AUTUMN RITTER
Minnesota State University - Mankato, Class of 2022

SYNTHESIS OF LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE

Before college, I thought I had a pretty good idea of what made a leader great. Although my perspective wasn't necessarily wrong, I have grown immensely in my understanding of leadership, especially when it relates to my own life. I have taken numerous classes to learn about all the different types of leadership that exist, and along with my collegiate experiences, I have been able to put this knowledge to practice in developing my own personal leadership style.

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As a freshman - and then again as a senior - I took the StrengthsFinder test and identified my most prominent leadership strengths. These strengths turned out to change a lot over 4 years, which I believe can be attributed simply to my personal growth throughout this time. My most recent StrengthsFinder assessment identified intellection, individualization, and achievement as some of my top strengths. In combination with my values of empathy, communication, and passion, a leadership skill set completely unique to me is created.

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The application of my newly acquired leadership knowledge came in an array of opportunities such as my role as a Shift Leader at Dunkin' and a YMCA Mentor. Both of these experiences showed me new ways to lead and adapt to the group being served. At Dunkin', I was leading a team with a very wide age range (going from 15 to almost 50 years old). This role taught me how to be consistent with leadership and provide everyone with the same guidance and attention regardless of status. In contrast, my role as a YMCA Mentor showed me how to adapt my leadership to fit children, since their development requires different forms of leadership and communication.

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However, one of my most impactful leadership opportunities was the Integrated Business Experience (IBE), where I served as Vice President. This experience made me very acutely aware of my own leadership practices, especially due to the team-based nature of the program. In the IBE, I struggled at first to navigate the wide spectrum of leadership personalities within the group, and it seemed that it would be impossible to find harmony. However, when I truly focused on the leadership styles of each individual group member, it became clearer to me how each member could be utilized to the benefit of the team. All the leadership instruction I had been given was fully realized in that moment, and it became a huge turning point for me.

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I also recently began my journey in the corporate world at Coldwell Banker Commercial Fisher Group (CBC) here in Mankato, where I am working towards becoming a certified commercial real estate agent. This experience is another that has been extremely impactful to my journey, as it has helped me realize that my most significant leadership style is servant leadership. Although I am technically at the bottom of the organizational hierarchy, I utilize servant leadership to individually help each member of the team, which in turn benefits the entire company.

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I don't believe there will ever be a "final step" in my leadership journey, but I am very aware (and appreciative) of the progress I have made in these short four years. I know now how to capitalize on my strengths and focus on improving my weaknesses to benefit the groups I will serve and potentially lead. I hope to use this knowledge and self-awareness to continually grow, while still remaining true to myself and the leader I hope to become.