I believe that in order to be an effective leader, leaders must have the quality of inspiration. Being inspirational is important because leaders envision a better future and enlist others to act. In the Student Leadership Challenge, the authors state in order to be a visionary, you must imagine the possibilities of a better tomorrow by reflecting on your past and attending to the present (Kouzes 71-72). This is important because you must know what did not work or what needs to be improved in order to make things more effective than before. Leaders know they can not do it all by themselves and believe if people work together, they can make a difference. Leaders enlist others by appealing to common ideas, dreams and values in order to make images of the future. They motivate others to make sacrifices so they all can provide for a better future. Leaders must be able to inspire a vision and get others to act upon shared visions in order to accomplish a set goal. I believe Elizabeth Stanton should receive the award for Most Inspirational because she envisioned a better tomorrow by imagining the possibilities and enlisted others by appealing to a common goal.
Elizabeth Stanton was a women's rights activist, feminist, editor, and writer. She was born on November 12th,1815 in Johnstown, New York. She was raised in a wealthy household where she received a great education. She graduated from the Emma Willard's Troy Female Seminary in 1832. Although Stanton had an education, she was still a woman. Women could not vote, own property, run for office, get an education nor make their own decisions. Growing up in an era where women could not share the same rights as men angered her, and her visits to her cousin, the reformer Gerrit Smith, influenced her to become an activist for women's rights. She was an early leader in the women's rights movement. The women's rights movement embraced the idea of feminism; which is a collection of movements and ideologies aimed to provide equality amongst the sexes.