Submitted by: Submitted by leginf
Views: 646
Words: 1682
Pages: 7
Category: Business and Industry
Date Submitted: 04/15/2012 06:09 PM
Relationship between Leadership Theories and Personal Experiences:
Nigel Francis- MSM Student – Kaplan University
Upon migrating to the United States I found myself surrounded not only by the fear of
rejection but also by the promise of opportunity. It was therefore necessary to find a comfort
zone, an essential element, I think in the early years of migration. This meant finding a group
that shared my Dominican/Caribbean culture and values. Fortunately there existed a few
groups of Dominican Nationals that enabled me to slowly lose the fear of rejection and to begin
focusing on the promise of opportunity.
As a member of the groups I was eager to contribute meaningfully to their objectives
and vision. Active participation saw me either by accident or design being called upon to lead
various projects. This provided me with the opportunity to look at the inner workings of those
groups.
I was able to gather data, look for patterns of behavior and then make the necessary
analysis. I observed that all the groups had great intentions, however they appeared to be
loosely organized and had either self appointed leaders or leaders by default. The activities
that was organized seemed to be lacking in scope and vision. They were focused mainly on
celebrating Dominican National events, like Independence and carnival. . The frequent
barbecues and social gatherings, though important were not linked to any long term plan or
vision.
Change is not always welcomed and so it became apparent that there was a need to
share my proposals of combining the groups into one single group with one aim, mission and
shared vision. Unaware then of the depth and significance of leadership theories and styles I
pursued the dream and the vision of creating the group. I believed then, that our combined
strengths would have created more opportunities for success.
Interestingly, through the work of Kotter...