Running head: WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN PEOPLE ARE NOT LOOKING?

Alyssa Mazey
What do you do when people are not looking?
Kent State University

WHEN PEOPLE ARE NOT LOOKING

What is leadership? And what does it mean? Does it mean being

the line leader? Or does it mean acting how you want others to act? Do
you base your definition off of one of the 5 models in Dr. Susan
Komivess

such

as

Leadership

Challenge,

Servant

Leadership,

Emotionally Intelligent Leadership, Social Change Model, or Relational

Leadership Model? Or do you base your definition of leadership on our
very first class meeting and class collaboration? Throughout this
semester, I have thought of this question everyday: what is leadership?
Or better yet, what is my definition of leadership? I see the value in all
the readings we have done and all the discussions we have had but
they have all lead me to my own personal definition of what leadership
is.
Leadership is what you do or say when you think no one else is
watching.
I have seen and read about this phenomenon many times in my
life and was finally able to take a 15 week graduate level course to
solidify my beliefs. In this course I was able to truly build my opinion
based on theories and research studies. I also used my cohort to my
advantage and listened as each of them shared their beliefs through
class discussion.
In our seventh week of class, we had a presentation and a class
discussion based around digital leadership. Since I graduated with a
Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies with a concentration in

WHEN PEOPLE ARE NOT LOOKING

public communication, digital media was a huge interest area for me,
especially the use of social media. These readings and this discussion
began to make me think would I post things on social media if I would
not want my parents or even my boss to see? A few weeks later we
had another discussion in regards to Yik Yak, the anonymous social
media account based on your current location and NASPA. Our
discussion was mainly focused on leading by example and how can we
expect our students to be professional and responsible with social
media if we as professionals are abusing it at a professional networking
event. Our discussion was rooted in trying to understand why people
feel inclined to say inappropriate things when their names are no
longer attached to an idea that they would not say if their name was.
The professionals that used this platform in an inappropriate way were
not demonstrating good leadership in my personal opinion.
According to the Integrity and Reputation: Avoiding Digital
Blunders article, Abraham Lincoln was quoted saying, When I do good,
I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. Thats my religion. This quote
resonated with me because it shows a form of ethical leadership that
we have been talking about all semester. People want to do things that
make them feel good, and people do not want to do things that make
them feel bad. This idea can be seen as ambiguous because everyone
has different ideas of what good can be. As a future student affairs
leader, I will use this idea to help me make decisions in two ways. The

WHEN PEOPLE ARE NOT LOOKING

first way is I will make a good decision by being able to explain to my

parents why I believed it was the best decision. My parents raised me
with a strong set of morals and values and did their best to teach me
right from wrong; if I can make a decision and justify it to them without
manipulating the situation, I will know I made the best decision I could
have. The second way I will make a good decision is by using the
Leadership Challenge (Kouzes and Psoner, 1987/2007). I strongly agree
with this theory because I agree with the five practices that are used
when making a decision. I believe it is important to model the way
because you need to lead by example. When you inspire a shared
vision, it is important to communicate what that vision is and make
sure that those you are leading are thinking in the same way you are. It
is also important to make sure that those you are leading know that
they are able to come to you to challenge the process if a decision is
made that they do not understand. I want to make decisions that will
inspire and enable others to act and engage in activities that will allow
them to be apart of the decision making process. I will always
encourage the heart and let my students/co-workers/staff members
know when they have an accomplishment and I will celebrate their
successes with them. If all 5 of these practices can be accomplished
when making a decision, I will know it was the right decision. On the
contrary, I am not naive enough to believe that everyone is going to
always love and agree with me which is why it is very important to me

WHEN PEOPLE ARE NOT LOOKING

to be an approachable professional and allow my decisions to be

challenged in a respectful manner.
With all of that being said, one of my favorite things to do when
getting a syllabus is to read the course description. The course
description for this class states by learning to appraise their own
leadership styles, students improve their leadership effectiveness and
explore the relationship between leadership and college and university
effectiveness. The next paragraph says, note that the description
says styles in the plural. If you have only one style, you will have
difficulty

being

effective

in

rapidly-changing

higher

education

environments, in different contexts, and in working with people from a

variety of cultures. This course has taught me how to be more fluid in
my leading (which is something I am constantly working on) and how
to expect the unexpected. When I started my graduate school career
14 weeks ago exactly, I was not sure what to expect; what I have
received in these weeks is not anything I could have even imagined. I
am taking opportunities in areas that I have never experienced before
and I have learned what my meaning of leadership truly is.
Leadership is what you do when you think no one else is
watching, and I intend to live my life that way.

WHEN PEOPLE ARE NOT LOOKING

References
McKenzie, B. (2015). Leadership in education organizations syllabus.
Dugan, J.P. & Komives, S. R. (n.d). Leadership theories.
Integrity and Repuation: Avoiding digital blunders.