1. Leadership behavior can be taught vs leaders are born. What do you think? Provide your rationale and an example of a born and made leader.

I think that while some people have inherent traits that predispose them to leadership, ultimately leaders can be taught versus being born. The primary reason for my belief is that the idea that leaders are born implies far too much bias on behalf of the judge. I think that pursuing a leader that is born risks the oversight of so many who may not fit the mold of a “leader.” Just like there are different ways to lead, there are different ways to learn and thus a leader isn’t a “one-size fits all” category.Mahatma Gandhi is an example of a born leader.
Dr. Anthony Fauci is an example of made leader, influenced by circumstance.

2. Post your reflections on your strengths, areas that need attention, and development priorities as identified by the emotional intelligence questionnaire on the discussion board.

Overall, I scored highly on the Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (SA 44, ME 38, MO 40, E 44, SS 44). However, my lowest score was in managing emotion, and then motivating oneself. This is no surprise to me, I wrestle with emotions regularly. On the one hand, it makes me a very empathetic clinician. I pride myself on treating every patient as if they were my family, but it can sometimes distract me from task and make me less efficient. I understand that in leadership roles, working with team members I will need to keep my emotions in check.

3. Research some vision statements of various organizations. Post at least two such statements on the discussion forum and explain how these may have evolved.

Mission and Visions are different. According to our coursework, “The mission identifies the “how” and “what” of the organization’s operations, whereas a vision describes the “why” behind what the organization is working toward.”

Life Is Good is a popular t-shirt and merchandise company. Their vision is “to spread the power of optimism.” The company’s website (www.lifeisgood.com) explains that optimism is a practice, a choice that supports emotional well-being and resilience. Their products have evolved from t shirts to hats, coffee mugs, household wares. Their vision has evolved to further their product placement, and it’s message in it’s overarching goal to spread optimism.

Ikea’s (www.ikea.com) vision is “to create a better everyday life for many people.” They achieve this vision through their mission which is to “offer a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them.”

4. Post your reflections on building strong leadership and increasing political support for rehabilitation of your country on the discussion board.

Professional organizations such as the APTA , the American Physical Therapy Association, are vital in developing leaders within physical therapy with the goal of advocating for rehabilitation support in the United States. While the US seemingly has resources, they are not accessible to all people. Medicare reimbursement decreases make therapy less affordable to patients. Clinicians are pressed to provide lower quality care given the time constraints of decreased reimbursement. Some clinicians are leaning towards fee-for-service where they do not take any insurance at all. It is imperative in the United States to advocate for rehabilitation equity to all populations.