At the beginning of this class, I gave you a slip of paper than read, “You are a leader. What difference will you make?” As our semester comes to an end, I want you to revisit this question. Consider what you are passionate about and what change you want to see in the world (a student organization, on campus, in the community, in your professional field). Describe what difference you want to make as a leader and the initial steps you will take to get started. What challenges and obstacles do you anticipate in your quest to make the impact you desire?
During the course of the semester, our Exploring Leadership class has analyzed various approaches to the task of leadership while actively reflecting on which of these approaches most aligns with our personal feelings on the topic. Recently my classmates and I individually completed our final major assignment, a philosophy of leadership that accurately summarizes what leadership means to us and how we may implement it effectively. This blog serves as an expansion on the application portion of that assignment, and I will focus on three areas where I would like to make a change: the local political community, the University of Cincinnati community, and my profession.
During my Collaborative Leadership Honors Seminar that I took in my first semester I was introduced to a local organization called Beyond Civility who is taking strides to provide a safe venue for politicians to practice methods of effective communication. Their main events include Back-to-Backs (where politicians argue from their counterpart’s viewpoint), Side-by-Sides (where politicians focus on understanding one another by discussing their upbringing and what has lead them to their current political convictions), and communication workshops. Along with a small group of students from my class, we continued working with Beyond Civility with the intention of helping them bridge the gap to a younger demographic. When we discussed ideas for their organization in our final project as well as in a follow meeting shortly after the semester, there was a great deal of optimism and energy. However, as time has gone on and our group has experienced difficulties raising any form of interest in their mission as well as been consumed by other personal commitments the energy has significantly faded. I see this scenario as an accurate real-world example of what our text described as the stages of positive reaction to change. Our group began in the uninformed optimism phase and have currently moved into the informed pessimism stage. The next progression defined is either informed optimism or falling out. I feel that Beyond Civility’s mission is an exciting and worthy cause and would be remiss if we ceased our work with their organization. Therefore, I believe the next step in pushing for the change they hope to create is to re-energize our small group. We are already on the right path with a number of ideas ready to be implemented and we simply need to remember why we started working with Beyond Civility and push forward. We have a better idea now of the challenges that lay before us which should serve as a source of wisdom for any future steps we may take.
The University of Cincinnati is a wonderful community that offers a large number of resources and a vast support staff to enrolled students. As a student in my first year, I am still in the process of discovering how expansive the university’s resources are (one of my favorite portions of this class has been the privilege to hear from guest speakers that work in various offices and programs on campus). During my first year at Cincinnati, I have worked to become an involved member of various organizations. Leading by example is one of the easiest and most useful leadership techniques especially on a peer level. Therefore, I see all activities as pools of opportunity for leadership to be effectively implemented. The change I would like to see at the university is a student body that is informed of the resources available to them, excited about whatever their particular program may be, and eager to look forward to the professional phase of their life. The steps are simple, as leading by example only requires you to act as you normally would (being the positive change you would like to see); however, the challenges that may present themselves are foreboding. For example, when leading by example you run the risk of being seen as a hypocrite if your actions do not appear to be consistent as well as setting a bad example if you make any poor decisions. In addition, personal commitments may make it difficult to lead by example. Balancing seventeen credit hours, locking down my very important first co-op for this summer, planning a minor(s) around term conflicts, and joining another organization, I have felt the force of this challenge. I have not felt like I have been giving my best to any of my organizations and have had to make some difficult decisions due to logistics. Being aware of each of these obstacles, I am eager to overcome them in an effort to make a brighter UC one student at a time.
I am a mechanical engineering major who dreams of landing my career in an area that allows me to work on cybernetics and exo-suits. In this field I hope to be among those leading the development and implementation of this technology. Specifically, I would like to see this technology not only develop to a new level but also become available to the general public (would truly hate to see my visions solely amount to research or only be sold to a specific market). The first steps (which are already in progress) include getting an education as well as work experience as an engineer (without these basics I will not even have a shot at my desired industry). As I approach graduation or shortly after, I will try to pursue a job that is in closer relation to these topics. While still in college I have considered investigating lab spaces that may be doing research in areas of related interest. In addition, I have begun conceptual designs for an exo-suit project in my spare time and intend on taking this work to a higher level over the summer. Overall, I am aware that my goals are lofty, although I am young, enthusiastic, and determined which I believe will be enough to yield success. The challenges I expect to face will come from a wide number of sources. First, there will be technical obstacles as should be expected when pushing the boundaries of a current technology. Then, there will be structural difficulties. Despite my passion, I am aware of my youth of age and experience and recognize that even if I am able to land a job in my desired field that I will have to patiently overcome either an experience or title based structure. Finally, I anticipate a fair amount of personal limitation. As mentioned in my previous paragraph, as I complete any steps along the way they will come with their own time commitment and stress. I will need to actively create balance in my daily routine in order to not lose sight of my long term goals while also appreciating whatever it is I am doing in the moment.
Reflective processes are a wonderful way to articulate all of the changes that you would like to make and gain a deeper understanding of the challenges that may arise along the way. Looking back upon my list, I am confident that all of the changes I would like to make are achievable with the right amount of commitment, balance, and personal awareness.
During my Collaborative Leadership Honors Seminar that I took in my first semester I was introduced to a local organization called Beyond Civility who is taking strides to provide a safe venue for politicians to practice methods of effective communication. Their main events include Back-to-Backs (where politicians argue from their counterpart’s viewpoint), Side-by-Sides (where politicians focus on understanding one another by discussing their upbringing and what has lead them to their current political convictions), and communication workshops. Along with a small group of students from my class, we continued working with Beyond Civility with the intention of helping them bridge the gap to a younger demographic. When we discussed ideas for their organization in our final project as well as in a follow meeting shortly after the semester, there was a great deal of optimism and energy. However, as time has gone on and our group has experienced difficulties raising any form of interest in their mission as well as been consumed by other personal commitments the energy has significantly faded. I see this scenario as an accurate real-world example of what our text described as the stages of positive reaction to change. Our group began in the uninformed optimism phase and have currently moved into the informed pessimism stage. The next progression defined is either informed optimism or falling out. I feel that Beyond Civility’s mission is an exciting and worthy cause and would be remiss if we ceased our work with their organization. Therefore, I believe the next step in pushing for the change they hope to create is to re-energize our small group. We are already on the right path with a number of ideas ready to be implemented and we simply need to remember why we started working with Beyond Civility and push forward. We have a better idea now of the challenges that lay before us which should serve as a source of wisdom for any future steps we may take.
The University of Cincinnati is a wonderful community that offers a large number of resources and a vast support staff to enrolled students. As a student in my first year, I am still in the process of discovering how expansive the university’s resources are (one of my favorite portions of this class has been the privilege to hear from guest speakers that work in various offices and programs on campus). During my first year at Cincinnati, I have worked to become an involved member of various organizations. Leading by example is one of the easiest and most useful leadership techniques especially on a peer level. Therefore, I see all activities as pools of opportunity for leadership to be effectively implemented. The change I would like to see at the university is a student body that is informed of the resources available to them, excited about whatever their particular program may be, and eager to look forward to the professional phase of their life. The steps are simple, as leading by example only requires you to act as you normally would (being the positive change you would like to see); however, the challenges that may present themselves are foreboding. For example, when leading by example you run the risk of being seen as a hypocrite if your actions do not appear to be consistent as well as setting a bad example if you make any poor decisions. In addition, personal commitments may make it difficult to lead by example. Balancing seventeen credit hours, locking down my very important first co-op for this summer, planning a minor(s) around term conflicts, and joining another organization, I have felt the force of this challenge. I have not felt like I have been giving my best to any of my organizations and have had to make some difficult decisions due to logistics. Being aware of each of these obstacles, I am eager to overcome them in an effort to make a brighter UC one student at a time.
I am a mechanical engineering major who dreams of landing my career in an area that allows me to work on cybernetics and exo-suits. In this field I hope to be among those leading the development and implementation of this technology. Specifically, I would like to see this technology not only develop to a new level but also become available to the general public (would truly hate to see my visions solely amount to research or only be sold to a specific market). The first steps (which are already in progress) include getting an education as well as work experience as an engineer (without these basics I will not even have a shot at my desired industry). As I approach graduation or shortly after, I will try to pursue a job that is in closer relation to these topics. While still in college I have considered investigating lab spaces that may be doing research in areas of related interest. In addition, I have begun conceptual designs for an exo-suit project in my spare time and intend on taking this work to a higher level over the summer. Overall, I am aware that my goals are lofty, although I am young, enthusiastic, and determined which I believe will be enough to yield success. The challenges I expect to face will come from a wide number of sources. First, there will be technical obstacles as should be expected when pushing the boundaries of a current technology. Then, there will be structural difficulties. Despite my passion, I am aware of my youth of age and experience and recognize that even if I am able to land a job in my desired field that I will have to patiently overcome either an experience or title based structure. Finally, I anticipate a fair amount of personal limitation. As mentioned in my previous paragraph, as I complete any steps along the way they will come with their own time commitment and stress. I will need to actively create balance in my daily routine in order to not lose sight of my long term goals while also appreciating whatever it is I am doing in the moment.
Reflective processes are a wonderful way to articulate all of the changes that you would like to make and gain a deeper understanding of the challenges that may arise along the way. Looking back upon my list, I am confident that all of the changes I would like to make are achievable with the right amount of commitment, balance, and personal awareness.