The Values Reflection assignment asks students to evaluate a specific instance when their values played a role in their decision making and how did the values show up in their thought process.
At the age of 15, life taught me two important lessons on leadership. The first was the importance of keeping the team together, and the second was how imperative it is to have good soft skills to motivate others.
My team was selected for a business plan competition. While we were halfway through our planning, one member of the team announced that the idea could not be implemented because another company was already executing a similar model. Other members of the team except me were deterred by this news and decided to give up on the competition.
However, I still believed in the idea. I did not consider this a reason significant enough to walk away from the competition. I knew I had to convince others to again start working as a team towards this idea.
In our next meeting, I asked them to listen to me for five minutes, after which they could either abandon the idea or go along with it. I gave a short speech on how we should still continue with our idea. I told them about how people behind companies like Facebook would not have been so successful had they abandoned their idea because similar companies like Myspace were present. I reasoned that if another company is working on an idea similar to ours, it means that the idea is feasible and we have to build upon it. Lastly, I informed them that competition keeps a check on companies and gives them an impetus to improve.
All members of the team understood the message I wanted to convey. They too, like me, became optimistic and started believing in the idea. Our business plan was finally selected as one of the best business models.
From this experience, I realized how my soft skills had come useful when I had to inspire my team. I learned the importance of good rhetorical skills and motivating power for a leader. These qualities do not only help one to express ideas but also help other people to stay committed to their work.