Today’s discussion was oriented on the different types of people and how they learn the best;Front Runners, Builders, Planners, and Closers. The four leadership types are split by a y-axis and a x-axis; y-axis being “senses” and “abstract,” x-axis being “taking action” and “reflect.” Each type of learner has a different set of learning styles, approaches, and weaknesses, allowing them to have advantages in some situations and weaknesses in other situations.
The quadrants are differentiated by a variety of learning characteristics. For instance, Front Runners are action oriented, hands on, and adventurous. They make decisions in the moment and tend to trust their gut. They are physically active and are more oriented on activity based learning. Builders are more focused on observation, being reflective, and exploring their options. As a result of these qualities, Builders have impromptu ideas and are good at collaborating ideas with others. On the other hand, closers are analyzers and are better when working alone. They are analysis-oriented and are good when it comes to making conclusions. Finally Planners, they are more decision oriented. They are contemplative and evaluate the situation before anything. They tend to make fast decisions, but are independent and provided direct feedback. Even though each styles has its strength, with strengths come weaknesses.
Weaknesses are inevitable when it comes to the different learning styles. While they excel in some areas, they have a tendency to fall short in others. First off, Front Runners have a problem with committing and paying attention to the details at hand. There are too many things going through their heads to where details seem to escape them. Next, Builders have a hard time staying organized, making decisions, and can often “run over” those around/working with them. Then, there are Planners who have a tough time asking for help from others, checking ideas with others, making them kind of hard to work with.Planners have a tendency to forget to make time for relaxation. Finally, Closers overthink many aspects when learning, because of this they fail to see the big picture and often have their ideas “bulldozed.” The good thing about the different styles of learning is where one lacks there is one that makes up for it. This allows different styles to work coherently with one another. Although, there are some styles when paired together could be catastrophic.
When it comes to the LCB Holistic Criteria, in todays class I vaguely noticed “A clarity of purpose with regard to academic” and “career goals and demonstrating leadership on campus and/or in the community.” I don’t believe out of the two there are skills that I have already developed but I hope to. I need growth when it comes to demonstrating leadership and I think knowing what kind of learner I am will help me be more aware when/if I get into leadership positions. I think putting myself into a leadership position and getting the experience of being in a leadership position would really help me better working with others. It would allow me to analyze areas I need to grow in and help me out with my current weaknesses as a Front Runner. There is definitely a lot to learn but I believe in my abilities to achieve my academic and career goals.