As an introvert, I spent much of my life to date believing that leadership was not an option for me, primarily because I was not comfortable with public speaking, and I thought that was a requirement for leadership. I subscribed to trait theory (Northouse, 2022), believing that I simply was not born a leader and therefore was not destined for leadership. The organizational leadership program has taught me that not only were these ideas far from the truth, but also that I do in fact possess traits that are conducive to strong leadership in many environments. More than anything, I have learned that leadership is a very active and dynamic way of being.

My leadership abilities have manifested primarily in my volunteer work, which is very conducive to a servant leadership approach (Northouse, 2022). In 2011, 2012, and 2015, I was a volunteer photographer for an event called Help-Portrait, both in Connecticut and Tennessee. This was a full day in which photographers, retouchers, and hair and makeup stylists volunteered their time to offer a free professional portrait experience to people and families in the community who may not otherwise be able to afford such a luxury. Driven by a sense of empathy for those less fortunate, the hours I spent doing Help-Portrait have been some of the most meaningful and rewarding for me.

I took these experiences further and hosted Help-Portrait events in Owensboro in both 2019 and 2021. These events hinged on me organizing other volunteers and establishing a space for the event. Together with some photographer and stylist friends and our local library, I successfully put together Help-Portrait events to serve those less fortunate in Daviess County.

As the director of local Help-Portrait events, both servant leadership and authentic leadership emerged naturally (Northouse, 2022). I have always been an empathetic person, which lends itself to servant leadership. Help-Portrait was a way to show compassion and love to others who did not have the disposable income for a professional self- or family portrait. In terms of my relationship with the other team members working the event, I made sure that all volunteers had the opportunity to spend their time helping in the way they wanted to. I had a photographer on the team who was not comfortable with studio lighting and setups, which is all we used since we were indoors, so I asked her if she would do the retouching and printing. She felt much more confident about retouching, and the event gave her the opportunity to continue practicing those skills. Another photographer was more of a hobby photographer. He had worked with studio lights before and was comfortable with those, but he had little confidence in working with people he didn’t know. I supported him by being available to answer his questions, and to look at his shots periodically and give him suggestions about posing or making the subject more comfortable in front of his lens. When I did not have a guest at my station, I took a break and checked in with the other volunteers to make sure they were doing okay and had everything they needed.

Authentic leadership is similar to servant leadership, and many of the inherent characteristics of authentic leaders are part of who I am already. When it came to Help-Portrait, I had a strong sense of purpose (Northouse, 2022) in both photography and community service. The work fit my values, and the event was an opportunity to continue building trusting relationships with local creative partners. Additionally, like servant leadership, empathy is also present in authentic leaders.

In a different capacity, I also currently serve as the Executive Vice President (EVP) of the Junior League of Owensboro. In this role, it is my responsibility to oversee the management team in building our annual calendar and putting together all of the events. As a member of the board of directors, I also function as a liaison between the management team and the board, making sure that all of the events we plan align with the long-term vision and goals for our league. This has been an interesting leadership role for me. I am in a supporting role, but I am conscientious about making sure I’m not crossing the line to enabling and simply doing things that are the responsibilities of my managers. This role has involved multiple leadership approaches, including authentic, adaptive, supportive, and participative leadership (Northouse, 2022).

As an authentic leader in my role, my behavior is guided by my sense of purpose, values, and the trust that I put in my team members (Northouse, 2022). As an adaptive leader, I let my team members know that I am there to support them, and I keep a pulse on their work and any challenges they are facing, but I typically let them approach me if they need help. Our league has also gone through some structural changes in the past year, and I continue to work with my team to ensure that we are all maintaining continuity in the organization, particularly with members who have been in the league since before the transition. As a supportive leader, I try to stay tuned in to the well-being of my managers and make sure they are comfortable talking and working with me. As a participative leader, I invite my managers and their committee members to contribute their thoughts and ideas to the discussions about events we are planning. Together, we filter ideas through the lenses of the league’s mission and community impact focus to arrive at collective decisions.

In addition to the leadership theories and approaches that Northouse (2022) presents, I have also found Kouzes and Posner’s Five Practices of Exemplary Leaders quite valuable in my growth as a leader (Kouzes & Posner, 2017). At the start of the organizational leadership program, I completed the Student Leadership Practices Inventory (SLPI) Assessment (Kouzes & Posner, 2022). The results were not surprising to me, as they both affirmed aspects of leadership I felt confident about and indicated aspects of leadership that I needed to work to improve.

Nine observers scored me on the same assessment, and both their collective scores and mine identified my strongest areas of leadership as Enable Others to Act and Encourage the Heart, in that order (Kouzes & Posner, 2022). These are evident in both of my personal leadership examples—in the support I offered to Help-Portrait volunteers and the support that I give to my Junior League management team. These strengths naturally feed into the authentic and servant leadership styles that I display most often.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, I scored myself lowest in the Inspire a Shared Vision category, while my observers’ average was lowest in Model the Way (Kouzes & Posner, 2022). In my reflection, I noted that much of modeling the way relies on having certain conversations with others, which historically has been difficult for me. During the organizational leadership program, I have worked on being more intentional about the conversations I have with my managers, league members, fellow board members, and other volunteers that I work with. In terms of inspiring a shared vision, I spent time reviewing those behaviors and reframing some of my interactions to understand how I may do better than I think I do, but there is still room for improvement. Given that, I have also worked to be more vocal with others about a common vision, what they are capable of, and what we can accomplish together, as well as to come up with more impassioned ways to talk about the community work that we have done and continue to do.

The organizational leadership program has not only taught me to rethink my definition of what a leader is, but it has also challenged me to see both the ways in which I succeed as a leader and the ways in which I can become a better leader. The theories and approaches have helped me to understand that different types of leadership are effective in different situations, and the assessments have helped me to understand my natural leadership inclinations and what aspects will need to be more intentional. Kouzes and Posner’s model (2017) has been especially useful, as it translates the five practices into leadership behaviors, so I understand more precisely how to improve. The main thing I have learned from the program is that all leaders are different and show up in different ways. Leadership is about building relationships with others. How one goes about that depends on who the leader is and what the situation calls for, but as a leader I now know that leadership is not dictated entirely by one’s personality—that I can grow into a stronger and better leader if I am willing to step outside my comfort zone and learn new skills.