To kick-off the Online Leadership Challenge we will focus on leadership from the perspective of individual growth. 

If you were to stop for a minute and reflect on your life until this point you would probably note moments of great achievement, overcoming obstacles, as well as lessons being learned. I’m willing to bet that you’ve even grown and developed in many ways in the last two years alone! At UMBC we believe leadership is a process of knowing yourself, what you contribute, and how you can best work with others to make a change in your community. The leadership learning process is about inner work and self-development just as much as it is about learning how to work with others. A pivotal tool for continual and ongoing self-development is: self-awareness and reflection. Far too often we are busy or dwell on situations rather than seek to learn from them. When you take the time to reflect on your actions, behaviors, thoughts and feelings you give yourself the opportunity to enhance your self-understanding and further propel your own individual growth.

These opportunities for reflection are occasions to learn more about ourselves, enhancing our self-understanding-- however, like stated before, we often miss these moments. Reflection can be an interactive process. In all forms, it can become a habit and a pivotal tool for continual and ongoing development. When you capitalize on these opportunities for reflection, you replenish your own resources. By reflecting on what has happened, you take time to think through your actions, think about how your actions may have affected others (even in your team), see links or connections that you may have not realized, or identify ways in which you could have shown up differently. For leaders to be effective, it is critical they must know themselves.

“Leadership development is self development.” - Barry Posner

Day 1 Challenge Questions:
What is your reaction to these ideas? What does self-awareness mean to you?

BONUS QUESTION:

What are some ways you practice self-reflection?