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Asishana Ajayi

Brenna Whitton

SCLE 3412

21 April 2019

Final Paper: MLP Semester Reflection

I applied for the Montgomery Leadership Program with the intentions to be a better leader by

working on my people skills, introversion and building my weaknesses into strengths. However,

I have come to realize that this was a very selfish way to view leadership. I never thought about

the most important aspect of leadership; the followers. A person can only be a leader if he

performs the act of service to his followers. Likewise, a leader is only as strong as the people he

leads. In this paper, I intend on focusing on how my leadership has shifted to be oriented on the

needs of my followers; be it serving my community partner (CP) as a tutor, my residents as their

resident advisor or my CP group as a team player.

Trust is very important in relationship building, it is even more vital in the relationship

between a leader and his followers. As a tutor in Sudduth, I have realized that it is somewhat

easy to gain the trust of my first graders. This was partly because I took the time to learn about

their attitudes. James is one of my students. James enjoys the magic school bus and earning

points. I have learned to use these things as an incentive to get him to so work in class.

Whenever he does his math work right, I ask him to give himself a point. If he does

exceptionally well that day, I ask the teacher if we can play the magic school bus. However, it is

not as easy to build trust between my teammates. Unlike children, adults believe that trust is

earned not given. I had to prove myself to my CP group continuously. I had to show them that I
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was committed to the group by doing my part of the papers and presentation on time, showing up

to meetings, and going to work on our project.

I also continue to show compassion with my first graders by answering some of their very

personal questions like “Do you have a girlfriend?”. I take time to answer them and explain my

reasons for certain answers to them. There have also been times when they have not been well-

behaved, but I find a way to work with them. Also, I show compassion in with my CP group by

occasionally checking up on them and not only the progress of whatever project or paper we

have going. I also try to contact them when I do not see them in class, or they are running a little

bit late. A good example of when we all showed compassion was when one of the team

members, Tim, was sick. We did our best to redistribute the workload and not let it overwhelm

him when he felt better.

In my CP group, I strive to provide stability by showing up to class and participating in

activities. I used to think leadership was a position that is run and handled by one person alone,

but I have learned that it is not. There is a lot of co-dependency in every leadership role. As part

of the team, I carry out my set tasks and duties and my teammates do the same. This aids us all to

achieve all our set goals and provides a working relationship between us. I am also very

organized and have a set plan for each day. I inform my teammates of my schedule whenever we

plan meetings because I know the importance of transparency. Although I prefer to be playful

and fun with my students, I have realized that Ms. Reynolds also needs me to be a little strict and

enforce rules. She relies on me to ensure that the students learn what they need to for that day.

`Of all the reasons people follow, I believe the most important is “people follow leaders that

create hope’. One of the most successful leaders in history is Jesus Christ because of His ability

to give people genuine hope. I have had several occasions as a resident advisor where students
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came to me very discouraged. One such occasion was when a resident in my hall by the name

Ryan, was tired of college and ready to quit. At that moment, I thought about all the ways

staying in college could benefit her and explained to her that sometimes I also want to quit but

failure is only the first attempt in learning. She talked to me about her classes and I directed her

to several resources that would aid her in those classes. Working with my students at Sudduth, I

have learned that most first graders do not enjoy math and doing homework. I have had to tell

them stories of how math helped me solve real-life problems. A story I tell was when I was

younger and at a festival, I had to guess the number of balls in a basket and whoever guessed the

closest won a bag full of candies. I guessed the closest by using the weight of the basket and

won. My first graders were very intrigued by the story and deemed me a genius in their own

way. The reactions I get from people I have encouraged, and the results continuously drive me to

bring hope to people.

While all these are vital reasons people follow leaders, one important attribute of a leader is

that he/she takes social responsibility. A leader is an advocate for change. Leaders should be

movers and shakers. People tend to follow leaders because they believe in their visions. As a

young leader, I believe it is my responsibility to instill knowledge on the younger generation and

volunteering at Sudduth has aided me in doing so. By seeing a college student come to volunteer,

I hope they would be interested in also going to college and work on giving back to the

community.

Also, leaders should always aim at making a just society. Every leader affects the moral

compass of their followers in one way or another. In Sudduth, I affect the way my first graders

perceive what is right from wrong. If they are rewarded for an act in the form of points or snacks,

they know they have done something good. However, if recess is taken away from them, they
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understand that they have done something morally wrong. I also teach them the importance of

respect and good manners inside and outside the classroom. All these are little ways I contribute

to social justice.

A very important skill that comes into play in all my interactions is interpersonal

communication. No man is an island, and everyone depends on someone else. I constantly put

this skill to good use not only with my CP but also in my everyday life. As a resident advisor, I

am tasked with supervising and directing about forty residents. All residents come from different

backgrounds and this requires a high skill of communication to find out how to relay information

effectively to each of them without offending anyone’s cultures or belief system. Leaders need to

be good orators and let people know their visions and a clear agenda to achieve said visions.

Communication goes past words alone, it encompasses body language, gestures, and facial

expressions. Leaders that master the use of effective interpersonal communication are bound to

achieve their goals.

I have grown so much as a leader this semester not only because of the wonderful lectures but

also because I had an opportunity to go out and utilize the skills I was taught. I understand that it

takes more than a leader’s view to achieve goals; the followers are the people that make the

leader. My CP group was able to listen to Sudduth and build a sensory path because that is what

they needed, and our project was successful. Understanding why people follow leaders helped us

make a lasting impact with our Sudduth and hopefully solidify the bond between the

Montgomery Leadership Program and Sudduth Elementary. I have also improved my

communication skills, view of social justice and responsibility. I feel better prepared to take on

next semester’s challenge and mentor the upcoming Day One students.