Journal Two

2. Thinking back over all your leadership experiences in your lifetime, which ones are you proudest of?

At my current job, I am one of four managers. I was extremely proud of myself when I became the manager there. I was the first female manager in ten years. My main focus for management is to over see all of the waitresses. I have eight waitresses that I am in charge of. I hire them, train them, schedule them and make sure that they are fulfilling the needs of the owner. At times, it can be a difficult task. I have run into problems, because through the affiliative leadership style that I display, I have often become too close with the girls. There are times when we are close friends, and when I tried to manage them, they would not take it seriously. I have come to learn that although my affiliative leadership style is one that I am proud of, I cannot take it to extremes. I have learned that in order to be a leader, I need to display several types of leadership styles. I still am empathetic towards the staff, and they appreciate that as well as respect that. However, I have also become more of a coaching style. I try and maintain the working environment only, and try and teach and train the waitresses for future goals. I am also very authoritative. Throughout my management time at this job, I have become emotionally stronger and able to stand up for myself better. I have a very enthusiastic personality and I have been able to apply this towards my job. I am able to display our goals and strategies to the waitresses and they are able to commit to them and succeed.
Through this class, I have learned the importance of emotional intelligence. I believe that my self-awareness is one of my strongest abilities. Not only am I deeply in touch with my inner being, but also I can read people well. I have a kind soul and I try to make sure that things are going well for everyone. My social skills are also something that I am good at. I am able to be friends with many different types of people. I am always able to achieve a common ground with people. Not only that, but I can have people gain my respect and work with me towards things that we both desire to accomplish.
All in all, I am proud to have the experience and opportunity to be a manager. I think that it has helped me grow and in my future endeavors, I will look back on this time and try applying the things that I am most proud of.