Following is a list of core competencies from the course, my self-evaluation of those skills, and why I believe I am at the level discussed.
Tools for Human Interaction
Communication
I believe my skills within this area are Proficient: "Applies
written, oral, and listening communication processes. Writes, speaks, and
listens effectively in a wide range of academic and social settings."
The difference between Introductory and Proficient levels has to do with applying communication processes in a wide range of settings versus just describing one's own strengths and weaknesses. Because I can apply communication processes within the three areas of my leadership responsibility, I believe I demonstrate a Proficient level.
However, my skills in this area have not yet reached an Advanced placement because I still lack solid, effective listening processes. While I am capable of writing and speaking in a powerful, thoughtful, and articulate manner, I am still mastering listening techniques as described in the textbook. For example, page 385 in Chapter 12 discusses habits suggested by Stephen Covey for Leader Development. One of the habits listed is "Seek first to understand, then to be understood." My efforts in this area are still attempts and certainly not the adept, consistent skills of a practiced professional.
I believe I am still at a Proficient level. I have used the "seek first to understand" mantra as my goal, but I still have trouble connecting the goal in that moment with the desired outcome of the communication in the first place. I also found, to my chagrin, that even seeking to understand does not always lead to solid communication as sometimes, others don't know how to explain what they're really thinking and feeling and consequently, how to explain what they need. In Chapter 8, there are two concepts that have been helpful for me as I develop this listening and understanding skill. The first is in Box 8.4 on page 250 of the text. It talks about the power of questions. Using this as a guide, I've been able to re-formulate and re-word questions to extend my understanding of others' needs. The second concept is a variation of "observation intelligence", which is explained on page 251 of the textbook. Sometimes, part of understanding is observing and trying to guess what others need. This must be combined with checking in, though, to make sure what I am guessing is what is really needed.
Social and Leadership Skills
I believe I am still at a Proficient level. I have used the "seek first to understand" mantra as my goal, but I still have trouble connecting the goal in that moment with the desired outcome of the communication in the first place. I also found, to my chagrin, that even seeking to understand does not always lead to solid communication as sometimes, others don't know how to explain what they're really thinking and feeling and consequently, how to explain what they need. In Chapter 8, there are two concepts that have been helpful for me as I develop this listening and understanding skill. The first is in Box 8.4 on page 250 of the text. It talks about the power of questions. Using this as a guide, I've been able to re-formulate and re-word questions to extend my understanding of others' needs. The second concept is a variation of "observation intelligence", which is explained on page 251 of the textbook. Sometimes, part of understanding is observing and trying to guess what others need. This must be combined with checking in, though, to make sure what I am guessing is what is really needed.
Social and Leadership Skills
I believe my skills within this area are Advanced: "Evaluates leadership process and
performances. Demonstrates social and leadership skills appropriate for
professional settings."
I am capable of evaluating the leadership process and performance not only of myself, but of those I lead professionally. As proof, I submit that a mainstay of my (reasonably successful) consulting business is coaching and training managers in recognizing and hiring talented, reliable followers. This is not to say I do not have areas for improvement or skills I would still like to develop in this area. I believe I have improved over the semester due to insights from class and the text. Chapter Four in the textbook was particularly helpful because Transformational Leadership is so appealing to me. I prepared the movie reflection paper on Coach Carter (see "Reflection" category to the right) to not only describe scenes from the movie, but to elucidate aspects of the Coach character that I admired.
I have always admired leaders who can empower and motivate their followers. And I have also always wanted to find a way to articulate the methods for doing so. Watching the movie "Coach Carter" and answering the questions about that particular section helped me develop actionable steps to empower those I work with and focus on instrumental values to create a more meaningful experience for those I lead.
I realized mid-semester that the teamwork we were doing within our groups was the perfect place to observe this skill and choose to be better at it myself. Like the difference between a group and a team, there are very specific requirements for leading within a group or team where authority is explicitly stated and leading a collection of people where authority is not even implied. I believe the team and group work we did this semester was meant to help us navigate both ideals and help us learn about emerging as leaders. I initially approached this semester's assigned group work grudgingly. As a confessed control-freak with a bent toward obsessive behavior and a desire to be good at what I do, I find group work fairly stressful. I want to work and play well with others and I also want the end product to meet with approval. These two desires clash in groups filled with people who have two different objectives. If I want the product to be good, and another member of my group just wants the work to be done, we're going to have to resolve that conflict. My previous experience with group work has resulted in stress because that conflict resulted in my doing the work. That usually led to my feeling resentment of the person who got the credit without doing the work.
My experience with the group this semester helped me realize a few things: 1) I don't like feeling resentment and only I can resolve that feeling. 2) My approach and my attitude can determine the timbre of the group. So, if I want a trustworthy group, I must treat them as if they were trustworthy in order to have a hope of getting there. 3) Credit is temporary; knowledge and skills are forever. I may not have credit, but if I can learn and develop better skills from the process, credit will eventually not matter. (Though it might sting right now.)
I cannot claim to be perfect at social aspects of leadership. For example, my control freak tendencies may override my teamwork abilities (and did for part of this semester.) However, I believe my skill set falls within the 'Advanced' level because I approach professional settings where authority is succinctly expressed as if they were academic settings, where one must emerge as a leader because no authority has been granted. And, as I learned from the textbook and from class experience, emerging as a leader instead of receiving an appointment to leadership can help solidify 'buy-in' from team members and increase the productivity of the team.
Ethics
I have always admired leaders who can empower and motivate their followers. And I have also always wanted to find a way to articulate the methods for doing so. Watching the movie "Coach Carter" and answering the questions about that particular section helped me develop actionable steps to empower those I work with and focus on instrumental values to create a more meaningful experience for those I lead.
I realized mid-semester that the teamwork we were doing within our groups was the perfect place to observe this skill and choose to be better at it myself. Like the difference between a group and a team, there are very specific requirements for leading within a group or team where authority is explicitly stated and leading a collection of people where authority is not even implied. I believe the team and group work we did this semester was meant to help us navigate both ideals and help us learn about emerging as leaders. I initially approached this semester's assigned group work grudgingly. As a confessed control-freak with a bent toward obsessive behavior and a desire to be good at what I do, I find group work fairly stressful. I want to work and play well with others and I also want the end product to meet with approval. These two desires clash in groups filled with people who have two different objectives. If I want the product to be good, and another member of my group just wants the work to be done, we're going to have to resolve that conflict. My previous experience with group work has resulted in stress because that conflict resulted in my doing the work. That usually led to my feeling resentment of the person who got the credit without doing the work.
My experience with the group this semester helped me realize a few things: 1) I don't like feeling resentment and only I can resolve that feeling. 2) My approach and my attitude can determine the timbre of the group. So, if I want a trustworthy group, I must treat them as if they were trustworthy in order to have a hope of getting there. 3) Credit is temporary; knowledge and skills are forever. I may not have credit, but if I can learn and develop better skills from the process, credit will eventually not matter. (Though it might sting right now.)
I cannot claim to be perfect at social aspects of leadership. For example, my control freak tendencies may override my teamwork abilities (and did for part of this semester.) However, I believe my skill set falls within the 'Advanced' level because I approach professional settings where authority is succinctly expressed as if they were academic settings, where one must emerge as a leader because no authority has been granted. And, as I learned from the textbook and from class experience, emerging as a leader instead of receiving an appointment to leadership can help solidify 'buy-in' from team members and increase the productivity of the team.
Ethics
I believe my skills within this area are Advanced: "Evaluates
and applies personal values in making ethical decisions. Makes ethical choices
in professional settings."
I do not believe I would have advanced skills in this area had I not been allowed the opportunity to manage cash registers. Nothing helps a person draw an ethical line like money. From the start of my career, I have been responsible for bookkeeping and reconciliation. As I developed the processes to handle cash, resolved balance issues, and answered the accountability of such demands in a trustworthy manner (thanks to some very good role models), I was able to determine that ethical behavior regarding money was the most rewarding and secure path. That beginning insight led to other insights about ethical decisions and the importance of treating everyone as they need to be treated (not as I believe they should be treated.)
Primeaux and Hartman's article (see "Article" category to the right) connected me with the invaluable insight that matching how I appear to followers and how I actually behave is an ethical decision that will help my followers trust me as a leader and help me find direction and guidance in difficult decisions or crises.
Please see the Ethics discussion here for information about my increased understanding in this area.
Global Awareness
I believe my skills within this area are Introductory: "Articulates features of other cultures."
I do not speak another language and I have not visited another culture. However, I worked as the team lead for International Admissions at a local university. My supervisor there was from another country and I was responsible for conversing with students from overseas who needed to process their Immigration paperwork and needed my help to do so. I advised and coached these students while working to understanding the differences and complementary work practices between my own culture and that of my supervisor.
Carl Jung is rumored to have said that when he mastered a therapeutic concept, it was as if someone sent a telegram to his patients that they could then bring their troubles with that concept to him. I wrote the above paragraph about Global Awareness earlier in the semester and it was as if someone sent a telegram to my future job asking for an opportunity to develop these skills. The Grand Theatre, my new place of employment, is located at Salt Lake Community College. I work with a largely minority population and our target demographic for audience members is considered so diverse, that each ethnicity within our population can claim only a few percentage points of our total. I am surrounded by opportunities to develop skills regarding culture and global awareness! While still at an 'Introductory' level, I believe that my continued efforts to develop this skill will be successful because I now have so many opportunities to do so.
Please see the next tab 'Cluster Two'.
I do not believe I would have advanced skills in this area had I not been allowed the opportunity to manage cash registers. Nothing helps a person draw an ethical line like money. From the start of my career, I have been responsible for bookkeeping and reconciliation. As I developed the processes to handle cash, resolved balance issues, and answered the accountability of such demands in a trustworthy manner (thanks to some very good role models), I was able to determine that ethical behavior regarding money was the most rewarding and secure path. That beginning insight led to other insights about ethical decisions and the importance of treating everyone as they need to be treated (not as I believe they should be treated.)
Primeaux and Hartman's article (see "Article" category to the right) connected me with the invaluable insight that matching how I appear to followers and how I actually behave is an ethical decision that will help my followers trust me as a leader and help me find direction and guidance in difficult decisions or crises.
Please see the Ethics discussion here for information about my increased understanding in this area.
Global Awareness
I believe my skills within this area are Introductory: "Articulates features of other cultures."
I do not speak another language and I have not visited another culture. However, I worked as the team lead for International Admissions at a local university. My supervisor there was from another country and I was responsible for conversing with students from overseas who needed to process their Immigration paperwork and needed my help to do so. I advised and coached these students while working to understanding the differences and complementary work practices between my own culture and that of my supervisor.
Carl Jung is rumored to have said that when he mastered a therapeutic concept, it was as if someone sent a telegram to his patients that they could then bring their troubles with that concept to him. I wrote the above paragraph about Global Awareness earlier in the semester and it was as if someone sent a telegram to my future job asking for an opportunity to develop these skills. The Grand Theatre, my new place of employment, is located at Salt Lake Community College. I work with a largely minority population and our target demographic for audience members is considered so diverse, that each ethnicity within our population can claim only a few percentage points of our total. I am surrounded by opportunities to develop skills regarding culture and global awareness! While still at an 'Introductory' level, I believe that my continued efforts to develop this skill will be successful because I now have so many opportunities to do so.
Please see the next tab 'Cluster Two'.