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My Leadership Story

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Submitted By norakent
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My Leadership Story
I’ve never considered myself a leader, not in the typical sense of the word. I’ve never considered myself a devout follower either. I’ve gotten better at doing my own thing; taking notice of the things I like and then adding my own mark. Growing up I wasn’t a ringleader among my peer group. I had the Irish Catholic knowledge of the difference between right and wrong ingrained in me so deeply I wasn’t afraid to voice my opinion if I was defending the right of someone else. Defending my own rights was a different matter and I found difficulty in telling the truth about my own desires. It made me feel like I was being selfish or unlikeable. I was little and cute and funny and I could get away with a lot in the way of devilishness. I had a good sense of humor in a self-deprecating way. It was easy to make fun of myself, a defense mechanism that served me well throughout the years. By poking fun at myself I stripped the opportunity from others by doing it first. I think that came about by being the sixth child in a family of eight kids. Getting away with things extended to various aspects of my development. My friends would joke that their parents thought I could do no wrong. I did do plenty of naughty harmless shenanigans; but that Irish Catholic upbringing allowed forgiveness with a couple of Hail Mary’s and an Our Father.

From the readings we’ve had in this class and a week full of self examination, I have realized that I was more of a leader than I originally gave myself credit for. I was first, a leader of my siblings, both younger and older. I also tried, in different capacities to be a leader of my peers on different occasions and out of necessity. The leadership role of mother and wife was probably the most important role I played; it ended the very first time I looked to another for leadership. Lastly, in my current leadership role that

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