[vc_column_text]Leadership is an attribute I don’t remember not having.

The only recollection of being in trouble for talking in school was due to me telling someone else what they should have been doing.

Believe it or not, I learned to work in groups and was never afraid to voice my opinion on process or offer a better solution.  I’m quick to admit I am very particular and always thinking how to maximize any situation.

I’ve been in every leadership organization offered to me since childhood. I am always honing my skills with books, e-courses, blogs, case studies, leadership videos and audio books.  From Student Council, Hugh O’Brien Youth Foundation, Junior League, Texas Christian University, Disciples of Christ Youth Programming, Delta Gamma, and through my career, I have been learning about leadership.  You could consider me a professional student in leadership. I have included leadership resources on my “Links” page, I hope you will find these as impactful as I have.

While I do nurture this skill set I believe I come by it naturally.  I am confident in my leadership skills, however, I am striving to develop my leadership style and evolve as a leader who develops leaders.

A few years back, I was selected to take part in All A Board, a six month Leadership Program offered through the Junior League of Fort Worth and we participated in the StrengthsQuest process.

What is it?

StrengthsQuest now known as Cliftonstrengths is a personality assessment inventory from the perspective of Positive Psychology.  The leadership aspects that resonated the most for me was activator, maximizer, futuristic, significance and ideation.  I’ve included some images about my themes to give you a clear understanding of my themes.

My Top 5 Themes:
Activator
Maximizer
Futuristic
Significance
Ideation

I strongly recommend you consider taking part in StrengthsQuest, it help me understand my tendencies and I also am able to share with my colleagues why I do what I do. My hope is for my team to have the opportunity to have this leadership skill assessment.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]

My Top 5 Themes

Activator

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Maximizer

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Ideation

 

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Significance

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Futuristic

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Nurturing Leadership Skills

As a mother, I see the leadership skills emerging in my teenage sons by how they react to failures, work alongside their friends and interact with each other. I see one who is especially gifted with the ability to delegate, he’s deliberative, and he can “maximize” his surroundings.  My youngest son is the most empathetic human on the planet, he is a great communicator and quite charming at it and he is certainly an activator.

It’s quite spectacular to watch your children adapt and develop through childhood and adolescence.  We are approaching young adulthood and much more independence soon so I am so curious to see the changes that come our way!

Can it be a hybrid?

I am so thankful a few adults nurtured my leadership skills as I was growing up!  Mr. Jack Cody (2000 National Teacher of the Year), Mrs. Bronwen Choate, many Youth Leaders, Jim Wakelin, Student Council Advisors and too many more to name.

I can’t leave out my sister Dana, you see she is 9 years older and as a child she was my hero! In high school, I considered every activity she had done and I did them too.  I even hoped teachers would tell me I reminded them of her, she left for college when I was nine. She’s probably regretting it now – she had no idea that she taught me leadership at such a young age.

I have been nurtured but I came by it naturally – what’s your take on this subject? I’d love to know who nurtured your leadership skills and as Lady Gaga says, were you born this way?[/vc_column_text]