Leadership
This category is related to my experience in the completion of the Leadership Lecture Series, which required attending at least three lecture events about the most relevant leadership skills as they relate to today's age and state of technology. In addition, reflection statements were submitted for each of the events attended.
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The Leadership Lecture Series provided me with resources for planning for the future by emphasizing on the different required skills for a successful and effective leader. The lectures emphasized on the ever-changing climate of technology and society, and therefore one must be continuously adaptable.
One lecture highlighted focusing on the qualities that are timeless yet addresses the needs of the group being served, and these skills are initiating change itself, constant innovation upon the ideas and tools available, and profound understanding of the current situation and its problems. An example of a comparison that stood out to me was the skill of calculation. While individuals with the incredible talent of quick and accurate mental computations were extremely valued before the time of advanced computers, the invention of computing devices have made these talents obsolete. Therefore one must have skills that are adaptable to the constant changes of technology and society. Continuing on the example, one must focus on the fundamentals of mathematics, calculus, and algorithms rather than focusing on the mere procedures for calculations. This way, the skill is timeless and applicable to both performing mental math in the previous age as well as programming a useful code for systems in the modern age.
Understanding the importance and obtaining the skills of adaptability and being aware of the current and potential technology would greatly benefit me in my future career in biomedical engineering (e.g. making prosthetic devices, body replacement implants, etc.), where the work is designing technology itself. The adaptable skill in this case would be identifying the core needs of the patient and how this impacts and help their current and future lives. It would also be important to know about the latest developments in medicine and biomechanics as well as in other related fields to implement the most updated concepts into the technological device. This career thus require the leadership skill of collaborating and communicating with others as other ideas and opinions are taken into account.