The Triangle Business Journal article, “Needed: Leaders Who Inspire, Listen,” emphasizes the importance of authentic leadership grounded in the core values, empathy, and connection with others. Off the bat, I can connect this to the design thinking model as well as the framework know as virtue ethics. The empathize section of the design thinking model goes along with these values as well as virtue ethics which is focusing on a person’s character rather than focusing on rules or consequences. These are important qualities to hold as a leader because you have to find the stern balance between kind and stern. Leaders who honor their employees effort for goodness provide meaning, listen deeply, build trust, and acknowledge the contributions of others. This will create environments that foster engagement, growth, and collaboration. As someone who wants to hold a leadership position in my career, these are non-negotiables for the type of space I want to create and be apart of. I have worked alongside leaders such as my dad, grandad, and administrative managers who have taught me the importance of teamwork and leading with grace.

I can also correlate this to what we have been doing throughout the semester. Our groups have been tasked with working together to make decisions based on our companies and values that we are looking for. This relates to the core values of my team because we believe in vision, critical thinking, communication, integrity, resilience, adaptability, and collaboration. Having empathy and connection to others is essential for working alongside peers to find a consensus.

“Guest Column: Needed: Leaders Who Inspire, Listen.” Triangle Business Journal, 30 Sept. 2016, https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2016/09/30/guest-columnneeded-leaders-who-inspirelisten.html