In the beginning of the term I set out to reach two goals. First, I wanted to improve on the “Modeling the Way” component of Kouzes and Posner’s Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership by aligning my actions with my commitments. Second, I wanted to build strong positive relationships with my teammates by having a better understanding of their goals, ethics, and work habits. My decision to focus on these two aspects was based on my Self-Assessment Survey scores and personal experiences as a leader on a sports team. Throughout the term, I measured the success of my progress through peer evaluations, verbal feedback, and by assessing our group cohesion and productivity.
Modeling the Way
Reflecting back on my experiences in BA 352, I can confidently say that I have become a more outspoken and self-assured leader. Although I haven’t mastered the “Modeling the Way” component of being a leader, I have made progress toward setting positive examples for my teammates. Throughout the term, I stayed highly motivated. I focused on being goal-oriented, organized, and prepared for all meetings and classes. Based on the peer evaluations, I received positive feedback on my progress:
“Very organized and motivated. Inspires group members to stay on track, and focused toward the the goal of our project. Takes initiative on research, and developing or ideas.”
“She always came to class and meetings prepared. Great at taking leading roles and making sure other people were getting help if they needed it.”
Since the beginning of the term, I have also improved my time management and commitment skills. I manage my time by setting deadlines for the tasks that are assigned to me by my group. For example, I completed the situation analysis of the proposal a couple days before my group was meeting, so my teammates could refer to it when writing their parts. This way I guaranteed completion of my section, helped my teammates, and was able to start revisions. To keep track of my commitments, I compiled my assignment deadlines, and appointments in an agenda the weekend before. This way I can visualize the workload I have for the week and better prioritize my time. The consistent verbal feedback and peer evaluations have helped me make progress toward improving this goal.
Relationship Management
For the most part, I am highly self-aware. I often reflect on my ideals, personality, and interactions with my peers. In addition to being self-aware, I regularly practice empathy–being able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. Through these two aspects, I am able to maintain positive relationships and create unique bonds with the students in my class and my friends. In my Leadership Development Plan, I chose relationship management as a goal, because I struggled with balancing professionalism and friendship. At times I would simply agree with the consensus of the group, because I didn’t want to seem bossy or controlling. Then, there were times where I would feel so strongly about my point of view that I would dominate the whole conversation. This course has challenged me to find a balance between inquiry, advocacy, and dictatorship.
The real test came during week 7 of the term. After spending more than a month researching for our problem situation, discarding two solution outlines, and anticipating the due date of our final proposal, my group was frantic. We were stuck on the solution we originally conceived and didn’t know how to move beyond the obvious onto something more innovative. At this point, we were discouraged and frustrated with the project and each other. My thoughts swam and I wanted to have an epiphany, an idea, or any sense of direction. How do I get my group out of this rut and back on track? When I met up with my professor, Ron Bramhall, he suggested that we leave behind our current assumptions and focus on the problem itself. He advised us to find a solution that directly addressed our problem. Ron’s advice scared me, because it suggests that we would need to backtrack in order to move forward. My first thoughts were, “How do I break it to my group? How can I deliver bad news without being the bad guy? How can I steer them to the right direction?”
This was my opportunity step up as a leader, instill motivation, and maintain strong positive relationships with my team. First, I addressed this issue logically by explaining how our current solution would not successfully address the problem we want to tackle. Second, I had our group revisit our problem situation, objectives, and final goal for our proposal. This way, every team member is informed on what we wanted to achieve. Lastly, I opened up the floor so they can brainstorm new ideas and come to a group consensus for the new solution. I found this process to be successful, because I addressed the issue that Ron mentioned, and the whole team contributed to finding a better solution without me directing the conversation. In this situation, I was able to balance advocacy and inquiry in order to maintain a positive relationship with my group.
Developing Exemplary Leadership Qualities and Emotional Intelligence
During the last 10 weeks of BA 352, I have experienced many successes and failures while building the Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership. Although I have made major advances in relationship management and “Modeling the Way”, I find myself struggling with other aspects of the Five Practices and emotional intelligence. Half way through the term, I was so focused on taking initiative, delivering thoughtful ideas, and increasing productivity, that I started to drift away from the “Enabling others to act” component of leadership. Instead of strengthening others by increasing self-determination and developing competence, I took on a lot of the work load. Based on peer evaluations, I sometimes practiced too much advocacy and not enough inquiry during group discussions. It is frustrating to receive this feedback, because I scored high in “Enabling others to Act” in my Self-Assessment Survey at the beginning of the term.
Balancing the five practices of leadership and all the components of emotional intelligence is extremely difficult. Sometimes, when I focus on improving certain aspects of my leadership qualities, I become less aware of the other factors involved. My experiences and struggles this term has made me realize that good leaders have to be continuously aware of their personal strengths and limitations. Moving forward from here, I will continue to focus on balancing the different practices of leadership and incorporating them into my daily life. In addition, I plan on building higher emotional intelligence by evaluating my relationships with my friends and teammates.
