Change Leadership

A new suggestion for change leadership I learned is captured in this quote from Niccolo Machiavelli, "There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in it success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things." It is frightening to take the initiative to make a change. A principle we learned that goes hand in hand with that is that it is essential to change, it is "constant, inevitable, [and that it] can insure the success or failure of any organization." (Brother Ward)

A suggestion from Brother Ward's lecture I want to focus my efforts most on is accountability. All too often I do not take into account how important it is to use my time wisely. I need to be "thriving, not just surviving," in this ever changing world. In my leadership role I will take advantage of the time I have to "thrive" in my role, and not just "survive."

My experience of public speaking taught me the importance of looking at people and keeping your audience interested. I hope to continually develop all of the skills I have learned in this class. Since I would get red in the face and stutter when in front of a group of people--even small groups--before this class, I would say I have a lot of perfecting to do. I plan to practice speeches every time I give them until when--or if--I ever become proficient at keeping straight what I need to say.

Conflict Resolution

Physiological responses I have when I know I am in a conflict include my heart rate increasing. Also, any train of thought I have is derailed. My mind completely blanks when I'm in a conflict.

When I'm in a conflict I usually just think: "What do I do!??!?" Typically I'll eventually come up with a way to fix things.

To help manage my thoughts and emotions in a productive way to manage/solve my conflict I can:

• Talk to others for advice and mediation
• Each time I come to a conflict, give praise before and after addressing my concern
• Always try to figure out why something is happening before attacking the what
• Come up with an answer to certain conflicts before hand (ex: honor code, decide before hand)
• Use logic to come up with good answers
•  Pray for guidance

Motivating Others

The leader that stood out most to me was Winston Churchill. He stood out to me because of his noble life. He lead his country with wisdom and charisma.

From researching Cleopatra, I learned that motivating others is easier when one speaks with those they lead. Cleopatra learned how to speak the Egyptian language to connect with her people and understand their culture better. She utilized this knowledge with her charismatic character.

A new element of motivating others I will apply to my leadership role is being more firm. Through being more firm, I will be able to ensure fairness to myself and others. I am typically a very easy going, nice person; but I need to be more sure to put my foot down when situations are wrong. Doing this will help the character development of myself and the ones I lead. Developing this ability will help me be a better leader.