Effectively balance leadership and followership to affect positive group functioning.
As an OCL major I learned how to effectively balance leadership and followership to affect positive group functioning. At the beginning of the capstone class, I experienced of sense that the room contained "too many chiefs and not enough Indians." This was a course filled with 25 leadership majors who were coming together for a final project. I would be lying if I said I did not have doubts at the beginning of the semester. People in the class would also need to take the role of the follower at times for our group to be successful.
This excerpt above is from my Lead100 self analysis essay. As you can see, it wasn't a very good reflection. The point I was trying to make is when faced with a decision, I tend to go with the flow and allow others to make decision. I am a pragmatist follower who goes with the flow and doesn't value my own opinion. As a leader, I have learned from this. I have learned when to be a follower and allow others to take the leadership role. Within our capstone class we needed to take turns being leaders. When we were faced with a technical problem, I knew I was not the person to take control of the task at hand and allowed a more technical student lead us through that dilemma. While I've always been good at being a follower, I have also learned when to step in and voice my opinion. When I found myself sinking into the back of group projects at times and allow others to make the decisions, I did this because I was not confident in my ideas. Why listen to my ideas when we're in a room filled with shining leaders who have fantastic ideas?
It wasn't until I study abroad in Thailand with the leadership major that I finally grew confident in my ideas. We were assigned a change project within the Thai culture and we had to create a stable solution for the problem. One night, I finally shared the ideas that had been building up in my head but been too scared to share, and my group questioned why I had held those ideas in. I explained to them that I wasn't confident in my opinions. This is when I remembered that leadership is about divergent ideas and that we have to work through all the bad ideas to reach innovative solutions. Being a leader is about feeding ideas off one another to reach a successful solution. So, I learned to stand up for my opinions and to share the thoughts that build up in my head even if they might be discarded when we discuss solutions.
It wasn't until I study abroad in Thailand with the leadership major that I finally grew confident in my ideas. We were assigned a change project within the Thai culture and we had to create a stable solution for the problem. One night, I finally shared the ideas that had been building up in my head but been too scared to share, and my group questioned why I had held those ideas in. I explained to them that I wasn't confident in my opinions. This is when I remembered that leadership is about divergent ideas and that we have to work through all the bad ideas to reach innovative solutions. Being a leader is about feeding ideas off one another to reach a successful solution. So, I learned to stand up for my opinions and to share the thoughts that build up in my head even if they might be discarded when we discuss solutions.
Engage in questions of ethics and recognize the responsibilities of leaders to act responsibly towards themselves, their followers, and the larger community.
I have learned to engage in questions of ethics and recognize the responsibility of leaders to act responsibly towards themselves their followers, and the larger community while studying leadership at UD. In Lead100 we had to write and an ethical essay. The prompt was to write about ethical decision I faced in the past and how I overcame it. Here is an excerpt from my paper.
As a leader I will face numerous ethical decisions in my future. Ethical decisions are bound to happen, and unfortunately we are human and have flaws. As a leader I will never be able to please all parties because humans all have different opinions when it come to morals and ethics. I took a philosophy class (Phil202) where we evaluated whether social topics were morally ethical. We discussed topics such as abortion and war. The goal wasn't to voice our opinion in class but to determine if the topic was ethical. We realized that there are a handful of norms we have as Americans that aren't ethical. We dump trash out each and every day instead of composting and recycling. Each day we face ethical dilemmas and as a leader I will do my best to lead ethically. I will do this by staying true to my core values, of faith, community, and determination. By staying true to these three values, I will be the most effective and ethical leader I can. I will have my flaws at times but like I said in this ethical dilemma essay, I need to use that little voice in the back of my head telling me the right thing to do.
One of my core values is community and this is important to be because my community is made up of all my friends, family and support system. The community I grew up in has raised me and has made me the person I am. My community is constantly expanding and I need to make sure I stay loyal to them and my core beliefs. I want my community to be proud of the leader I am and the person I have come to be. In order to make my community proud I have to live up to being the kind, honest, and ethical person they raised me to be. I was raised in an extremely honest household. When I was a kid and my dad caught me illegally downloading music, he required that I purchase every song I downloaded with my own money. This upbringing made me the caring and honest person I am and that shows in my leadership values and characteristics.
One of my core values is community and this is important to be because my community is made up of all my friends, family and support system. The community I grew up in has raised me and has made me the person I am. My community is constantly expanding and I need to make sure I stay loyal to them and my core beliefs. I want my community to be proud of the leader I am and the person I have come to be. In order to make my community proud I have to live up to being the kind, honest, and ethical person they raised me to be. I was raised in an extremely honest household. When I was a kid and my dad caught me illegally downloading music, he required that I purchase every song I downloaded with my own money. This upbringing made me the caring and honest person I am and that shows in my leadership values and characteristics.
Use creative and critical thinking skills and knowledge of leadership to effectively contribute to a problem-solving team.
I have used various creative and critical thinking skills and knowledge of leadership to effectively contribute to a problem-solving team during the duration of my OCL major experience. In Lead300 we spent most of the course learning about creativity. I learned that being a creative leader roots from divergent thinking. This is a team that takes the time to create as many ideas as they can, then critically think through possible solutions. I've notice that I use divergent thinking a lot now when trying to think more creatively. Before this course, I would not have considered myself to be a creative person but I learned that every person is creative in his or her own way. We spent time working on a creative field book and it was one of my favorite assignments in the OCL major. We were given a project to solve a social problem in our community. We needed to come up with a creative solution using our critical thinking skills and knowledge. My group's project was to remodel the Trabant food court in order to promote healthier eating on campus. After conducting a survey, we knew that healthier choices were desired at the food court but that student didn't want to see the unhealthy choices go. As leaders we were faced with a problem that needed to be solved. Our group used our critical thinking skills to develop a new layout for the food court. With our knowledge as leaders we knew this was something the students wanted but we would have to present our solution the right way to get the right people on board to implement the change.
This root knowledge of creativity and critical thinking skills has led me to be a better leader. I've had to utilize these skills the most when my original plan back fires and I have to think on my toes for a quick alternate solution. I used these skills the most when working at a summer camp. Last summer I was the high ropes director of the camp and was responsible for leading campers through the high ropes course. When it was storming, the campers weren't allowed to climb the ropes course and I had to create an alternate activity to keep the campers occupied. The other challenge to creating a back up plan was that my group was not always assigned to the same building during a storm and therefore most of the time my go to rain activity wasn't available to me: gaga ball in the gym. This required me to be even more creative and think on my feet.
Learning critical skill and knowledge of leadership in the classroom has made me more conscious and aware of my actions outside of the classroom. It provides me with insight and confidence to lead effectively. When I am stuck and can't come up with a solution. I can use divergent thinking in my head until I reach a crazy enough idea that might just actually work. This skill and ability to creatively think will inspire others to learn and utilize these skills as well.
This root knowledge of creativity and critical thinking skills has led me to be a better leader. I've had to utilize these skills the most when my original plan back fires and I have to think on my toes for a quick alternate solution. I used these skills the most when working at a summer camp. Last summer I was the high ropes director of the camp and was responsible for leading campers through the high ropes course. When it was storming, the campers weren't allowed to climb the ropes course and I had to create an alternate activity to keep the campers occupied. The other challenge to creating a back up plan was that my group was not always assigned to the same building during a storm and therefore most of the time my go to rain activity wasn't available to me: gaga ball in the gym. This required me to be even more creative and think on my feet.
Learning critical skill and knowledge of leadership in the classroom has made me more conscious and aware of my actions outside of the classroom. It provides me with insight and confidence to lead effectively. When I am stuck and can't come up with a solution. I can use divergent thinking in my head until I reach a crazy enough idea that might just actually work. This skill and ability to creatively think will inspire others to learn and utilize these skills as well.
Accommodate individual differences (cultural, socioeconomic, global, etc) in your decisions and actions.
During my University of Delaware I had the opportunity to spend winter session in Thailand and Laos with the OCL major. While abroad, I learned how to accommodate individual difference in my decisions and actions. I took Lead400 and Lead411 while abroad and studied how to be a leader outside the United States. I know how to evaluate cultures on various spectrums such as power distance and uncertainty avoidance. Through this experience I learned that I needed to first assess a country's culture before leading. This is done to insure that you understand and respect the diversity of individuals and their culture. This photo below is from when I visited a Buddhist temple in Thailand. In order to enter a Buddhist temple, I needed to have my shoulders covered and I needed to take off my shoes. This was a custom of respect. From this experience, I learned how to respect and understand a different culture. Leaders interact with different culture all the time and in order to be a successful leader you must be compassionate and respectful of other beliefs and values
edInteracting with other cultures is important in the business world. In Buad309 we learn about the importance respecting other cultures during a business meeting. We learned specifically about the Japanese business culture and the custom that must be followed in order to successfully acquire a business deal. The Japanese value the business greeting and dress professionally. When greeting each other at the beginning of a business meeting, every person’s business card must be exchanged. This is a custom of the Japanese business world and the card must be accepted with two hands. There is a list of cultures that have similar and unique business customs. In Lead209, the presentation class, each student was assigned to learn a different country's business customs and practices and share them with the class. Throughout the class we learned a variety of cool and creative business meeting customs that different countries have. As a leader, it is important to do research. I am interested in pursuing a career working with another culture and it will be important for me to learn everything I can before hand to be the best leader I can. One of the most important lessons I learned while abroad in East Asia is to not be an obnoxious American. While in another culture we should dress and act respectable to the culture we are interacting with.
I have numerous abroad experiences but these practices and diverse perspective can also be brought back here to the University of Delaware. With these experiences I have learned that we should always be conscious and respectful of different cultures no matter the setting we are in. While sitting in a coffee shop, on campus, I never know who is sitting next to me listening to my conversation. The United States is a melting pot and is filled with different beliefs and customs. Every culture roots from core values and you never know whom you might offend with a casual side comment. Throughout this major, I have learned how to accommodate individual differences in my decisions and actions.
I have numerous abroad experiences but these practices and diverse perspective can also be brought back here to the University of Delaware. With these experiences I have learned that we should always be conscious and respectful of different cultures no matter the setting we are in. While sitting in a coffee shop, on campus, I never know who is sitting next to me listening to my conversation. The United States is a melting pot and is filled with different beliefs and customs. Every culture roots from core values and you never know whom you might offend with a casual side comment. Throughout this major, I have learned how to accommodate individual differences in my decisions and actions.