EDLP 708 Culminating Reflection1
EDLP 708 Culminating Reflection
Scott S. Critzer
Virginia Commonwealth University
Author Note
Correspondence regarding this paper should be addressed to Scott S. Critzer, Assistant Principal, Randolph-Henry High School, 755 David Bruce Avenue, Charlotte Court House, Virginia 23923. E-mail:
EDLP 708 Culminating Reflection
Leadership is perception. While there must, in the long run, be a substance to one’s leadership in order to achieve success, the perception of a person’s leadership ability is essential and often hinges on their “presence.” One’s ability to be in the moment, build relationships, be expressive, and have a sense of what one believes, the four pillars of Halpern and Lubar’s (2003) PRES model of leadership, are the foundational elements of building a leadership presence. By watching video of myself reflecting on areas of leadership, I was able to evaluate my leadership presence and pinpoint some areas in which I would like to improve.
In order to have a presence, it seems axiomatic that one must be present and fully engrossed in the moment. Given the pace of my day and the volume of things that I had left to do, I was pleased with my ability to be and appear present.A key to this is the ability I have developed to turn off my “inner-critic” and fear of failure in a situation and simply let the situation occur (Halpern and Lubar, 2003). I am able to do this well in scheduled situations like this interview, but remaining present, flexible, and in the momentamidst the chaos that is my average day is a key point of focus for me in developing leadership presence.
As I read Halpern and Lubar’s (2003) work, I came to the belief that in situations of presence, a clear understanding of one’s values and beliefs, what Halpern and Lubar (2003) call “self-knowing” comes before Expressiveness and Reaching Out in a person’s ability to create a presence. I felt from watching the video that I displayed comfort and conviction in my values and beliefs as they related to the questions and this allowed me not only to appear more comfortable with the material but to extend beyond the basic answer.
That ability to extend beyond the basic answer lends itself to what Halpern and Lubar (2003) call “Reaching Out.” It is the ability to not only express one’s personal beliefs and values but to connect to the values and beliefs of others. In several of my answers, I connected to the outside world, quoting a past speaker of note in one answer and extending my job role in another beyond teachers and students to acknowledge and address the difficulties that parents face in raising a teenager. While I can tend to be too wordy at times and have to be careful not to lose my message in my verbosity, the ability and tendency I demonstrated in the interview to extend beyond the basic answer and put elements of myself (stories, quotes I believe in, personal connections, etc…) into the reflection has helped me through the years to reach out and connect with others and build a better leadership presence.
Of course, all of the Being Present, Self-Knowing, and Reaching Out is of no use if a leader cannot present it in such a way that the audience is receptive to it and perceives it as leadership. I felt that my overall Expressiveness in the interview was effective. My posture and eye contact generally demonstrated confidence; and, although I noticed points where I could have chosen more emphatic verbs to illustrate how strongly I felt about an answer, I used my words and hand gestures effectively to emphasize my points. However, my habit of looking up or down and taking a deep breath when faced with a difficult question coupled with my tendency, at times, to speak in higher-pitched tones when uncertain about an answer did cause some loss of expressiveness and are areas that I will need to improve.
In general, I felt that my leadership presencewas good but could be improved. With modifications to some areas of my Expressiveness and brevity and an increased focus on being present in the moment, I believe I can greatly improve my leadership presence both in situations such as these and, more importantly, on a daily basis.
Resources
Halpern, B. L. & Lubar, K. (2003).Leadership Presence: Dramatic Techniques to
Reach Out, Motivate, and Inspire. New York: Gotham Books.