Leadership & Me…

The main focus of this blog site is leadership; specifically, my personal experiences and perspectives on leadership.

Throughout my time at San Diego State University, I have participated in various activities that have enhanced my personal leadership skills and style. A few of these activities include an Internship at a hotel, a temporary position with music festival, and a leadership-focused class.

While working as a Front Desk Agent at the Hampton Inn, Mission Valley during a Summer Internship, I took on the role of “Employee Training Assistant”. In this role, I assisted with on-the-job training for three new Front Desk Agents. This role enhanced my skills as a trainer, and therefore helped me understand the fundamentals of leadership – including what works and what doesn’t.

This past year I had the honor of working for the first ever Wonderfront Music & Arts Festival in San Diego, California as an Artist Meet & Greet Facilitator. Working for a first-year festival presented many challenges, especially when dealing with some high-end artists. Solving problems amidst chaos taught me how to be a leader in stressful times, even when I wasn’t 100% sure that I was doing everything right.

The class I took at San Diego State University that helped me enhance my leadership skills and style the most was HTM-480 (Leadership and Coaching in Hospitality and Tourism Management). During the semester we shadowed a current leader/manager and completed our own leadership experience. Taking the time to focus on leadership in this setting helped me develop my personal leadership style and philosophy.

Based on these experiences, I have developed my own leadership style and philosophy: I believe that an effective leader is strict but kind to his/her employees; it is okay to be friendly and make small talk, but when it is time to get to work you are a leader/manager first and a friend second. I believe that an effective leader appears fearless and in control at all times in front of his/her clients and employees; getting flustered effects the attitude of your team and complaining about a problem rather than brainstorming a solution is simply waste of time. I believe that an effective leader views himself/herself as part of the team; jumping into the situation and helping your team complete tasks does not lessen your authority, rather it makes your team members respect you and appreciate you as a leader.