I am a Freshman and majoring in Finance and Economics. I am from Newark, DE. I enjoy playing football, volleyball and water skiing. I like to hang out with friends and family. On campus, I am involved in intermural sports, Delta Sigma Pi, Blue Hen Ambassadors, and the Blue Hen Investment Club.
3. Who is your favorite leader? Either present or past, and explain why you think they have exemplary leadership qualities.
I have been watching the Olympics and became very inspired watching the story of the 1980 USA mens hockey team beating the USSR in the olympics. I have seen the movie "Miracle" and have always been a hockey fan. I believe that upsets are the greatest aspect of sports and the victory of the USA hockey team is the most significant upset in history. A large reason for the American victory was the leadership of their coach, Herb Brooks. Brooks is a great coach and an amazing leader. He inspired a group of college ice hockey players to fight hard and beat a group of superstars from the USSR. Everyone expected the USSR the win, but Coach Brooks understood that heart and hardwork can beat talent. He shared his vision with his team and they suceeded. He inspired teamwork and leadership in his players. As a player, Herb Brooks was cut right before the 1960 olympics when the USA mens hockey team won gold. Instead of feeling sorry for himself, he made the team for the 1964 and 1968 olympics. However, his team failed to win a medal. He continued his olympic dreams by coaching the 1980 team to gold. Great leaders lead by example, and by continuing his fight to make the USA team as a player, Brooks set a great example to his players 20 years later. He understood his players potential very well and coached extremely tough in order for them to reach their potential. He understood the impact of the olympics as well as the importance of beating the USSR at the height of the cold war. Most importantly, Brooks tooks a group of players from rival colleges and formed them into brothers fighting for a common goal.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Thoughts about clss on 2/23
The activity where the followers were primarily concerned with technical skills and the leaders were more concerned with people skills really got me thinking. The followers have a much easier job, they listen to the leaders and perform their task. The leaders on the other hand, have to make decisions and coordinate activites between the interests of their employees, upper management and client. It is much easier to be a follower and that is why it is so rewarding to be able to be a successful leader. Leaders need to be well rounded and it doesn't make sense for a promotion to be based soley on technical skills.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
My day as a Leader- Leadership challenge #1
As the leader in my group I learned what type of behaviors positively impact the group and what else I can do in the future to improve the results of the group.
Time was a big hindrance in the task, and forced the group to be very efficient. When starting out, I assumed that we all had the same vision (of obtaining 3 interviews) and I failed to convey this vision to the group. I didn't organize our task due to the time limit, and started walking to Trabant and we improvised on the run. This created some chaos, but fortunately we accomplished our task due to everyone in the group working hard. After hearing the feedback from my group, I learned that I should have organized our task better and conveyed my vision to my fellow group members.
We interviewed the president of the Student Government Association, a national representative of Pi Kappa Phi, and a supervisor of Pinnacle Energy. At first I thought it would be difficult to find leaders, but I soon realized that there are leaders everywhere. Each leader had similarities to the others, but also had their own leadership styles. The most important characteristics of a leader included: motivation, responsibility, and commitment. Both the SGA president and Pi Kappa Phi Representative stressed the importance of being personable and available. Delegation was the most used answer for leadership behaviors. All of the leaders thought they had a good or better relationship with their followers and thought their organization's tasks were explained clearly. Leading by example was a common way that the leaders influenced their followers. Leaders believed that the traits followers need most out of a leader to succeed were: confidence, communication, and a sociability. When asked what advice the leaders would give to aspiring leaders, they stressed the willingness to always learn and hard work.
There are many similarities between the results of the interviews and the theory learned in class. Behaviors such as confidence, hard work, communication, and sociability were evident in both the interviews and textbooks. Through this experience, I learned that a leader should evaluate themselves through the eyes of their followers. My group members considered me more of a manager than a leader, and I agree with them. To be more of a leader, I need to promote collaboration rather than being solely concerned with organization.
I think that students are learning that leadership is a behavior that can really only be learned by experience and trial and error. Leaders are unique, but there are also many similarities between them. Leadership is not about power-hunger or forceful demands, but rather cooperation, communication, respect, and confidence. We are learning most about leadership through activities and scenarios presented in class. Talking to a variety of leaders, experiencing leadership, and thinking critically about leadership though the eyes of followers help us learn leadership. It is challenging to emerge as a leader of a group with classmates of similar intelligence and desire to be a leader. As a leader in this project, it was hard to balance providing direction and asking for input. Everything a person experiences and learns has an impact on their behavior. When I see a trait in someone I respect, I try to adapt that trait and when I see an undesirable behavior, I try to eliminate that from myself.
Time was a big hindrance in the task, and forced the group to be very efficient. When starting out, I assumed that we all had the same vision (of obtaining 3 interviews) and I failed to convey this vision to the group. I didn't organize our task due to the time limit, and started walking to Trabant and we improvised on the run. This created some chaos, but fortunately we accomplished our task due to everyone in the group working hard. After hearing the feedback from my group, I learned that I should have organized our task better and conveyed my vision to my fellow group members.
We interviewed the president of the Student Government Association, a national representative of Pi Kappa Phi, and a supervisor of Pinnacle Energy. At first I thought it would be difficult to find leaders, but I soon realized that there are leaders everywhere. Each leader had similarities to the others, but also had their own leadership styles. The most important characteristics of a leader included: motivation, responsibility, and commitment. Both the SGA president and Pi Kappa Phi Representative stressed the importance of being personable and available. Delegation was the most used answer for leadership behaviors. All of the leaders thought they had a good or better relationship with their followers and thought their organization's tasks were explained clearly. Leading by example was a common way that the leaders influenced their followers. Leaders believed that the traits followers need most out of a leader to succeed were: confidence, communication, and a sociability. When asked what advice the leaders would give to aspiring leaders, they stressed the willingness to always learn and hard work.
There are many similarities between the results of the interviews and the theory learned in class. Behaviors such as confidence, hard work, communication, and sociability were evident in both the interviews and textbooks. Through this experience, I learned that a leader should evaluate themselves through the eyes of their followers. My group members considered me more of a manager than a leader, and I agree with them. To be more of a leader, I need to promote collaboration rather than being solely concerned with organization.
I think that students are learning that leadership is a behavior that can really only be learned by experience and trial and error. Leaders are unique, but there are also many similarities between them. Leadership is not about power-hunger or forceful demands, but rather cooperation, communication, respect, and confidence. We are learning most about leadership through activities and scenarios presented in class. Talking to a variety of leaders, experiencing leadership, and thinking critically about leadership though the eyes of followers help us learn leadership. It is challenging to emerge as a leader of a group with classmates of similar intelligence and desire to be a leader. As a leader in this project, it was hard to balance providing direction and asking for input. Everything a person experiences and learns has an impact on their behavior. When I see a trait in someone I respect, I try to adapt that trait and when I see an undesirable behavior, I try to eliminate that from myself.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Assignment 1
1. Good leaders are so confident in their abilities that their followers feel comfortable putting their trust in those leaders. An effective leader is also very knowledgeable in their field and conveys this knowledge to others. However, these traits alone do not make one a leader. An effective leader must also be able to relate to and encourage others.
2. Leadership is a process that enables people to reach their full potential. A leader can push people beyond what many think is possible for themselves. Leadership is also the ability to maximize the effectiveness of a team by making people work together effectively.
3. I am a leader. There are many instances that I am a follower, but any leader should also be a follower. I strive to maximize the potential of others and help people work together. I also try my best to relate to all types of people. I realize that I have much more to learn and I need more experience to maximize my leadership ability.
2. Leadership is a process that enables people to reach their full potential. A leader can push people beyond what many think is possible for themselves. Leadership is also the ability to maximize the effectiveness of a team by making people work together effectively.
3. I am a leader. There are many instances that I am a follower, but any leader should also be a follower. I strive to maximize the potential of others and help people work together. I also try my best to relate to all types of people. I realize that I have much more to learn and I need more experience to maximize my leadership ability.
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