Approachable

In any leadership postition you have to reach out to your followers. Sometimes people are too shy to give their input in discussion, you should approach them. In order to be an effective leader you should be approachable. People should feel like they can come to you will new ideas or seeking advice. An effective leader listens and understands the problems of his or her followers and tries to help in anyway possible.

Comment on "First Things First"

This says to me, get your priorities straight. Although somethings seem important at the time, they may prove to be uneventful in the long run. Many Saturday nights I got invited to hangout with friends, but I declined the offer because I wanted to watch the MLB playoffs with my dad. Although I knew my friends would probably have a fun time, and I would too if I was with them, I also knew it would mean a lot to my dad if we spent time together. I chose family over friends which sometimes is a tough decision, but in the end, friends change, but family is forever.

Speaker

I think our guest touched on some interesting points in his speech on Friday. He mentioned how ideas are put into people's mind through various sources. Whether it is media, family, or friends; everyone is influenced by outside forces in some way. That makes us who we are. First, our parents instill desired values on us, then friends help mold us, and also the media influences us throughout our life. It is important to filter all this information and determine what are the right morals and values for you. If you firmly establish your core values, then outside negative influences should not sway you from what you believe.

Comment on "7 habits part II"

It is very important to have to end in mind. If you know what your eventual goal is it makes it easier to achieve. If you know where you want to get to, you should plan on how you are going to make it happen. If keeps you always working and focus on achieving that one goal. The hard part is discovering exactly what you want that end destination to be. To find your goal you need to answer and some important questions and reflect of your inner qualities.

Answers to 10 Questions

1. My parents have made a great impact on my life. They have prepared me on how to live my life the right way by leading by example. They have given me a good moral compass to follow and I would like to follow their morals and beliefs.

2. I am surrounded by my wife and kids and we are having a picnic in a state park.

3. Whoever really needed it, most likely a family member or a close friend.

4. I would sociology so I can learn more about how people interact with each other.

5. I love to creatively express myself, play and watch sports, learn, take care of animals, and spend time with family and friends.

6. One event that comes to mind is the summer after my 8th grade year I was in a life-threatening accident, but luckily only broke my leg. I was on crutches, my baseball team was in the championship game and I had to sit on the side with my very heavy cast. We won the championship. Instead of my teammates accepting the trophy themselves, they called my over and I went out to the mound to accept the championship trophy and they surrounded my and patted me on the head and said they were glad I made it through. It inspired me because I saw the selflessness of my teammates and how they really cared about me.

7. He's about 5'10'', 170 pounds, and he's monotone.

8. I would say if nothing else, I am a caring person. I think about how others feel a lot and if they are having a bad day try to make them feel better.

9. I would be a poor black woman in the city. I think if I saw the world from a very different point of view than it would be beneficial.

10. I am artistic and creative and I like talking to people and making new friends.

Activities

This week our leadership has participated in some "friendly" competitions. This activities are meant for us to learn more about ourselves and each other. We are also meant to build communication skills and how we interact with one another. I have learned that I double check directions several times to make sure we get them right. I am more likely to sit back and observe at first, and contribute my ideas as the activity moves on. For the most part I am a silent competitor and will not vocally lash out as someone. I try to be a team player and offer compliments to build moral. I am more concerned with my team doing the best that we can rather than what the other team is doing. I have learned a lot about myself through these "competitive" communication activities.

Taking the Heat

A lot of glory and prestige can be involved when becoming an effective and famous leader. When becoming a popular leader you can lead your followers to success. Sometimes after uncontrollable circumstances leaders fail and their followers fail with them. This can lead to some unwarranted blame and results in the followers blaming the leader. As a leader they need to "take the heat" for the mistake even if it wasn't the leaders fault. If a team fails then often times the quarterback is blamed as the leader of the offense. If a team loses then the coach is blamed and possibly even fired. If an unforeseen tragedy happens in our country then it is easy to blame the leader. If a natural disaster occurs then it is blamed on the president. No president in the history of the world has ever caused a hurricane. The poor economy often times gets blamed on the leader of the United States, but it is usually out of their control. Just keep everything in perspective, and do not be too quick to blame a leader, when they are in a high-pressure tough situation and are just doing their best.

Comment on "7 Habits of Highley Effective Teens"

Habits could be a positive or negative for someone in their life. Bad habits such as smoking, drinking, chewing, or just being a jerk in general are habits that should be changed. On the other hand, if you can develop positive habits like being polite, saying please and thank you, or holding doors for others. These little habits can make a good impression and get you farther in life. To form good habits make a conscience effort to repeat positive actions until you become accustomed to them, and they happen naturally.

Core Values

Defining our values gives us purpose. When you don’t know or you haven’t clearly defined your values, you end up drifting along in life. Instead of basing your decisions on an internal compass, you make choices based on circumstances and social pressures. If you stay true to what you believe in, then controversial decisions are that much easier to make. These are the five core values which are most important to me.
Respect- Everyone, from every walk of life deserves respect. You do not have to like them, but you should respect them. Every human being deserves respect. You never know when a hobo may be an undercover billionaire.

Honesty- Honesty is very important in communication. If you cannot believe what someone tells you then there is no trust and everyone is it in for their own gain. Without honesty, there are no bonds between people.

Trust- Trust is very important in any close relationship. It builds bonds between people and takes a lot of stress away. But once trust is broken, you can never get it back.

Innovation- I am always trying to find new, more efficient ways of going things. Innovation led to advances in medicine and technology. We would not be as far as we are today if people just remained satisfied.

Initiative- Doing things without being asked saves time and helps make our world a better place. Initiative also impresses authority figures.

Comment on "The Need for Integrity"

It seems really easy to criticize someone else, but tougher to get criticized. A good leader will give constructive criticism but never attack someone. Integrity plays a large part in gaining followers. Trust, influence, and a clear conscience are all crucial in being an effective leader. So would charisma, honesty, and sticking to your core values that we talked about in class. Integrity is one of the most important leadership qualities.

Taking Responsiblity

Whenever a leader fails, it is very important that he or she takes responsibility for his or her actions. Sometimes it is very hard to admit one's mistakes, especially if he or she made a very poor decision. In the end, people gain respect for a leader who "mans up" and admits that he or she did made a mistake. I was at my sister's college rugby game, and the referee made a poor call. He blew his whistle and acknowledged the players, coaches, and fans that he made an incorrect call. I thought this was noble. If our football coaches make a bad call or mess up they take responsibility. A good leader takes responsibility for his or her mistakes.

Comment on "Become a Connector"

I believe one of the most important things to do as a leader is to be able to connect with your followers. People are less likely to follow someone that they cannot relate to. People want to follow someone that is similar to themselves. I don't think as many African-Americans would have followed Martin Luther King Jr. in the civil rights movement if he was white because he wouldn't have suffered the oppression that they did at that time. A leader who loses his or her connection to people also loses their influence. I believe connecting with people on a personal level is very important whether you are trying to lead them or just make a friend.

y vs i

There was a lot symbolism in the movie,"The Pursuit of Happyness" and the significant spelling of the word, Happyness. Normally this word would be spelled with an i but there is special meaning behind spelling it with a y. Mr. Gardner's wife would spell it with an i because her happiness was based on her own selfish reasons. She only cared about happiness for herself and abandoned her family in their biggest time of need. Chris Gardner would his happiness with a y. Why is he pursuing happiness? Why does he want this job so bad? Why doesn't he just give up? The answer is his son. He wants a better life for his son. His happiness is based on his son's well being. The first step in becoming truly happy is knowing and understanding why you want to be happy.

Rubiks Cube

I believe that the Rubiks Cube in the movie "The Persuit of Happyness" has a lot of hidden symbolism.

The Rubiks cube was invented by Ernő Rubik in 1975 and quickly became the fastest selling toy in the world.

In the movie, the Rubiks cube is introduced as a fast selling extremely difficult game that hardly anybody can solve. Everybody has one and the goal is not easy to achieve. The cube symbolizes life and the problems that come with it. Everybody has problems and the goal of achieving happiness is difficult to achieve. Handling your problems and the frustration of the cube defines who you are as a person and what you will achieve. Few people ever achieve true happiness, but for those who do, and accomplish solving the cube is that much better.

When Will Smith solved the cube it symbolized the beginning of his character's life getting turned around. It helped get him a job; he was finally figuring out his own "Rubiks Cube."

Everybody has their own Rubiks Cube in life, we just need to learn how to solve ours.

Comment on "Myths of Leadership"

My comment on "Myths of Leadership"

I agree that anyone can be a great leader in times of comfort when everything is running well, but it is the times of sorrow and adversity that really determine a leader. Leadership is not a position, it is a responsibility. I also believe anyone can be a leader. Everyone has leadership qualities within them. Sometimes it just takes a bad situation to bring these leadership qualities out in some people. Leading is not easy. Sometimes you may have to take unpopular risks. Always stand up for what you believe in.

Service

There are many different ways to show leadership. One important way is service. Serving your community is very important because it helps make your community a better place to live for not only you, but everyone else. Serving your community also makes you feel better as a person. There are different ways to serve your community. Whether it is a fund raiser, picking up trash, repairs to public parks, or painting churches. Anything that helps out the community and is non-profit can be considered a service.
I learned the true meaning of service when I volunteered to paint the inside of St. Michael's Hall in Holbrook for my Eagle Project. I led a group of 16 volunteers and over the course of 245.5 hours we achieved our goal and painted the whole hall. It took a lot of work, but I am grateful to everyone who helped and I think it looks great! After my project was over I had a great sense of pride in my work and a great feeling about this service I did to the Holbrook community.