POS 12
Anonymous
May 10, 2012


This is not a leadership letter, rather it's a letter on how the Power of Self Course has influenced me and will continue to mold and refine my leadership style.

Coming into the Power of Self Class I defined myself as a "Silent Leader" someone who will step up and manage as needed, but doesn't require or like the public recognition. Strength Finders has labeled me as a Life Line. My leadership skills have been shaped by my values, and importantly my experiences, and I learn from those experiences.

Coming into the POS Class I would have told you I'm "reflective" constantly re-evaluating how things could be better, some call me a perfectionist, but POS has taught to accept and balance what's important with my need to be perfect. I think my leadership style maps nicely to my BrainsStyle, I am a "Deliberator".

While I was looking forward to the class and learning more about myself, I didn't expect any major revelations. I couldn't have been more wrong; from day one it's been an emotional roller coaster and I've had more experiences than I would have ever expected.

I found that what I learned from POS went beyond my professional career. In the very first class, Marsha talked about giving back, which was something I had personally struggled with for years, finding time and not feeling guilty about taking time from my family was my biggest inhibition. Due to POS and my coach, Suzanne, I am now involved with Spirit Horse and looking forward to becoming a trainer working with horses and Autistic children. What's even more satisfying is my husband is also donating his time with me.

I learned that I would rather get a root canal than go through another T Group experience. While learning not to judge or give advice but to listen compassionately to other women's stories, I got my own personal insight. I was told by a un-named member that when I opened up and shared something personal about who I am, the rest of the group found me more approachable and could better connect, a nice way of saying I was a little cold and standoffish. While this may seem intuitive to some, it's not something that comes easy to me, but now I consciously focus on sharing personal information to provide some context of who I am when working with new teams.

I found out I can't walk a balance beam and never want to be a bottom, top or middle, in fact next time I want to be the "customer" (who seem to have all the money and the power)..

I've never been more relaxed then when I took Yoga, and now I'm the proud owner of two CD's that I have yet to listen to but need to and will before the 21st because I committed and promised my coach Suzanne; another POS lesson, the power of public commitment.

There were more than a few painful lessons:

I learned betrayal can come from all sources, including family, and while forgiveness is important, it's okay to draw boundaries and let go. And since family is something I highly value this was the hardest lesson and still the most difficult to reconcile.

I went through some personal challenges in our fourth class and learned the power of women based on the empathy and support of the women around me. This was something personal and hard to share but my Study Group was a tremendous support and rock during that time. My personal lesson, lean on your friends and know when to ask for help.

I anticipate I will revisit and leverage the content from this course for a long time to come, and be a better leader for it. I will purposely seek out and share what I've learned with other women. However, what I truly value is getting to know each and every woman in the class and the sharing of our stories for the last nine months together, those experiences I will always hold close to my heart and is something I hope to carry forward.

Participant, PoS #12, 2011 - 2012

PoS Class #7, SWARM, got together for a fun evening of re-connecting with lots of laughter and sharing stories.