MODULE 7: WRITING ASSIGNMENT 2
The article by F.J. Gilbert titled Ten Lessons of Leadership: Reflections of a Female
Academic outlines the “qualities and characteristics of a good leader – visionary, decisive, clear
communicator, honesty and integrity, commitment and passion, being inspirational, accountable,
well organized with the ability to delegate and empower” (Gilbert, 2020, p. 799). This article
goes on to further explain ten lessons of leadership that author F.J. Gilbert has discovered and
found to be most effective in creating a strong and effective leader. These ten lessons of
leadership are described as investing in quality, surrounding yourself with experts, building
teams and helping them flourish, not being afraid to ask for help, reaching out for opportunities,
understanding the institution and environment in which you work, learning to apologize and be
modest and humble, remembering that success is not your own but that of the entire team,
leading by example, and working hard and enjoying it (Gilbert, 2020, p. 801).
One of the first issues in the article that Gilbert touched on was the fact that “in academia,
promotion is still dominated by publications and grant awards despite moves to recognize the
importance of teaching” (Gilbert, 2020, p. 801). I have seen situations similar to this within the
organizations that I have worked for; promotions being given out based on likability or other
superficial (or arguably political) factors rather than being given to people who were prepared for
and already doing the work of the promotable position. F.J. Gilbert goes on to say that “selection
panels should strive very hard to find appropriate candidates” (Gilbert, 2020, p. 801). I firmly
stand behind this as the organization that I currently work for doesn’t even have a “selection
panel”, but rather one individual who is responsible for screening applicants, interviewing
candidates, and selecting the chosen new hire(s). This does not allow for conversation or
deliberation of applicants and interviewees to select the most appropriate fit based on different
viewpoints of the people working in our organization. In this same paragraph, Gilbert says that
MODULE 7: WRITING ASSIGNMENT 3
unconscious bias training is essential for selection panels which is something that I strongly
believe in, but I don’t see happening very often, or at least within my organization and some that
I have worked in previously (Gilbert, 2020, p. 801).
In my organization, I hold a position that allows me to use Gilbert’s ten lessons of
leadership. When I was promoted to my position, I became the frontline for communication
between our office and the field, however many of the field technicians struggled to form
relationships with me and vice versa. Eventually, I was able to do so, but I had to implement
many of these lessons of leadership and I still do in order to strengthen and maintain my
relationships. Investing in quality has been one of the biggest ones. I am trying to form real
friendships with the field technicians rather than superficial relationships. Secondly, reaching our
for opportunities and asking for help have coincided and given me a major advantage. Whenever
I see and opportunity to learn from the technicians, I take initiative to ask them if they mind
showing me, explaining, or letting me shadow them on a job so that I can advance my
knowledge in what our company does and form better alliances with them. I would also say that
surrounding myself with experts has been a great power tool for me as I am able to learn from
those around me instead of constantly having to teach those around me. I have always heard that
if you are the smartest one in the room, then you are in the wrong room and that is a concept that
I try to abide by faithfully at work. Another one of Gilbert’s ten lessons that I recognize in myself
is working hard and enjoying it. There are plenty of days that I don’t necessarily enjoy my job,
but I work hard every day and people notice that. Even when I make mistakes or need help with
certain tasks, they recognize that I am giving it my best effort instead of just trying to pass work
off and this develops mutual respect and opens doors for further learning.
