Leadership is a crucial trait to have in life. It is the art of motivating people to act towards a common goal. It can also be defined as someone that guides or directs a group. Without it, nothing would be done, and life can be very messy. Throughout the year I have developed my abilities to be a leader and show leadership. But I believe one of the most impactful experiences I have had, is on year 9 camp at Kalbarri. I was able to practice leadership by guiding, helping, and working cohesively with my fellow peers through group goals like packing food and assisting them in tasks/activities. Year 9 camp was such a priceless experience and has taught me a lot.
On camp this year it was very distinctive from all the other camps as we were the one’s charge. As we were to ones to decide what to do, we needed some form of management so we weren’t all doing our own thing. To solve this problem, we required someone to step forward and take the leadership role as without a leader, we wouldn’t know what to do and there would be no authority in the group. Everyone agreed that we would shift leadership roles every day, so everyone could have a go at it.
During the camp, there were many opportunities where I had to show leadership. One of which was when I volunteered to organise the food that we were taking for camping as well as the packing of the food. In this instance, I had to guide the group to achieve our goal of packing the food. First of all, I instructed my peers to get the correct quantity of each ingredient that we needed for each meal. While so, I learned a significant factor of being a leader, and that was understanding the group’s requirements and listening to what everyone else had to say. This helped me grow to become a better leader, as I can satisfy the needs/wants of everyone not just myself. We were able to come up with a good plan that involved starting with the first meal, which was morning tea and then progressing our way to the last meal. When we had laid out all the ingredients that were required, I made sure to double-check we had the right ingredients as well as the quantity. Next, we had to distribute the food to everyone in the group to carry. I went around and asked who had space in their packs so they could carry the food. I ensured it was distributed well so those without much space shouldn’t take much food, and vice versa. Again we thought it was a good idea to start distributing from the first meal. We were able to efficiently pack our hiking bags and get going quickly. This valuable experience inspired me not only become a better leader but develop and understand the important qualities of a leader like consideration and empathy.
Altogether, year 9 camp has been a tremendous learning curve. It has assisted me significantly to strengthen my leadership skills. I was also able to learn the traits of being a leader and how to implement them to become a better one. Leadership is an essential skill that interferes with whatever I do in life, if it’s playing sport or working on a project in groups, leadership is required.