The Spark Leadership Conference is one of many Leadership opportunities Central Michigan University offers to any student on campus who usually has never participated in any leadership styled camp/conference looking to find the leader inside of them. The Spark Leadership Series is a one day, interactive conference that consists of speakers that talk about the different perspectives of Leadership, connecting with students from all across campus, participating in a difficult Leadership initiative, and learning the type of leadership style we are. I arrived into Powers Ballroom surrounded with 40 other students who did not know what they got themselves into.
We were first split up into small groups with an upperclassmen as our facilitator for the day. During the time with our small groups and facilitator, we got to know each other by learning about each other’s perspectives of leadership and the way they apply it to their everyday life. Our first activity was learning what our own leadership style was. The different types are Spirited, Considerate, Systematic, and Direct. After taking a self evaluation test, I discovered that I was a Considerate Leader. A considerate leader is a person who is a open minded, self-less leader that recognizes the importance of listening to others’ views and opinions that shows supports for others. We were then split up into smaller groups with only the people that had the same leadership style as you. This was a great feeling for me to see that I am not the only person who has this type of leadership style, since people see me as very quiet and sometimes it seems like I am more of a follower than a leader. I have always been an introvert, and I constantly worry if people do not see me as a leader since I am not the type of person who you can hear from across the room. It built my confidence up knowing I am not alone and that my personality is worthy of a leader.
Before attending Central Michigan University, I was so unsure of who I was and what my purpose in life was. I was always looked upon as a shy, quiet girl who was afraid to step outside of their comfort zone but had so much potential built up inside. After attending Spark, I am very confident in myself in breaking down those walls down and feel more capable of expressing my leadership skills as a considerate leader. I will use my knowledge and experience from this conference to build that drive to become a better leader from the inside out.
Megan Elizabeth Bird 