The Building Block of Leadership
Leadership is built by various qualities, such as patience, confidence, and passion, but there is one quality that is a complete necessity in developing effective leadership: the quality of integrity. Some could argue that integrity is not the only quality one needs to achieve effective leadership. Although I would not disagree, I would rather say that integrity forms the single block that initiates the process in forming an effective relationship with those involved. A prime example of showing honesty in my own life is the integrity found within my school’s House Community system. Saint James Academy’s community system consists of seven communities each broken down into houses, a system similar to that of the four houses within Hogwarts from the World of Harry Potter. The leadership is distributed from the staff to the school captains to the community captains and then the house captains. I am a House Captain for the Benedict community, and I work on a regular basis within my house and with my mentor to build our community, as well as a safe environment for all students.
All throughout Saint James Academy, one can see integrity at work from the faculty to the students, everyone is cooperating to better one another. The dean of students for 2016-2017 is Mrs. Walters, a faith-filled women whom I’ve had the pleasure of working with as a House Captain; she has taught me how important it is to gain people’s trust, because that is what binds a relationship together. As a House Captain within the community system, I have to show integrity in order to connect with the students of each grade. As a person I tend to look at different sources to try to find motivation, from music to books to video games and even the people around me. One of the most inspiring students that showed me effective leadership was the House Captain that I had when I was a sophomore. She was one of the most honest and genuine people I have ever known, because she was direct in the way that she would let you know exactly what was on her mind. Not only that, but she would be willing to make herself vulnerable, which gave our house members a sense of trust and motivation.
Having such passionate examples of integrity throughout my lifetime, I have been able to incorporate it in various parts of my life. As a son, brother, and boyfriend, I have cultivated the use of integrity within those relationships through action. If I am ever asked to do something, I try my absolute best to make sure the work is done on time and in high quality, because I want to demonstrate that I have the integrity needed to be a reliable person. I also integrate integrity as a student by not taking my teachers’ and classmates’ trust for granted, whether that be just turning in my work on time or working as a member of a team towards a project outside of school. Lastly, I display integrity in the workplace: as a concierge I am trusted with the task of connecting people to the correct line of whom they are asking for, along with other tasks such as delivering mail or sorting paperwork. No matter the task, my co-workers expect me to fulfill them with a level of integrity, because of how it can influence the overall quality of service that our directors are working to achieve. By working the front desk, I have been entrusted with the responsibility of gaining the trust of each person that steps into our building by representing the values of honesty and sincerity. All roles in life require integrity, which makes it an essential quality in developing effective leadership. Out of instinct, people are bound to being skeptical and untrusting, but by showing them integrity, one can pass that obstacle and build a bridge that will lead to prosperity.
