Summing it up.

As a leader, it is extremely important to develop a clear vision. This carefully constructed vision must be reasonable and practical. It is necessary that a good leader makes certain his or her followers are fully aware of this vision and goal. A leader must also make known what is expected of his or her followers. If the team doesn’t know the expectations and responsibilities that have been set for them, they won’t completely ever satisfy their leader.

 In addition, a great leader must give his or her followers a compelling reason to follow them. If a leader isn’t optimistic, proactive, and trustworthy, they aren’t capable of being followed. An effective leader must deliver the results that they have promised their team. If a leader is simply all talk and know action, they aren’t giving their team a reason to want to follow them.

 On top of all of the leadership skills I learned from Professor Feinberg, one thing I have definitely taken from the leadership course involves the JP Morgan story. Each day, I wake up every morning and make a list of things I need to complete that day. If every item isn’t crossed off by the end of the day, I feel almost incomplete. I feel so accomplished each time I cross something off of my list. As dorky as it seems, I actually get excitement when I complete one of my tasks and get to cross it off my list.

 In our last class of the semester, Professor Feinberg showed a video of Jim Valvano. Valvano was the head coach of North Carolina State University and is most famous for his speech at the ESPY awards shortly before he died of cancer. Jim Valvano had a vision. He expressed how his vision became clear once he was diagnosed with cancer. While speaking at the ESPY awards, Jimmy V (as we he nicknamed) gave an inspirational speech that truly touched my heart. He stressed the importance of doing just three things every single day. He encouraged the audience to laugh, think, and let your emotions turn to tears every day. He claimed that these three actions alone would help someone become a better, loving individual. Jim Valvano made his enthusiasm for life apparent during this touching speech. His dream was for his inspiration to carry on with his words, “Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.”

 I plan on putting these words to good use. Jimmy V is truly an inspiration. I want to do the three things he mentioned every single day. I want to laugh until it hurts, think of my goals and aspirations, and let my strongest emotions take over to relieve any pain or stress I may be feeling.

 Professor Feinberg actually scared me will all of his talk about only having 1.6 billion seconds left in this life. I want to combine Professor Feinberg’s words with Jim Valvano’s in order to be the most effective leader I can be, while being an influential and caring role model to the people around me. 

M