Different types of leadership

I suppose the main groups that I interact with are work connections, family, and friends. I interact with my family fairly regularly... I talk to my mom almost every day... and in that immediate family circle, I take on different roles depending on the situation. If we are hosting a party or some family event, I go into assistant party planner mode, letting my mom run the kitchen, etc and helping her get everything done. If I am hosting the event for family, the roles are reversed. I believe this is where my "hosting" gene comes from... my mom and I love to throw parties. When I am assisting my mom, I have noticed that she is good at delegating work, which is something that I need to improve on. When we are not hosting parties and just hanging out, I take on the role of bossy older sister, telling everyone what to do and fighting with my dad about the best way to do things. In these situations, I like to take charge and organize people, which is a lot like my mom again. I think with her years of experience, she has a lot of tips to give me about running a family... and I'd like to hear them :)

In my work life I am definitely not as bossy. I like to be in charge still, but am more open to other people's ideas and suggestions about things. I want to be seen as a hard worker, on top of my projects, and smart at work.. so I try to be as prepared as possible for all meetings I attend and projects I run. It is sometimes difficult for me to lessen my control grip when running an event, however I understand that working relationships are not as forgiving as family, so I can bite my tongue and just go with it... sometimes.

With my friends, again, I am a planner. I love to plan parties, get togethers, outings, whatever! With these types of interactions, I do like to remain very much in control. However I do work with my friends and their ideas if they have an opinion. It is not as hard for me to let go of my control with friends as it is for me in work situations. I think this is because in work, if you mess up, people form opinions of you quickly, and it is difficult to change their minds. With friends, you can mess up, fall down, scream and cry, but they will still be there for you and still believe in you.

It would seem that I fall into the same role in most aspects of my life... and I don't consider that a bad thing. My personality is a controlling, planning one... but one that still wants to be liked and make sure everyone has a good time. I feel that as long as I keep those two aspects balanced, then I will be pretty good :)