January Journal

Lauren Vahldick
Being a member of the Public Relations Student Society of America executive board
means taking on a large leadership role. Last semester taught me that leadership isnt something
to just jump into, but instead something that needs to be earned, learned, and constantly
improved. Being a leader is a big responsibility and has its challenges, but it is rewarding and
well worth it. I love my position on the executive board and hope to use this opportunity to help
both the chapter and my own leadership abilities grow. By further studying leadership and its
role in public relations, I believe I will be able to become a better leader for the chapter.
To improve my leadership skills, first I need to understand myself as a leader. From the
leadership worksheets in the reading Leadership: A Communication Perspective by Michael Z.
Hackman and Craig E. Johnson, I have discovered that I am a democratic leader. According to
the text, democratic leaders engage in supportive communication that facilitates interaction
between leaders and followers (Hackman & Johnson, 2009). I definitely engage in this type of
leadership in my position on executive board for PRSSA. I believe this type of leadership works
best for PRSSA because the members of the chapter are my peers and friends, but the
organization also needs productivity and results in order to be successful. Democratic leadership
allows for that friendship to exist, but also for there to be structure and efficiency in the
organizations projects.
This type of leadership is a good addition for the PRSSA executive board. Democratic
leadership communication contributes to relatively high productivity (whether or not the leader
directly supervises followers) and to increased satisfaction, commitment, and cohesiveness. This
style of communication is best suited for tasks that require participation and involvement,
creativity, and commitment to a decision (Hackman & Johnson, 2009). This description of

democratic leaders really stuck out to me because I think it is exactly what PRSSA needs. As an
organization, we thrive on our followers involvement and participation, we need their creativity,
and would be nothing without their commitment to join our chapter. Like any organization,
PRSSA needs its members to survive. A seven person chapter would not be able to do all the
amazing and impressive things that ISU PRSSA is able to do. As executive board members, we
need to make it our duty to put the chapter and the members first. We need to guide them when
they dont know what theyre doing, but give them responsibilities and let them do their part to
make the chapter better. I believe this is the goal of a democratic leader, and that is the role I
wish to play.
On paper, being a democratic leader is easy, however, this isnt always the case. Some of
my best friends are members of PRSSA, which is one of my biggest challenges when it comes to
leadership in the organization. While I love being a leader, guiding and teaching, it can
sometimes be hard bossing around my friends. A lot of the leadership examples in the readings
were when much older or more experienced people were put in leadership roles. While I am a
senior and I do have valuable experience to share with the rest of the chapter, there are so many
of my talented and experienced peers sitting in the audience and listening to me. Its a unique
situation, and one that I have gotten use to from last semester and my other leadership roles on
campus, but it is one of my struggles. I especially feel this way in my position overseeing the
Development committee. My friendships with the three Development leaders makes it difficult
when things with Development arent going well and it is my job to get things back on track. I go
from texting them about hanging out, to pestering them about not turning in an agenda on time or
scolding them for not being prepared for a fundraiser or event. This is something I know I dont
always feel comfortable with, but is good experience and just something I need to work on.

In addition to being a democratic leader, I have also established that I have an

interpersonal-oriented communication style, meaning I focus on people more than tasks
(Hackman & Johnson, 2009). This makes sense because democratic leaders are often concerned
with their followers, which are qualities of interpersonal-oriented communication. One thing that
these readings made me question was how it works when there is a group of leaders, like the
executive board. Looking back, I believe this was the route of a lot of the executive boards
problems last semester. We have a variety of leadership types and communication styles amongst
the group, which proved to cause differences of opinions. As a democratic leader with an
interpersonal-oriented communication style, I value the ideas and feelings of the members of the
organization. I believe we should do everything with the members in mind and focus on them
above everything else. What I didnt realize is that this isnt necessarily the best way to lead.
Task-focused leader leaders are more efficient and can be better for the organization. I have
realized this now and strongly believe a group of leaders should be a mix of various forms of
leadership types. This way, followers can relate to the leadership styles that fit best for them and
the chapter can focus on both relationships and tasks.
After learning all I have about leadership types, I feel as though I misjudged Cassidy last
semester. Just because she had a different type of leadership and focused more heavily on tasks
than relationships, I saw her as being wrong. I now know that she is just different than I am and
that her leadership style is just as successful as mine. I believe that we are doing a ton better this
semester as an executive board of leaders. I think understanding each other and our leadership
types is a way to help ease any tension. I know for me, as I was able to do with Cassidy, it is a lot
easier to see the other board members points of view when I understand their leadership style.

These differences definitely have caused challenges, but hopefully a few months from now these
challenges are something I can bring up in an interview and discuss how we overcame them.
In addition to interview questions, my leadership on the Executive Board will be
incredibly useful as I make the next steps in my career. These days, everyone has a leadership
position to talk about. If I am able to successfully convey not only that I have leadership
experience, but that I have studied leadership and am well aware of my own leadership, I will
stand out from other applicants. Being a good and knowledgeable leader often relates to being a
good and knowledgeable follower, a great quality for starting job positions. I already feel as
though I have a better grasp of leadership, specifically on the executive board, due to the
readings and personal reflection. I hope to continue to learn and grow so that I may use my
knowledge and experience to become a successful leader in every aspect of my future.
Going forward, I really hope for my leadership to encompass a quote that really stood out
to me in the introduction of Kouzes & Posners book, A Leaders Legacy. This text stated, by
offering up our own unique legacy, we make the world we inhabit a better place than we found
it (Kouzes & Posner, 2006). While this quote is applicable to almost anything we do in life, it is
more powerful to me to apply this idea to PRSSA. I am in a leadership position, meaning I have
the opportunity to do great things, make changes, and leave the chapter better than I found it.
When applied just to life, this quote is lost on me. Taking a realistic approach, theres not much
that I can do in my lifetime to completely change the world. I dont have, and probably never
will, the power needed to leave the world in a significantly better place. I do, however, have the
power to do so in PRSSA. This quote was really inspiring to me and makes me want to be a
better leader. This is the mindset I want to have for my final semester of executive board.