Everyone’s approach to leadership is different. How would you describe your personal leadership style? What values do you consider the most important when leading others? How do you inspire and influence others to get behind your vision?

Leadership is a unique ability to successfully define objectives and guide a team in the right direction. This is a throughout process which requires a professional assessment of the situation and a personal approach to each team member. Leadership is far beyond of assigning tasks; it is about inspiring and motivating a team to work for a unique purpose together. The true significance is better delivered through the real-life experience of leading a group. I would like to tell the situation which helped personally me to feel myself as a leader. In the last months of 2020, I got an opportunity to participate in the “PetroBowl” competition, organized by Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE). The competition was organized particularly for students interested in petroleum engineering. From the first second of seeing the announcement about the competition I wished to accept this challenge and participate in “PetroBowl”. I acknowledged that the concept of the competition is specific, thus during the team building I made throughout investigation among my friends and tried to choose the most suitable members. Finally, my two friends and I joined the competition as a team. The competition was tough and challenging which made it difficult to pass through stages. This situation created a stressful situation in our team; my team members were ready to give up. At that point, I assessed the situation and had a motivating talk with my team members, which increased the winner spirit of our team. Consequently, the high performance of my team and the dedication of all team members lead us to the second place. This leadership experience revealed for me that I obtain a democratic style of leadership. Throughout this experience, I willed to listen to all the members and support the members helping them to demonstrate their full potential. The issues and the questions about the team performance were discussed and the whole team participated in the brainstorming process. For me the decisions of my team members were significant, and I also shared my thoughts within the team for the discussion. I feel that the teams with a comfortable atmosphere where each team member has a right for word are closer to success. The values are significant during team building. From the first sight, it may seem such simple as looking for technical knowledge and experience among the candidates. However, I believe that attitude and commitment are more significant values. Without any doubt, the experience and knowledge may play an outstanding role, but the significance of the commitment and attitude for me is greater. Because I believe that the attitude between team members and the commitment towards the final purpose are the main drivers for the success. The motivation and inspiration within the team are the sources of energy and nutrition for the team members. The inspiration may come from various sources. For example, Mahatma Gandhi inspired his followers by his ideology, Barak Obama – by the speeches delivered and hundreds of other leaders tried to find a method to inspire their mass which best fits the situation. The method that I believe is effective is the valuation of good work and the spread of positive spirit. A small “Well done! ” might encourage a person to motivate more and work harder to achieve their goal. Moreover, I inspire others to get behind my vision by building a strong relationship between each team member and me. To conclude, I want to mention that for me the best leadership style is the one where all team is working side by side without underestimating their opinions and are not afraid of saying their suggestions to their leader.