This piece was written as a semester-long reflection of my four years spent in leadership development at Elon University. In this paper, I give my own personal definition of leadership, and describe influencing factors.

1. Something Worth Leaving
Behind
PAIGE HANNAH
24 April 2009
LED 450
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2. “An Elon Leader exercises civic responsibility, taking action and engaging others
to make a positive difference for the common good.”
‐Elon University Center for Leadership
ABSTRACT
A close friend once told me that, “the point of a puzzle is not to confirm the identity
of a single piece, but to marvel at its role in the bigger picture.” I feel as though this has
been the main purpose of the entire process of developing my personal leadership
philosophy, and in reflecting on the impact of the Isabella Cannon Leadership Program over
the last four years. I often times think about elements of leadership in their separate
contexts, but rarely take the time to place these things in the larger framework of my
leadership development at Elon. That is what this legacy paper does. I will begin by stating
what leadership is to me. I will then seek to investigate the pieces that have been put into
place over the last four years. Broadly speaking, I will be examining my knowledge of
myself, knowledge of others, and my personal practice of leadership. From defining my core
values to an in‐depth look at the academic courses, programs, leadership positions, and
events, I will reveal what it is about the past four years in ICLP at Elon University that has
shaped who I am, and the kind of leader I have chosen to be.
MY LEADERSHIP PHILOSOPHY
In developing this idea of what leadership is, I examined what was most important
to me in and as a leader. Since leadership is so broad and so situational, this could not be a
process whereby I could generalize leadership for everyone. Rather, the task is to determine
who I am as a leader. I asked myself, what is it that shapes the vision? What are the factors
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3. that comprise a leader, and what makes these things add up to create something larger
than ourselves as leaders? Thoughtful reflections on these things lead me to generate the
following definition of leadership:
Leadership is about more than simply having followers; it is not a title, and it is not
achieved by just following a few principles. Leadership is complex, though at its core, it is
having the courage to make the right choices – not just the popular ones, engaging others in
a vision, and empowering followers to pursue a shared purpose of achieving a positive,
lasting impact.
KNOWLEDGE OF SELF
My leadership philosophy has been shaped by several factors, the first of which is
the knowledge of self. I am a firm believer that until you know yourself first, you are not
able to meet your fullest potential as a leader. When stripped of process, leadership in its
most raw form is a relationship. Without followers, there would be no leader. The greatest
relationships exist when each person knows first themselves and what they bring to the
table, impacting all leader/follower relationships. The leader approaches the relationship
confidently, knowing that the leader and follower can mutually benefit from their
interaction. One of the most important things that I have done in terms of my personal
development is to identify my core values. Additionally, there are many tools available that
allow us to gain a better understanding of ourselves as leaders. Through academic
coursework as well as ICLP, particularly the Emerging Leaders phase, I have been able to
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4. compile the following about myself. I have defined my core values, as well as reflected on
assessments that were particularly impactful in terms of me becoming a leader.
Core Values
Possibly the most critical step to becoming an effective leader is to determine and
understand one’s core values. Many of my values are a result of my childhood, however,
these values have been shaped and tested throughout my time at Elon, as I have been
challenged to make decisions as a campus leader. I have determined the following items as
my top eight core values:
Authenticity: One cannot be an effective leader without first having a comfortable
knowledge of him or herself. Once this understanding is gained, decisions should be made
in such a way that the leader stays true to his or her ideals. An authentic leader stays true
not only to themselves, but to others. This means consistency in behaviors and decisions,
and an appropriate degree of openness with followers. Followers should be aware of the
leader’s values and decision‐making process, and should trust that the leader is being
genuine in interactions.
Integrity: W. Clement Stone said, “Have the courage to say no. Have the courage to face the
truth. Do the right thing because it is right.” Ethical practice has a significant place in the
Elon community, particularly in my academic experience with the business school, and
throughout all the complex definitions and descriptions of ethics and integrity, it boils down
to knowing what is right, and doing it, regardless of whether or not anyone is watching.
Perhaps the most important of the values, integrity sets the framework within which the
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5. leader will make all decisions. Without integrity, there is no motivation to pursue other
values.
Passion: When I think of passion, I envision everything from a scene from Bravehart to a
protest. Passion is a deeply rooted, intense feeling towards something, in this context, often
a cause, mission, or goal. Without great passion, it is difficult to be a great leader. A leader’s
passion is like a spark – one that creates a blaze in both the leader and the follower, pushing
the group to achieve their collective goals. This passion motivates the group in difficult
circumstances, and is what is passed down through generations of leaders.
Respect: True respect for others is often hard to accomplish as a leader, yet it must be the
foundation of any successful group. In respecting others, the leader (and followers) must be
willing to solicit advice and feedback from each other, and take these things into
consideration before making decisions. While respect can be subjective, at the minimum
leaders must be willing to model a level of open‐mindedness and desire to understand the
viewpoints of others.
Service: Leadership is in and of itself an act of service. Transformational leadership requires
that a leader give of him or herself to the group. Ultimately, I feel that servant leadership is
the most admirable approach for the leader to take. Servant leaders often best understand
working for the common good, because they themselves have sacrificed personal gain for
the benefit of the group. Leadership starts with serving; a leader dedicates themselves to
the purpose and the cause, and to bettering those who allow him or her to be a leader in
the first place. Sheila Murray Bethel said, "If leadership serves only the leader, it will fail.
Ego satisfaction, financial gain, and status can all be valuable tools for a leader, but if they
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6. become the only motivations, they will eventually destroy a leader. Only when service for a
common good is the primary purpose are you truly leading."
Hard Work & Dedication: Leadership is not easy. Understanding followers, providing
support and direction, and motivating followers can be draining. Furthermore, leaders
almost always run into challenges, and even in the case of failure, the leader must possess
dedication so that they are not discouraged, and so that they are willing to re‐evaluate and
change direction if needed.
Humor: Everything has its place and time, but I think that a sense of humor has an essential
place in leadership. In fact, I am not aware of many leaders who do not have a sense of
humor. In order to be successful in anything, including leadership, risks must be taken. With
these risks of course comes the possibility of failure, and in such a circumstance the leader
must be able to shake it off, laugh at him or herself and be able to move on. Hugh Sidey
once said, “A sense of humor… is needed armor. Joy in one’s heart and some laughter one
one’s lips is a sign that the person deep down has a pretty good grasp of life.” Used
appropriately, humor can be used to lighten a too‐serious situation, or to bring about group
cohesiveness.
Growth & Learning: A leader should be continually pursuing opportunities for growth and
learning. It means seeking the connect and the growth points, even in the face of failure.
Thinking globally and acting locally means much more than just the statement at face value
– to think globally means to realize that the world is constantly changing, and to keep up,
one must be prepared to take on opportunities that will result in continued growth and
learning.
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7. Ultimately, these values are all inter‐connected. It takes great courage to lead with
authenticity and integrity. Integrity inspires service and respect for others. Living
authentically and with integrity enables the leader to develop their passions, resulting in a
commitment to hard work and dedication, as well as growth and learning. Pushing through
the challenges of a full commitment to this lifestyle of leadership requires a sense of humor,
and a willingness to re‐align one’s life to one’s passions.
Assessments
Whether or not I realized it as the time, self‐assessments that I have completed at
Elon have greatly affected me as a leader. Perhaps it is because I have something physical, a
tangible product that I can refer to, but I feel like I have gained a better understanding of
myself simply by giving me a definition as to why I think and behave the way that I do.
As most students, I completed the Myers‐Briggs Type Indicator as an incoming
freshman, and again several times over the past four years. Having scored in the middle of
some dimensions, I have shifted back and forth, but am most consistently an ENFP.
Essentially, I am a big‐picture, idea generator, driven by relationships. While following
through can often be a problem in the work context, I enjoy interpersonal relationships and
bringing out the best in others.
Though the Myers‐Briggs was incredibly helpful in identifying my personality, the
most clarifying assessment I have completed while at Elon is the StrengthsQuest 2.0. My top
five strengths were identified as follows:
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8. Futuristic: The future inspires me, and I am constantly envisioning how things could be
different in the future.
Positivity: Simply put, I am optimistic, and it spreads. I am able to easily get myself excited
and talk myself out of discouragement, enabling me to do the same for others.
Strategic: I am constantly looking for a different or new way to go about doing things, and
trying to understand why or why not a particular plan of action is working.
Includer: I often go above and beyond to make sure all are included. I have a high level of
sensitivity towards the needs of others, and I work hard to make sure these needs are met.
Developer: This builds on my include ability to “feel others out,” and helps me to see
potential in others. As a result, I can place followers in situations where they may be able to
grow in their abilities.
StrengthsQuest was particularly helpful because it not only provided me with a
deeper understanding of myself, but also was different from other assessments because it
put my strengths in situational contexts. Rather than just focusing on a few traits, the
assessment identifies my strengths and gives feedback on how to maximize my strengths,
providing customized action ideas for each strength. Furthermore, the assessment identifies
those who are a best “match” for particular strengths. For example, as a developer,
StrengthsQuest suggest that I, “partner with someone with strong Individualization talents.
This person can help you see where each person’s greatest talents lie. Without this help,
your Developer instincts might lead you to encourage people to grow in areas in which they
lack real talent,” (StrengthsQuest 2.0).
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9. While self‐assessments are not the end‐all be‐all in terms of understanding myself,
they are helpful in terms of clarification and confirmation. Knowing who I am as a leader
influences my approach to leadership situations. The more knowledge I have, the more
confidence I gain in my ability to approach an uncertain situation and be successful.
KNOWLEDGE OF OTHERS
When one has clarified his or her individual identity, this knowledge must be
coupled with knowledge of followers in order to be an effective leader. With the foundation
of self, a leader must transition into understanding the behaviors of others, specifically in
the group setting, and identify opportunities to utilize personal strengths to have an impact
on the group. The goal of group knowledge is not to be able to manipulate followers, rather,
to improve the leader’s ability to lead the group. Ultimately, a better understanding of
followers results in leveraged strengths and group cohesiveness, yielding synergy in the
group process.
My involvement with ICLP and the leadership minor have provided me with
countless opportunities not just to interact with groups, but to participate in activities
specifically designed to increase awareness of the leader/follower relationship and group
dynamics. Phase II’s focus on collaboration centered around Lead Labs, which proved to be
in and of itself a challenging experience. My group’s topic, “Making Leadership Count,” was
a conceptually simple task that exposed me to the complex nature of leadership. As a
group, we assumed cohesiveness too early on, which, when coupled with a fluctuating level
of excitement and motivation towards the project resulted in mediocre results. While this
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10. was disappointing, it made what I was learning theoretically in Leadership and Group
Dynamics much more tangible. As I was exposed to more group theory and interaction, I
began to grasp how truly situational leadership is. Experience had shown me that one
person, or one “type” of person was the leader, and that the rest were followers. Yet as my
exposure to different kinds of people, cultures, and contexts increased, my beliefs that the
same individual will and should assume leadership roles in a group was discredited. As a
business major, many of my previous group settings were similar – one person immediately
assumes responsibility while others “pick a part to do.” Personality styles and work habits
are often similar, or adaptable enough that the group cooperates and gets the work done.
However, in the context of the program, my Lead Lab group combined students from
several different backgrounds and disciplines with the purpose of doing something greater
than completing a simple homework assignment. It is clear that a disconnect occurred in
the leader/follower match. Group leadership was either one person or no one at all, instead
of leveraging members’ strengths to place the best leadership for the situation. In the
context of the Hersey‐Blanchard Situational Leadership Model, my Lead Lab, initially
cohesive and excited about the project, would have greatly benefitted from a delegating
style to begin with, shifting into participative as excitement wore down. The input and idea
sharing would have generated much more consistent dedication to the project, and would
have most likely resulted in better results. (Please see model displayed below).
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11.
(http://robcrispe.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/slii.gif)
As a follower, I have been greatly benefitted by situational leadership. As a summer
intern for a marketing company, I came in knowing only the classroom applications of
marketing – I had yet to gain any true real world experience. The president of the company
took time to get to know me, and to understand that I needed a high level of direction, and
engaged in a combination of directive and coaching behaviors. As a result, I felt well
supported, and though I was nervous about my performance as an intern, I slowly gained
confidence as I familiarized myself with the business and the processes. With this, I was
given a much more responsibility, as well as freedom to attend client meetings and even
manage several tasks independently. My final task was acting as the Production Assistant
for a commercial that happened to be the firm’s largest pitch to date at the time. Having
developed such close working relationships with the members of the company, they knew
my strengths and were able to place me in a roles in which I would succeed. This reflected
the transition towards the supportive style, as my supervisors took time out of their
schedules to make sure I was having a positive, meaningful experience as an intern.
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12. Until we break in our “leadership shoes,” the concept of leading an organization or
group can be frightening and challenging. Most notably, there is a fear of a misstep – or
even failure – that would disappoint followers, or the fear that we will somehow not live up
to the expectations set before us. These fears are not irrational, however, as a leader it is
important to confidently reach past these things to work towards the group goals. In the
context of group dynamics, my time at Elon has taught me four essential things about
leading a group:
1. Be aware of your resources. Don’t exhaust yourself trying to “fix” a group or an
organization’s problems, rather, seek advice from others who have gone before
you.
2. Create strategy based on group strengths, not on past precedent.
3. “Check the pulse” – recognize positive performance and attend to areas where
followers may need additional motivation.
4. Be willing to take a risk, but not at the expense of the group. Know the group
goals, and should an opportunity present itself, do not fear in seizing it.
PUTTING IT INTO PRACTICE: THE COMMON GOOD
All the leadership knowledge in the world doesn’t mean much until it is tested in the
field. Like any skill or process, leadership growth occurs in practice. This typically requires
great risk, though the greater risk can yield a greater reward. In fact, some of my greatest
risks have resulted in a clearer understanding of my passions and who I am as a leader, and
ultimately influenced my Common Good Project.
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13. One of my most difficult years of college was my junior year. Phase III, appropriately
titled “Change,” saw a great deal of change come about in my life from daily decisions to
what I ultimately want to pursue. Struggles with leadership positions at the end of my
sophomore year carried over into the beginning of my junior year, when I began to feel a
great disconnect between myself and my organizations. While junior year is typically when
many students have their highest leadership roles, I felt myself drawing away from my
organizations, but not really identifying why. Though I completed my organizational change
of improving communication systems within my organization in order to make sure that all
members felt included and their opinions appreciated, I felt that my whole self was not in
the process. Rather than improving communication to truly have an impact on the
organization, it felt like I was going through the motions to fulfill a requirement. I left that
January to study abroad in Perugia, Italy, and the remainder of my college experience has
been dramatically altered as a result. Studying abroad meant confronting both myself as
well as a new place and culture. Though I was 4,664 miles away from Elon, I still was
connected by the use of the leadership skills I had gained, though its use was in an entirely
new context. Having to chart my own course in a new culture opened my eyes to the
diverse perspectives that exist in the world that lies ahead of me, especially as an
International Business major. If anything, I became a much more flexible leader, calling on
contingency theory and situational approaches when presented with a variety of
challenging situations, from getting stuck at a bus stop at 9pm miles outside of the city my
first week in Perugia to working with a team of American and Italian students to develop an
international business strategy that was presented to the CEO of a wine company. I can now
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14. say that my time abroad was not only renewing, but was monumental in terms of my self‐
discovery. I was able to zero in on things I am incredibly passionate about, that will
influence the way I live and the way I lead. I stretched my limits, and was rewarded with a
rich cultural experience.
In brainstorming through ideas for my Common Good Project, I knew I wanted to do
something with Study Abroad, however, I didn’t necessarily know what. Coming back to the
United States was challenging in that as I began to reflect on my decisions over the past 3
years, up until my study abroad experience I saw a pattern of spreading myself too thin for
the wrong reasons, doing things because I felt that it was the “Elon leadership path” and
this is what was expected of me. This was initially upsetting, but ultimately resulted in a
commitment to my own path and doing things that I am truly passionate about. However,
regardless of this commitment, I still felt a disparity between who I felt I became abroad,
and who I was supposed to be back at Elon. I spent a great deal of time trying to identify
where the greatest disconnect between the two, and came to realize that it lie in
articulating the experience itself, and then bringing it back to Elon in a way that generates
positive changes. After meeting with Heidi White in the Isabella Cannon Center for Study
Abroad, I came up with the following goals for my Common Good:
• To provide students with a workshop that will allow them to grasp personal changes
as a result of their study abroad experience
• Provide students with tools to aid in reflecting these skills in resumes, cover letters
and interviews, so the student is well‐equipped to market themselves and their
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15. study abroad experience in the context of internships, jobs, and graduate school
applications
• Student’s increased ownership of the study abroad experience including its:
o Challenges, power for transformation
o Ways student grew personally
Throughout the process of my Common Good, I was fortunate enough to have very
few challenges. The major challenge for me was doing something that would not only be
sustainable, but would also connect to my legacy. In working with Heidi White, we
presented a workshop in conjunction with the Leadership Development Institute entitled,
“Marketing Your Study Abroad Experience.” So much of the common benefit comes from
the fact that nearly 70% of Elon students study abroad, compared with only 1.5% of college
students nationwide. By giving students the tools they need to articulate their experiences
through resumes, cover letters, interviews, etc., the Elon student gains a huge competitive
advantage and is able to stand out.
While I did a great deal of follow‐up (surveys, speaking with participants) in order to
make the presentation sustainable, my legacy at Elon is not necessarily left in a workshop,
presentation or even an organization. My legacy has developed over the years as I have
discovered who I am, what I am passionate about, and most importantly, where I can have
an impact. I may not have taken the most conventional path to get here, but if I have
learned anything, I know that it is the journey – not the destination – that matters. Studying
abroad was one of the most meaningful experiences of my college career, and to be able to
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16. articulate what that experience did for me is something I value, and want to share with
others. I strongly believe that most students who study abroad are impacted both
personally and professionally, and to be able to identify newfound strengths ultimately
further benefits the ability to create change for the common good.
CONCLUSION
In his visit to Elon University my freshman year, Colin Powell said “Leadership is
leadership is leadership. At this stage in life, you’re learning how to be a good leader, and
being a good leader means first being a good follower. As a leader, people are counting on
your integrity. Start training now. You are the next generation of leaders.” I think that when
we truly commit ourselves to understanding ourselves as leaders, as well as learn to
understand our followers and the relationship that exists between leader and follower,
there is potential for great change. Rooted deeply in our values and understanding of
leadership, we as Elon leaders have a unique opportunity to empower others to make the
world better than it was when we came into it. We have reached a time where we have
stopped dreaming and started doing. Who we are as leaders ultimately lies in the
ownership we have over our experiences and the actions we take in light of the fact that we
are the change agents of today.
(see attached: Elon Experiences Transcript)
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17. Elon Experiences Transcript
Study Abroad | Service | Internships/Co-Ops | Leadership | Undergraduate Research
Name: Paige L Hannah Major(s): Business Administration
Degree:
Minor(s):
Study Abroad
SPRING 2008 Comparative Glbl Bus Cultures SEMESTER
Service
FALL 2005 Individual Placement 3 HRS
SPRING 2006 Safe Rides 4.5 HRS
SPRING 2006 Elon Cares 1 HRS
SPRING 2006 Elon Cares 2 HRS
SPRING 2006 Individual Placement 6 HRS
SPRING 2006 Blood Drives 3.5 HRS
WINTER 2006 Blood Drives 2 HRS
SPRING 2006 Alpha Phi Omega 12.5 HRS
SPRING 2006 Elon Cares 1 HRS
FALL 2006 Safe Rides 2 HRS
FALL 2006 Alpha Phi Omega 11 HRS
Leadership
FALL 2006 APO Vice-President
SPRING 2007 Campus Outreach Leader
FALL 2007 Campus Outreach Team Captain
FALL 2008 PH4 Representative
FALL 2008 Italian Club Secretary
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