Mikayla Davis

EXPL 390-02E

26 February 2019

Leadership Interview and Reflection

Understanding leadership and what it looks like in a real life context is something that

I’ve found through experience. I’ve read about leadership in the past and have been presented

with distant examples, such as Oprah Winfrey or Barack Obama, but I’ve only been able to fully

appreciate it when I’ve seen it in my personal life. Although it has taken time, developing

leadership in myself has been a result of me working alongside strong and inspiring individuals

and acting in ways that reflect my values. So far during my time at Misericordia, I have had the

privilege to do both in my work, and it’s lead me to an amazing place of learning and growth.

Part of my responsibilities this year in PEP have been to work with a speech pathologist

and autism consultant, Sharon Rosenbloom, to help a resident with his communication skills.

Sharon has been a tremendous source of guidance and a well of knowledge to me over the past

months. Her amazing career path of working with individuals diagnosed with autism began with

the early diagnosis of her own son, and after years of guiding research and developing strategies

within the autism community, has lead her to owning her own practice and authoring Souls:

Beneath and Beyond Autism.

Upon meeting Sharon, I was struck by her extensive knowledge of connecting with

people with disabilities as well as the notable compassion and attention that she had with the our

residents. After recently sharing a conversation with her, I came to find out that the leadership

qualities she possesses are embedded in how she has become a trailblazer for autism research

and a role model for anyone working with vulnerable populations. Part of what makes for an
effective leader, what I strive to do, and what I see consistently in Sharon, is the ability to be

vulnerable with those that you’re working with. In order to wholly connect with a person, one

must break past boundaries and allow themselves to show their pain and flaws to the other.

Being vulnerable with those you’re working with is essential for them to fully vulnerable with

you.

Some would argue that this practice of vulnerability may not be ideal for what we believe

a leader to be, but I aspire to look at my leadership from the perspective of the career I want to

pursue. Imagining myself in the social work field, I think that there are values that may

potentially be of greater importance to me than others. One that I can see being foundational not

just working in social work but working with other people in general is one of the “Seven C’s” of

the leadership model: consciousness of self and others. It seems straight forward, but you’d be

surprised how often people forget about this value. I think it’s a general act of kindness and a

form of respect towards others. Firstly, it’s incredibly valuable in working with people who hold

different identities than you. Being someone who wants to serve disadvantaged populations I

think being aware of other’s beliefs and attitudes is required to practice in social services.

Especially working at Misericordia, being conscious of my resident’s feelings is my main

priority. To neglect that would make me unfit for my job and a poor example to others working

with adults with disabilities. Knowing my residents as best as I possibly can is what helps to

make me the best leader I can be in PEP.

Being a leader requires someone to possess certain qualities that will make them stand

apart from others. There are no shortcuts into becoming a great leader. It takes time and

experience of not just failing, but admitting to your failures. I’ve experienced this personally

during my time at Misericordia. Reflecting on my time at Misericordia so far, I’ve made

numerous mistakes. There have been instances where I’ve made poor judgments in how to

handle situations with residents. Either I’ve been too passive or misjudged how to work through

a certain resident’s behavior, but regardless I’ve been most effective when I’ve taken positive

criticism or direction from my coworkers and been able to simply say “That’s my error.” It’s a

truly humbling experience to admit when you’re wrong, but it also offers a space for growth that

is important as a leader.

It’s also essential to understand that leadership happens on a multitude of levels. The

social change model of leadership shows that the different values in leadership occur at an

individual, group, and community level. Without going to much into the values right now, I do

think that it’s worth while to emphasis that leadership encompasses all of them. When analyzing

how effective of a leader I am, I have to think of how I navigate through choices within myself,

our PEP staff, and the greater Misericordia community. When I’m at my internship, I need to not

only be critical of myself and how I’m doing in my position, but also look at the dynamic of our

PEP staff and be critical of issues at the campus level. I say to myself often, “Even though I’m

just an intern, I’m not “just” an intern.” I see and observe how Misericordia is run, and I have the

opportunity to be part of the bigger conversation about how we care for our residents.

Holding values high within a community set a standard for leaders within it. At

Misericordia, I feel that every staff member, from those working in PEP to those working in the

art room or fitness center, are devoted to creating the best environment to support our residents.

One that I see most frequently in our interactions with each other is citizenship. Citizenship, as

described by Central Michigan Univesity, is on of the 7 C’s of the social change model that

stresses ones’ responsibility to the community. The interdependence of people in a community

requires individuals to understand how their actions impact others and rely on everyone to act for

the greater good of all.

My experience at Misericordia is true to this value, as everyone truly feels like a team

there. Staff greet and support each other and residents throughout the day. I never hesitate to help

or converse with residents outside of PEP because I feel that I’m a member of the Misericordia

community. I, along with the other leaders there, want our campus to feel like home to the people

we work with. It comes with loving and having a passion for the work that you do, where it’s not

just about doing the task at hand, but rather being intentional about every interaction that you

have with the people you’re around. Leadership is often thought of in terms of the individual, but

I feel it is majority about how one relates to others. An effective leader has positive relationships

with the people they lead. Anytime that I’m taking initiative at Misericordia, I see myself as a

leader in my own right by the way that I successfully add to our community.

As I referenced previously, I view my relationship with my coworkers at Misericordia as

that of a team. Being a leader within a team requires that there is respect, and that you view

everyone on your team as equals. Sharon unpacked her viewpoint on this, as she’s someone who

has worked in collaborative efforts often in her research and as the director of her practice. She

described that as a leader she makes it a priority to listen to everyone’s ideas and gives praise to

people at every level, top to bottom, in a sort of “Socialist approach.” Every part or every person

that works towards the goal is deserving of praise and is genuinely of importance to the team. I

appreciate that viewpoint, and I feel that it’s reflected in PEP. My coworkers do a great job of

affirming me when I do something that is helpful. I remember when I first started interning there,

I felt that my role was so insignificant. I didn’t feel that I added any value to the team, but my
coworkers made sure to acknowledge me, which has given me the confidence I need to step up

situations.

This goes along with one of the commonalities of love, forgiveness, and trust that

Caldwell and Dixon present that I especially resonated with and echoes points that Sharon made.

“Founded on treating others as ends rather than as means” is needed as a leader in order to

create the best relationship with those you are leading, similar to how I described my experience

with my coworkers in PEP. I genuinely have felt that they are interested in my personal growth

and want to improve me. Being someone who is young and new to working with the

Misericordia population I know that I have a lot to learn. I come into work very intentional about

how I spend my time because I want to really take something away from every day I spend there,

and my coworkers, who have been phenomenal leaders to me these past semesters, create a

positive space for me to do just that.

I would say the greatest advice I was given from Sharon on being a leader and something

that l plan to live by is to bring who I am to my work. This comes with being vulnerable. It

comes with being honest about how I feel in situations. It’s about remembering why I do the

work that I do and bringing that same passion with me. That’s how I’m going to be the best

leader that I can be. Bringing forth love, forgiveness, and trust matter, I feel, because it’s who I

am. People will try to get you to abandon these values as a way to distance yourself from feeling

responsible for the well being of people that you work for and/or with. I’m not interested in

being a leader whose only priority is success or personal career gains if it means disregarding my

own values. I will continue to bring who I am to Misericordia and find my role as a leader

through that.