My Final Thoughts!

First of all, I'd like to thank Dr. Feinberg. Not only did you manage to touch both ends of the professor-likability spectrum for most students, you also managed to send the most relevant life messages using mostly Youtube videos and some perverted humor. These things alone show that you are truly a genius...

When it comes to being a leader, I conclude that it ultimately lies within the beholder. Some people have what it takes to lead, or at least learn to be an effective leader. Others, just don't care to be in that position in their lifetimes. I chose the path of learning to be an effective leader. I want to walk away from this class with the mindset that in order to be a leader the two areas I need to work on daily are my self-confidence and my initiative.

I always thought I was a confident person, but after this class and all of the reflection I have done, I realized that I don't carry myself or speak with conviction. I need to truly believe in myself and my ideas if I expect others to believe in me and my ideas. I know I am capable of great things, and it is time I carry myself in such a manner. If I am able to exhude confidence, and speak with the same conviction, then there is no doubt that I can attract followers to my cause.

The other area of my life that I need to immediately confront is my initiative. I realized that I tend to sit around and wait for things to happen. I have the motivation, internally, to want to do great things with my life. I dream of the possibilities that lie ahead of me. Like I said before, I am sitting around and waiting. If I want great things to come my way, I need to go bring them to me. No longer can I sit around and wait for the call from my dream internship, or sit around and imagine my body becoming more muscular. I can not sit around and expect my group members to organize our meetings, or sit around on a Friday night and wait for somebody to call me. I need to take the intiative in my life in every area. I need to practice making things happen with every area in my life, and build my drive.

Improving these two areas in my life will guide me in whatever I do. I may not be the best leader right now, or have a sufficient reason for people to follow me. However, I have the ability to learn, and the drive to improve my weaknesses. If I can really follow through on my ideas of improvement, then the sky is the limit. It is time to fly.....

M.R.D.

Leadership at Easter

I tried to relate Easter to leadership. So I watched the activities of the holiday, and thought about all of my previous experiences. Here is what I came up with.....
Easter egg hunts at my house showed the outcomes of poor communications from a leader.
My mom would hide the eggs all over the house. As we found more and more eggs, the final eggs would be harder and harder to find. We would be looking for a while, and finally ask my mom for some clues. She would give us a very vague clue, something like; the egg is visible. So we would look, not find it, and she would start saying how she can't believe we can't find it, and how easy it is.
The relation to leadership is that everything will seem easier to a leader. The leader knows how to get the stuff done, and how it should be at the end of the task. However, it is not that easy to the follower if the leader can not give a detailed explanation on how to do it efficiently. My mom did not give us detailed enough clues, and it never got any easier. Leaders need to be able to communicate effectively and clearly in order for the followers to to accomplish the tasks the way the leaders want them to.

M.R.D.

Arguments Are Okay?

Monday's class was about being able to have constructive arguments, and everyone being able to share ideas.... Now I am no expert, but arguing all of the time never got me anywhere with my ex-girlfriend. It is commonly accepted that arguing on numerous occasions tends to distance people from one another. If I am constantly arguing with my group members about ideas, I would tend to get annoyed of that person. Maybe that is my own personality threshold.

However, what I do believe in is open discussion. A healthy discussion greatly benefits every team. It allows people to feel a sense of belonging, and allows leaders to hear ideas that may end up better than their own. One thing I do believe in, as far as leadership positions, is that leaders are wise to build teams with people smarter than them. If a leader does this, and creates an environment where discussion can freely flow, then the team will operate more efficiently and create a better overall outcome.

Here is a quote to think about.....
"Discussion is an exchange of knowledge; argument is an exchange of ignorance.”-Robert Quillen