CGTC Lead Across Response Discussion

find an article (must be from a scholarly source – do not use popular sources such as magazine/commercial websites) that relates to another student’s post.  Use the article information to add something new (at least 3 unique points) to the discussion.   Do not use direct quotes.

There are very many points and characteristics within this reading that I came across. I chose all of mine from Lead Across 5-7. The first that I came across was that “Expanding your circle will expose you to new ideas. It will prompt you to see things from a different point of view” (Maxwell, 2005, p.190).  From the time I was a little girl, I have always been told by my grandmother to read books and to speak to everyone I cross paths with. As we live in a small town, we know the majority of everyone. I couldn’t stand speaking with all of the old people and all of my grandmother’s friends when I was younger. However, now I am the opposite. I absolutely adore her friends and love to hear about all of their different businesses and their experiences. They give me new knowledge and ideas every time I am around them. When we see something in the county occur, we often hear the side of the story from the family as well and it is a completely different point of view. The books she forced me to read also introduced me to new concepts, ideas, and perspectives that would help me to expand my circle and gain new ideas. My grandmother pushed me to expand outside of my comfort zone to allow me to flourish into a social butterfly that is capable of having conversations with anyone I run across. She has demonstrated these characteristics herself as well as shared them with me, which demonstrates a positive interaction with others and a great leadership to others, including myself.

There are two other points that caught my attention while reading. These hit home the most with me. The first point was to “admit your faults” (Maxwell, 2005, p.206). It is okay to be wrong and it is okay to make a mistake. Without mistakes, there is no way to learn. Everyone makes them. I would much rather have someone come to me and say that they think they messed up and let me help them fix it than to deny it and cause a bigger mess in the end. My parents always demonstrated that it was okay to admit the truth. When I told them the truth, they may have been frustrated, but they would always help me. After watching them own up to their own faults, it showed a positive leadership characteristic.

One of the biggest characteristics and points that I read was to “worry less about what others think” (Maxwell, 2005,p.207).  Winnie the Pooh is a great example of this as he made it known that everyone else does not define you. The parts of you that are different that others may not like are the parts that make you, yourself. When you let others control your life with emotion, you never get the ability to be who you truly are. You become too worried about pleasing them. The ability to worry less is a huge leadership quality. You cannot please everyone, and you have to be understanding of that.