In my third year at MNSU, Mankato, I completed an independent research project with a partner which we presented at the Undergraduate Research Symposium. Since I had previous experience with the URC process, I took on a lot of the paperwork involved with applying for and receiving a grant. I also served as the primary student researcher because the research was a spin-off of our faculty mentor’s research project, which I had been involved with much longer than my partner. Because I had more experience than my partner, I was the person leading our project and keeping us on track to present. Through this semester long experience, I found an effective leadership style specific to me and formed a more concrete theory of leadership to use in future group contexts.

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My experience researching with a partner completes Values 3 and 4.

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At the beginning of the research process, I found myself taking on too much. As I mentioned, I had a bit more experience than my partner with the research process and the research topic itself. This set me up to take full control of the project because I felt I had a good grip on what needed to be done. While I always let others contribute and am open to outside ideas, I have noticed that I tend to take over responsibilities in group settings. This style of leadership is ineffective for every member of the group, including myself. Not only do I make my life more complicated, but I inhibit the growth of others by not showing them how to do things. As our project progressed into the experimentation phase, I noticed that I was taking control of the research, so I actively switched the way we were researching as a team by dividing tasks. We continued the entire project this way; my partner oversaw one type of measurement and was responsible for that portion of our poster and presenting it, while I oversaw the other.

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This leadership style was more effective in that I took much of the workload off myself and allowed my partner to feel trusted and valued via contribution. Through this process, I formed a leadership theory that tasks are completed more efficiently when the leader of a group divides tasks so that each group member feels they are a needed member of the team. When everyone has a say and gets to complete a certain portion of work, the process of completing the task is much more enjoyable for all. This was very evident in my research as my partner became an expert in their type of measurement and was able to present and be proud of the work they completed.

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As I continue into my career, I will use this leadership theory when I am the lead of a team in an engineering project. I will be conscious of how much work I am taking on and evaluate if the work can be divided amongst my team. In addition, I will remember that I can always review other people’s work and that training others in on a work task allows them to grow.