In last week’s class after listening to the story of Ellen Devlin from Nike as a group we brainstormed a list of power words that we thought accurately described a leader. While brainstorming this list of words we wanted to consider how we think, how we lead, and how we learn. After the list of power words were complied there were three words that I thought described me as a leader and a person. These three words were ambitious, versatile and risk-taker. I would describe myself as ambitious because I am always looking to become better than I was yesterday. We can never be perfect, however I feel as though we can never be complacent with any level of success. Once you accomplish something you should acknowledge it and be proud but your next step should be figuring out how to take that accomplishment to the next level. You can accurately describe ambition through a picture of a ladder. In order to get to the top you have to use the bars(accomplishments) to climb further up the ladder (success).
The second word I would use to describe me is versatile. I moved around the country a lot in my childhood which allowed me to have experiences and interactions with a variety of people. I feel as though I can connect and relate to someone of any race,religion,gender etc. Versatility can be depicted in an object like a swiss army knife. No matter the problem or the occasion there is a tool that in the knife that can get the job done.
My third power word I would use to describe myself would be risk-taker. When deciding where to go to college I could have easily chose to stay in North Carolina and go to an in-state school. However I knew that I had a dream to work in the sports industry and Oregon is one of the best institutions for sports business.Instead of listening to the people that said I should have played it safe I decided that it would be in my best interest to take a leap of faith and go to Oregon. A risk-taker can be depicted as a poker player. He may know that sometimes going all in is a risky move however the gain that he could receive from taking that risk could be worth it.

The CEO’s business workshop February 20th was a huge success. The presentation group was on top of their game and did a great job making the workshop interactive and engaging. I also felt that we had a good showing of students who came out and supported the event. It was refreshing to see all of our collective efforts come together and create a good final product. When the process first began I was curious to see how we would coexist as a team and get the job done.Throughout the creative process I began to see which people took upon the leadership roles to make sure we accomplished the goal at hand.Even though everyone contributed to the project in their own way there were a handful of people that went above and beyond in their efforts. They were the people that carried the group throughout the project because they knew that a failed event was not an option. It wasn’t a surprise to realize that we have such assertive and dedicated leaders in the CEO Network but I think this group project really shined a light on those with special leadership skills. We learned a lot about ourselves as a collective unit during this project, and it was a great experience.

Last week as a cohort we tried to make a collective decision about the date, time, and place for our skills workshop event.Sometimes these kind of things are the most difficult to come to a consensus to because everyone has their different opinions about what time and day of the week works best. However the goal was to come up with a time and day that people outside of the cohort would agree too. These kind of decisions can become stressful because you have an idea about what you think would work best, however the consensus of the group might end up overriding your opinion. The fact that I’m a “builder” allows me to consider the opinions of everyone before developing my own. I have to hear the ideas of everyone else before I try to come up with an idea that incorporates the opinions of everybody. I feel like front-runners were the first people to speak up and tell the group what we needed to do and what was going to work best. In an environment like this people usually follow the idea of the front-runner because it is the first idea that is presented to them and it appears to be the best. However closers create good balance in the group because they are able to counter the ideas of a front-runner to create an even better idea. I wouldn’t say that this decision process caused stress because I feel like collectively as a group we trust each other’s instincts.

Last week were assigned the CEO Cohort Project. Now we are aware that we as a cohort have to put together a networking event as well as an business workshop to teach underclassmen how to present themselves in a business environment. The project responsibilities are split up and divided into 6 functional groups. The key of success for this product is the ability for these functional groups to coexist and complement each other. There is no way we’re going to accomplish our goal if everyone isn’t or board or everybody is not on the same page. I’m a part of the marketing team with 6 other people. Our responsibility is to decide how we will advertise the event as a group. We are in charge of deciding what mediums we think are appropriate to relay the message to students around campus about the networking and business professional workshop events.
Communication and involvement/input from everyone will be the most important thing in how we decided which direction to take when it comes to marketing and promoting the event. I am extremely confident that with a group of students from my generation that we will be able to come up with creative ways to get the message out there about our campus event. We also have to make sure that we are in constant communication with the sales team so that they know how to properly implement our ideas.

After looking over the guidelines and requirements for the group cohort project I have a good idea about how I can help my group make the best product possible. As a “builder” my leadership style allows for me to listen in on everybody’s opinions and ideas before formulating my own. I wont have to be the person to come up with the first idea to get everybody going. Instead I can soak in all of the ideas and concepts that my group comes up with and formulate one grand idea that encompasses all the thoughts from the group. This is a good way to ensure that every voice in the group is heard and everyone is satisfied with the product. When it comes to using digital and print design all opinions are useful.

Chris Paul : ” A Builder”

Last Friday in BA 199 members of the cohort realized what kind of leaders they were in a specific setting. Leaders were described as either people who “do” first or “reflect” first. I found out my leadership style was that of a builder; someone who reflected on their environment and let everyone else get involved first before planning their attack on the task at hand. Chris Paul the point guard for the Lps Angeles Clippers resembles this “builder” style very well. As a point guard his job is to get everyone else involved and share the ball before looking for his own offense. In some cases his success in the game is correlated to how well his teammates are playing. The drawback of being a builder is that you may rely on people a little too much.