Journal Entry #1
Goals, fears, response
I received my survey report a little bit later than everyone else’s. Before I received them, I was waiting anxiously for the results as I thought I would get mediocre (which to me, is horrible) scores.
I expected my interactions with team members and contribution to be on the excellent side. I was mostly worried about how I would rate with public speaking (which I expect to be a 5 or 6), time management, and my overall assessment as a leader.
Perhaps you are your harshest critic, because the results came back quite the contrary to my negative assumptions. Although only 4 out of 10 people responded, I received positive responses. I rated a 9/10 for listening, contribution, and interaction. I scored about an 8 on public speaking, a 7.5 on handling difficult members, and an 8.5 for overall leadership skills. Someone had marked “6” on my ability to handle difficult members and I would say I agree. I don’t enjoy confrontation and am eager to please. When I used to be a server in a restaurant, how much I made was contingent upon my ability to satisfy and my efficiency. So, in order to avoid conflict, I would do everything in my power to please. I maintain my calm and treated everybody equally for the most part. You never know, the ones who are hard to please and that everyone else has given up on, may turn out to be your biggest fan and tippers.
Leadership Development Goals
After reflecting upon my results, I found that I should work on my public speaking skills and handling difficult members. What I came into the Leadership Fundamentals class was to learn how to be more assertive and confident in my proposals, whether verbal or not. I also wanted to learn how to effectively manage my time so that it would lead to less stress.
It seems what I need to work most on is organizing my thoughts. With organization comes better communication; with better communication leads to more confidence. This in turn leads to better public speaking skills which, if/when confronted with a difficult person, can help solve the situation if you've done your research and can back up your proposal. While this may seem like a slippery slope fallacy, I feel that organization is the central component that could help me tremendously.
One of my positive traits is that my mind is on a constant, idea-generating motion. If I don't jot it down in a notepad or blurt it out immediately, the idea flees and I feel that it was all for naught. While I have tons of ideas, I find myself constantly frustrated that I can not seem to implement them. Part of it is my organizational pace is much slower than my call-to-action ideas.
With time management on my side, I believe I can effectively achieve my goals.
