Reflecting back on my packed year in Leadership 12, I can say with certainty that I have grown, both as a leader and as an individual. Prior to taking on this course, I had always believed leadership was about taking charge and having all the right answers. I honestly thought I had to be at the front of every line, directing orders to peers to get things moving. As I progressed along with the course, I soon realized this was not the case. Most of the times, it was about figuring things out as the event progressed, supporting the team in whichever role was needed, and stepping back when necessary.

In Semester 1, I found myself taking on more active leadership roles. Because this was my first time in the course, I wanted to take on all those front-facing leadership roles. This led me to be a Point Person for an October event, as well as take charge in a lot of events. I was the emcee for the Spirit Assembly (another front-facing role), and these roles pushed me to become an organized leader. It helped me communicate clearly to teammates, but I still hadn’t figured out how to simultaneously be a leader and a teammate.

Semester 2 looked a lot different, as my extended absence forced me to enter my first Leadership event in Semester 2 without much preparation (event was Grade 10 Day). Although I checked in with the Point People, I entered the event without knowing the exact details of the day. As the event progressed, I saw myself taking on more “backstage” roles such as filling in for the raffle station, volunteering to hand out food, etc. I stayed flexible and helped out wherever needed, observing the event as a whole and seeing the parts I was needed. This collective experience taught me that you don’t always need to be front and center to have an impact. Following this, I’ve taken on more so-to-speak spontaneous roles in the events, being flexible with filling in where extra hands were needed. Specifically, I’ve floated between jobs where needed and have filled in for the emcee role for Grade 12 Day.

Overall, this course has taught me to become a well-rounded leader. I stated previously in my reflections and September goals that I wanted to find the balance between the “hard” and “soft” leadership styles. By experiencing being a “backstage” leader and being adaptive, I learned how to become one: it’s not always having control over people, but being able to flexibly handle the situation when things go out of control.

I apologize if this reflection felt too formal, but I wanted to record my honest thoughts and learnings about the school year. I’ve genuinely enjoyed working with like-minded peers at Pinetree and being guided to become a leader of my own. I enjoyed sharing each struggle together, and finding joy in solving them collectively as a team.