For this week’s blog, we will journey through the chapters. For Chapter 5, which is entitled, Leading from Any Chair, interesting questions
were posed: How can we make a difference
in the people we’ll influence each day? How do we listen to those who help us
make our dreams become reality?
I believe the biggest difference that we make in people’s
lives is to recognize their strengths and to support their weaknesses. I believe it is the jobs of leaders to be
chief observer of those they are responsible for leading. In my career switcher program, our teacher
always told us that teachers have the ability to speak students into
existence. Sometimes people have been so
discouraged and degraded that they don’t have confidence in their
abilities. It is empowering for leaders
to tell people how valuable their specific skill set is to the organization. I
also believe it is the leaders’ responsibility to help their colleagues,
employees, etc. become strengthened in areas where they are weak or need
improvement. Encouragement, not criticism should be the operational mode. Instead of constructive criticism, I prefer
offering feedback. I’m not trying to be
politically correct, I just know words are powerful. Criticism is so damaging,
and I don’t like the idea of people being critical of others. I believe leaders
should offer people feedback on how to improve their practice, not tear people
down with demeaning words and personal opinions. I believe in practicing the highest regard
for human life and dignity. The human resource is our most valuable Earthly
resource. We should do everything in our power to honor and respect people and
the unique gifts, talents, and abilities they contribute to the world.
On to the next question:
How do we listen to those who help make our dreams become reality? I love this question! We pay attention to them. We pay attention to what they say. We process what they say. We pay attention to their actions. We pay attention to what they don’t say. We listen for who they are and look beyond
their personal idiosyncrasies to see their heart and their intentions. As leaders, we help them develop into people
whose intentions and actions are aligned. We listen for their fears and help them see
beyond them to believe in themselves and their abilities. This really ties in with one of my favorite
quotes from Chapter 5…
…the true power [of a conductor]
derives from his ability to make other people powerful… [Zander] began to ask
[himself] questions like “What make a group lively and engaged?” instead of
“How good am I?”
Shaka Smart, coach of the Virginia Commonwealth University
(VCU) basketball team said, “It’s amazing what a team can accomplish when no
one cares who gets the credit.” I believe comments like this epitomize the
nature of leadership. They are demonstration of a philosophy that obviously
focuses on the power of the collective. Of
course, in order for the collective to be strong, each individual member must
be strong, but not strong for self. The
strength is in knowing that their individual contribution is necessary for the
collective to be successful. What makes
a group lively and engaged? I believe a
group is lively and engaged when they know they are valued and that their
individual contributions are significant, necessary and appreciated. It is each individual member knowing that for
their team to be the best, they must aim to be the best in their particular
role.
So, on to the gleaning from Chapter 6… It was this: “Don't
take yourself so seriously. Life is a journey--enjoy and learn along the way.
Live, laugh, and love!!” Wow! This week I am at a conference. I was speaking to one of the students. He is a colleague to my student who is
attending the conference. He wanted to
know which student was my student. When I told him, he said, “I’ve talked with
Tyesha. She’s pretty funny. We need some humor during these things.” I love
youth! They will tell you how it
is. Sometimes we just need to relax and
laugh and free ourselves to have a good time.
Often, being a responsible adult isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Whenever we can take a break from the serious
issues of life and just enjoy ourselves like children, I think it reenergizes
us toward our purpose and gives us fresh vision to see beyond ourselves. If we
begin to take it easy on ourselves, not take ourselves so seriously, then we
will not be as afraid to make mistakes.
We will be freer to learn and explore and take risks, instead of playing
it safe all the time. We will reap the
freedom to leave our comfort zones and venture out into the land of
possibilities!
For Chapter 7, The Way
Things Are, there was a thought provoking statement followed by a question:
“Sometimes settling for the way things
are is a lowering of expectations, sometimes it’s finding a starting point so
that one can make things better. Where are you in this continuum?” Here’s my answer: I don’t settle well. I need to see things around me improve. I don’t like stagnation. It’s not a good
sign. It symbolizes a build-up of harmful bacteria and there is not an atmosphere
for growth. Problem! So, I would say
that I come to terms with how things are, so that I can deal with situations
from a realistic standpoint, identifying where we are and envisioning and
planning for where we need to go.
Finally, we move on to matters regarding Chapter 8, Giving Way to Passion. “Control says
that the only way to avoid disappointment and frustration is to not care at
all. No hits, no runs, but most importantly, no errors. What are you doing in
your daily life that expresses your passion or the things you are passionate
about?” I am extremely passionate about educating students. So, I work very
smart and very hard to provide life-changing and skill-developing opportunities
and experiences for them. I put a lot of heart and a lot of passion into making
sure that students are aware that they gain something real and valuable from my
instructional program.
There are many people who have come and gone throughout my life that I
would consider to have been inspirations, as well as role-model
leaders. However, there have been two that have stuck around my whole
life--my parents. Both of my parents have influenced my life greatly,
but in two different and distinct ways.
My mother has always showed me how to be a great leader with larger
group of people. My whole life she has been a project manager. I have
watched her interact with people on a larger scale. I have seen my
mother on conference calls and on-site at an office. She has a very
easy-going personality, but demands greatness from her teams.
My father, on the other hand, has lead groups of people as a civil
engineer on smaller types of projects. I have seen my father interact
with people in the field, as well as had the opportunity to work under
my father in the drafting/maps division for the city of Novato when I
was in high school. I love the way keeps his cool when problems arise.
As I grow and begin to develop my own sense of leadership, I would love
to encompass my mother's ability to work with (and manage) larger groups
of people, but also have my father's knack of separating emotions and
decisions when working with smaller groups. Both are eager listeners
and absorb knowledge and possess the ability to analyze all situations
carefully.
Mrs. KJune 24, 2012 
