SELF CRITIQUE

 Leadership entails a lot of different aspects as well as it demands a leader to have various values to serve and work with the people diligently. The group I led and co-facilitated empowered me with various leadership skills and shaped me into a great leader. I can confirm that there are many things that I managed to learn about leadership while I was facilitating the group. The purpose of our group was to expand on the topic of qualities needed for a person to be referred to as a good and responsible leader. Using the group, I clearly understood my personality about leadership.

I was shy at first when I started facilitating the group but the conversation flowed freely. My group comprised of my immediate friends, and I felt shy addressing them to some point. Throughout the whole session, I kept gathering courage and confidence to articulate my points and manage their reactions. The group session taught me that a leader needs to be tough and strict at times. We comprised friends, and it was quite a challenge though it was also fun. There are times when we could crack jokes until they went overboard. Other times we would go overboard, and I would feel that the joke had been personal and had affected the self-esteem of one of the members. In such a situation, I was forced to intervene and make the member who said the joke to apologize. Such a move was very new to my lifestyle. Back then, I had never corrected any of my friends, who thought I would feel that a joke which sounded like an insult should be greatly condemned.  In terms of monitoring the improvement of the members, I was forced to give a notice to Brianna and Sara because in the beginning, they were slow and not active in participation. As we progressed, I saw change in them as they were so open and willing to share and be part of the discussion like the rest who were more readily willing but they were still involved.

In my life, I have always embraced listening a lot when it comes to comparing listening and speaking. While I facilitated the group, I learned that listening is a greater aspect that a leader needs to have to become a great leader. This was one of the strengths I seemed to possess when I was facilitating the group if I am allowed to do self-judgment. In the group session, I was able to accommodate all the group members enough time to present their different views concerning the topic in discussion before I could pass my final thought. I also learned that, to some extent, I embrace the value of being fair. I was very open to situations where I felt I never had enough knowledge to answer my questions. I ran out of time and I did not give myself enough time which means I have this opportunity to do a proper summary and appropriate closing of the group.

I believe that a leader needs to be honest and open enough to accept situations beyond his or her abilities. Along with the group discussion, I felt obligated to answer and contribute to the factors I had understood. Anything which went beyond my understanding, I asked questions to get a clear understanding. Through this, my team gained confidence in me and, above all, a trust essential in leadership. In my belief, I have the perception that their level of integrity normally measures successful leaders and how organized they are. I can rate myself 8/10 in self-organization. I organized the group so that each member started by explaining their rough knowledge of the topic of discussion. After that, we did research, and through the research, we were able to correct ourselves concerning several issues. I believe I can be a great leader if I correct my weaknesses, such as lacking confidence. This was one practical lesson that defined me to be the type of leader I can be in the future. Lastly, it is more nerving to not have the crutch of a co-facilitator but very much so a learning experience.