Last week, I attended a seminar on how to improve one’s leadership. While I was expecting a “tips and tricks” sort of presentation, I found something both different and better. I had thought a lot about how to oversee other people, how to “get stuff done,” but the presentation made me think of another aspect of leadership I had not seriously considered before: in addition of thinking about what I (or my organization) desired, I needed to think about what I valued. In my time here at Cornell, I have served as a leader in several capacities, both in my personal life as well as in a disability advocacy organization on campus. In both of these, I now realize, my decisions and my leadership style have come (or should have come) as much from the exigencies of the current situation as my own personal values that I bring to the table. In cases where this has not been the case, I have further noticed, I have been noticeably less happy in leading, and less successful. In short, I am glad I went to this event, since it helped me realize an important lesson from my past leadership experience, which I  will apply in all me future endeavors.