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!!

November 15th- Archie Bunker's Neighborhood

Ethics

I identify ethics as the principles, rules, or standards which an individual chooses to live by and utilizes to decide what is right or wrong.

• I learned that there are many offensive stereotypes that exist in society which have harmed many individuals of minority status due to race, ethnicity, gender, or sexuality.
• I wasn't surprised that we were all shocked as a cohort about how ridiculous the treatment and remarks were, but it was eye opening to think that yes, those words are uttered by some.
• Finally, I felt how frustrating it was to experience another cultures struggle while also not being able to help others in their respective communities.

The most shocking thing I would have to say was probably just the blunt rudeness of the building authority staff and sheriff. It made a huge statement about institutions.Whether or not they are vocally discriminatory in society today, those stereotypes can still be communicated in more subtle ways normally which is not acceptable.

Since leaving the meeting I was glad I was able to participate in such a hands on activity regarding societal prejudices. As college students we are often times aware of discrimination around. Having the chance to go through the motions and attempt to complete the activity to the best of our abilities while receiving such resistance is a very beneficial learning method. 

November 1st Meeting Reflection Prompt

Diversity In Leadership

At this meeting I learned that:

• Each member of our FLI cohort has a very different Identity wheel that contributes to their feelings and opinions regarding everyday interaction and relationships.
• I also learned that there a various stages when dealing with the denial, recognition, and support of diverse traits and backgrounds in leadership roles locally (at BGSU) and around the world.
• Finally, I was able to apply what I learned by being asked to complete the final activity of real life situations. By taking part in these scenarios each of our personal opinions and "knee-jerk" reactions were put to the test in how we chose to react and handle the problem at hand. 

It is important to be culturally and socially sensitive as a leader because in order to enact the most change, see the greatest impact, and be effective in regards to the goals at hand there must be a priority to include all those involved on many levels. These levels go beyond name, appearance, and perceived abilities. This connection dives into cultural differences, heart-felt experiences, past expertise, and personal/group identity. I feel that politics and "being politically correct" on a daily basis applies to what we have learned at this week's cohort meeting. Political leaders are constantly trying to appeal to the majority in order to receive the most votes and be the most successful overall. These candidates research and speak about much more than the weather and demographics, they hope to truly get to know their voters inside and out. Those individuals who make that connection are usually the victor of their campaign. What I have learned in this meeting will definitely make me think more about how I react and choose to act in situations regarding diversity and relationships with others. 

Although I am someone who believes in being more value neutral when approaching most leadership situations, I also feel it is virtually impossible to always be that way. If you are apart of a group like FLI and are placed together in a cooperative group setting for an extended period of time, each individual's ethical values are bound to come out at one point or another. I side on being value neutral because I enjoy taking in others perspectives before my own and then evaluating all the facts. But by presenting our individual ethical values it usually gives the group a better understanding of its members and how they should proceed going forward. 

 

 

In honor of the upcoming Holiday season, I enjoyed finding a picture of this guy ^ Cannot wait for Snow, Sledding, & Snowmen (: