This I Believe Essay

The first part of this assignment is the development of a ?This I believe? statement. This essay should reflect the culmination of your thoughts about leadership and yourself as an authentic leader. This exercise is based on the National Public Radio (NPR) series ?This I Believe?, but with a twist. Rather than crafting a statement about your beliefs in general, you are asked to write a concise summary of your beliefs about leadership, using the quotation from Warren Bennis as the starting point:

?The point is not to become a leader. The point is to become yourself,and to use yourself completely ? all your gifts, skills and energies ? to make your vision manifest. You must withhold nothing. You must, in sum, become the person you started out to be, and to enjoy the process of becoming.? (Warren Bennis, On Becoming a Leader).

In preparation, you are asked to read several of the ?This I Believe? columns online at www.thisIbelieve.org to see the range of people and ideas represented. In addition, I would like for you to reflect upon your life experiences, leadership assessment exercises, course reflection papers, discussion boards and your research for the Leadership Trends Project.

Ask yourself the following questions to guide you in drafting your personal ethos statement:

What is your personal authentic leadership mission? Purpose?
What is my leadership intention?
What do I stand for?
How are you living your life according to this purpose? Your values? Your beliefs?
How are you becoming your authentic self?
As a leader, how do you want to be known? Remembered?
Your essay should be concise and written in a narrative format. It should be between 250 and 500 words.