How have you been able to apply what you have learned about leadership?
While taking Leadership 270.04 I've learned a lot about leadership. The most important thing I have learned and will always remember is the Relational Leadership Model. Purpose, Inclusive, Empowering, Ethical, and Process are all components that make up the Relational Leadership model. Leadership cannot happen without this Relational Leadership Model. Me being in college is a way that I've applied the Relational Leadership Model. My purpose of being here is to get an undergraduate degree in Health Sciences and have my younger siblings, nephews, niece, and other people follow in my footsteps and go to college. I plan to include any and everyone whose willing to make a difference in young people like myself to graduate from college. I will empower others to do the same through my journey of college and beyond. My values and beliefs will remain the same. These four things is my process to graduate from college and how I plan to set an example for others.
The Tuckman Model is another thing I've learned while taking Leadership 270.04. The model shows how group(s) develop from beginning to end. Which brings me to my group for leadership with Amanda and MaryGrace. Forming was easy since our instructors Mel and Danielle formed them for us. Once our group was formed we each read Leading with Soul for our assigned group book. Since we are now done with the book, we took our next step which is storming. Storming is basically brainstorming. As a group we sat down and figured out what we want to put in our presentation and how we want to present our presentation. We are currently working on the norming step. Norming is the step where group(s) establish patterns on how to get the work done whether it's formal or informal procedures. Eventually we will get to the performing and adjourning stages and hopefully our presentation turns out great!
"TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK!"
"Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results not attributes. " -Peter Drucker
How are you more aware of yourself?
The Jung Typology Test helped become more aware of myself. Since I've taking the test I notice that my results (ESTJ) applies to my everyday life. For example, last weekend I was very extravert. I went to dinner and a movie Friday night. Went to breakfast, did some shopping, and went bowling on Saturday. On Sunday, I went to go look at this apartment, they were really nice! As you can see I had a very busy, outgoing, fun weekend. Sensing, Thinking, and Judging also occur in my everyday life. I make sure my information is correct before telling others of my findings.When making decisions I weigh the pros and cons of the situation and see if the pros out weigh the cons or if the cons out weighs the pros and make my decision from there. Then I make judgement on whether or not my decision was the right decision for me.
The strengths quest test also helped me be more aware of myself. My top five strengths are Futuristic, Achiever, Responsibility, Competition, and Woo. At first I was a little confused about what Futuristic and Woo meant until I got the reference card that explain all the different types of strengths. Futuristic people are inspired by the future and what could be. They also inspire others with their visions of the future. This is totally me and I can see why this is my top strength. All day I think about my future and tell my family and friends about it all the time, I even dream about my future. I also realized that I work very hard and like to stay busy and productive which is how Achiever was my second top strength. All my life I've heard people say you are very responsible and mature for your age which may have been the reason why my mom and other family members always trusted me and had me do certain things. I didn't think I was really competitive but I was wrong. Every time I get an graded assignment I look around to see how good other people did compare to what I did. I also when I play games with others, most of the time I play to win instead of just for the fun if it. I don't like losing. Lastly my fifth strength is Woo, the challenge of meeting new people and winning them over. All my friends used to say that I was each other favorite because they hardly ever got mad at me or stopped talking me, I guess you can say I won them over.
What things do you now see differently? How are you changing?
One thing I see different is leading with love and spirit, from which I learned from reading Leading with Soul. When you leading with love and spirit, it show that you care about your participants and your participants see that you care and will feel more important to you. Another thing I see differently is when you lead give other people some power like Steve did in this book. It made me understand that it's okay to give other people some power to make them feel like they have some type of control. For example, we vote on things we want to change instead of the government making all the decision. This is a way we have power, are in control, and make us feel a part of the government. Also I now see that leading come from the heart. Like the book said "The heart of leadership is in the hearts of leaders. You have to lead from something deep inside." and "In the end, it is not our techniques, our talents or our knowledge that matter, it is our being."
I'm changing by being honest with myself by asking myself is this something that I will enjoy and love doing for the rest of my life? Is my heart in this? Will I stick with this when times get hard or give up? And if I answer yes to anyone of these questions then I know that that path is not the right path for me. Also I'm changing on being so competitive. Instead of comparing myself to others all the time, I just need to focus on me. I can't be good at everything right? RIGHT! Last but not least I'm changing the saying "that you can do whatever you put your mind to" which I learned at the annual conference is wrong but by telling people that they should pursue things that they are great at because they will be more successful that way then being mediocre at something that they are not so successful in but most importantly love what they do. Like Steve Jobs says:
How will you continue your learning about leadership?
To continue my learning about leadership I plan to spend my summers participating in internships like the Magic Disney Internship where I will work closely with leaders, work in teams, and take classes for personal and career development. I hope to be able to take more leadership classes while I'm still in college working towards my major and minor. Get involve here at Ohio State, volunteer, and find a job that teaches me a lot about leadership. I also plan to read other books like First, Break All the Rules because I really liked Ayana's book reflection of the book and it inspired me to want to read it. Learning from others is another way I will continue to learn about leadership. There are teachers all around me and I'm not just talking about people with degrees in education. I'm also talking about from my friends, family, co-workers, classmates, e.t.c. When I read Leading with Soul it was chapter talking about discovering new teachers and how teachers are all around us. The authors was right because a lot of people I've came across I learned something from them, good or bad. And I will continue to learn from others and hopefully they will learn from me.
What is your own philosophy of leadership?
After taking this course, my philosophy of leadership has changed. I now think that leadership is about making a change. When you lead you have a purpose, a purpose to change something and that's what this book Exploring Leadership taught me. It started with the basics, the steps of the Relational Leadership Model. The model shows us the process we take to make a change. We all agreed in class that change is a process! And to go about that process we have to have a purpose, include and empower others, and it has to be something we believe in, ethics. From there we would move on to the Tuckman Model. Where we would form our groups, brainstorm on how we want to go about on how to make the change, go about getting the work done, performing our hard work to others, and have closure on our change.
My philosophy of leadership is also about being creative by leading in ways other people hasn't and connecting. No two people lead in the same exact way because no two people are just alike. Everybody is different and have different mind sets. What works for me might not work for you and vice versa. Although we're not just alike, we all connect in some way. We might share some of the same strengths, psychological types, ethnicity, age, grade levels, and so on. In conclusion, my philosophy of leadership are change, creativity, and connecting.
Remember: "Life's deepest lessons are often where you least expect them."
After taking this course, my philosophy of leadership has changed. I now think that leadership is about making a change. When you lead you have a purpose, a purpose to change something and that's what this book Exploring Leadership taught me. It started with the basics, the steps of the Relational Leadership Model. The model shows us the process we take to make a change. We all agreed in class that change is a process! And to go about that process we have to have a purpose, include and empower others, and it has to be something we believe in, ethics. From there we would move on to the Tuckman Model. Where we would form our groups, brainstorm on how we want to go about on how to make the change, go about getting the work done, performing our hard work to others, and have closure on our change. 