My leadership story

This is part of my school assingment. I did a presentation of this competence and I had to do a practice as well. The practice was to write your own leadership story. So here it is:

Chapter 1: The early years
My family circumstances shaped me quite a lot. When I was a young child I was described as very joyful and ready for everything. If you asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would list all possible jobs that I could think of. Only the sky was the limit. After my parents divorced when I was seven, I was made to choose a lot: who is better parent, whose gifts do you like better, where is the pretties Christmas tree, etc. I learned by observing the ones who asked the questions that I needed to answer by what they wanted to hear and not the truth.

I also learned that everybody lies and that my opinion is worthless. Me being joyful and curious of things was used to amuse adults; many questions that I asked were answered by hocus answer. I also learned that lying is very normal and can be done to anyone at any point. The only person that I can truly trust is me as I am aware of what I have said or done.

Chapter 2: Angels and Heroes
I need to describe two people who have made a difference in my life. One from personal life and one from work life. The one good boss that I have every had was when I was working in a cleaning company. She followed most the leadership practices that we are taught in school. She listened and gave feedback.

When she needed to give us back bad feedback, she did it so that we employees did not feel that we were put down. Unfortunately she got pregnant and left for maternity leave. I had her as my boss only 6 months, and still I have not met another boss that would rise up to the standard that she set. She taught me that most important thing that you can do, is to listen.

Person from my personal life. This one is a bit tricky, but I am going to choose my sister. From her I have learned that we can do anything as long as we stick together. We might fight like cats and dogs, but you cannot attack us. We have experienced a lot together and we understand each other. I would not go that far as to describing her as my angel or hero, but I would say that I can trust her. Leadership lesson that I have learned from her is that trust is earned.

Chapter 3: Leadership Courage
When my values were significantly challenged was when I was a young kid. So in my early years when learning that lying is normal and you cannot trust anyone, I also learned that that is not normal. The turn point for me was, when I realized that I could not trust my mother at all. After that it became quite easy to see what actually should be done and what kind of values I should follow.

One other turn point was when I stepped against my mothers will. She was waving a mental stick, to keep us behave properly. I remember clearly as yesterday, I looked right into her eyes and said hit away if it makes you feel better. After that day she never hit us again. She did change her tactics, but that one thing was at least changed for good.

Chapter 4: Your Legacy
What I want to pass on to others, is that help when you can and protect the weaker ones. That one has been with me since I was born I think. Next food for though is that money does not bring you happiness, but it is the necessary evil in the current world situation. If you become selfish and think only of yourself, you will end up alone. Sometimes it is good to be selfish, but you will need to even it out by helping others.