Challenges and Opportunities for Development Section

Personal Leadership Profile
Karen Nieberding
Eastern Kentucky University
03 December 2017
Table of Contents
Challenges and Opportunities for Development Section 3
Leadership Challenges 3
Development Goals 4
Immediate Actions to Achieve Your Development Goals 4
Other Development Activity 5
Lessons Learned 5
Future Leadership Goals and Plans Section 6
Specific leadership goals 6
Support Needed 7
Steps necessary to achieve goals 7
Obstacles and Steps to Overcome Them 8
Specific leadership goals 6
References 9
Challenges and Opportunities for Development Section
Leadership Challenges
There are obstacles and challenges which must be fought and overcome for a leader to be refined and polished like a sharpened arrow. Leadership is for the brave and courageous, hence, I have worked an extra mile to achieve my minor and major goals in life most particularly in helping children with special needs. My personal experience being a mother having a child that had been diagnosed for autism had led me to believe that I could help not only my child in this field of development but also extend into helping others having similar circumstance. According to Maxwell J.C. (2007) that despite the fact that people are born with greater natural gifts than others, we must all understand that the ability to lead depends on the skills, nearly all of which can be learned and improved. Such process doesn’t happen overnight. Leadership is difficult and consists of numerous facets like respect, experience, emotional strength, people skills, discipline, vision, momentum, and timing. Basically, I perceived that there will be leadership challenges along the way since there could never be success without first being triumphant over hindrances and difficulties. One of the difficulties I faced is juggling my schedule with work, school and taking care of my son who has special needs.
Sometimes with too much work and reading assignments from Eastern Kentucky University, the time spent for social life is already limited. I see to it that my time is well-balanced with school, spending time with my son and helping him with all his ordeal otherwise, the very purpose as to why I am studying in a prestigious University will be irrelevant. Likewise, the financial dilemma of supplying my tuition fee and other academic needs, in correlation to my personal needs also serve as a challenge. Another possible leadership dilemma is the cultural differences of the patients and people with autism. There is a need to study culture and foreign languages to at least know the basics in communicating with them to better understand their needs. All these dilemma only make me stronger and pushes me to think faster in providing immediate solutions.
Development Goals
It is not enough that I only excel academically but I must also learn how to perform well in real life specifically in handling cases where kids or adults who are diagnosed with autism are in need of my special care and attention. There is a need for assessment and evaluation as to how far I have grown in terms of my knowledge in the field of behavioral science and the medical treatments for autism. In addition, it is a primordial concern that I also engaged on hands-on activities by joining organizations and community associations that are focused on helping treat and assist autistic individuals. In the same way that I am developing in my knowledge and skills, I also have the responsibility to pass the information to those who are not well-educated on this particular topic. I am determined to learn more in this area of expertise and fully grasp the required learnings that will help me become well-versed in this field of science.
Immediate Actions to Achieve Your Development Goals
I have worked on a list of several actions that will help me stay focused and goal-oriented in achieving all my development goals and finish everything in due time. I have planned of joining group studies that will help me engage myself in community services together with a group of people who have the same interests and goals as me. There are also readings and video materials that will add up to my learning process. These authentic sources will help me in my studies and teach me the basics of not only rearing a child with special needs but also inform me with the advantages and disadvantages of autism. Having a support group that is going through similar experiences will further strengthen my resolve to push forward no matter how tiring or discouraging the challenges and obstacles would be during the process of development. Likewise, it is important that I choose a mentor who will correct me for mistakes, inspire me to move forward and guide me along the way until I finish my course and obtain a four-year degree from an accredited University.
Other Development Activity
Another brilliant idea and plan is to continue working in nursing aide clinics or caretaking organizations which helps special needs children and adults to add up to the years of...