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“The challenge of leadership is to be strong but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not a bully; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly.” —Jim Rohn

I have been working in groups for a long time. First in high school and now in college. When I was in high school, we had a project for our English class, where we have to create a video presentation based on King Lear, a play by Shakespeare. My groupmates and I never did anything like that before. We were very nervous and confused about how we will record the presentation and who will edit it. First thing first, we need a script. I sat with my group mates, and we wrote the script and dialogues. The next part was to practice; we used to practice in school during our free time. We need a camera to record. I borrowed a camera from my brother and a tripod to record ourselves. But we had a hard time recording. Then I asked one of my friends from my other class, and he agreed to record. We all decided to record it at my home. I was the one providing everything for this project. So, I became the group leader. So, we all came together and recorded our presentation. Everything was done, but there was a problem. We did not know how to edit.

One day I was talking to one of my friends and told her about my project. And I said to her that we need an editor. Luckily, she knew someone, and that guy helped us in editing. On the day of the presentation, the teacher played the video in the class. It was one of the best presentations, and we received lots of appreciation. And guess what, we got the highest marks in the class.

Overall, it was a very great experience, as I learned so many things. But the most important thing I learned was how to work in a group and organize everything. I was very responsible and was very involved in this whole project. I learned a few things from this experience:

Being courageous, patient, helpful

Communication

Being involved

Listening to others

Opening your mind for ideas/experiences

“Leadership is unlocking people’s potential to become better.” —Bill Bradley

In college, I get to work a lot in groups. In one of my courses, we were having trouble coming up with a new idea for our project. I came up with a unique idea and discussed it with my group mates and the professor. My groupmates liked my idea, and the professor approved our topic. Since I was the one who came up with the idea, my group mates made me the leader of the group. As I am very good at making PowerPoint presentations, I was responsible for making the PowerPoint presentations for our assignment. I made a WhatsApp group so that we can discuss everything related to the project on the chat. If we need any help or any confusion/problem, we used to resolve it by talking in the group chat or arranging a group meeting. Everyone in my group was very cooperative and understanding which made it a very high-performing team. As I look back, it was one of the best groups I worked with. Everyone was friendly, understanding, humble, creative, and cooperative. I might not change anything because everything went smoothly and perfectly.

 Whenever you are working in a group, there are going to be conflicts between the team members. And I think the best way to resolve any conflict is to communicate. Please talk with your team member or the team leader to help you and together can come up with the solution. I think communication is the key, and it will build up a strong team as you all will be on the same page.

 Since I have joined the college, I have been part of many groups in almost all of the courses. I learned many different things while working with the other groups. If I could do one thing differently, that is to be more expressive and independent. Sometimes, when you are working for a group/team, especially as a follower, you become dependent on your leader and wait for their orders or do things according to their ways. Sometimes it is easy to follow orders, but there are times where you are not comfortable performing according to their practices. During those times, you need to stand for yourself and be expressive. If you are not satisfied with their way of working, then contribute independently.

“He who cannot be a good follower, cannot be a good leader.” - Aristotle

“The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves.” —Ray Kroc 

Each of us has some leadership skills; we need to discover them and work on them and make them our strengths. My top five leadership strengths are: adaptability, empathy, intellection, relator, developer.

My adaptability strength: When I moved to Canada and went to school, I was very confused as everything was new to me. The environment, the people, the education system etc., everything was different, unique, and new. Within a few weeks, I built up the courage and became used to everything and adapted myself to this new environment.

My intellection strength:  in school, I get to work a lot in groups. I remember in one of my courses; we were having trouble coming up with a new idea for our project. I came up with a unique idea and discussed it with my group mates and the professor. They liked my idea, and the professor approved our topic. Since I was the one who came up with the idea, my group mates made me the leader of the group. 

My developer strength: When I was in high school, our teacher gave us a project where my group mates and I had to make a presentation. I sat with my group mates and discussed that we should make a video/film instead of  a regular PowerPoint. They liked the idea, but we were confused that how we will do it. Somehow, we managed to do it the way we planned as I involved some of my friends from other courses to help us in doing this project. We ended up receiving the highest grade in the class. It happened because I was confident about myself and my group mates as I knew that we have the potential to achieve this goal.

My relator strength: In college, I get to work a lot in groups. In all of the courses, I have group work. Most of the time, I get to make a group with my friends. I think I enjoy myself better and perform well when I work with them. We always help out each other. It like I have to build a strong relationship with them. Even at my workplace, I perform better with my friend co-workers. I focus and work hard when I am working with my friends or people I know.

My empathy strength: Whenever I go to a restaurant, especially fast-food restaurants, I wait for my food patiently and even if I have any issue or complain, I talk to them politely because I know how it is working in a fast-food restaurant because I work in one too. I feel bad and sometimes angry when customers are impatient and shouting at the crew, as they do not know that it is not easy to work in a restaurant. I think I have this skill where I always imagine myself in others' situations and always act accordingly. 

“What you do has far greater impact than what you say.” – Stephen Covey, author and educator

 I have been working for a fast-food restaurant for the last four years. I started as a crew member, and after a year, I got promoted to shift manager. I think it was due to my leadership skills that I have promoted to manager. When I started, I worked as a cashier, where I had to deal with the customers directly. In a fast-food restaurant, you are always in a rush, and so are your customers. They do not like waiting much longer for their orders. If the order was late or wrong, they used to come to me and complained to me. I was the one to deal with them. I always listened to them and apologized even if it was not my fault or the restaurant’s fault. I used to make sure that they are getting the correct order and on time. During that time, the biggest thing I learned is being polite, humble, and listening to the customer. These strengths helped me become a manager as I was getting very positive reviews from the customers and my other crew members.

I like helping others; I like to listen to other people; I like finding the solution to the problems, I am humble, friendly, and polite, and I think these are leadership strengths and skills. One day I was working, and a customer came on the drive-thru to place his order. I handed him his order, but he came back after five minutes and was very angry. He started shouting at me that I forgot to put a straw in his bag, even though it was not my fault as the other person was responsible for packing the order. I apologized to him, but he kept on shouting. I kept my calm and was repeatedly apologizing, trying to calm him. The cars behind him were watching and honking at him to leave. After he left, the other customer came and appreciated that how calmly I handled the situation. She even talked to my manager and told him the same thing.

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