Service Project Presentation Reflection Prompt

Group Service Project Presentation

During this presentation:

• I was able to learn about the power and importance of improvisation when you need a structure for your visual aid. 
• I got even more experience with public speaking and will continue to build upon what I did wrong and right.
• Finally, I was able to further reflect upon my year with FLI and time here at BGSU due to the questions that were directed to us at the end of the slideshow.

I feel that the project presentation went very well. I was pleased with how fully we covered each aspect of this year and fulfilled all the requirements given to us through the Center For Leadership. Although the time to prepare went very quickly, as a group, we pulled together and delivered a quality final product. 

I feel that I went through a major transition in my life when I entered the sixth grade. This was a time when I moved buildings within my school district and it was the first opportunity I had to  truly organize and structure my own time, schedule, academics, and sports. This year served as the foundation to my organizational outlook for the remainder of my middle school years, into high school, and now to college. Although I was very overwhelmed at first, I was glad to be put in a new environment and uncomfortable setting in order to do things for myself and become very independent. 

February 28th Meeting Reflection Prompt

Name of Meeting: Organizational Context in Complex Organizations 

• I learned at this meeting how the six categories of organizational context can be applied to any complex organization, such as Bowling Green State University.
• I was able to apply the six categories into a promotional poster for BGSU which was challenging yet uniquely interesting.
• Finally, I had the opportunity to draw parallels to an organization of my own, the CBA Student Ambassadors, and realize that analyzing it for these categories benefits my understanding of its' existence, purpose, and continuance.

When it comes to Bowling Green State University's campus culture I feel that the most obvious connections can be drawn to the three levels. Artifacts can include the legendary seal, every academic, athletic, or social building named after a past president or influential individual, and even the friendly squirrels that are frequently seen scurrying around. Espoused beliefs are those expressed through the documented mission and core values of the university such as an inclusive environment or global perspective. Lastly, although BGSU does not have a written vision statement assumptions or unconscious beliefs or values can be equated to the motivation and enthusiasm for this university that its felt and demonstrated on campus daily by faculty, staff, and students.

I am very excited for the service project presentation because it will be the icing on the cake to this year as a Falcon Leadership Institute cohort member. I am worried slightly about the high profile of our VIP guests in relation to the professional appearance of our presentation but I know we will do all that we can to make it streamlined and concise. I am excited to go into detail about the planning and execution of our project since we finally have the opportunity to reflect on the work we have accomplished.

February 14th Meeting Reflection Prompt

Name of Cohort Meeting: Change (but more about Personal Values)

• At this weeks meeting I was able to get even more excited about out community service project tomorrow!
• I was able to learn about how successful we have been as a cohort fulfilling LCP requirements.
• Lastly, I was given the chance to explore my personal values further and begin thinking about my personal leadership philosophy presentation.

Values play a huge role in anyone's personal leadership philosophy. These values, whether we chose to explore and identify them or not guide our decisions as people and as leaders. To be a truly effective and ethical leader though, one must align their morals,values, and beliefs with their actions. As a leader I personally go out of my way to consistently demonstrate one of my strongest values which is gratitude. I am aware that I wouldn't be where I am today or be as successful without others' hard work, guidance, and support. Being appreciative of those individuals and guaranteeing they feel my sincerest of thanks is always a top priority.

Leadership is important to complex organizations because without the tools to effectively communicate and include others ideas, value sets, and experiences groups would never be successful. It is vital to a group to explore the strengths and weaknesses of their members to strengthen their foundation. A strong foundation to begin leads to much better forming, storming, norming, and performing in the future. Overall, by taking the steps to empower others to actively participate and become a leader in their own way, whether it be through task or committee, not only benefits the individual but greatly impacts the organization as well.

January 31st Meeting Reflection Prompt

Name of Cohort Meeting: Interacting with Teams & Groups 

•  I was able to learn about what the rest of this year for FLI will look like for meetings and presentations. 
• I learned about Tuckman's model for team formation which includes Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning. 
• Lastly I realized how to cooperatively keep balloons in the air while 'human' obstacles become present. 

By taking into account what we learned during this meeting as a cohort we can better understand and come to terms with the fact that its a very dynamic model. Team building and cooperation can go through those stages in a variety of orders and back up or reverse when needed. To cite specifics, we had to completely stop all storming and norming for our service project and return to the forming stages in order to successfully put on our event. As a part of this cohort I believe that I have done a lot of summarizing and clarifying to better align the group towards our new goals and responsibilities. I think it would be most difficult to fulfill the role of gatekeeper at this point in time for our cohort since we have gone through so much together and we are so close to accomplishing our goals. I cannot wait to be a gatekeeper for the falcon leadership institute for years to come though!

My simple definition of leadership still encompasses the concept that it is a role that anyone can take on to effectively and efficiently work with a group of individuals to accomplish a common goal. Through the literature, knowledge, activities, and experience that FLI has provided me I have a multitude of theories and scenarios which demonstrate the many levels and flavors of leadership which come together to achieve great things.

Just a sneak peak at our coffee filter flower bouquets for center pieces! (:

January 17th Meeting Reflection Prompt

Name of Meeting: Communities, Teams, & Groups

• Even though I was absent from this Cohort meeting my team members never cease to amaze me. Their ability to reevaluate our service project situation and get things back on track was a true demonstration of flexibility and perseverance. I am more than excited to pull details together over these next few weeks and accomplish something very special.
• From the content of the chapter I was able to analyze the true meaning of communities and learn how recognizing and utilizing diverse backgrounds and varied experiences create a well rounded cohesive unit.
• I also learned the term "serial reciprocity."I find this concept to be very important to a communities existence and structure because often times individuals depend on each other to return a favor out of the kindness of their hearts or their "unwritten" duty to do so.

My idea of an ideal community would be one in which respect ranks supreme. A community to me thrives upon individual differences and varied experiences so interaction and collaboration amongst differing personalities are what make us grow as people in a multitude of ways. I feel that by experiencing or applying the four stages from the text (pseudocommunity, chaos, the realization of barriers to listening and understanding, and true, authentic community) a group of people can accomplish such great things while solidifying a deep bond in contrast to forced interaction. 

To explain my definition of a team I will use a word that one of my business teacher's included in the fall to differentiate teams from groups. Synergy. This word by definition states that the end result is greater than the sum of separate effects. I believe that team often times come together to accomplish a specific task as a unit while a community is a collection of people whose job is never done. A community is always there for its members while being more of a living body that evolves and adapts to overcome all challenges or obstacles. 

So excited to put together all of our amazing decorations!!!

November 16th- Leadership Academy

•  I learned that individual understanding is truly vital to personal leadership growth and leading others. 

• I was able to learn about my other group members and how they feel values and passion play a role in their lives.

• Lastly I was able to have a greater appreciation for how all of the elements can be applied to reaching goals many years in the future. 

My favorite part of leadership academy was having the structure of the booklet but integrating the intimacy of a small group setting. It surprised me that more people did not attend.What I will be truly taking away from this experience is a deepened respect for the phrase "get comfortable being uncomfortable." I intend to apply that to the rest of my time here at BGSU to push myself to my potential.

Values:priorities both core and circumstantial that influence the way people makes decisions.
By identifying our top 10 and narrowing them down, I believe it forced us to really determine what was most important or most present in our lives.
Ethics: the guiding principles which individuals use to determine what decisions are right and wrong.
Through the case studies and discussion we were able to see how difficult these decisions may be but how important being congruent really is.
Commitment: determined by the intensity and duration of an action from an individual.
When we were able to combine our values and passions to form our future goals I felt that was truly representative of our character and intentions as leaders. 

Ethics play a large role in leadership because without a strong ethical basis, no leader will have dedicated and loyal followers. With ethics in place a leader would display congruency and integrity through policy and inclusion and therefore accomplish great things. This relates to our service project because we all have to be committed and congruent in our goals, intention, and motivation. Without a constant presence of these our service project will not be the best it  can be. 

*Sorry this blog is out of order... accidentally deleted and hastily salvaged it! 

Leadership Academy really helped to piece together all the aspects involved into becoming a better leader!

December 6th Meeting Reflection Prompt

Reflection & Spring 2014 Goal Setting 

• I learned that we truly have a supportive group of mentors and advisers to assist us in contacting others across campus.
• I thought it was nice to have the opportunity to have a meeting dedicated to our presentation. It was great to have further collaboration and additions given by those in attendance.
• Finally, I felt reflection on our fall semester and goal setting for the spring was necessary to bring everything back into perspective.

I am looking forward to our service project in the spring and can't wait to seeing how all the planning and preparations come together. I feel that we are off to a good start with our service project and have a solid foundation. In the coming weeks and over break I am anxious to see what we can accomplish by reaching out. I feel that I can speak for everyone in having the concern about families showing up. One major goal I have set for myself is to coordinate donations and purchases to be less than or equal to $250

Over my winter break I plan on spending the holidays with my family and connecting with as many friends as I can while I am back in Lewiston. I will also being going to Florida with my friend Taylor from January 2nd-8th. After that I will fly directly to South Carolina to attend my boyfriend's Marine Graduation at Parris Island. I am very excited to do all of these things although it will keep me very busy!

I am looking forward to the Spring Semester & All the warm weather that will come with it!!