Leadership has both internal aspects– self-leadership and external aspects– leading with others. Developing personal leadership capacity involves engaging in continual self-awareness and critical self-reflection, and incorporating that self-knowledge into the process of effecting changes in personal and professional settings. In leading with others, this competency involves working with people in different roles, contributing to team responsibility, and harnessing the talents in others in the process of attaining group goals.

Leadership skills are vital because we work in an environment where we are constantly helping to solve problems for students and the community at large. This often entails working in high stress, high demand and constantly changing organizational atmosphere. Being able to work with students, faculty, colleagues and other stakeholders in order to drive the attainment of the institutional mission requires leadership skills that I have developed over the years. These include but not limited to the capability for self-management and self-care, ability to craft and implement visionary changes, collaborate with diverse individuals and groups, and generally the ability to determine the present, articulate the future and an action plan for getting there.  

Evidence 1 shows a recruitment video that the Graduate Student Council (GSC) worked on. I serve as the secretary for the GSC and I am proud of the tremendous work that the team has put in within the past one year in order to move the organization forward and contribute to the success of graduate students at ATU. Demonstrating leadership dispositions involves putting one’s self out there and being willing to contribute one’s talents towards accomplishing the group’s goals.  Evidence 2 is the institutional profile that I created for a fictitious college. The profile highlights the linkage between institutional, divisional and departmental mission statements. The first picture was taken during a community project that I carried out with High School students to provide free health check-ups for local community members.