February 14th Meeting Reflection

1. Name of Cohort Meeting:

2. 3 Things I Learned

• I learned that I have already completed the majority of the Leadership Certificate Program.  I have even actually completed the first pillar.
• I learned that my highest value is my faith, which all of my other values spout from.  I think that my faith will be a good jumping off point for my Leadership Philosophy Project.
• I learned that there is a possibility the special guests coming to the presentation of our service project might also be at the presentation of our Leadership Philosophy Projects.

3. My values shape every step that I take in my life especially steps with a focus on leadership.  I work hard to be an example to others of my faith in everything I do which is my number one value.  After that comes compassion which I believe is the result of my faith because I believe in a compassionate and merciful God.  I try as hard as possible to display my faith inspired compassion in all that I do.

4. It is important in complex organizations because it keeps everything in order.  Some large organizations can quickly become disorganized and fall apart if there are not people leading the group and keeping them focused on their purpose.  My fraternity is a great example of this.  We have 150 members which can get pretty chaotic at times.  Thankfully we have a council that keeps things running smoothly and makes sure that the fraternity upholds its values by planning events and keeping us an active part of campus.

5. 

 

I included this picture because I am going on a retreat this weekend at my church.  There I hope to grow in my faith and, also, my ability to lead with renewed strength in my core value.

January 17th Meeting Relfection

1. Name of Cohort Meeting: Communities, Teams and Groups

2. 3 Things I Learned:

• I learned that sometimes when you think you have a great plan but it falls through, its just to make way for something better.  Basically even though our original service project didn't work out, it made way to serve a population (the elderly) that is often ignored.
• I learned that we will be presenting our service project to a lot of people who are very important at BGSU, particularly President Mazey.  This makes me nervous but hopefully I will overcome that fear with the help of my public speaking class.
• Lastly I learned that sometimes forming a community involves a little chaos but that is okay because it helps the community learn to be open about problems instead of shoving them under a rug.
• Also I am beginning to accept that there is a lot of gray in the world and that that is okay but since I'm not quite there I didn't think that should count as one of my three things.

3. I believe a community is a group of people who share a common identity, whether it simply be geographically based, such as a residence hall, or on larger scale such as religion or sexual orientation.  My ideal community is an inclusive place where everyone realizes that under outer identity differences they can still find common ground with each other.  It would also involve mutual respect where people could be open which relates to the 4 Stages of Community Development that Eric explained to us.  Also, based on the Cross the Line activity I would want it to be a place where there was equal privilege for everyone.

4. My definition of a team is a group of people united under a common goal whether by choice or by circumstance.  To me, teams are different from communities because they have to work together to accomplish something, they don't just believe the same thing side by side.  But teams are like a subcategory of community, like squares are a subcategory of rectangles.

5. I included a picture of my drawing because I want everyone to enjoy how pretty it is and also to remind everyone of the 8 aspects of a community.

December 6:

1. Name of Cohort Meeting: Reflection and Spring 2014 Goal Setting

2.Three Things I Learned:

• I learned that our service project is possible but it is going to take a lot of work.
• I learned the SMART guide to goal setting.
• I learned that there is a possibility of a second year being added to FLI which makes me excited.

3. I'm looking forward to my new, more education oriented classes that I will be taking next semester.  I'm excited to get to work on the service project with my goal being to recruit organizations to provide volunteers.  I plan to achieve this by reaching out to my own and other fraternities and sororities on campus to recruit volunteers by contacting their service chairs the first week back after break.

4.  My plans for winter break are to go on a ski trip with my family, hangout with my friends from high school and appreciate that I do not have any papers due.

5. Here is a visual to help me continue to make goals for this service project.

                                              

Leadership Academy

1.  Three Things I Learned:

• I learned that values are priorties that we have which guide all of our decisions.  In order to be a strong leader we should know what our values are so that we can be true to them.
• I also learned that even if we have a certain value there are still situations which are a gray area where that value might be placed on the back burner in order to stay true to another value.
• Finally, I learned that we all have different styles of leadership that are based on our values and our strenghts.  There is no one right kind of leadership.  There is as many different styles of leadership as there are leaders.

2.  I enjoyed getting to meet new people.  It was cool to draw connections with other people who also valued leadership.  I was surprised that I was the only person in my group who throught cheating should always be reported.  The most valuable thing I will take away is that I should make sure that my actions are congruent with my values.

3.  Values was all about discovering what things were a priority to me when I make decisions.  Ethics was all about making sure that my actions reflect my values.  Commitment was all about finding a purpose based on my values and ethics and sticking to it.

4.  Ethics is very important in leadership because it is all about having congruency to your values.  If, as a leader, you fail to live according to your values then you are being a dishonest leader who will never be able to be effective. By letting my values, such as compassion, guide my actions I will be able to create a safe and caring environment at our service project. 

5.  No pictures taken at Leadership Academy, sorry.

November 15th Cohort Meeting

1. Name of Meeting- Archie Bunker's Neighborhood

2. Three Things I Learned:

• It does not feel good to have people treat you unfairly and give you no respect because of the way you were born.
• I learned that defending other people is worth going to jail for and having your money stolen by a police officer.
• I learned that sometimes we can offend people with our subconscious behaviors so it is important to be aware of how we act around people to be more sensitive.

3. I was so shocked that Alyssa, Michael and Michaelangelo had it in them to be so insensitive and rude.  I had to laugh because it was just so shocking and also because I have a tendency to laugh in serious situations.  It was a very eye-opening experience.

4.  I enjoyed the opportunity to have such an eye-opening experience.  I wish that I could do it again and be even more vocal in my dislike for the way my community and other communities were treated.  I now realize that there was not really a purpose to having money or buildings if we were just going to be mistreated.  I realize looking back that I could of tried to share a building with certain groups (Nick and Maggie) that didn't have any.

November 1st Cohort Meeting

1. Name of Meeting: Diversity in Leadership

2. Three Things I Learned:

• I learned that it is important to be sensitive to minorities so that people do not feel left out. 
• I learned that everyone has different characteristics by which they identify themselves.  For example religion is a major way that I identify myself but for other people things like gender or nationality are more important.
• I also learned that everyone handles conflict differently.  Specifically, when Bailey and I discussed our dilemma I took a more confrontational approach.

3. It is important for leaders to be sensitive to differences in people so that no one feels like they are on the outside of the group.  This applies in the case of campus which offers a variety of clubs to ensure that everyone can find a group of people on campus they identify with whether it be through religion, race, or a common interest. I think this meeting helped me realize that things I do not have a problem with could bother other people based on their identity so hopefully I will become more aware and therefore more inclusive.

4. I think it is impossible to make leadership value neutral because no matter what most people subconsciously abide by a few values that they will never be able to ignore.  I think it is good for leadership to be ethical but in being ethical a leader must abide by some standard of what is ethical thereby not being neutral in his or her leadership.

5. I largely identify myself as Catholic but I am friends with many people who are not Catholic and it does not affect my relationship with them in the least.  My best friend on campus, Megan, is not religious at all.

                                               

October 18th Cohort Meeting

1. Name of Meeting: Personal Identity

2. Three Things I Learned:

• I learned that Woo, my number one strength, stands for "winning over others."
• I learned that no one in the group shared any of my strengths other than Nick, who also had both Woo and Positivity.
• I learned that since we each have different strengths we will be able to get more done because the variety of strengths in our group will allow us to complement each other instead of getting trapped in one mindset.

3. I was not surprised by a specific strength that I got but found that they all seemed to describe me well, I just hadn't identified them as strengths before because they just came naturally to me for the most part.  The only one I was very aware of that I had worked on consciously was Positivity, because there was a time in high school where I was a major pessimist but over the last couple of years I have really worked to turn my attitude around and have apparently succeeded.  The strength of Includer was a bit of a surprise because I never saw that as a strength, closely related to Woo, I just like meeting new people and helping them feel welcome.  I like being parts of big groups of people where everyone is enjoying themselves so to me including people is just the nice thing to do, not a strength.  But I learned that it is.

It is important for a leader to know their strengths so that they can identify what areas they need to work on and do not lose sight of their goal.  For example, based on my strengths, I might find myself focusing too much on the social connections between members of the group instead of making sure the group actually accomplishes a task.  If I am aware of my strengths and how they might divert my attention I will be prepared to self-correct and keep that from happening.

4. I can not think of a situation where a leader disrespected me for my differences.

5. This week is Big/Little Week for my fraternity and I am using my woo to be friendly to all the actives who are my potential bigs!  I am also keeping a positive attitude when it comes to the possibility of being placed in a smaller and seemingly less exciting family! I know that it will all be what I make of it!