5. Use creative and critical thinking skills and knowledge of leadership to effectively contribute to a problem-solving team.

In a warehouse where I worked in material management, my department ran into an issue where numerous customers would come to get replacement bolts. The issue at hand was that the system we used to locate parts had no way of searching for a bolt without a part number, and most of the bolts did not have part numbers on them. At this time, the customers had to shuffle through hundreds of drawers to try and find one that looked similar to what they needed, and hope that it would work. 

Two coworkers and I started brainstorming for a solution. I listened attentively to my coworkers' ideas and offered insight into their plans. Most of the things they had come up with were unrealistic, but I continued listening and we helped each other to come up with something. We came to the conclusion together of making a board with one of each bolt on it.

We gathered a board and got to work with displaying on it to make the customer's job easier. After it was completed, it streamlined the process expeditiously, and all of the customers were extremely happy about the change.

I was able to use critical thinking skills to approach this task while challenging my team's ideas without shutting them down. I will be a good leader because I understand that the most effective leaders are those that ensure everyone that they are safe to think differently and should feel inclined to speak up. By allowing myself to listen to my team, even though I did not fully agree with what they were saying, we were able to create a new thing together, rather than me doing everything on my own.