Leadership Focus Paper Christine Anderson GB500-07 Mr. Alex Lazo April 22, 2008 Finding a time when I was a leader or was put in a leadership proved to be a difficult task. In my career, I have not yet directed a team or project nor have I developed a team. My leadership role was when I chose to be lead homeroom parent for my daughter’s third grade class this year. My daughter was thrilled with the idea but I had my doubts on how other parents would respond to me being the leader and not them. My first task was the Halloween Party or Fall Festival party depending on who you asked. There was going to be a parade around the school for the kids to show off their costumes and then the party would be in the individual classroom. I was to contact the parents who wanted to help to see what each was able to contribute whether it is a treat or a craft. During the month of October, I was very sick with a cough and was not able to contact the parents through the phone. The leadership approach that I ended up using for this party was more of a supportive leadership because my concern was for the students and I did not discuss nor ask the opinions of the other parents who were participating. For the Winter Holiday and Valentine’s Day parties, I was pretty much on my own to be the leader for these parties. I contacted some of the parents to see if any were attending but most had kids in lower grades and wanted to spend the time with them. For these parties, I used more of the participative approach being that plans were discussed ahead of time and ideas were taken into account before I made decisions. The leadership style that should have been used for both parties is the participative approach for a variety of reasons. First, listening to the other parents and their ideas of what the party should be like before making my own decision is an example of how the participative approach would be used. With the help of everyone putting their ideas together, the children’s...