Symposium Student Reflection: The Inner Work of Leadership

"The Leadership Workshop with Wendy Wagner was special in the way that it made me look at the concept of leadership in a new light. As Parker Palmer states in Leading from Within, a “leader is someone with the power to project either shadow or light upon some part of the world, and upon the lives of the people who dwell there” (3). I have always thought of leadership in this way, but I’ve never expanded upon this ideal. I’ve thought that leaders are people who have the intrinsic ability to rally a crowd and invoke the crowd to follow in his or her footsteps. Whether it be leading by example, motivation, or some other method, I have thought of leaders as having a special talent.

Last night, and with the reading, I learned that while my mental picture of ‘leadership’ is not necessarily wrong, it does not encompass the entirety of the situation. What inspired me from the conference is the idea that leaders aren't some special type of person who has a natural ability--leaders can be anyone. Some people might have natural tendencies which draw people to follow them, but, all leaders share the quality that they lead from within: “It depends only on the simple fact that we are children of God, valued in and for ourselves” (Palmer 6).  While I don’t subscribe entirely to the notion of God as being the all-powerful source which controls us and our ability to lead, I do believe that everyone shares the ability to become a leader.

Wendy Wanger focused on the idea of core-values. We spent a lot of time deciding what values lead us, and how we support our values with our actions and choices. Depending on our values, we encompass the ability to lead--stemming from our adherence to our values. For example, if a person believes that their true core values are fairness and responsibility, in a tough situation, these values can come to the forefront and unite a group of people. Even in everyday life, core values have the potential to lead individuals into becoming leaders. Leaders are not just made into existence, leaders focus on their values and act based on what they find important.

Overall, the workshop and the reading made me think deeper into the notion of how leaders come into their positions. "

 Stephanie Erskine, IAC 2018-19