Reflections on leadership (sort of)

Intro

I still have to think about what it means for me to be a leader. I haven't reached a satisfactory definition yet, and without one, I don’t even know if I want to be a leader (how would I?). So far I have thought of several possible styles of definitions, some more concrete and some more abstract, but I don't like any of them and I think that trying to describe them would be a waste of time.

Instead, I will use the simplest: I will assume that a leader is someone who is [list of properties], you can decide what those properties are based on your own experiences, for example: you may say that a leader is someone handsome, blond, that works really hard, calls everybody by their name and brushes his/her teeth 5 times a day.

Then, I will describe myself, and leave to you the decision of whether or not I am a leader, that is: whether or not I satisfy all those properties you have chosen to define a leader.

I would like you to take a moment while you are reading to pause and ponder if you think that the skills I mention are necessary for a leader to have, and what skills that I am not mentioning, a leader should have. This will help in deciding whether or not I satisfy your leader definition, but also serve as an exercise of reflection.

Me working on the walls of my department

Hard work and consistency

I grew up watching my parents work hard to achieve their goals, and how that hard work slowly paid off. I am not only talking about their professional goals, but their personal goals and hobbies too. I have seen them always trying their best at everything, how they never give up, and that attitude has stuck with me, to the point where I firmly believe that if you work hard, eventually you will see the results.

Note: “See the results” does not mean that by working hard you will be able to solve every problem, it merely reflects the fact that an insignificant amount of work, consistently maintained throughout long periods of time, can become pretty significant.

In addition to my parents' examples, I have had many examples of my own. I have experienced first hand how every goal requires consistent hard work to be accomplished, and this has helped to establish in me the belief that you must work hard and in a consistent way if you want to succeed.

Examples: I studied music for 11 years at a conservatory. I learned to play piano, saxophone, some viola, and music theory and history. We didn't have our own musical instruments at home so each day I would walk to the conservatory to borrow and practice with theirs. I didn’t see much progress at the beginning, but after a decade of consistent practice I am proud to say that I can decently play piano and saxophone.

Another example is my major. I have always studied passionately, motivated by curiosity. As a result of several years of such passionate studying I have a fairly good GPA, and I’ve formed good relations with many of my professors. This is a nice example because it reminds me that hard work is not a synonym of struggle, I have fun studying!

Playing Suite Helenica by Pedro Iturralde

Existence of solutions

Another of my beliefs, which nicely complements the previous one, is that of thinking that there is always a solution to a given problem, there is always a way out. I know that this may be naive, as a counterexample can be easily generated. Nevertheless, I recognize that I believe this with every fiber of my body.

This belief keeps me calm under pressure, which helps me reason correctly, and gives me the strength to keep working hard, looking for a solution even when I can’t see any progress. In this way, it is somewhat similar to how believing in the existence of a god has helped many people to keep fighting towards a goal despite being in adverse situations.

Problem solving ability

I am extremely curious, after becoming a chemistry technician I started a physics major and a math major, in which I have trained a special ability, often called problem solving ability. I have found this incredibly useful to face every problem in my life.

What exactly happens in a math major? At the beginning of most of the courses, you are given certain objects, and then spend the rest of the semester studying the properties of these objects and how they relate to the ones you have already studied.

Again and again you pass through this very situation: you start with almost no information, and must play with these objects to know them better and then get some conclusions, properties, relations, etc. This has gotten me used to the “start from scratch” situation, which has turned out to be pretty useful.

In my life, I face challenges and new situations as a game, just as I face studying math as a discovery and understanding game.

Generic picture of people solving a problem. I intended to put a picture of me solving a problem, but I don't have :(

Interlude

When you see me working, it is probable that the first things that will stand out to you are the 3 that I have just mentioned: You will see me act calmly as if I knew there is a solution to every problem, and work hard, passionately and consistently to find it, you’ll see me engage with a problem at a deep level.

Now I will move on to describe some characteristics that will probably stand out when you are working with me.

Honesty and humor

I always believed that honesty is the best policy, and I lack certain common sense, so I frequently find myself saying some difficult to swallow truths. In order to avoid conflict in these situations, I have developed a somewhat of a comical attitude such that it makes the truths seem less aggressive while still communicating the ideas I want to communicate.

I also use humor and comedy resources to calm down people in tense situations, in order to keep a comfortable work environment.

Aside from that, I love joking (as you may have seen). My sense of humor is probably the first thing you will notice when working with me.

An absolutely-non-related picture

Philosophy of life

Describing my complete philosophy of life is beyond the scope of this text, but I want to mention some essential things that are important in order for you to know what to expect in working with me.

Firstly, I value information. In life we must make decisions, the only distinction between randomness and control is the information we have at the moment of taking that decision. Naturally, the first thing I do in every situation is gather information. A trivial example: I don’t like to give my opinion if it hasn’t been properly researched first bla bla.

Secondly, I tend to reflect a lot. Reflection is the most important tool we have in achieving self consciousness, which is important information to have, so whenever I have the time, I like to reflect. I have not reflected on every little thing, but I do have my opinion on some of the most important topics: what do I think about religion, about love, about happiness, which do I think is the sense of life, and of course: which ice cream flavor is the best.

Third and last or last but not least, I am optimistic, I am extremely good at finding the good side of things, and because of this, most of the time I am thankful and happy, with energy, and ready for a new challenge.

Chambuchito: Appreciating the small things in life that make us happy

Change

As I said earlier, I face new situations and challenges as a game, and the best challenges I have ever faced have been related to changing my personality. These are also the most difficult ones, because first I have to reflect on how I am, then why I am like that, then what should I change, and then change it, which takes a lot of concentration and a really long time.

The dozen friends

Example: When I started college, I was a very shy, introverted person. I didn't know anyone, but I wanted to make some friends. I decided I wanted to be more extroverted, to be able to join a conversation naturally and talk about something other than math or physics related topics.

It took me several months, but I changed and I am really proud of it. Picture this: in my 3rd year at college I got the Friends of Fulbright scholarship and traveled to the US with a dozen strangers, 7 weeks later I was coming back to Argentina with a dozen new friends.

Now I’m in the process of changing again, I am trying to become a more emphatic, caring, and supportive person.

Conclusions

Thanks! I appreciate that you read all of that, now to the neat part: am I a leader? That’s up to you and your definition of a leader.

But I don’t really care about the answer. Perhaps a better use of your time would be to think which of the things I said (if any) did you resonate with? Why? Are you a leader?

You can find a few more interesting questions to reflect on in our FAQ section.

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