As you approach the end of our course, how do you articulate your understanding of leadership or your capacity to lead?

The past semester has allowed me to deeper explore and understand what leadership looks like. From the very first self evaluations from StrengthsQuest, I started to understand what type of leader I am and how that relates to other leaders around me. Identifying one’s strengths I have discovered is important not only for maximizing on one’s personal skills but also for pinpointing people with qualities that will compliment your work in a way that will create synergy.  A person in a leadership position is able to accomplish so much more when they are in an effective work dynamic with others whose skills that compliment that of their own.

 

For a leader to be able to admit that they cannot complete a task as effectively without the skills of others takes humility and wisdom. Humility when linked with self criticism allows for individuals to see that it would be best to operate with others. When this is understood then tasks can be allocated to the people best suited to the job. The essay by Cronon, made reference to these leadership abilities but I hadn’t truly realised their importance until we looked at the leaders of the Manhattan Project.

 

I saw this effective work dynamic demonstrated in the study of General Groves and Oppenheimer two men who worked together in the Manhattan Project in the creation of the Atomic Bomb. Despite their different skill set and differing leadership abilities they were able to maximize on those differences and create the Atomic Bomb in the midst of war.

In addition, to the exploration of leadership during the second world war, a final presentation allowed for a chance to look at the development of our leadership abilities. My partner and I realized the importance of deadlines given the amount of time we were allocated for preparation. We also made sure we communicated very clearly so that we could accomplish what we had to do while remaining on good terms. Very early on we discovered that we had individual skills that would make the project successful. My partner was tech savvy and I had creative ideas to effectively develop our arguments in a way suited to our audience.

 

Leadership is a reflection of the type of person one is and the skills a person possesses but it is also possible to develop new skills. I saw that in our analysis of leaders in the Manhattan Project and my personal results from the StrengthsQuest. Oppenheimer a scientist working for  the Manhattan Project was noted as being a perfectionist and this could be explained as his need to attain accuracy in his field. Despite his skill as a scientist he was given other responsibilities which called for administrative skill when starting his work in Los Alamos, for the creation of the atomic bomb. He was able through the assistance of those around him such as advisors to develop the necessary skills despite never being in an administrative role before. My StrengthsQuest results were linked very closely to my personal moral beliefs and values with the strengths Belief and Responsibility being my two highest.  While it also reflected my knowledge of history as a subject area, and Context showing up as a strength stems from that I believe.

 

In summation, leadership to me is about being realizing that one is part of a team and reliant on each individual within it. For that to be possible there are automatically qualities that need to be taken on such as responsibility and tolerance. Leadership is about being adaptable and constantly taking the situations we are thrown with as opportunities to grow and learn new skills that we might not have had at the start of our ventures. There is a great deal of power in effective leadership- the ability I believe, to attain a level of work that would not have been possible by a single individual.

Author: Hannah Brendell

Hannah Brendell is a UWC graduate from Windhoek, Namibia. She is currently pursing a major in International Relations and Economic Development at Agnes Scott College, in Atlanta Georgia. She aspires to be a leader of positive change in her home country and across the African continent.

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