Northern Virginia Community College Leadership Autobiography Essay

Theory to Practice Paper 1: Understanding Self: Leadership Autobiography (10 points)

Students are asked to reflect on how they have become who they are and compose a brief but well-organized autobiography. This paper is NOT a chronological history of your life, but rather an analytical and reflective review of the influences and factors that have shaped who you are. Please note that, although questions are provided below, this paper should not take a Q&A form but be a well-written, well-formed essay. Length: 5-6 pages.

At a minimum, the following must be addressed:

• Based on your cultural, familial, and personal background, what factors have influenced your perception, values, and philosophy of leadership?
• What is your definition and/or philosophy of leadership?
• When was the first time you recognized leadership?
• Do you have any social identities (i.e. race/ethnicity, ability, religion, gender, sexual orientation, social class) that influence your actions in the context of leadership?
• When was the first time you realized your leadership potential?
• Do you see yourself as a leader, or think you have the potential to be a leader?
• Are there any influences outside of your family that have shaped your values and philosophy of leadership? What about the imperfect moments or mistakes that shaped the content of your character?
• How have mentors and critical incidents transformed you? What are the “a-ha” moments that have led you to be the person you are today?
• Given what you learned from the StrengthsFinder 2.0 exercise, how do you plan to continue to develop your leadership insights and abilities? Please be specific.

Be sure to describe any salient events and explicitly connect them to what you learned from those experiences.Students are asked to reflect on how they have become who they are and compose a brief but well-organized autobiography. This paper is NOT a chronological history of your life, but rather an analytical and reflective review of the influences and factors that have shaped who you are. Please note that, although questions are provided below, this paper should not take a Q&A form but be a well-written, well-formed essay. Length: 5-6 pages.

At a minimum, the following must be addressed:

• Based on your cultural, familial, and personal background, what factors have influenced your perception, values, and philosophy of leadership?
• What is your definition and/or philosophy of leadership?
• When was the first time you recognized leadership?
• Do you have any social identities (i.e. race/ethnicity, ability, religion, gender, sexual orientation, social class) that influence your actions in the context of leadership?
• When was the first time you realized your leadership potential?
• Do you see yourself as a leader, or think you have the potential to be a leader?
• Are there any influences outside of your family that have shaped your values and philosophy of leadership? What about the imperfect moments or mistakes that shaped the content of your character?
• How have mentors and critical incidents transformed you? What are the “a-ha” moments that have led you to be the person you are today?
• Given what you learned from the StrengthsFinder 2.0 exercise, how do you plan to continue to develop your leadership insights and abilities? Please be specific. (( sarahs strength in this ecercise was analytical )

Be sure to describe any salient events and explicitly connect them to what you learned from those experiences.