Sat On My Leadership Ass

So as many weeks of class have passed, I am asking myself why the hell didn't I get off my leadership ass and stand up in class that day to become a group leader. I was intimidated by the number of people in the class and let that get the best of me...or I guess point out the worst of me. As I look back to when these "leaders" told us their leadership stories, I actually have a story to tell...unlike most people that stood up while the rest of us just sat there. Like Kirk said, we should always be prepared to tell a story; and most that day were not. The few that didn't sit on their leadership asses and actually had something worthwhile to say, got their deserved position as a group leader...one of which being my leader, Tricia Coonan.

Because of my inability to get over the fact that the size of our class is so daunting, I have had to set some rules for myself in terms of not meeting my full potential, and by that I mean my full leadership potential.

*I will no longer sit on my leadership ass
*I will not be intimidated by the size of a group
*I will not doubt my ability as a leader
*I will not stand to always be someone's follower, but to be someone's leader

As to the rest of you that decided to join me in just sitting there that day...do you have a better story? I know that I do, make something of yourselves and always have a story to tell!

Morgan

Leadership Within Groups

At Monday's class I was kind of surprised that nothing was said about the groups until after the class was already over. Professor Feinberg said that not one group leader had come up to him asking him for time in class to make sure that everyone was put into a group...and if this didn't happen then everyone (but the group leaders) would lose 5o points right off the bat. Even though no one had asked for time in class I was rather shocked to find out that they had already been communicating with eachother and had put everyone they thought was registered for the class into groups. How they were able to get a list of all the people in this class was beyond me, and I know that my group leader went right after class and sent us all an e-mail welcoming to our new CSR 309 group. We've already been communicating back and forth about the next class project and Tricia made it a point to ask us all for our opinions and encouraged us to communicate back and forth with each other about possible materials to bring on Wednesday for Tower building. Stepping back and getting input and feedback from others shows a strong and wise leader, and it also shows that she really is looking out for the best interest of each group member. Bring on the Tower building!

Kirk Weisler

Many of us went into Monday night dreading having to go to class for 5 hours, but I think most would agree that those 5 hours were well spent with Kirk Weisler. There were many things that Kirk talked about in regards to leadership, but there were a couple things that really stuck out in my mind when he was talking about them. "Inspire not require." It is easier to inspire someone to want to do something than to require them to do something. As a leader you want to really got your team excited and motivated about a certain topic, otherwise if they aren't enthusiastic about it it could probably turn out horrible and they won't be interested in it so they will put little effort into that job. Inspire them to learn don't require it! Another important thing was that leadership doesn't just happen, it is a day to day process. You can want to be a leader, but you must work at becoming that leader and take the steps you need to to get where you want to be. It won't just happen...at least not for most of us. Kirk also said that one of the most important things as a leader is to grow yourself. Don't just settle to be an average leader, because in most cases you won't succeed. Make yourself better by challenging yourself in different ways, be able to talk about something interesting...be able to tell your life story.

Made Others Shine

Leadership was very evident toward the end of class today. The last group really impressed me with some of the ideas that they came up with in how to do the task that was given to them. Matt got everyone involved, and in doing this they all were able to shine and be their own leader. He helped to get the ball rolling and once it was he passed it off to others and let them do their part in the task at hand. I true leader helps each of their team members shine, and that was pretty evident in group 3's performance. I think we were all floored with what they came up with. They made it fun to watch, we learned something (even about them as individuals), and they made sure to let us know what was going on and what they were thinking; which was most important. The other 2 groups shut us out, what kind of leaders are they? Ones that will do all the work, take all the credit, and listen to their own ideas...I think so. The had a different way of doing things and executed their plan...which is what a leader is supposed to do!