[Ous-lp-rp13] EDAD 6010, Answer to Question #2

[Bruce, Brandy]

When it comes to leadership traits there are various aspects that I struggle with. The two things I struggle with the most are self-confidence and extroversion. I have very limited self-confidence. I always feel that what I do is not good enough and that anyone else could it better than I could. I also struggle with being an extrovert. I like meeting new people and making new friends, but they must approach me first. Most of my close friends are very out-going and therefore they sought me out. However, I feel I have impeccable integrity and a very high stress tolerance level. I have a sign I bought for my (future) classroom that says, "Integrity is doing the right thing even when nobody is watching." I pride myself on being honest and real with people. I have also experienced great amounts of stress at any given time and prevailed. I know there are things that must be done and no matter what I make sure they get done. There have been times I didn't sleep for days on end to meet various deadlines. Based on these traits, when I become an administrator I will really need to focus on my self-confidence and being an extrovert. If an administrator has no confidence in themselves then how can they expect their staff, students and community to have confidence in them? I will also need to be more outgoing. As an administrator you deal with dozens of people daily. You have no time to be an introvert. (Well, maybe some time.) When you're an administrator students, staff, and community members will constantly be seeking you out for various reasons throughout the day.

I also feel that I am very motivated and that I can motivate other people.  In my group of friends, I am always the “Positive Penny” cheering them on and pushing them to strive to reach their goals. I also have high achievement orientation. I want to do well not only for my sake, but I want other people to be like, "Hey, she is doing what she should, and she is doing a great job." When it comes to power I am not a "power happy" person. I know when I need help and I treat other people as my equals instead of acting like I am above them due to my "status". I do like to be in control and for things to be done my way, but I try to not let it come off as me being a "control freak", but rather, "Hey, let's try it this way." As an administrator you must motivate your staff, whether it is intrinsic or extrinsic motivation. If you’re not motivated, then neither will your staff be and it will be trickle down effect.

When it comes to skills I don't consider myself to be a "technical" person, but I can do what I need to do. That is, if everything is working properly. As soon as something malfunctions, and I try the classic, "unplug it, plug it back in and restart it", and then it still doesn't work then I am lost. As administrators we will most likely have a "tech guy/girl", so I am not completely worried about this aspect. I also feel that I have great interpersonal "people" skills. I like to work with other people and make them happy. I consider myself to be a people pleaser; almost to a point where I would make sure they were happy even if I was not or would not be. This could be a good and bad quality with being an administrator. You have to realize that you can't please everyone all the time, and you have to do what is best for your students, school and district. You need to look at the majority and not the one.



Brandy Bruce

Graduate Student

Ohio University Southern Campus
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