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Life’s Critical Events Paper

Shayan Saki

MBA Bridge Program, Trinity Western University

LDRS 420 I3: Leading Change

Professor Stephen Liang

November 14, 2022

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Introduction

There are some occurrences in life that have the potential to transform a person's life. As

mentioned in the journal “Discovering your authentic leadership” (George et al., 2007), we

recognize them as the defining moments of our lives. The most formative moments in one's life

may have either a good or bad impact. Some of the significant occurrences in my life have been

beneficial to me, while others have been extremely detrimental to my well-being. But regardless

of the nature of the experience, every significant turning point in our lives presents us with

opportunities to gain valuable insight and to keep ourselves motivated as leaders of a community

(George et al., 2007).

In the following paragraphs, I will discuss three of the most significant occurrences in my life

that led to a positive shift. I will describe the occurrence, as well as the factors that contributed to

the profound impact it had on my life. I will be sharing three of the most important events that

changed my life for the best. I will share the events as well as the reasons why they changed my

life.

Three Critical Events of my Life

The passing of my father was the first event that had a significant impact on my life. When it

occurred to me, I was a teenager at the time. On the way back to his hometown, he was involved

in an automobile accident one night. The next day was a very difficult and chaotic one for me,

and my life was forever altered as a result. I don't believe I could deal with the issue effectively

at any point. Before my father went away, I was always able to depend on him, both financially

and emotionally, whenever it was necessary. This was a significant obstacle for me. However,
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after a few months of struggles, I was able to pull myself back up by my bootstraps and go on

with the rest of my life. The only thing that had altered since then was the fact that I was not the

same person that I had been before. First and foremost, I became a little bit more level-headed

and logical emotionally. I was able to see events objectively and evaluate them without being

affected by them. Being apathetic might sometimes help me get a deeper comprehension of the

events transpiring around me, even though it sometimes gives the impression that I lack emotion.

Because of this, there is a possibility of misunderstanding in my conversation. It's not true, but

the people I talk to assume I don't care about them, and that's not true at all. I feel that being able

to let go of emotions at certain moments makes me a stronger transformational leader because it

allows me to concentrate on the outcomes and the people involved in the process rather than the

emotions themselves (Riggio and Bass, 2005).

My relocation to a different place for employment was the second occurrence in my life that had

a profound impact on how I lived my life. In the past, I had a fairly easy job, but it was

completely unrelated to where I wanted to live. Eventually, after giving it some consideration, I

decided to relocate to Tehran, which is the capital of Iran. The first few months were a living hell

for me because I couldn't shake the feeling that what I was doing was pointless. My search for a

home and a career that keeps me busy full-time was a difficult and time-consuming procedure. I

will never forget the times when I sobbed myself to sleep and the times when I passed without

proper care. Following these particularly difficult days, I eventually began to tackle each

obstacle in turn. By the end of the year, I was no longer financially dependent on my family, I

had my own home, and I was doing a job that was more connected to the things I enjoyed doing.

My drive to pursue perfection was bolstered as a result of this success, which enabled me to

realize that I am capable of doing everything I set my mind to. Perfectionism is not a recognized
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feature among transformative leaders (Riggio and Bass, 2005), but it helped me retain my focus

on the product of my work. My focus is on the end product rather than on how it was

accomplished. In my opinion, if a procedure does not end with the desired result, the process as a

whole is worthless and should be avoided at all costs.

My immigration to Canada is the third and most recent event in my life that has significantly

altered my course, and it also happened to be the most recent one. When I decided to move to

Canada two years ago, one of my priorities was to familiarize myself with the educational

opportunities, the culture, and the job market. I also gave serious consideration to each

jurisdiction, and ultimately opted to begin my education in another country. Even though two

years have gone by, I am still in the midst of this significant transition. Nevertheless, because of

a few previous shifts that took place earlier, it seems that I can cope well with the present

circumstance; despite this, some significant difficulties are emerging. One of the most significant

problems I have is balancing my academic pursuits with a full-time job to meet my financial

obligations. The fact that you are separated from your friends and family at a great distance adds

to your sense of dread. On the other hand, I am certain that this phase will come to an end very

soon.

I disputed a point regarding emotional intelligence and dramatic transformations in my

assignment four on Who moved my cheese reflection, and I would like to discuss the article

Emotional Capability, Emotional Intelligence, and Radical Change (Huy, 1999). One of the

lessons I've learned from the three most significant events in my life is that the more flexible we

are to change, the more at ease we can feel throughout times of transition. To put it another way,

having a high emotional intelligence makes a substantial difference in terms of the speed with

which acceptance is processed. I also want to say that I disagree with a truth that was expressed
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in the journal Discovering Your Authentic Leadership (George et al., 2007) since I feel that our

decisions, determine our destiny, and our future determines our personality and our views. Steve

Jobs mentions: “You cannot connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them

looking backward” (Jobs, 2005) in agreement with my perspective on the situation.

Conclusion

Every significant occurrence will almost certainly result in changes in one's life. The process will

be completed at some time in the future, but the influence that the event had on the participant's

personalities and life will continue unabated for the rest of their lives. Dealing with significant

changes as quickly as possible is a crucial duty that must be completed to assist in maximizing

the advantageous benefits.

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References

George, B., Sims, P., McLean, A. N., & Mayer, D. (2007, February). Discovering Your

Authentic Leadership. Harvard Business Review.

Riggio, Ronald E., and Bernard M. Bass. “Transformational Leadership.” A Comprehensive

Review of Theory and Research, Psychology Press, 2005. Bowker.

Huy, Quy Nguyen. “Emotional Capability, Emotional Intelligence, and Radical Change.”

Academy of Management Review, vol. 24, no. 2, Academy of Management, Apr. 1999,

pp. 325 45. Crossref.

Jobs, Steve. “Steve Jobs’ 2005 Stanford Commencement Address.” YouTube, 7 Mar. 2008,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc.