Name: Thomas Key

Subject: NEW 436

Professor: Dr. Wallace

My Valuable Leadership Tool Belt

Throughout the course of the semester I have taken many points away from public
leadership. The principles I have taken from this course have allowed me to look at myself in a
different light. I have always been the type of person that expects my very best. And the points I
have taken away have given me more confidence moving forward. I have comprised serval
lessons from the course and made them into my leadership tool belt. Making a positive impact to
your fullest extent is something everyone should strive for in life. These tools equip you with the
right foundation in becoming a great leader.
As a leader when you are using your tool belt and practicing with your tools you must
first establish your values. You have to discover what you care about, what defines you as a
person, and what makes you, you. All great leaders start with why and not what. Why is asking
the purpose of your work, what is the work itself. One of the first lessons in class the question
was asked, What would you die for? my answer was, For my country. Thinking about my
answer in deeper thought I realized that loyalty to my country is something I value. To make my
country proud and have a positive impact on my country is something that is close to my heart.
Although this is true I realized that loyalty stems from a greater value, a core value, valuing
people. From valuing my family, my country, or whatever the case may be it goes back to

valuing people, and caring for the others around me. To have a great tool belt to use you must
clarify your values.
When establishing your values you must practice those values through your actions.
Although taking time to look yourself in the mirror is important, it is just as important to practice
what you preach. I see how your choices in life reflect your values to your community. For
example, if you say you value your family but you dont spend time with them, you are just
becoming a hypocrite. People want leaders that credible, saying and then doing. People around
you see what your true colors are through your actions. It is easy in life to go through the
motions and not think in depth about how your actions project you as a leader. I have come to see
that what you put your time in gives a good indication of what you value. You are going to have
trial and error periods in life but keying in on your actions will create and magnify your brand as
a great leader in your community. To have a credible leadership tool belt you have to live out
your values to model those values to others.
Staying aware of your values and your actions will help in avoiding downfalls in
leadership. To avoid these downfalls its important to not let your emotions get in the way of
your actions. My dad has always taught me to never make a decision when you are extremely
happy or extremely sad. In life you have ups and downs and taking a step back and using your
awareness will help in making the right decision. A great quote was given in class about
emotions, specially fear. They said fear stands for, false evidence appearing real. Remembering
this will help me when I experiencing fear in my life. Another tip given in class that relates to
awareness and values was having a me day. They explained a me day as, a day where you
disconnect from society and take time to relax and evaluate yourself. I think this is so important
to do because this time allows you to think about the current chapter you are in, in your life

journey. This day allows you a take time to think about anything in your life that you think needs
to evaluated. Life does not always go according to plan, but in those times staying aware of your
values will help in overcoming those challenges.
Even though you must establish your values before you lead, you are always going to
have struggles with your values. Dr. Wallace stated, If you stop having the struggle with your
values, you have lost your human ways. I believe this means that if you arent wrestling with
your values you are not growing through those hardships. Dealing with the struggle shows that
you care about what you value and you are going to take the time figure out how to overcome the
struggle. A story that I shared in class that deals with struggling with your values is my story on
meeting my mums boyfriend. Last year I was planning on spending Christmas with my mum
and right before Christmas she started seeing someone. I started to have second thoughts on
having Christmas with her because I did not want to meet her new boyfriend share my time with
him. After these initial thoughts I saw that my mum (my family) is far more important than my
selfish needs and wants. I now see how this was a struggle with my values. I had to take time to
tussle with my inner feeling and principles to make the right choice.
There were two other powerful story shared that related to struggle and values. One was
Dr. Wallaces story about his 5th grade teacher. A well respected teacher and leader in her
community that had a ah-ha moment! that led to her success. She was riding on a bus to her
home back in the 1930s. An African-American man was one of the first persons in line but was
not able to ride because the bus filled up. In a time of injustice and oppression she felt the shame
for not speaking up about the injustice. From that point on she realized that she valued equality
and was going to make a difference through the education system. The second story was a video
shown to the class, the story was on the Ellen Show about two brothers. The two brothers both

played in the NFL but unfortunately one had to give up football due to kidney problems. He
needed a kidney transplant and his brother decided to give up playing football and give him one
of his kidneys. The brother that was healthy realized that family was more important than
football. These two stories show how struggle comes with values and how it takes effort and
though into prioritizing your values to show others your full potential as a leader.
Having your values properly prioritized is that your values allow to detect other people in
your life that share the same values. I look at values as guides in your life, guides that help to
identify people that will impact your life in a positive manner, and vice versa. The Leadership
Challenge states, A good leader takes the time to break the ice and get to know his team. A
great example that I believe proves this statement to be true is Ken Blanchard. Blanchard has a
two steps he takes when collaborating with writers. First, you have to have essence. Essence is
share values to values and hearts to hearts. Seeing what that person believes and represents. And
the second is form, how are you going to do it. When finding the right people in your life it is
essential to have essence. Sharing stories with others is great to look further in what they value.
Also, when sharing your values with others, you must affirm the values others share with you.
By affirming others this allows values to blossom into actions to bloom into something great.
With establishing your values you are then able to create your tool belt, first with having
a vision. I think of a vision as the path towards reaching your dreams. Having a vision is key
because holding a vision helps in combating the negativity that occurs in our lives. Walt Disney
is great example of a visionary. He was not an overnight success, he had many critiques and
people that did not believe in him, but that did not stop him. He had an idea that started with a
mouse and acted on that idea. Through the process he held his vision and trusted the process.
This allowed Disney to battle those times of negativity. You have put time and thought in before

articulating your vision to others. Because you want others to follow in something that you truly
care about. A quote used in class states, People that have regret chase something that is not
meaningful to them and what they value. Ultimately vision ties back into what you value,
without values you become blind walking that path to your dreams.
A person that has imagination and vision has the ability to trust the process. Oprah
Winfrey stated to, Create the highest, grandest vision possible for your life, because you
become what you believe. Believing in yourself and your capabilities of accomplishing great
thing gives you confidence to move towards your dream. Courage is also a part of trusting
yourself. You cant predict what your vision is going to look like, but trusting in the course takes
a great amount of courage. Great leaders are forward-looking even though they may not see
exactly what will be the outcome. Trust is important to vision, you have to embrace it, and know
that it is larger than you. Visions derive from a process that is intuitive and emotional. You may
not see direct evidence of the outcome but you have the right outlook to assure yourself in
doubtful times. Steve Jobs stated, Trust the dots will connect, that takes guts. This solidifies
my point, trust and having courage that your vision will eventually come together is key to
accomplishing great things. Trust allows you to role with the punches. Trust allows great leaders
to make clarity in chaos.
Trust is not only important to have in yourself mutual trust between you and your
community is just as important. The experiences we have with one another shape the trust
shared. Regaining trust in yourself is a tough task, and regaining trust from someone else is even
greater. Trust is not easy to come by in life, great leaders are able to create trust and hold on to
that trust. Trust builds connections and relationships, it is a feeling shared person to person. I
have learnt that nothing can replace human contact and that it is vital to human existence. The

simplest interaction such as a hand shake shapes trust. Trust is the power of belief in one another,
and allow people to have synergy between each other. If you believe in someone, as a leader you
enable them to act, which empowers them.
Trust is only created between you and someone else when you both share the vision. In
class there was an equation to trust. Truth plus transparency plus transcendence equals trust.
Truth is simply telling the truth, transparency is being able to show all your cards on the table
with someone to see if they match with their cards, and transcendence is caring about another
person just as much as yourself. These three factors all come together when you share your
vision with the others around you. Sharing your vision can inspire others, if the vision is genuine
and authentic. Sharing your vision sparks encouragement in others and gives a driving force to
create a future. Martin Luther King Jr.s dream is an example of a shared vision. His famous I
have a dream speech exemplifies a shared vison because a dream is something that all people
connect with, we all have them. Versus saying, I have a plan. which is something you
specifically came up with to solve the problem. His dream was shared because the dream was
about truth, justice, and equality. This are a cause that people can stand behind, this are
something much greater than one person. For his dream to be reality it would have to take team
work, which makes a cause turn from ordinary into something extraordinary.
With holding, trusting, and sharing your vision you must then act with excellence to
make the dream become a reality. A great quote was given in class it states, Vision without action
is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the
world. Although it is important to have vision, action is what will lead the vision into becoming
real. I believe at times in our lives we have a fear of failure in what we are trying to accomplish
and that holds us back. But failure is just an attempt to learn, to grow, learning from your

mistakes will only propel you in your vision. Steve Jobs talks about fear, he states, Knowing I
will be dead soon, (this is the) best way to avoid the trap of fear of failure, you are naked already,
what do have to lose. You have to give life your best shoot, dont hold anything back. In sports
terms, Leave it all on the court. Make sure in life you dont settle, failure is inevitable, but
getting back up to try again is up to you. To know you gave it your best will only give you the
confidence you need moving forward.
Another important part of your leadership tool belt is having humility, to create
community. Humility is found on courage and empathy. Courage is you have gained from past
relationships and experiences in your life. And empathy is the ability of seeing what your own
weakness are. Two terrific quote were shared in class, the first states, Humility is not thinking
less of yourself but thinking about yourself less. Being able to think about what your needs and
wants and looking other peoples pain and try and understand that pain. The second quote states,
Humility is an authentic state of vulnerability, having the courage to accept and understand the
circumstance surrounding us and to willingness to sacrifice. Humility takes being a state of
vulnerability with others. Even though opening up may be uncomfortable, it shows people that
you want to understand them and hear what they are going through. Humility takes sacrifice
because humility takes physical and emotion energy to show your compassion for others. Staying
humble, whether you have all the riches in the world or are struggling financially shows great
leadership qualities.
My final leadership tool is voice. Voice comes in many forms, communication is vital to
being a great leader. Voice is either verbal or non-verbal. For example, voice is in music, your
attitude, body language, even silence, you should not think of voice as one dimensional. An inner
voice is first created before projecting your outer voice to you community. Inner voice is the

feeling that burns within you. Making sure you use your inner voice will allow people to see that
you are genuine. Use your voice to affirm your community, the leadership challenge states,
Enthusiasm is infectious. As a leader you must use your voice to project positivity, which will
help broaden peoples ideas. When people are affirmed it allows people to feel purposeful, which
sparks collaboration. Having a can-do attitude in life allows you to have an effective voice
because if you believe in what you are saying, your inspiration will become contagious. You can
impact someones day with a simple smile as you walk past them, you never know what
someone else is going through. The struggles people go through may make them feel that they
have no voice, so listen. Listening is another form of voice and gives people an outlet to express
themselves. Listening helps you understand people for who they are. On the other hand, do not
fall into the trap of using your voice for negativity, like gossip or complaining. These will only
bind you, and will not allow to grow into becoming a great leader. Make sure you use your voice
wisely and that you are using your voice for the right reasons.
These tools more importantly allow you to serve your community to the best of your
abilities. Martin Luther King Jr. states, Everyone has the power for greatness, not for fame but
greatness, because greatness is determined by service. MLK empowers others to be a servant of
their community. Service goes back to your values, then branches out to your dreams and
visions, branching further into having humility and using your voice. Just like a tree, with a
strong leadership rooting system, this allows you to make a strong rooting system with your
community. Connecting with people is what service is about. One way I want to serve is to serve
by coaching. A dream of mine is to become the head strength and conditioning coach for a D1 or
professional team. My vision of reaching that dream is to intern and work diligently alongside
the best coaches, to learn from the best. My passion is fitness and this is why this dream means

so much to me. To hold that vision I must stay humble and have humility through the process. I
must understand my community and the purpose for my cause. And use that platform to project
my voice to encourage others. Ultimately my voice, my humility, my dream and vision all derive
from my values. Valuing people to give them the best opportunity to succeed in sport.