voice of the followers. Relationship and group dynamic then become key to the evolution of the
group towards its success.
A relatively new concept that relates to leadership, but is something important to discuss
is transformative leadership. Astin and Astin (2010) define transformative leadership as that
where leadership is directed toward some future end or condition which is desired or valued (p.
8). Consistently following some of the other characteristics of leadership, transformative
leadership focuses on the change that should arise. Leadership is then looked at as a process in
which a leader strives to bring together an organization in reaching a certain outcome.

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As the world continuously changes, so does leadership and the way that leaders and
organizations work. With this occurring, interactions among these leaders are different than they
had ever been before. Komives (2011) discusses the various practices that must be used to help
and create atmospheres where individuals can work effectively and efficiently. Leadership is no
longer about visual and tangible happenings, but has become about technology, change, and
being aware of what is happening in society.
Personal Leadership Application
While these characteristics just touch the surface when it comes to leadership, I
personally can identify with each of these. Looking at the journey that I took, it has become
completely applicable to my development as a leader. In elementary school and middle school I
found myself following others who I identified with. During my time in high school and college,
I felt more assure of taking chances to get involved in organizations and teams. From being a
student musical theatre director to now being a residence hall student employer, the concept of
leadership is strongly valued in all of the work I have done and also of my colleagues and my
employees.
The importance of relationships discussed by Kouzes and Posner (2007) is something that
I learned from a young age and continue to strive for today. During my childhood I was shy and
quiet; and while this worked for me at the time, I started to recognize that my younger brother
received more attention than I did because his extroverted personality. I started to learn to speak
and communicate with others and learned that these relationships started to benefit with insider
accesses and benefits that I had not received before. When I took on my first leadership position
as the editor-in-chief of the yearbook, I realized I had been given the position because of the
relationships I was able to develop among the staff and the advisor. The colleagues of mine who

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were enjoying themselves and successful on the staff had great relationships with me. Those
who were disgruntled or wanted to quit had not created a working relationship with me or other
staff members.
Those twelve yearbook staff members were only the beginning of my training as a leader.
Today I work with eleven resident assistants, ten hall services associates, and a bevy of student
leaders. From the lessons of my past, I value the time and relationship that I have with each of
them. At the beginning of the year I reached out to them to get to know them on a personal level.
By being open about myself, they started to share their lives which directly improves the way
they and the group works on projects. Employee empowerment and recognition becomes key in
providing leaders the chance to take risks and complete tasks together.
When I came to Western Michigan University, the one significant difference that I
noticed was the culture shock that I had when I came Kalamazoo. To be an effective leader it is
important to be accustomed to the environment in which you will lead. This is why the
leadership competency includes gaining knowledge of the campus culture (ACPA & NASPA,
2010). Moving in in July I had no idea how important culture was, but as the students and staff
arrived I realized how little I knew about this campus and community. Without this knowledge I
was not looked at as a leader. This became a key to being successful as a leader. I had to start
talking to the students, researching the history, and becoming involved in the community. The
campus was not Ball State and neither were the students. During the next few months and
continuing today, I have emerged myself into this campus and now I am starting to see the
uniqueness of Western. Now I have become a stakeholder and I have already started to see the
positive feedback from the community. Once I moved into a time of appreciation and away from
acceptance, I was able to gain the respect of my employees as a leader of the hall. This change

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has shown me the importance of campus culture and will be something I value in my
professional life.
Relationships will challenge the range of our emotions, our ability to persevere with
others, and our tolerance for interpersonal chaos (Roper, 2002, p. 12). While Roper was only
referring to the relationship handled in leadership positions, this quote holds value in leadership
as a whole. Being a leader will challenge emotions through the winding road of successes and
failures. It will challenge the ability to keep alive the traditions of the past, but providing a new
lense for today. Finally, it challenge our tolerance for chaos; through the ever complicated world
of today, leaders must hold their ground to stay strong in what they believe in and stand for.
Field Based Leadership Application
Although I could talk about my personal leadership for an entire paper, it is more
important to reflect on how leadership and its evolution effect the student affairs profession. As
we look at the field today, it is clear to see that leadership has evolutionized in student affairs
since its humble beginnings as a place for individuals going into the ministry. However, there is
even more change occurring in recent years. In Serving the Millennial Generation, Coomes and
DeBard (2004) discuss that this generation coming to college campuses will bring more diverse
and open than any generation before it. To prepare for this change, practitioners must be open
and welcome to these new ideas and needs that come from this group of students. It is important
to note that this does not mean that we need to restructure everything we are doing in our offices
and departments, but instead we must rethink how we are doing it and why we are doing it.
Using continuous assessment we can learn to keep up with this millennial generation.
One of the recurring themes in many scholarly articles and among conversations in the
field is the technological advancement of the population of students on college and university

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campuses. Coomes and DeBard (2004) indicated millennials expect technological advances to
contribute to learning and the experience that they will receive when they go to college. One
way that we see this going into effect already is the use of distance learning. An example of this
are the classes you are able to take online and also the use of Skype to hold office hours,
academic advising sessions, or meetings with the writing center. Among their peers the idea of
cyberleadership has been created, where students no longer have to meet face-to-face. This
effects our leadership roles as we must learn to communicate on a cyber-level.
While student affairs professionals need to be able to be leaders for the student
population, personal leadership development must be a priority. Leaders have a desire to make
something happen, to change the way things are, to create something that no one else has ever
created before (Kouzes and Posner, 2007, p. 65). In the field of student affairs, the possibilities
are endless to what you can accomplish. Each year brings a new set of students and together
with them it is important to move forward and progress in any way you can within your office.
As the leaders, you empower the students to be leaders of social and campus change. Your
leadership can be positive or negative on what the student is able to accomplish that year and as a
leader yourself it must be a prerogative to create an experience that has never be seen before.
Conclusion
From the child starting the kickball game at recess to world leaders making decisions
about world conflicts, leadership is at the root of success or failure. Recognizing that learning
will continue throughout life is a guarantee when it comes to the concept of leadership. Leaving
my alma mater, I felt certain that I had learned everything there was to know about myself and
leadership. Advancing to Western I have seen how little I know and must be open to the

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knowledge that I am going to gain. Through personal and professional assessment, I hope to
continue to grow to become the best leader to those I influence and guide into leading.

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References

ACPA & NASPA. (2010, January). ACPA and NASPA Professional Competency Areas for
Student Affairs Practitioners.
Astin, A.W., & Astin, H.S. (2000). Leadership reconsidered: Engaging higher
education in social change. Kellogg Foundation: Battle Creek, MI.
Coomes, M. D. & DeBard, R. (Eds.). (2004). Serving the millennial generation. San Francisco,
CA: Jossey-Bass.
Johnson, P. (2010). Four Steps to Effective Collaboration. Young Adult Library Services, 9(1), 1719.
Komives, S.R. (2011). Leadership. In J. H. Schuh, S. R. Jones & S. R. Harper (Eds.), Student
Services: A Handbook for the Profession (5th ed., pp. 207-225). San Francisco, CA:
Jossey-Bass.
Kouzes, J.M., & Posner, B.Z. (2007). The five practices of exemplary leadership. In JosseyBass (Ed.), Educational Leadership (pp. 63-74). San Francisco: CA: Jossey-Bass.
Roper, L. (2002). Relationships: The critical ties that bind professionals. New Directions for
Student Services, 2002(98), 11-26.
Stringer, J. (2009). The political environment of the student affairs administrator. In G. S.
McClelland & J. Stringer (Eds.), The handbook of student affairs administration (3rd ed.,
pp. 371-387). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.