It is hard to believe that this quarter is almost over! Time has really flown, I'm so happy to have learned so much in what seems like such a short amount of time. Part of Tuckman's model dealt with reflection, and as our group comes to a close I think this blog post is going to be just that - a reflection as to what was accomplished in our sessions and where I plan on taking this information in order to grow.

I feel as if leadership is nothing without practice. You can know all the theories in the book, but you need to know how to use them. Now that I know so much more about the process of leadership and the various theories, I'm excited to be able to apply them to things in my life. I have been able to really see how the groups that I am in function in the sense of the Tuckman model and assessing the leadership positions in the groups I am in. Now that I know what it means to be a good leader, I can see more easily where people's strengths lie and if they are in roles that will help them grow into the best that they can be. I have learned more about myself and the type of roles that I should be looking to take on that fit my leadership style. I've been able to look more closely at opportunities offered to me and go after the ones that are the most fitting and fun for me.

I can't say that I have been in any new roles of leadership since I started this class that I was able to build something from the beginning and really use all the things I have learned, but I think understanding groups has really helped me when it comes to working with other people and in the groups that I am already a member of. At the conference I was able to learn more information to put towards application when the time arises. This may be a silly example, but as an office assistant we are on committees to get things like decorations up for the dorm and knowing a bit more about leadership even improved little things like that where I was able to be a part of a group and make sure bulletin boards got done.

Awareness of self has been a huge factor for me in the class and quarter in general. Strengthsquest and Myers Briggs are both amazing assessments that have helped me to understand myself so much more. The letters "INFJ" and the words "Connectedness, responsibility, developer, belief, and empathy" really have helped in my understanding on who I am as a person and leader. Those things are rooted into me, and now that I know my strengths a bit better the best thing I can do is to work on enhancing them so that I can use them to the best of my ability. I feel like the key to being a good leader isn't so much about trying to be something your not, but to monopolize on the strengths already given to you. At the same time, you have to be aware as to how those strengths can be possible inferences in certain situations too. While a lot of my strengths have to do with relationships, I do have to be aware that I won't be able to please everyone all the time and that I will have to make decisions that may be hard.

I really have been able to see how these things play into my life. I've seen how my personality is shaped upon my strengths. I have also been able to reflect on my past leadership roles and see what has been effective and what hasn't. Awareness really has been something that I have taken from this class, be it for myself or others.

Before coming into this class, I thought there was only a couple ways to be a good leader. There had to be a perfect path someone could go down in order to be a really excellent leader. I wasn't really aware how many theories were out there and that the real battle of being a good leader isn't to follow one of them, but to pick out the points that work with your leadership style, stir them up, and make them your own. I took off my leadership lenses for a moment just to clean them off, and when I put them back on I was able to see in a better light what leadership meant for me and what I wanted to do with the knowledge given to me.

I'm becoming a lot more flexible to leadership styles now. I feel that once you are shown that there are so many different ways to go about something, it is much easier to accept those ways. I'm big on diversity, and that is now starting to include leadership styles too! I feel like it isn't so much about changing our leadership styles after this class but more about enhancing them to become better than we thought they could ever be!

The learning isn't going to stop after this class. Learning on how to be this better person and leader is something that I really am interested in, not because I ever see myself doing this big huge things where I am leading the world, but because I think it is important to know how your a leader so that you can bring that about in others. It is my hope that I am able to take a few more classes on leadership, possibly along the lines of the leadership minor, and I have even thought of the possibility behind the community leadership major that is offered here at Ohio State. I know that whatever I learn in either direction will be useful for whatever I do with my life. I would also really enjoy looking into LeaderShape, I've heard so many amazing things about it and it sounds fantastic.

I also want to get out there and continue to take on roles that will help my practice what it is I have learned. That is just as important as the class room. The things you learn by trial and error are going to stick with you a lot longer! It is my hope to pursue more opportunities in student and residence life. Leadership isn't something that you one day stop learning about. As David Pink said about mastery in Drive, I believe leadership to be an asymptote. You can never really reach 100% accuracy, you are always going to be learning something new!

I'm still building my leadership philosophy. I know now that a good leader and a good manager are two separate things. And, just like the picture says, its a lifestyle. You can be a fantastic leader without being in a position of leadership. Use your strengths. A good leader will be able to see what each person has to bring to the table and makes sure that they are in roles that will make them the best they can be. He or she is aware of the assets that the group has and is able to make a greater impact because of those strengths.

I still believe that a good leader is someone who can inspire leadership in others, someone who can make his followers passionate about what they are doing. Good leaders give direction and inspiration, and they stick by their followers' side through the whole process. A good leader knows that they can't do it on their own, and that their followers are just as important. Do what you do with all your heart. Be the change you want to see, do things with ethics and morals, and always strive to be a better person than you are today - and hold your group to the same standards.

I had the pleasure to read Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink for our group project. I think a lot of the ideas presented in this book were great and made a lot of sense, he talks a lot about the disparity between research in science and how businesses go about motivating people. Businesses nowadays put a lot of focus on rewards and punishment, something the author calls "carrots and sticks", without noticing that those things are actually hurting the performance instead of enhancing it in the long run. He then goes in to the two types of people, X & I, and the elements needed to become a Type I who follows this new way of working.

"The secret to high performance isn't our biological drive or our reward-and-punishment drive, but our third drive - our deep seated desire to direct our own loves, to extend and expand our abilities, and to make a contribution"

A lot of the time, people only look at biological drives and the use of rewards and punishments as the main drives for human behavior. They overlook the fact that there is this third drive, the fact that people will preform a task that they genuinely enjoy doing just because their incentive to doing it is that they love it. There is passion behind it. When you do something you love, your not worried about the external rewards, the reward is how the action makes you feel. It is intrinsic motivation, not external. But that is not what is going through the heads of most CEOs and bosses these days. It is true that jobs these days have become more complex and less "automatic" so to speak. Not as many jobs are rooted in routine work, they have started to really rely on creativity non-routine action that require self direction. This is where rewards and short term goals can be a bad thing instead of a good thing. Pink says that they narrow our focus and make the worker try and get to the reward the quickest way possible, even if that means cutting corners. If intrinsic motivation is involved, there is a good chance carrots and sticks are not the best option, unless the reward is unexpected.

"Effort is one of the things that gives meaning to life. Effort means you care about something, that something is important to you and you are willing to work for it. It would be an impoverished existence if you were not willing to value things and commit yourself to working towards them." 

- Carol Dweck

Pink teaches that there are two types of behavior in the world: people who practice type X behavior and those who practice type I. Type X is the type of behavior that most businesses seem to nourish, they are the people who are "fueled more by extrinsic desires that intrinsic ones". Type I is the opposite, they care more about satisfaction than reward. They are the type that outperforms in the long run, and Pink believes this type is the default behavior of all humans based on how children act. The society we live in teaches us how to be type X people. But there is good news, we can become type I people if we achieve 3 things. 

Autonomy.

 I always thought management would be so important and needed, but this book kind of changed my mind and made me thing about it a bit more. I said earlier that self direction is important, and therefore management becomes a problem with type 1 behavior. People have to have autonomy over what they are doing, when they do it, how they do it, and with whom they are doing the task with. If we manage our own selves, we care more about what we are doing and not worrying about the constraints placed upon us. 

Mastery.

"The desire to do something because you find it deeply satisfying and personally challenging inspires the highest levels of creativity, whether it's in the arts, sciences, or business" - Teresa Amabile

People do their best work when they reach flow. You reach this flow, or mastery, when you feel engaged in what you are doing. The best tasks to give a person to reach this mastery are tasks that are not too simple but not to challenging either. It is all in the joy in pursuit than reaching the end goal. 

 Purpose.

"We know that the richest experiences in our lives aren't when we are clamoring for validation from others, but when we're listening to our own voice - doing something that matters, doing it well, and doing it in the service of a cause larger than ourselves"

In being a person with type I behavior, we have to be doing something that gives us a purpose in life. We need to feel that what we are doing matters, and that we aren't just wasting our time in a day to day task.

Reading Drive really helped me to understand leadership better. It's not about management, it really is about relationships and trust in the people under you. One thing still holds true in my mind, something that I touched upon in my first blog, and that is the fact that being a good leader means you have to work to find the passion in others. Getting the task done is great, but the main goal is to get the people that you are leading to really love what they are doing - then you never have to worry about the task not being again, because it will get done if people love doing what they are doing and have the type I behavior. This is something that is similar between my outlook and Daniel Pink, and with this whole class I think. 

Before though, I thought the idea of rewards and punishments were something that came with leadership. You had to think of incentives to get people to do what you want them to do. And that still holds true, its just that there are better ways of doing that. I never really thought about rewards as being hurtful, same thing with goals. I thought they were necessary, not something that narrows our minds and puts us in a race so to speak. I firmly believe if you love what you do you won't cut corners like that, and you don't need a reward. 

Reading this book really made me think about myself and my career goals, and what I see myself doing. I never ever want to be in a type X role. I want to love what I am doing. When we talked about values, purpose was my top, so being in an environment where I can practice this type I behavior is critical. Work needs to be pleasurable!

 

It's really great that the blog for this week is all about the Tuckman model, considering that the first session I attended at the conference on leadership and civic engagement was all about the different levels and the various team building activities that can be done in each step! Funny how the world works like that...

Anyway, this model and what it means. I'm much more limited, as a freshman, when it comes to picking a really good group experience to be the base of my talks in this blog. I've decided that the best example that I have right now is my experiences involving Drackett/Neilwood Gables Community Council.  

Forming

All the people in this world let's come together, more than ever, I can feel it, can you feel it?

The stage where it all begins. Everyone is coming together with a purpose. In my case, we were coming together in order to make the DNG complex a better place and provide great fun for everyone. This was a time of ice breakers, and a lot of them. We all got to know each other better, got into the swing of how things would work, stuff like that. We were going to be a team now, in our little cohorts and then together as a large group. We got a feel for how things were going to go and how the group meshed, although the structure was based on previous years we were all new to this group regardless of position.

Storming

Now that we had come together, knew how meetings were going to run, different ideas began to come out. How were we going to vote on money forms? Whose idea would take precedence? How would we choose what we are going to do and what we will wait on? How will the meeting be run and how will everyone be involved? During this stage there was a lot of change until we found a way that things worked and worked well. This was a relatively short stage for our group, I think. A major part of it was that our advisers were very much a part of the action and keeping us on track. They kept us going in the right direction and offered support when we needed it, which was more often that it is now. Also, individuals began to feel more comfortable and, just as our book says, opinions began to emerge. The general body is made up of representatives from each floor, and now that we began to feel more comfortable as a group, we didn't have that big of a problem was saying something if we wanted to. If things weren't the way we thought they should be or someone had an idea on how we could so something different, they would voice it to the group. This wasn't something that would happen if we were in our forming stage so much. 

Norming

This is the stage I would say DNG CC is in now. Well, more of a limbo between this and the next stage really. Norming is where the group establishes how things will be done. Now that we have been together as a group for over a quarter, our meeting run a lot smoother and the members all know what is expected of them. Input and feedback from the adult advisers occurs less and less often because we know how to keep ourselves on track. We began to brainstorm details for the group and the different activities we would introduce to the complex. Money form voting became much easier too because we knew the process better and the questions that needed to be asked before everyone felt comfortable with passing them. 

Preforming

Almost there! Now that we are in this mode where we cycle through meetings much quicker. Everyone knows what is expected and we have started to put ideas into actions. We have had a lot of successful activities be planned such as Bottle Caps for Boobies, numerous alcohol alternative events for Friday nights, movie nights, group dinners, and more. Our executive board throws in some new twists like fun activities every now and then so no one gets bored, but we are very much so in a rhythm and getting things accomplished. Small groups are in charge of activities in their field (service, general programing, cultural awareness), but the larger group is in charge of marketing and making sure that the events are not only up and running, but the residents of the building are aware and there. 

Adjourning

This is a step that will be faced eventually, since Drackett is freshmen only and none of can stay to keep it around, but I think it is also a fresh step for any group. I guess when the time comes it will be more of a semi-adjournment, because a whole new group of students will pick it up next year. I've been in groups that have dissolved themselves before though. For example, in all of middle school I was in girl scouts and a part of a very active group. As we got older, all the members could put less and less time in and we weren't accomplishing the goals we had set for ourselves to do projects. At that point, it was time for us to go our seperate ways instead of trying to keep up an essentially dead group. I feel like any group that no longer has a purpose should either revisit the forming stage or adjourn. Not all groups are meant to go on forever, and if no one is going to put the effort into the purpose it is probably time for them to close up shop. 

When I read the prompt for this week's blog and noted that it was to be about self identity through Jung Typology, I'm not going to lie - I was pretty excited. Anyone who knows me well will tell you that I'm a bit of a weirdo when it comes to personality tests, true facts. I find them really interesting, and enlightening. Also when I was in high school I was going through a bit of a crisis where I had no idea what I wanted to be anymore and just decided that things like this would maybe provide the answer to me I guess, haha. (hey, it kind of worked! I have a better idea what I'm doing). I would not blame anyone in the least if they decided not to read this post of my pointless ramblings about it because I'll tell you now, that is probably all it is going to be!

 INFJ. I've taken this test a few different times and have consistently received this type code, and I have found it to be really fitting to my personality. They stand for Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, and Judging.

Introverted. internal. territorial. concentration. depth. intense. limited relationships.

When I first looked at this, I felt like there was no way it could be right. I don't consider myself an introverted person - especially now. Maybe when I was younger, OK. But now I'm a big people person. The more I read into it the more it made sense though. I was so ready to through a negative connotation on the word introverted and just assume it meant shy and didn't want to talk to people. Because of it being matched with my other letters, it does make sense for me. Being an introvert in this case just means that I need time away from the group to reflect, maybe more so that others. I'm a private type of person who isn't about to share my whole "book" with anyone, I really need to trust you in order for me to feel like I can tell you things. It's kind of a paradox really, I guess. I love people and helping people and feeling for people, but there is truth in the fact that I have a few people that are really close to me and those people are just about the only ones that know most everything about me. And it is true that I am more of a "deep" person, I'm not one who enjoys small talk so much. I'd much rather talk about the things that really make a person, I like those deep bond and connections and what is on the inside.


Intuitive. hunches. future. inspiration. head-in-the-clouds. fantasy. imaginative.

Our book says something about intuitive people being more of the big picture type of thinkers, and I think that is me in a sense. The words above certainly are like me. Growing up I was always one for fiction and fantasy books, and I'm a sucker for any sort of inspiring quotes. You should see my dorm room - I'm lucky my room mates are the same way and have a ton of quote posters on every available space of wall. Also, apparently my N is the reason why I might really like these personality tests - because intuitive people like are always looking to improve their self and identity since they rely on their instincts a lot. This manifests in my relationships and being able to kind of "read" people too. A lot of my friends have told me that I'm a really good listener and always seem to know when something is wrong and the best thing to say. I guess this might explain it.


Feeling. values. subjective. intimacy. personal. humane. harmony. sympathy. devoted.

Feeling made a lot of sense to me, especially after taking strengths quest, considering my belief, connectedness, and empathy strengths. I'm without a doubt a relationship person. I've always been the type that is really loyal to my friends and family and always say I don't know what I would do without them. I really love my friends and rely on them a lot to get me through. I'm always going to stand up for them and be the "protector" type, along with my "counseling" type that is always here for them. I'm a really personable person and I really do enjoy helping others. I've always been one to do service work and want to make a difference in the lives of others. I'm definitely the type to empathize with others and try to put myself in their shoes. And I LOVE deep talks and heart-to-hearts.


 Judging. settled. fixed. plan ahead. completed. deadlines.

I never know what to say about this one. One time when I took this test I actually had P, so I'm kind of thinking that I am very on the line about the last letter and normally am closer to the J. I love the whole "everything happens for a reason" outlook on life and try to be open about things and very flexible. My friends have all said I'm more of a passive person and that just goes with the flow. And this is true, but it was be no surprise that a whole lot of stress falls on my because part of me gets funny when things aren't for sure. I'm very guilty of thinking towards the future and what is going to happen, and I freak out a little bit if I don't know what is happening.


I feel like at the end of the day, I'm just one big mess of oxymoronic tendencies when it comes to my personality, to say the least. I live for relationships with people, especially deep relationships, but at the same time have to have time alone. I love listening to everyone and helping them solve their problems, but I am the type to not really let people in easily to help me. I like order and everything settled in my life, but at the same time I feel like I should just go with the flow. I'm ok with this though, it just means I'm flexible I guess.

When it comes to how my personality plays out in leadership, I guess it would be right to say that I am more about relationships than the analytical side of things. I like making sure everyone is getting along and accomplishing the task the best way possible, and that good is coming from what we are doing. I'm not the type to do something if it goes against my value system. This quote says it well: "INFJs tend to be idealists, and because of their J preference for closure and completion, they are generally doers as well as dreamers."

Congrats if you made it through that!

In science class, we were all taught the scientific method as a process to get things accomplished. It is just the steps and process that have to be followed in order to accurately do anything in science. Do this, then that. If you skip a step, your doing it wrong. There isn't a whole lot of innovation. Leadership is quite the opposite! There is no one set way to be a "good" leader, every is different. You could take many many different routes and still make a good leader and develop leadership skills. Context matters - one is good leadership skills to one person may not be the preferred way of going about things to another. Because everyone can be a leader, anyone is able to develop a leadership philosophy. But all good houses need a foundation, and the relational leadership model is a great foundation for any good leadership philosophy.

The relational leadership model, which I went through the pains of putting above here, shows the elements it takes to be a good leader. These are the ingredients, so to say, of a good philosophy of leadership. There has to be a purpose of some sort, and a good leader should be ethical, empowering and inclusive. All of these components are then part of the process of being a leader. When reading our book and going through this chapter that focused on this model, I tried to reflect on how I implement each component of this model and in what ways I could work on strengthening my foundations.

"A vision without a task is but a dream

A task without a vision is drudgery

A vision and a task is the hope of the world"

A vision and a task is a purpose, and a purpose is the first part of the model I read about. One thing leaders have to do is not just know the purpose of their group, but make sure that everyone working with them is working for the same thing. There has to be shared goals of the group and for them to be met, everyone has to know what they are working towards. This also helps so that there isn't any miss-communication. When I was reading, one this really stuck out to me in this section. It was an example of a girl who said "I feel capable but I am more of a maintainer than a builder. I can keep things going more than I am able to think them up in the first place" This really resonated with me because I kind of feel the same way. I have a hard time articulating what my purpose is. I know what I want to achieve, but I'm not all that great at spelling it out without the help of others. And sometimes, I don't know what my purpose is. There is a lot of things I am still figuring out and paths I am still exploring, but I'm ok with that most of the time. One thing for sure is once I know what my purpose and direction is, I put my heart into it and no one can really stop me. I try to stay passionate in what I do.

Inclusiveness is also a key part of leadership. The book says you have to understand, value, and actively engage diversity in views, approaches, styles, and aspects of individuality. So true! You have to make everyone feel a part of the group and that they have a place. Diversity was never something I felt I had a problem with. I am a really open minded person. When I took stengthsquest, some of my top strengths were connectedness, empathy, and developer; all of which I think really help with the inclusive part. I don't have a hard time putting myself in other's shoes and seeing it from their perspective. I want everyone to feel involved and I enjoy it when I am talking to people that are totally different from me. I like hearing all the differences and learning from them, but then at the same time seeing how similar we are and building friendships off of that.

Empowerment is another cornerstone of leadership, although there are many shades of it. Over the past year I have become a lot better at this one I think, I've become more self empowered and felt like I had a reason and the ability to be a good leader if I chose to. If you think it, you can do it - or however that saying goes. I'm not someone who is helpless, I'm able to do a lot of great things if I put my mind to it. This doesn't mean I feel like I can put everything on my shoulders though either. Leaders in a leadership position have to let others share the power too, and those that aren't the "leader" have to be responsible too. I've always felt more comfortable in the latter position I think, I like developing my leadership skills and being a part of things but I was never really one for jumping in to the positional leadership roles. I liked being responsible on my own terms, and felt flustered sometimes if I had to carry the weight of a whole group. I feel better with shared power and everyone just doing their part.

Morals and ethics kind of go hand in hand with good leadership. We need standards to uphold and morals to abide by so that we don't fall into corruption. Sometimes it is hard to say no and stand up for what you believe in, you have to be true to yourself and the purpose of your group. This is something even the participants have to uphold too, especially if a leader seems like he or she is taking power to far. I like to think that I have a good sense of self, and belief was another one of my strengths. I grew up in a private school environment and always had religion classes, I was just always taught that my beliefs and morals should transcend everything I do, and I have carried that over into all aspects of my life. The picture here is a retreat I went on in high school that really helped me to become the person I am today and challenged who I was as a person. It was there that my beliefs and morals became so much stronger.

Leadership isn't without rhyme and reason, there is a process behind it. It puts meaning behind what we do and shows us where we are and where we have to go. There has to be some sort of intention to accomplish change in leadership, without an intention there is so force of action. By using processes to accomplish change, leadership is in action.

 

Dumbledore's Army? Seems like a pretty good community that is involving, empowering, ethical and inclusive. I mean, what better purpose to a group than to work together to take down the bad guy and work against evil, right? Plus I was totally thinking about it after class on Monday.

I'm a big potter nerd. Although I'm not exactly in the wizarding world of Harry Potter, I am a buckeye at The Ohio State university. Totally different, I know. But I am apart of a few different communities that fit the bill for the first prompt.

As a freshman, I had the opportunity to get involved in a group called First Year Leadership Initiative (FYLI) on campus.  As a member of the group, I feel included and apart of something bigger than myself. Not only do the student leaders work to get us members involved in the group, but they really help to involve us on campus as a whole. I've had the opportunity to work with greek life for "Very Sharey Halloween", OUAB to help put on the Beat Michigan pep rally, and other various people on campus. Part of  the point of our group is to provide service, which is pretty ethical as it all supports good causes. We don't align ourselves with things that go against good morals. FYLI is also a pretty empowering group to me, because it has been the gateway for me getting involved in other activities and possibilities to look forward to as a buckeye. I've learned a lot on how to be a well rounded student and am learning really good leadership skills that I know will be helpful beyond my freshman year. 

In our book, authentic leaders are described as"persons who have achieved high levels of authenticity in that they know who they are, what they believe and value, and they act upon those values and beliefs while transparently interacting with others." I believe authentic leaders want not only to succeed but to see those around them succeed too. They want to help develop and nurture those who work with them. I found a quote by David Foster that says ‘You can’t buy performance, but you can inspire it.’. I really think it works well when talking about authentic leaders because inspiring others really is a core value. 

In order to be a good leader, I have to find my own way of strengthening others. I really want to be able to do that well someday. Right now, I feel like I play the role of listener and helper to my friends and those who know me. A lot of people come to me for help and I really enjoying sitting down and giving advice. In order to be a good leader, I have to get them to see the solution to the problem at hand. While it might be helpful in the short run to give a person all the answers, if you get them to work through it themselves and just help them along the path when they need it, they become able to do it themselves and believe in themselves. I can influence others in partaking in community council in my dorm, and help others through my job at the front desk. It's what I enjoy doing, and why I decided I have an interest in higher education. I really like college students and want to assist them to become better versions of themselves. 

 "Be an enthusiast in life. He taught me that if you are interested in something, no matter what it is, go at it full speed ahead. Embrace it with both arms, hug it, love it and above all become passionate about it. Lukewarm is no good. Hot is no good, either. White hot and passionate is the only thing to be."
My Uncle Oswald by Roald Dahl

I think one of the biggest challenges of leadership is getting people to believe in themselves or the ideas of the community. People who are passionate in what they do not only enjoy their time but are more apt to try in excel in what they are doing. If a leader can make the participants of the organization feel passionate about the goals of the group, then he or she has succeeded in getting a good followership. No one is going to put good time into something they don't believe in or care for.