Growing Greenup
Personal Characteristics
Anne Stephens
The Ashland Beacon
Strong leadership is an important part of every community. Any community member can be part of a formal or informal leadership group. Formal leadership groups are found in local government and businesses/organizations. Informal leadership is found in many volunteer groups and organizational opportunities.
Your local Extension Service offers programming that requires leadership in a variety of areas: community arts, youth development, family activities, community health, wellness and nutrition, agriculture, and natural resources. If you are interested in supporting your community by honing your leadership skills and volunteering your time, let us know! We are always happy to meet new volunteers in Greenup County.
Leadership looks different in different people because of the wide array of personal characteristics that individuals exhibit. Leaders don’t have to be made into copies of other leaders. It is important that people recognize and capitalize on their own unique skills and interests. The following article will better explain this process. Please contact me if you are interested in the fully published article from Cooperative Extension.
UK Extension specialists, Martha Nall and Marissa Aull wrote a publication entitled, The Influence of Personal Characteristics: Personality, Culture and Environment, that I find interesting and helpful when looking for ways to help students hone their leadership skills. All professionals need to recognize the importance of recognizing their own strengths and weaknesses as they strive to lead others.
This is not to suggest that it is easy to be a leader. There is no simple formula, no rigorous science, no cookbook that leads inexorably to successful leadership. But for those who are ready, most of the learning takes place during the experience itself. —Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus
One of the simple facts about leadership is that you can’t be a leader by yourself. Multiple definitions of leadership exist—some estimate more than 350—and all of them include the concept of interacting with other human beings. Fundamentally, leadership involves human interaction. Thus, understanding ourselves, our temperaments and why we tend to respond in certain ways is important in our development as a leader and in working with others to reach shared goals. The essence of who we are has been shaped by the influence of our culture and personal environment. These factors are reflected in our skills, interests, and abilities which ultimately help us to reach our leadership potential.
Personality
Personality can be defined as the complex of characteristics that distinguishes an individual. Style is made up of many behaviors, and becoming aware of our personality style or temperament type can help us identify our strengths and weaknesses. Understanding our own personality will provide greater insight into why we respond in certain ways and, even more important, it will help us understand and appreciate the differences in others.
Environment
The environment that surrounds us refers to conditions and factors under which we learn and develop. Your environment includes your formal education (schools, sports, training) and non- formal education family setting, friends, etc.). Much of leadership development comes from the opportunities we take advantage of throughout our lives. The child on the playground who organizes her friends in a game of dodgeball has leadership experience.
Regardless of socioeconomic differences, geographic differences, and educational attainments or rural vs. urban backgrounds, everyone can be a leader. The degree to which an individual learns from successes and failures, trials or triumphs plays a major role in the leader he or she becomes. For years the debate between “leaders are born vs. leaders are made” has flourished among scholars. Ultimately, becoming a leader is up to the individual. Through experiences, leadership skills can be developed, knowledge can be gained, and individual attitudes can be expanded to develop effective leaders.
Personality vs. Behavior
Personality and behavior are not the same. Understanding personality doesn’t mean we can predict behavior. Personality is what we are born with, and it does not change over time. Our environment impacts our responses to situations. When combined they equal behavior.
Culture
Culture can be defined as the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group, the characteristic features of everyday existence shared by people in a place or time. In the south we drink sweet tea, and, in the north, an order of tea brings you a pitcher of hot water and a tea bag. In the U.S., volunteering is an expected practice; however, in many countries volunteering to serve those beyond your family is not considered a normal activity.
When we think of cultural differences, we often assume the differences are because of ethnic background; however, cultural differences can exist in the same city or town or among the same group of people. Our culture is a part of our everyday existence, and our decisions are based upon our customary beliefs, values and goals. Our beliefs, values and goals are an important part of what makes us good leaders, but we must remember that not everyone shares the same beliefs, values and goals. A good leader takes cultural beliefs and customs into consideration when making decisions or determining a course of action.
Summary
We have all been shaped by our personalities, our environment and our culture. Our ability to serve as leaders is a direct result of how we apply our knowledge of ourselves, our personality and our temperament; the environments in which we have lived; and the cultures that influence our lives. The choice to be a leader is yours.
For more information, contact Anne Stephens, Agent for Community Arts and Development in Greenup County. 606.836.0201 anne.stephens@uky.edu 35 Wurtland Avenue, Wurtland, KY 41144 The Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment is an Equal Opportunity Organization with respect to education and employment and authorization to provide research, education information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function without regard to economic or social status and will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnic origin, national origin, creed, religion, political belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, marital status, genetic information, age, veteran status, physical or mental disability or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity. University of Kentucky, Kentucky State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Kentucky Counties Cooperating.
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