Leadership is a process that helps a group to achieve its goals. Leaders and group members can mutually influence each other's ideas. The person who exhibits leadership is someone that makes things happen that would not happen otherwise (Kouzes, 2007). Someone who has exemplified this is Julie Richman, a director in our department. Julie has since transferred to another region, yet her leadership will forever be embedded in those who had the opportunity to work for her. Leaders should be well organized and have made time in their lives for their organization. Leadership requires commitment, and leadership is a mix of knowledge, values, skills, and behaviors (Hill, 2009). It is important, then, for a leader to know his/her own abilities, knowledge and values and how others perceive them (Hill, 2009). For example, if "trust" is a quality which is highly valued by a group, then it is important the leader to be viewed as trustworthy. Julie possesed this ability better than anyone I have ever known. When approaching Julie with an issue at work, I knew that it was going to be valued and viewed as an important topic, regardless of her stance. Julie was someone I could trust with my largest insecurities. Julie was able to recognize this as a strength, and recognizing strengths and compensating for weaknesses represents the first step in achieving positive self regard (Hill, 2009). Although she didn’t boast about her talents, she was humble and approachable. These qualities also enabled her to be one of the best leaders I have known. She appeared as “one of the group” and never allowed her position to be more important than the task at hand. A successful leader makes an effort to learn and practice skills. Some of the more essential components are: the knowledge and understanding of specific tasks; the skills and ability to communicate, build teams,