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.
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