Stephanie Duenas leadership challenges and lessons learned

   

Leadership Challenges and Lessons Learned 

     Leadership is often described as a journey filled with both opportunities and challenges. While most people imagine leadership to be about giving instructions and keeping projects on track, the reality is that being leader requires a lot of patience, adaptability and the ability to support others in moments of uncertainty. My own leadership experience taught me these lessons firsthand. What began as just a volunteer opportunity in my class quickly turned into an opportunity to grow as a leader and a teammate. 

    One of the biggest challenges I faced was managing four groups at the same time while also trying to keep up with each of their presentations they had to do for the class. This meant I had to constantly shift my focus between groups, making sure that everyone was on track and that no group was falling behind on their tasks. Each group worked at a different pace and had its own strength and weaknesses including also I had to consider that they had different deadlines to meet for their presentation. At times, it felt overwhelming to juggle so many responsibilities at once, but this challenge pushed me to become more organized, attentive, and adaptable as a leader. 

    Thankfully, I was not alone during all of this. I had another project manager by my side, and the support and help made a significant difference. Having a partner allowed me to share the workload and gave me someone to share ideas with on how to manage the groups. This teamwork reminded me that leaders do not have to do everything by themselves. In fact, collaboration is one of the greatest strengths of effective leadership. By leaning on each other we were able to get tasks finished on time and stay on top of each group. 

    In addition to splitting up the work and sharing ideas, the other project manager and I also divided up the work fairly between ourselves.  For example, when it came down to writing the introduction and conclusion for each of the group’s projects, we spit up the work evenly, each of us doing two introductions and two conclusions. This not only made the workload more manageable but also ensured that every group received the same level of attention and support. By splitting up the tasks, we were able to balance our responsibilities and prevent burnout, which made the process smoother for both of us and the groups we managed. 

     We also worked together when it came time to decide which groups to add the extra classmates to. This was an important decision because we wanted to ensure that all the groups would be balanced and make sure that no team had the unfair advantage of having more group members or the disadvantage of having less than other groups. By discussing this together, we were able to ensure that students were placed in a group where they could contribute their very best. Collaborating on this decision helped ensure fairness and showed me how valuable it is to share responsibility with another leader instead of trying to make every choice on my own. 

    Patience because one of the important skills I had to develop as a leader. There were times when group members wouldn’t respond to the group messages or delayed starting their parts of the project until the very last minute. This was stressful because it created uncertainty about whether the work would be finished on time or if we would have to reassign that part to another group member. However, I learned to manage my frustration by reminding myself that not everyone works at the same pace or the same way. Even though some waited till the deadline was near and had made few communications to their groups, they ultimately completed their tasks. Instead of letting impatience take over and get the best of me, I tried to focus my attention on keeping communication open and offering reminders in a respectful way. This experience showed me that patience is essential for leadership, especially when working with multiple and divers groups of people. 

    Another important part of my role as a leader was encouraging the groups as they worked on their presentations. I made it a point to check in on each group regularly, looking at what they had completed so far and offering feedback on their progress. When I saw that their slides or ideas were coming together well, I would let them know by saying things like, “This presentation looks really good” or “Everything seems to be coming along well.” These words of encouragement gave the groups reassurance that they were on the right track. Especially when it came down to writing the conclusion for each groups presentation, the other group manager and I made sure to add part of each person presentations that we enjoyed and was they did that made an impact to the speeches they did. I believe that by taking the time to look at their work directly and acknowledge their progress, I was able to build their confidence and keep them motivated to continue putting in effort. 

    Perhaps the most rewarding part of this experience was watching the teams grow in confidence and unity and also the fact that I made a friend along the way, the other group leader.  At the beginning, many members were hesitant or unsure of their abilities. Some were quiet during discussions, while others worried about how their presentations would turn out. But as time went on and they received encouragement, guidance, and fair opportunities to contribute, their confidence began to grow. By the end of the project, I saw how proud they were of their work, and I felt proud too not just of what they produced, but of how they developed as a team.

    Looking back, I can say that this leadership experience was both challenging and rewarding. Managing four groups at once, adding new members, dividing work fairly, developing patience, and collaborating with another leader all pushed me out of my comfort zone. At times, I felt unsure of myself and worried about making mistakes. But those challenges helped me grow as a leader. I learned that leadership requires more than organization it requires patience, encouragement, flexibility, collaboration, and accountability. Most importantly, it requires a genuine commitment to supporting others and helping them succeed.