Leadership Essay, Research Paper

Leadership

I can retrieve the minute like it was yesterday, I was standing in the parking batch of a little shopping centre embracing my Dad tight and stating good pass for what would be at least four or five months. I was go forthing on a journey that would be the start of a learning experience that would hold a enormous influence on the manner I perceive, dainty, and work with people from diverse backgrounds. After stating my adieu, I boarded the coach edge for Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. I was traveling at that place to go to the six-week basic preparation class that is required for everyone come ining the U.S. Air Force.

It was 3 am in the forenoon when I eventually arrived at the base where a burly, muscular, shaved-headed adult male who had a really bad pique greeted approximately sixty other immature males and me. We where given instructions to come in a big room where we were to make full out legion signifiers covering with our in processing. While sitting at that place nervously make fulling out the documents, I began to be cognizant of the people environing me. I realized at that clip that I was portion of a group that was really diverse in the sense of racial and cultural backgrounds. Turning in up in the little town of Wellford, SC I was ever surrounded by people who were really similar to me in facets of race and faith. Most of all my friends were white, middle-class and Christian. It was in that environment I was introduced to negative feelings towards people of other races and cultural backgrounds. In kernel I had became a victim of two-channel typing people based on the incorrect things.

Sixty work forces of similar age to mine were gathered in a big room with no chairs where we all sat Indian manner waiting instructions from the Training Instructor besides known as a TI. Once the TI came into the room he began to explicate how things would be organized and that there would be a system where everybody would hold duty. At that clip the TI looked out into the crowd of immature work forces to lock eyes with mine and state me that I would be the residence hall head. I subsequently found out that occupation entailed the duty of guaranting the success of the group as a whole. This occupation would present me to a learning experience of Managing Diversity. Within my group there were persons that were from all over the Untied States and U.S districts. There were inkinesss, Whites, Asians, and Hispanics ; there were Christians, Jews, Muslims and everything else assorted in this group. I was faced with the challenge of being portion of this diverse group whose end was to be productive and work good together as a squad.

One illustration of how the diverse backgrounds of everyone influenced the result of finishing a hard undertaking was when everyone had to acquire up out of bed, take a shower, shave, and do certain the residence hall was in tip top form in a clip period of less than five proceedingss. The first twenty-four hours we encountered this undertaking it was a complete incubus. Some people would non acquire out bed, others were slow in the shower and there was no teamwork in finishing the assorted undertakings. I felt this job occurred because of everyone s different personalities. The manner some work forces reacted to others and the manner everyone interacted was hindered because some would non pass on with others due to negative personality traits. Some work forces had barriers to the understanding thoughts to how things should be done to finish the occupation. After clip these personality traits began to unify for the better and people started to pass on with each other to come up with a solution of how to acquire everything done in a timely manner. We began to form the processs of the forenoon undertaking that best suited our clip restraints and suited everyone s demands. We besides persons that had extroversion personalities that could actuate others to acquire up and acquire the undertaking done. As a group we began to over come the differences in our personalities that hindered us from pass oning and used the strengths of our personalities to promote communicating.

Different values were another trait that gave our group di

versity. These values influenced us on what we perceived was right from incorrect and how we dealt with work outing a job. I cam retrieve the case when an person had someway managed to mouse a battalion of coffin nails into our residence hall. He was alluring work forces to smoke even though it was incorrect. This was against the regulations and would hold jeopardized everyone if one individual were to acquire caught. Some of us felt that he should acquire rid of the coffin nails and a few idea it was nil to be concerned with. There was a clear difference in our values and what we thought should be done. After some difference I convinced the bulk of who was involved that is was in our best involvement to dispose of the coffin nails due to the possible result. In this case it was clear that we all had different values, but the declaration came approximately due to our personal ability to work out the job. The differences that gave our group strength could besides weaken us if we were non careful. Our attitudes played a important portion in the groups outlook and the gait of our advancement of preparation when carry throughing assorted undertakings. At first some work forces seemed to hold hapless attitudes when asked to carry through certain undertaking with person of different race or faith. Many people choose to work with other of same descent. In many instances this barrier was over came when the work forces began to pass on and recognize they had more in common than they had differences. Once everyone began to understand each other and pass on the attitude of the group changed from being negative to a positive squad that got things accomplished. Some of the challenges that I encountered were the undertaking of organizing this group into a squad and promoting everyone to get the better of the differences that originally separated us. When covering with this diverse group I had to recognize that many of my equals had personalities, attitudes, and values that differed from my ain.

The manner the system of direction worked with in the preparation was that the TI was in charge of determining us into squad that would develop over the six hebdomads to larn about assorted facets of the Air Force. Some facets were imposts and courtesies of the military, bore, attending to detail, and mental and physical strength. Under the TI was the residence hall head. The head was responsible for the flight when the TI was non present. The head received orders from the TI and made sure that they were carried out. Under the Dorm head was for element leaders that had ten to twelve aviator in each component. Some of the day-to-day undertaking included everything from clambering places to guaranting that everyone had there Jerseies were folded to the exact measurings specified. One of my biggest challenges in pull offing the flight was to guarantee everyone new their duties and could work with others to accomplish our ends. Even though everyone had different personalities we all shared the same ends of finishing our preparation. Some differences were the manner people had misconceptions about others and swearing one another. I learned that when a diversified group is forced to accomplish a undertaking that many will set aside their stereotypes and will let they to acquire to cognize each other. The best thing about holding a diverse group is holding a broad arrange of accomplishments and cognition that can be used to heighten the manner the group performs. In many instances there were undertaking that had to be accomplished utilizing little squads. Even though that there were many differences in the groups values, ethnicity, and personalities we all shared the common ends. I learned that alternatively of allowing these differences hinder us, that they were a plus in the sense of conveying a broad scope of cognition and could look a tackling jobs in different ways merely to come up with the best. Similar to the differences in personalities was the difference in values. The values of the members of my group my have been different.

My clip in the United States Air Force has made one of the most important impacts in my life. The experiences have received in the Air Force has taught me how to get the better of hard barriers of pull offing diverseness. I