My overall identification and gifts have been challenged, defined and discovered throughout this educational career and I am so grateful for the experience. My life keys and life gifts exercise my ability to take on above average risks, taking action and expressing ideas by creating problem solving or presenting ideas in an organized and persuasive manner. My values include service to society, creativity and innovation, organization, community and friendship, integrity and humor. My life gifts are artistic and enterprising as the top two.

Integrating my life gifts and personal leadership style consists of several areas including degrees of emotional intelligence, emotional management, diversity, willingness to communicate and followership. My professional ethics align with that of my temperament of an ISTJ on the Myer’s Briggs which shows that I prefer atmospheres that are motivated and hard working. Introversion, sensing, thinking and judgment play a large part in how I view the world and work place.

I hope to use my educational journey and knowledge to continue in leading my own business and my family as it is an important that people around me within an organization are affirmed and I believe that each person is filled with gifts to give the world in a different capacity. One of my leadership lessons that I live by include the abundance mentality versus scarcity mentality. The belief that there is enough business, good, and reward for everyone. Based on the knowledge from my Digital Media degree program and completing courses such as Leadership Communication, Business Writing and Special Topics, I found that I can utilize the aforementioned gifts in future career endeavors. I hope to use my knowledge gained in digital media and integrate that within my own business and invest in others’ as well. Learning skills such as leadership style, communication style, and how I can use my gifts to give others is encouraging as I have a long career ahead of me.

I plan to use the knowledge and digital media skills to influence others to be aware of their own missions, vision and passions. It is important to clarify these missions and values to better understand a long term goal. Other passions of mine include activism and purposefulness. My spiritual gifts concluded that I had the gift of helping, encouraging, and discernment.

My vision statement concluded that my top six terminal values are freedom, a world of beauty, a sense of accomplishment, family security, an exciting life, and a comfortable life. These all correlate to one another in that I desire the value of hard work thus creating a comfortable life that is free to live an exciting life such as moving and traveling as desired. A world of beauty is how I surround myself with in nature, travel and relationships. Family security is also correlated with a sense of accomplishment in that I aim to be loyal, committed and steadfast to my spouse. My desire for a freedom life regards others and I desire to be ambitious and create a comfortable life that involves sustainability, goal setting, conscious decisions and care for those around me now and after I’m gone.

In quoting our leadership course and presenting a report on Franklin Roosevelt, he was a leader I admire for his guidance and humility to lead a country due to his own personal experiences. “He had developed a different concept of leadership. The deep affection and respect accorded him from the share community he had created...” (Goodwin, p. 457) I believe that in order to be a leader, one must be brave enough to make mistakes and to try what hasn’t been tried before. Like Roosevelt stated, “The country needs and, unless I mistake its temper, the country demands bold, persistent experimentation. It is common sense to take a method and try it: If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.” (Goodwin, p. 468)

I hope to use the skills tangibly in joining on another team or launching another business and leading it better. The skills I have learned have helped me understand that I serve better as a director role verses a manager role and that I thrive best as a visionary. The knowledge and skills I have learned are irreplaceable and I wish I had learned them sooner and before I launched businesses and worked alongside companies and in corporate America. I have found that I have valuable assets to give and have learned how much I have been doing wrong. I have learned knowledge in how I communicate or represent a business to how to write a legal article and understand the legalities involved. I have learned how to be an effective leader, and I have learned to work as a team toward a common goal in creating and branding a non-profit organization. I have learned how to critic and give peer review and I have learned to grow in writing style. I hope to lead in a way that leaves others inspired and motivated to pass it on to the next person they come in contact with.

Work Cited

Doris Kearns Goodwin. “Leadership.” Apple Books.