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In November of 2015, I was granted with a great leadership opportunity. Although, unplanned, this opportunity came to me when I least expected it to. I was driving in Detroit, when I noticed numerous run-down buildings. I wondered why no one had take the opportunity to clean this community, because it was apparent that they have been dirty and broken like this for numerous years. Instead of shrugging this off and looking the other way, I took it upon myself to do the job.
I feel that volunteering from time to time is something that all individuals should strive to do. We all must play a role in keeping the world a better place, so I took on this enormous task. Knowing that this project was too much for just me to do, I asked the help of a few of my friends for this project, and reluctantly they had agreed. During this project I took on numerous leadership roles to help this community.
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On November 14th and 15th my friends and I worked on numerous task to help restore and clean these buildings I passed by just days before. Our work days started at 10 a.m. and lasted until nearly 3 p.m. Totaling nearly 10 hours of reconstruction. Prior to this plan, I had no idea it would take this long to complete. However, nonetheless, when I commit to something I commit entirely. Despite the fact that I was in Detroit visiting friends and family, I knew that these buildings need my attention more so than they did.
As stated above there were numerous tasks that needed done in these buildings. Our first step was to clean them, which included numerous rooms such as basements and kitchens. There was a lot of trash both inside and outside of these abandoned locations, so that aspect alone took numerous hours. However, the work was not done there. After all the floors were cleaned, and the trash removed, my group and I moved on to restore other aspects of the building. This include fixing the holes in the walls and preparing the store to be painted. As there were numerous holes, this task was tedious and tiresome. My group of friends were losing motivation, so I had to do all that I could to regain that. I understood that a. my group had no attachment to this project, because they were just wanting to help me and did not necessarily care about the community and b. they had many other things they’d much rather being doing in the city. So, I comprised an idea to strike their motivation. I promised them all Chipotle if they continued to work at a fast pace and put forth as much effort as possible. The team agreed to do so, and we finished in just a few hours.
I understand that bribery is not always the best technique to use in groups, but sometimes, it can be extremely helpful. As it was in this case, I also understood my friends did not share the same vision as me, and I certainly wanted to get them there. Despite the fact that they do enjoy volunteer work, this project was quite big and unplanned as well. We sort of had to go with the flow, because we had not really planned anything. It all started with me noticing something that needed done and expanded from there. I couldn’t rationally expect others to just conform to my expectations and demands freely. However, I was surely surprised that my friends had agreed to this request, because if they had not, this ten-hour project would more than likely would have been a week project had I done it alone.
Sometimes teamwork can really make things run a lot more smoothly. Not only was I gaining the results that I wanted, which was a new and improved store, but they also gained a lot from this experience, as my friend Mohammed told me later. Mohammed said that this experience was unlike any he had ever participated in, he said he reflected on this for many days. He was very thankful to be part of this volunteering experience. As were the individuals in the community. Many came in and commemorated us on our efforts and claimed that this community really needed this sort of help. Many wanted to help but just didn’t know where to begin. Although I had certainly volunteered before, it was in Saudi Arabia, and not in the United States. This was my first project here, and I will always remember it. That may rely on the fact, that this was my first role as a leader and innovator in a project. I had always joined others and presumed the follower position. However, this project was my idea, and I got to run it the way that I wanted. The leadership style that I had manifested in this project would be that of transformational leader. According to Raza (2015): “Unlike other leadership styles, transformational leadership is all about initiating change in organizations, groups, oneself and others. Transformational leaders motivate others to do more than they originally intended and often even more than they thought possible. They set more challenging expectations and typically achieve higher performance” (Raza, page 1, para. 11-12). The reason I feel I was this type of leader is because I transformed not only my ideas for the project, but my team members as well. As we can see from what Mohammed stated afterwards. Not to mention that I had motivated my team by promising an incentive to them. Although, even without this reward, they would have stuck behind me regardless.
Volunteering and leadership is very important to help us and others as well. When we become humble, we allow ourselves to learn a lot about ourselves and how we can be a part of something much bigger. Through this experience, I learned much about myself. Such as how much I like to oversee projects. I am very organized and have great visions, which are great qualities a leader should have. I also noticed that I am not bossy, and want my team members to be as enthusiastic as I am. Many people were happy with the renovations we made that day, and I have visited this site last summer, and it is going well still. I feel that without this opportunity, the building would still look the same. Sometimes, instead of waiting for someone else to do something, you must make the initial effort.
An Importance Of Volunteering And Leadership. (2024, Feb 12). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/an-importance-of-volunteering-and-leadership-essay
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