Please respond to the discussion post below. Post: One of the most profound chan

Please respond to the discussion post below.
Post:
One of the most profound changes I have personally undergone as I have grown up is the realization that I will never stop growing and learning. As a young kid, I felt how I viewed myself and the world never changed. Only from living life, growing, and experiencing did I realize I would never stop growing. I have no idea how I will view the world when I turn 30, 40, 50, and so on. But I can confidently say with more experience will come a deeper understanding and appreciation for my strengths, weaknesses, ideals, and self-image. Goldsby et al. (2021) state, “For leaders to influence others, they must first have their motivation and actions to get started on their grand projects.” Self-leadership is perhaps one of the most profound ideas that has come to me out of this master’s degree.
If I ever want to lead others, I must first be able to lead myself with everything it entails. The path toward self-improvement and self-betterment is a continuous process. When writing my master’s paper, I realized one significant overarching trend that I did write about. I have learned so much about leadership theory, yet my ability and experience putting it into practice is limited. As an officer, I am entrusted to be a leader.
I look forward to all the opportunities to put theory into practice to become a more holistic leader. After self-reflection, I believe I have a few fundamental gaps requiring more conscious attention than simply learning through experience. For this discussion post, I will share these gaps, why I feel they are essential, and the steps I plan on taking toward self-improvement.
Coach and mentor
The first significant gap I need to work on is the ability to coach and mentor. One of my goals as a leader is to develop my followers and organization to higher levels of success and fulfillment in all domains. Coaching and mentoring those around me is not a new skill set. There are many aspects in which I am a confident coach and mentor. For one, as a flight instructor for four years, I directly considered my job as a coach and mentor. Over my time as an instructor, I learned that I am ultimately taking someone with no prior aviation experience and developing them into a safe and confident pilot who will eventually be responsible for their airplane and their passengers. Over my time as an instructor, I learned what worked and what didn’t and that I had to tailor my coaching and mentoring to that specific student and their specific needs. By the end of my instructor experience, I considered myself proficient. I used my prior experience with different types of students to quickly and accurately address their specific needs. So much so that by my third year, I was one of the few instructors Embry Riddle would always send the “problem students” to for more significant assistance. Another aspect of coaching and mentoring I’m confident in is health and fitness. I was a very overweight child, and out of necessity, I learned how to work out and eat healthy. In the USMC, I help coach and mentor my peers and Marines to higher fitness levels and always try to help where possible. The truth of the matter, however, is that as an officer, I want to coach and mentor my Marines in all aspects of life, as I feel is my leadership privilege and responsibility. It is in this aspect I think I have issues. I am twenty-five years old, unmarried, and do not have children, nor am I even in a relationship; I’m still learning how to manage my finances and set myself up for future success. There is so much of life I am still actively a student of. Many Marines under me have issues and need coaching in aspects of life I do not know or am still trying to figure out for myself. Until I have more life experience, I think the best I can do for my Marines is be honest and try and find someone who can help.
Holistic Balance
I think true leaders are balanced in their lives. While we all have problems, other aspects of our lives will suffer if someone doesn’t have balance. I have discussed my desire to find balance in many of these discussion posts in my previous classes. When I think about my life, I take many things to the extreme. My fitness routine can be extreme. My desire to do my work, on time, efficient, and to the standards I want can be intense. I developed the “work hard, play hard” mentality in college. Working super hard during the week and then partying super hard on the weekend became a way of life, and it served me very well. I will say, however, now, as an adult, the work hard, play hard mentality is starting to no longer work for me and is another aspect I feel I deeply need balance in. I think about and work on trying to find a balance every day. I have made improvements, but I do not consider myself to have found a long-term stable solution yet. I know I need to see it for myself, my friends, my family, and my Marines.
Organizational Change
The ability to inspire and bring organizational change to fruition is a crucial aspect of leadership. While I have learned much in the theory and principles of organizational change, I would be lying if I said I had any experience doing it. Organizational change can be of any size and scale. The USMC is undergoing Force Design 2030, a fundamental shift in how Marines train, fight, and win. As a Marine officer, Force Design is one of my responsibilities to come to fruition. I also believe Force Design will be my first real experience with organizational change on a large scale. I intend to use many of the theories of change I have learned about to assist in its fruition. That being said, I do not know what I don’t know. I’m excited to learn and grow from its challenges. However, there is a substantial gap in my leadership skills within this domain due to a lack of experience.
Confidence
I believe being confident, not cocky, is an essential aspect of leadership. I chose to list confidence as an overall gap in my leadership skills. I decided to list this gap last because it helps explain my other gaps on a large scale. I am still in training and have limited experience leading Marines. As discussed in my paper, I know theory yet lack practice. Practice, knowledge, and proficiency builds confidence. I am excited to learn, grow, and build confidence with experience over time. I want to end with a quote that resonates with me and how I intend to work on my gaps in all leadership aspects. Day et al. (2004) state, “No single leader can have all the answers to every problem.” I know there is much I do not know and much I will never know. As a leader, I don’t think I have to have all the answers, but I do have to be humble enough to admit that. I want to use those around me, try to find answers, and never stop pursuing growth in all aspects.
References
Day, D. V., & Halpin, S. M. (2004). Growing leaders for tomorrow: An introduction. Leader development for transforming organizations: Growing leaders for tomorrow, 3-22.
Goldsby, M. G., Goldsby, E. A., Neck, C. B., Neck, C. P., & Mathews, R. (2021). Self-leadership: A four decade review of the literature and trainings. Administrative sciences, 11(1), 25.