By Heather Hansen | Contributor
Leaders are a fundamental part of life. We will always have them. Without great leadership, America would not have gained freedom, technology wouldn’t have become advanced and the world could’ve turned out completely different.
Leadership is important and people in the spotlight need to understand that what they do publicly affects younger generations below them. Selena Gomez started out as a Disney star and now has progressed into a more adult area of performance. However, she still maintains those sweet characteristics that fans loved.
Gomez likely realized her leadership capabilities and that young kids were watching her on Disney Channel, but she still had the right to grow up. How can we keep celebrities responsible for teaching our children what it means to be a leader?
That is something parents, teachers and friends should be helping instill in our youth. Yes, every child has a hero, whether it be a sports star, movie star or singer. Isn’t it those people’s defined responsibility to use their fame to become the leaders we think they should be?
People in the public eye should be mindful of what they are doing publicly, but in the end, they still have the same rights to mess up or do things the way they want. Public figures are impactful to everyone, but people know right from wrong. If a parent didn’t approve of what their child’s sports hero was doing, it is that parent’s responsibility to explain why to their child.
Some of the best leadership comes from the people who have failed the most. Steve Jobs failed many times when he was creating the original iPhone. Do you think his first success made him the leader that he was?
No, it was the countless failures that made him the leader he was. He demonstrated that perseverance and believing in oneself was the ultimate achievement. Failure allows people to analyze what they did wrong and what they can do differently to improve.
Great leaders reflect on their failures or moments of weakness and learn to be better from those moments. Reflection leads to understanding and understanding leads to improvement.
Improvement is the building block we all as citizens of the world want to see. Great leadership needs failure to see improvement. I think leaders need to keep in mind that they do impactful things, but we as people need to keep in mind that everyone is entitled to mess up. It is how people respond to their own failures that we need to evaluate.
Heather Hansen
Dallas
Senior supply chain management and risk management and insurance major
