Taking this course has taught me a lot about myself as well as my leadership style. Some topics discussed in class really stood out as having a lasting effect on me and my future. Before taking this course, I saw leadership as more individualized, but now I see leadership as a reciprocal relationship between a leader and follower. The Reciprocal Leadership Theories discussed in class and in our book helped open my eyes to this contemporary leadership definition where followers also have an imperative role in the success of a group. This new way of thinking laid the foundation of which topics in class really helped my leadership capabilities evolve.
I now see that, in essence, leadership is about relationships. In order to have strong relationships with others, people must value others' opinions and truly listen to their opinions and ideas. I sometimes find it hard to give someone my full attention when they are talking if I have something else on my mind or am currently doing something else, but the active listening segment of the course has made me realize how important this quality is to have. Not fully acknowledging someone during a conversation may make them feel as if you are not acknowledging their existence and simply don't care what they have to say. I will be more cognizant of giving my full attention to people during conversations, and if I truly do not have the time, I can explain to them the situation and ask to speak later. This is a necessary quality for every kind individual to have, but leaders especially, to create a strong leader-follower relationship.
I also learned about my strengths through StrengthsFinder. This simple awareness can help me evolve into the leader I would like to become. A few of my strengths were Communication, Relator, and Responsibility. I can build off of these strengths in my efforts to become a more effective leader by communicating with and relating to others to form good relationships. I can also maintain these relationships by displaying my diligence on anything I am working on, which will build trust and show that others can rely on me. Being aware of my strengths will definitely help in the future because I can confidently tell others what I excel at, whether it be on my resume, in interviews, ect.
Lastly, this class really helped build confidence in myself and my leadership capabilities. We were able to work in groups, present in class, and interact during multiple activities, which is rare in other college courses. I felt more comfortable with my peers in this class than any other class I have taken during my college career, which helped me contribute more in class discussions than I otherwise would have. I am very thankful for the lessons learned in this class which have helped me begin the journey into becoming the leader I hope to one day be.
Thursday, April 14, 2016
Friday, April 8, 2016
Blog #8
I felt a sense of community as I was making the transition into my first year of college. I believe an authentic community was eventually created in my freshman dorms, according to Peck's theory, but it took a while to reach this point. From an outside perspective, many stages occurred during the process.
In the first stage, pseudocommunity, everyone is moving into the dorms and making an effort to meet everyone on their floor. This is a very underdeveloped community because no one knows each other and are simply trying to get to know people they will be living with for the upcoming school year. The second stage is chaos. After a few days, students are beginning to form friend groups in the hall, personalities are beginning to shine through, and roommates are starting to realize they may not be a perfect fit after all. During this stage, students have gotten through the hard part of freshman year: making friends. People stop being nice to everyone and simply trying to get along because they have now scoped out their surroundings and found who they want to remain friends with. After this stage, a sense of organization begins to arise. RAs ensure that roommates are getting along by going over roommate agreements with them. Events are planned with the floor to keep everyone involved and friendly. During the third stage of developing a community, people are beginning to realize that high school is over, everyone is an adult now, and the silly drama is only making freshman year less enjoyable. Only after this realization can true, authentic community be created.
Not to say that conflicts never arose, but everyone was less hostile and more understanding of others. Having a mature outlook in certain situations can make a huge difference. There were many individuals in this specific community I was involved in- individuals with different personalities and different beliefs- but the community could now function cohesively as a whole. Everyone did not always agree and dissensus certainly arose in many situations, but problems could be resolved.
In the first stage, pseudocommunity, everyone is moving into the dorms and making an effort to meet everyone on their floor. This is a very underdeveloped community because no one knows each other and are simply trying to get to know people they will be living with for the upcoming school year. The second stage is chaos. After a few days, students are beginning to form friend groups in the hall, personalities are beginning to shine through, and roommates are starting to realize they may not be a perfect fit after all. During this stage, students have gotten through the hard part of freshman year: making friends. People stop being nice to everyone and simply trying to get along because they have now scoped out their surroundings and found who they want to remain friends with. After this stage, a sense of organization begins to arise. RAs ensure that roommates are getting along by going over roommate agreements with them. Events are planned with the floor to keep everyone involved and friendly. During the third stage of developing a community, people are beginning to realize that high school is over, everyone is an adult now, and the silly drama is only making freshman year less enjoyable. Only after this realization can true, authentic community be created.
Not to say that conflicts never arose, but everyone was less hostile and more understanding of others. Having a mature outlook in certain situations can make a huge difference. There were many individuals in this specific community I was involved in- individuals with different personalities and different beliefs- but the community could now function cohesively as a whole. Everyone did not always agree and dissensus certainly arose in many situations, but problems could be resolved.
Saturday, April 2, 2016
Blog #7
There are majority groups and minority groups in every situation, in one way or another. Minority groups are described as target identities while majority groups are non-target identities. Dominant and targeted identities are forced to coexist in everyday life, maybe misunderstanding the other side completely. Being a female, I experience this targeted identity fairly often. However, being white, I also experience this non-target identity in my everyday life.
Females are often viewed as nurturing, motherly, and domestic. As I am going into the business world after I graduate, it is bothersome that there are fewer and fewer females in higher up positions. Men are seen as better leaders, and it seems much more difficult for a woman to obtain these leadership positions. Not only are women hired less often, but they are also paid less than men for doing the same work. For instance, five members of the US women's national team recently filed a wage discrimination action against the US Soccer Federation with the Equal Employee Opportunity Commission. The US women's national team generated almost $20 million more revenue than the US men's team and have made it further in the World Cup and Olympics than the men most years, but the women are paid nearly four times less. Women should receive equal pay for equal work, as should any minority, but they are not. This concerns me because I will soon be in the work force in an industry dominated by males, and I hope to have equal opportunity in everything that I do.
On the other hand, being white also gives me certain privileges those of other races may not have. I have never had to deal with racism or any other act of hatred having to do with the color of my skin, and for that I am very lucky. I grew up in a community where the majority of people are white, so have never had to witness any acts of malicious racism. However, I know that racism is a real problem in our country, and it has no place in today's society. As a white individual who has never been subjected to unfair prejudices because of my race, it is not enough to simply acknowledge the fact that racism needs to be stopped. Now that I live in a more diverse community, I am ready to stand up against any act of racism I see, however big or small.
Females are often viewed as nurturing, motherly, and domestic. As I am going into the business world after I graduate, it is bothersome that there are fewer and fewer females in higher up positions. Men are seen as better leaders, and it seems much more difficult for a woman to obtain these leadership positions. Not only are women hired less often, but they are also paid less than men for doing the same work. For instance, five members of the US women's national team recently filed a wage discrimination action against the US Soccer Federation with the Equal Employee Opportunity Commission. The US women's national team generated almost $20 million more revenue than the US men's team and have made it further in the World Cup and Olympics than the men most years, but the women are paid nearly four times less. Women should receive equal pay for equal work, as should any minority, but they are not. This concerns me because I will soon be in the work force in an industry dominated by males, and I hope to have equal opportunity in everything that I do.
On the other hand, being white also gives me certain privileges those of other races may not have. I have never had to deal with racism or any other act of hatred having to do with the color of my skin, and for that I am very lucky. I grew up in a community where the majority of people are white, so have never had to witness any acts of malicious racism. However, I know that racism is a real problem in our country, and it has no place in today's society. As a white individual who has never been subjected to unfair prejudices because of my race, it is not enough to simply acknowledge the fact that racism needs to be stopped. Now that I live in a more diverse community, I am ready to stand up against any act of racism I see, however big or small.
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Blog #6
I learned a lot about myself after taking the Leadership Performance Inventory. My highest principle was Enable Others to Act and my lowest principle was Encourage the Heart. I was a bit surprised that my highest was not Model the Way because that's what I would have predicted I was best, knowing three of my strengths from StrengthsQuest are Responsibility, Achiever, and Focus. That score was only 1 point below my top score, but I didn't think I was the strongest at enabling others to act. However, I am a strong believer in inclusiveness and everyone contributing in a team setting, so I can see now why I scored the highest in that principle. I wasn't as surprised that Encourage the Heart was my lowest principle because I don't praise people very often when working in a group. I need to work on giving encouragement and recognition to people so they are more inclined to continue working hard towards our goal. To work on this principle, I will be more encouraging to other people if I notice they are doing a good job at something whether it be in a group setting, a good grade on an exam, ect. People need to be encouraged to pursue any vision, and I am only inhibiting this potential success by not being very encouraging and recognizing everything others are contributing.
Saturday, February 27, 2016
Blog #5
For my random act of kindness, I chose to pick up trash in the middle of the street and throw it away. I chose to do this act because, nowadays, people don't seem to view littering as extremely harmful to the environment and would rather throw their trash on the ground than simply put it in a dumpster 10 feet away. After living on a college campus for over 2 years, it has really began to disgust me how many people are seemingly apathetic to the world around them. Trash is everywhere, and I believe this is numbing people's opinions about litter/littering because it is becoming normal to see it everyday. When I saw a potato chip bag painfully close to a dumpster, I thought this was a perfect moment to perform my act of kindness. It pains me to see how negligently people act, but cleaning up one piece of trash seemed to give me hope. I hope people saw me pick up someone else's trash, so that they will do this themselves one day or, a the very least, I hope the person who threw this potato chip bag on the ground sees that it isn't there the next day and wonders if someone else had picked up their trash for them. Hopefully this incident will make them think twice the next time they decide to throw something on the ground rather than taking the extra 5 seconds to throw it in the trash. Below is a video displaying proof of my act of kindness.
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Blog #4
Although moral muteness is frowned upon, I believe everyone, in some way or another, regrets a time when they behaved morally mute. As I have grown older, I find myself standing up for what I believe in and confronting any situation that I believe is unethical. However, when I was younger, I found it harder to speak up in certain situations. When I was a freshman in high school, I experienced moral muteness when at work. It was my first summer working at a resort pool, and I was finally getting to know people and getting the hang of working full time for the first time. I was an attendant at the pool, and each of us changed duties throughout the day. There was a rotation for employees where some would greet guests at the door, operate the slides, sit at the boat dock, or be on "milkshake duty." One day, I witnessed one of my coworkers, who had become a good friend of mine, making a milkshake for himself, rather than for a guest who had ordered one. It was against hotel policy to eat or drink any of the food or drinks for guests and was considered stealing hotel property. I decided not to tell any of my supervisors because I had just began working there and didn't want to get one of my coworkers in trouble. Had I told anyone about this, he would have gotten fired and I was worried other coworkers would blame this on me and treat me differently.
After reflecting on this incident, I realize I was putting the loyalty of a friend over another important value: morality. What he did was ethically wrong, but I didn't want to be the reason he suffered the consequences, even if he brought them on himself. Loyalty is one of my greatest values, and it was hard for me to tell on someone who had been a good friend to me. I was also worried about what others would think of me if they knew that I was the reason he had gotten fired, and this fear kept me from doing what is ethically right. As I've grown older, I have found that it has gotten easier to stand up for what I think is morally right, and as a result, I have found myself participating in moral muteness much less often.
After reflecting on this incident, I realize I was putting the loyalty of a friend over another important value: morality. What he did was ethically wrong, but I didn't want to be the reason he suffered the consequences, even if he brought them on himself. Loyalty is one of my greatest values, and it was hard for me to tell on someone who had been a good friend to me. I was also worried about what others would think of me if they knew that I was the reason he had gotten fired, and this fear kept me from doing what is ethically right. As I've grown older, I have found that it has gotten easier to stand up for what I think is morally right, and as a result, I have found myself participating in moral muteness much less often.
Thursday, February 11, 2016
Blog #3
For my first bias quiz, I chose to take the gender-career test. My results showed a slight preference toward male-career association and female-family associations versus the other way around. Initially, I thought that my results would be free from any bias because I was raised by working parents and I plan to have a career in the business profession after I graduate. However, after reflecting on these results, I can see why a slight bias might have been shown. My dad received his MBA in graduate school and worked in a management position at JPMorgan and my mom is a dental hygienist. My dad evidently was in school for a longer time to reach this position at the bank and generally worked 5 days a week, 9 hours a day. My mom, on the other hand, worked part time (3-4 days a week) so I generally saw her a bit more often. Because of these reasons, I can see why may have a slight bias. However, I plan to work in the accounting and/or finance areas of the business world, more like my father, so this may explain why I have a very slight bias rather than a stronger bias. I wish I didn't have any bias because in the accounting profession, there are many women who are very high up who are as successful as men, and I don't want to downplay their achievements at all. This bias may, in fact, make me more impressed by the females who are higher up because they achieved this while having a family to take care of and somehow balancing the two.
For my second quiz, I chose to take the Age IAT. MY results showed a slight automatic preference to young rather than old. This does not really surprise me because I am around young people much more often than I am around older people. Being a third year at OSU, I have become very used to seeing people around the sane age as me 90% of the time. My closest friends are all within a year of my age and my brother, who I grew up with and just graduated from OSU, is only 2 years older than me. I may subconsciously feel more comfortable around younger people who are my age because I am used to being around them and have more in common with them. That being said, I do really like old people and think they're super cute!! But I don't necessarily identify with them as much. When working with others, I may find it a bit tougher to identify with the older people in a group (for instance, an auditing team), and I should make it a point to find things in common with them and make sure they don't feel as though I prefer talking to those who are younger. Considering I only have a slight preference, however, I don't think this will affect how I treat those of all ages.
The final quiz i chose to take was the weight IAT. My results showed weak automatic preference for thin people over fat people. When I think of thin people, I associate this with healthy and physically fit. Although I don't eat incredibly healthy, I try to stay fit with working out and playing soccer. I have had a concussion for over a month and haven't had the ability to workout or participate in soccer practices, and it's really taking a toll on me. I don't feel myself when I don't workout often and feel rather unhealthy. When I think of fatter people, I initially think think they don't take care of themselves as much and may be lazy. Although this is really not a fair assumption because everyone has their own struggles (and thinner people may not take care of themselves well, either), this is my gut reaction. Most of my friends are most physically fit and I think I simply identify with them more because they enjoy the same things I do such as athletics and running. I wish I didn't have this bias because I am making extreme generalizations about people but I do initially associate thinner people with being healthier.
I really enjoyed taking these quizzes and learned about myself and my subconscious preferences and biases. I will take these into account when I am interacting with others and attempt to put my biases aside when I am meeting others for the first time, because people certainly can surprise you and don't deserve to be judge based on their sex, age, or weight.
For my second quiz, I chose to take the Age IAT. MY results showed a slight automatic preference to young rather than old. This does not really surprise me because I am around young people much more often than I am around older people. Being a third year at OSU, I have become very used to seeing people around the sane age as me 90% of the time. My closest friends are all within a year of my age and my brother, who I grew up with and just graduated from OSU, is only 2 years older than me. I may subconsciously feel more comfortable around younger people who are my age because I am used to being around them and have more in common with them. That being said, I do really like old people and think they're super cute!! But I don't necessarily identify with them as much. When working with others, I may find it a bit tougher to identify with the older people in a group (for instance, an auditing team), and I should make it a point to find things in common with them and make sure they don't feel as though I prefer talking to those who are younger. Considering I only have a slight preference, however, I don't think this will affect how I treat those of all ages.
The final quiz i chose to take was the weight IAT. My results showed weak automatic preference for thin people over fat people. When I think of thin people, I associate this with healthy and physically fit. Although I don't eat incredibly healthy, I try to stay fit with working out and playing soccer. I have had a concussion for over a month and haven't had the ability to workout or participate in soccer practices, and it's really taking a toll on me. I don't feel myself when I don't workout often and feel rather unhealthy. When I think of fatter people, I initially think think they don't take care of themselves as much and may be lazy. Although this is really not a fair assumption because everyone has their own struggles (and thinner people may not take care of themselves well, either), this is my gut reaction. Most of my friends are most physically fit and I think I simply identify with them more because they enjoy the same things I do such as athletics and running. I wish I didn't have this bias because I am making extreme generalizations about people but I do initially associate thinner people with being healthier.
I really enjoyed taking these quizzes and learned about myself and my subconscious preferences and biases. I will take these into account when I am interacting with others and attempt to put my biases aside when I am meeting others for the first time, because people certainly can surprise you and don't deserve to be judge based on their sex, age, or weight.
Tuesday, February 2, 2016
Blog #2
Below is the link to a clip of the movie, Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, which I believe illustrates the relational leadership model quite well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnmSzD6x4tc
After the Capitol bombed a hospital in District 8, Catniss shares her thoughts for all of the Rebels to see on video. They are unaware of the bombing, so this is her chance to show the evils of the Capitol and exemplify the coming together of the Rebels. Catniss is the chosen leader, and she needs to create fire in their hearts of every Rebel to unite in order to fight the Capitol. Catniss is passionate and purposeful in her speech, the core to relational leadership. Without purpose, leaders have nothing to work toward and nothing to create this passion. Catniss is also extremely empowering as she yearns that they must all fight back. From her speech, the Rebels will want to fight back as they feel in control of their destiny.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnmSzD6x4tc
After the Capitol bombed a hospital in District 8, Catniss shares her thoughts for all of the Rebels to see on video. They are unaware of the bombing, so this is her chance to show the evils of the Capitol and exemplify the coming together of the Rebels. Catniss is the chosen leader, and she needs to create fire in their hearts of every Rebel to unite in order to fight the Capitol. Catniss is passionate and purposeful in her speech, the core to relational leadership. Without purpose, leaders have nothing to work toward and nothing to create this passion. Catniss is also extremely empowering as she yearns that they must all fight back. From her speech, the Rebels will want to fight back as they feel in control of their destiny.
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
Blog #1
Hello everyone! My name is Jackie Kitchen and I am a junior from Colorado Springs, CO. I am a very outgoing person and love meeting new people. I am currently on the Ohio State University Women's Club Soccer Team, which I joined last winter. It has been great meeting new girls who try out each season and has enhanced my college experience tremendously. I am currently working towards a double major in Accounting and Finance at the Fisher College of Business, which I enjoy very much because I really like math and numbers. In the business world, you are surrounded by people and are expected to be able to work in teams to complete various tasks. For instance, auditors work in teams at the client site every single day to prepare and finalize the audit for the client. While thinking about scheduling classes, I felt that Team and Organizational Leadership would be a very interesting class and would be extremely beneficial to take while I am preparing for my future in the business world. Last summer, I interned at PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP), a Big 4 Public Accounting firm here in downtown Columbus. I constantly worked with other interns to complete projects and tasks, which was an amazing experience. However, I believe I learned more from myself in summers past, where I worked at a 5 Star Resort in Colorado Springs, namely The Broadmoor. For 4 consecutive summers, I worked as a waitress at the outdoor pool serving poolside guests food and beverages of all sorts. The Broadmoor hires employees from around the world, so I was able to work with people from England, South Africa, Latvia, Hungary, and Jamaica. Since I returned to the pool each year, I was one of the more experienced servers and was fortunate enough to train many of these foreign servers, and many from the states as well. Not only did I learn a lot about the cultures of different people from all over the world, but I learned a lot about myself through leadership positions. I am quite an outgoing and energetic person, and realized that this made me approachable for those who were in need of help. I tried to set an example for those who I was training by working diligently but having a continuous smile while talking to coworkers and guests. After being approached for help many times, I began to realize that my coworkers would learn better when I coached them through a task, allowing them to go through the steps themselves rather than simply showing them what to do. This took a lot of patience to sit down to help them through each task, especially if the pool was busy, but I believe this patience and understanding helped them grasp each task more quickly. After my final summer at The Broadmoor in 2014, I learned that the key to leadership is being understanding, approachable, and hardworking because people look up to you and rely on you for their own success.
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