Leadership: The Five Practices Of Exemplary Leadership

Leadership comes with responsibilities to others and oneself. The way one handles leadership is imperative to how those under one’s leadership thrives. In their book entitled Christian Reflections on the Leadership Challenge, Kouzes and Posner discuss five practices of exemplary leadership. Kouzes and Posner (2004) state that “when performing at their best, leaders Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to Act, and Encourage the Heart” (p. 2). For this leadership project I interviewed Christina Ally whom is a Mental Health Counselor at First Orlando Counseling. Upon interviewing Christina, I have a better appreciation of how challenging, yet rewarding leading others can be. Cristina described leadership

She understands that as a leader she is in the spotlight and she takes that responsibility seriously. She loves being hands on and working directly with her team instead of just handing out tasks and then disappearing. Her belief is that everyone needs to work toward a common goal or shared vision and that her team needs to feel that they have a part in the vision that they are working towards. She challenges her team members to be the best that they can be, yet she does try to place her members in tasks that they excel in and she works with team members when they are unable to complete a task to understand why they were unable to complete the task. She likes to challenge the process and come up with new and innovative ways to complete projects. Cristina described how her team has developed an arts program for adaptive self-care and positive playful connections at the counseling center. During the process of developing the program, continual learning took place involving working with the volunteers, advertising issues, communication and preparation process that were challenging, but the team understood that the process needed flexibility until they were able to figure out the best ways to implement the program. Cristina enables others to act by taking the time to get to know her team and then placing them with tasks that fit their abilities. Most of all, Cristina is a strong Christian who I believe is a servant leader. Kouzes and Posner (2004) state that “the main reason for leading is to help other people win. Put another way, it’s to help people live according to the vision God placed inside them” (p. 104). Cristina has a heart for others and her goal is to see people realize their potential and to achieve greatness in their