Searchlight is said to help individuals discover parts of themselves within a leadership role that may not have been uncovered as of yet. Progression through this program has done just that for me. It has cemented my desire to be both a manager and a leader. Management and Leadership are two subjects which covered in Leadership 101, and which were lightly addressed throughout. The major discussion stemmed around whether or not these words are synonymous. My belief is that good management is needed to help organizations meet current commitments, while good leadership is needed to move the organization into the future. Executive Briefing and Self Accountability both provided direct and specific methods to better our management techniques and leadership qualities. In specific, all the sessions I attended captured three main competencies that I addressed in my leadership development plan: Personal Leadership, Collaboration & Teamwork, and Accountability for Results.
Personal leadership is one area that I plan to continue working on. Due to the Myers Briggs assessment I know that I am a big picture person, so I will try to work on my focus regarding the details. My plan is to also step up and take the lead over my projects to get results without authority. One instance in which I am applying this practice is the Human Capital Bold Steps Dashboard. I am the lead on this project within my office. It is my responsibility to overcome boundaries and coordinate with other offices and personnel. I will be hosting an “all hands” meeting to discuss improving the dashboard for future roll outs.
The nature of my work requires a great deal of collaboration and teamwork. All my projects coordinate across offices and at time directorates and agencies. Searchlight has provided me some tools to make this coordination successful and productive. Using peer feedback from my briefings will allow me to better relay my ideas and products to various groups of people. I will work on being more approachable and using “softer language” so that my audience is not turned off. I will also be certain to reign in the details so I do not lose the attention or understanding of my audience. Being a productive part of the team is of great importance to me and I will be applying the tools I learned so that I continue in the right direction.
Being self accountable for results is not a problem area for me. I consistently follow the see it, do it, solve it model discussed in class. It is common practice for me to look at others perspectives or put myself in their shoes. Then I determine how can I achieve my desired outcome in the most efficient manner. At times this requires me to change my approach with a certain individual or causes me to go in a different direction all together. I am a believer in the self accountability model as discussed in class. I’ve see it work and I have practiced it on a regular basis. Being self accountable makes dealing with others and potential issues much easier to resolve. I plan to “stay above the line” as often as possible.
I have learned more about myself and my leadership style through completing the searchlight program. It has given me an opportunity to not only reflect on areas for improvement but also recognize my strengths. Searchlight is a great program and I will recommend it to my colleagues.

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