Yongbo Qian

The LeaderShape Insititute

 

LeaderShape is the very first leadership program I have ever attended. Prior to attending this program, I had some doubts about how the leadership events could actually improve leadership skills without getting exposure to real world situations. However, the six-day event was full of fun, intense and valuable experiences in the LeaderShape Institute totally dispelled my suspicion. I learned an immense amount about leadership and myself, and more importantly, gained some long-time friendship and connections, which benefitted me during the rest of my college life.

 

There were many activities in this program that enhanced my leadership capabilities. At the beginning of the program, we came up with our GAG's (Go Against the Grain), which are times we need to accept the challenge of doing something we normally wouldn’t. My GAG for the week was to react promptly to specific situations. After making this GAG, I made the effort to rise throughout the week to make some progress in fulfilling my GAG.

 

We also did a DiSC (Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness) personality evaluation to see what team persona style we best fit with. I was matched with the steadiness style, which means I am strong in maintaining stability and enjoying collaboration. This aligned with my personal strength but also increased my self-awareness that I need to develop my influence and dominance side in many cases.

 

Another important part of this program was to work on our visions by Bringing Vision to Reality. We discussed how to break down the tasks to stretch goals and manageable goals and achieve them in a good time manner.

 

I met so many wonderful people during the week. We talked about very deep stuff- our passions, ambitions and even vulnerabilities, which we don't really discuss with new friends on a casual, everyday level. We gave feedback on aspects we appreciated about each other, as well as areas to improve. While we are often more critical on ourselves than we ought to be, it was great to hear how others thought of us. Through this experience, I learned more about myself: my blind spots and areas that I think poorly of myself, and also from other people’s perspective.

 

I have definitely made great progress: becoming more confident and outgoing, and pushing myself to respond quickly to questions, activities. This whole experience allowed me to develop and practice some of my leadership skills while forming new strong networks.

 

The momentum of this amazing experience will definitely be kept going as I head into my future career!