A520.1.6.RB_McNerneyLeighAnn

My level of self-awareness has changed in many ways since I began my MSLD program in all aspect of my emotional intelligence, attitude toward change, cognitive style, values and core self-evaluation. When I started this program I thought I had a pretty good idea of myself however as I continue through this program I am constantly finding new ways in which I need improvement.

My emotional intelligence is pretty good according to the assessment survey I participated in and I find this to be accurate. I have always had the ability to be in touch with my emotions; however it wasn’t until I began my quest to become a leader that I became aware of how important this skill is in effectively leading. In order to be a good leader you have to be able to get in touch with your followers in a deeper more meaningful way. You will not successfully lead if others cannot relate or connect with you. It is important to be aware of not only your emotions but that of those around you. If you are not able to be open and empathetic people will think you are cold in my opinion. That is why I have begun to become more aware of dealing with my emotions. Having control over them will help me become a better leader.

Attitude toward change is something I struggle with everyday as the world around me is changing every day. I know to be able to be successful I must be open to the changes happening around me. I have always struggled with change as I tend to prefer a more predictable routine from day-to-day; however I have noticed that when change occurs so does learning and I love to learn. My results from the survey indicated that I have a pretty good adaptation of this change. I have an internal locus of control and my tolerance is pretty average. In the beginning of this course much like emotional intelligence I was aware of my acceptance of change and had a pretty good understanding of the importance of accepting change; however it was until I began my career as a Financial Aid Advisor and the MSLD program that the true importance of this adaptation became clear. After reviewing scholarly articles in my previous class I have learned that in order to stay on top you must be on the cutting edge of technology. This requires research as well as critical thinking.

Cognitively I could use some improvements in all the areas and this will take work. Before this program I had no idea what my cognitive abilities were. I learned that there are styles called knowing, planning and creating. I scored the lowest in creating which came to a shock because I have never viewed myself as someone to prefer data, facts and details. After reading more about this area I learned more about myself and the importance of being more aware of these attributes. As a psychology major and free thinker scoring the lowest in creating made me second guess my decisions throughout life thus far. I learned that I tend to challenge things unless sufficient evidence is provided to me, and I also take my time in making decisions because I want proof. These are all good qualities, but they put me in a different category than I expected. I see now why having the ability to do all of these will be necessary in order to lead effectively. I think a leader will need to be well-rounded in order to identify with all personalities he or she may be confronted with.

Values were always important to me but it was not until this class that I realized all the different aspect a value truly has. There are some values that are based off of how someone is raised, their maturity level, their culture etc. No matter what someone’s values are in order to be effective one must be able to not only identify their own values, but of others as well. This will help develop more respect and better understanding of why someone might feel one way or the other. This program has demonstrated very well that I will encounter people of all walks of life and I will need to be able to get along with everyone to a certain professional degree. I have also learned that my current maturity level in more of a conformist and in order to become fully matured I will need to experience more to develop internal principles to base my decisions off of.

Finally this program has not only taught me the importance of having a positive core self-evaluation but that I need to improve my core self-evaluation if I want to succeed as a leader. I currently need to work on my self-esteem which I have struggled with for the past 13 years. I was in a mentally abusive relationship for 10 years as I started dating the guy when I was only 14 years old. I was very young and naïve and allowed him to tell me how to live my life based off of his expectations. He delegated of who I should be based on his opinions. He degraded me and prevented me from being able to comfortable being myself. I finally was able to break away from the violent relationship however the damage had been done. I now have a difficult time believing in myself and find it hard to find a lot of positives in myself, and when I do I have a hard time being confident. This program has provided me with an understanding that in order to lead affectively I must not only be confident and believe in myself, but I must also be able to instill this in others. In my opinion you must practice what you preach to others in order to be successful in conveying your message. This is why I have to improve my overall self-evaluation not only for myself, but for my future follower’s well-being.

So far I am only 3 classes into this program and I have already seen the true importance of having a good level of emotional intelligence, attitude toward change, cognitive style, values and core self-evaluation. In order to improve each of these characteristics I will need to practice and change my outlook on some things. In the end to be successful leader I must possess each of these qualities.

A520.1.2RB_McNerneyLeighAnn

After completing the Diagnostic Survey For Scale Self-Awareness I noticed most of my results were exactly what I either expected or was not surprised to learn about myself. My results for emotional intelligence were that I am aware of what’s going on inside emotionally, I’m aware of alternative points of view, that I confront issues not in the presence of those affected and show emotional control. These results were not surprising to me at all however I was little caught off guard when learning I rely on others to get the hint. After learning this I realized it was a complete fact in that I do tend to think people will get the hint and when they do not I tend to get very irritated.  From now on I am going to be better at communicating my thoughts so that I do not run into this obstacle as often.

In reviewing my level of empathy towards others I was not shocked to learn that I am capable of recognizing different emotions without letting them get carried away, I am sensitive to other’s feelings and also to their possible emotional issues. I find these to be very accurate as I am usually very good at reading people and adjusting to their moods, or in helping them cope when distressed. I find this quality to be a key characteristic in myself.

My level of maturity is between a stage 3 and 4 on the classification of moral judgment. This level is called conventional or conformity and it shows I tend to find moral values that reside in duty, maintaining social contracts and keeping commitments. These results are extremely accurate as I pride myself in being a loyal and committed person in all aspects of my life. I do tend to follow the laws and norms of society and I am extremely concerned with other’s feelings, which was pointed in out in the empathy portion of the survey. I know myself to be a very trustworthy and reliable person. I find that when I talk to people that I know very well or have just met in the elevator they will disclose personal information with me without me prying for it. I believe it is due to my openness to others and reputation of “being good on my word”. I see that I still have some growing to do in my maturity level, as I have not yet reached the postconventional stage. I am going to try to develop better internal principles, however this will take some time because it involves more life experience.

The results regarding the cognitive indicator did produce the most shocking indications regarding my knowing, planning and creating style. Knowing I scored above the mean which indicated I emphasize facts details and data. I need proof or evidence in order to problem solve or make a decision. I find this to be very accurate, as I tend to challenge anything until I can find it to be valid or true. Planning style scores showed they were also above the mean. This is also very accurate as well. I am inclined more towards things that are planned, structured and preparation was involved. I do like clearness and stick to a predictable routine. Where the shock factor lies is the low score in creating style. I was below the mean in this style and I am completely shocked by this because my undergrad degree is in psychology and I enjoy being spontaneous. I will need to improve my creating style by being more open to other possibilities and more interactive.

I have an internal locus of control that was not surprising at all. I hold true to my belief that I am the reason for my own success. This is something I am very passionate about. People who believe others are the cause of their success or failures will never go as far as they could if they believed in themselves. Meaning if someone finds himself or herself to be unhappy and base it off circumstances they will never get anywhere, but those who use the circumstance to get somewhere will become successful in their endeavors. I believe we are contingent of our own actions. Tolerance of ambiguity results provided me with a better understanding of my novelty, complexity and insolubility. I scored right on the mean on novelty and complexity however my insolubility was lower. This indicates I need to improve my ability to tolerate problems that are difficult to solve. I will need to develop better strategies to become a better problem solver by maybe thinking outside the box to come up with other solutions.

Finally my overall core self-evaluation indicated I am right below the mean. This indicates I will need to improve my self-esteem and self-efficiency as I already have a good awareness of emotional intelligence and demonstrate good locus of control. These results are very accurate. I do tend to have a lower self-esteem and could use more motivation regarding certain aspects of my life. I found it very surprising that people with higher levels of core self-evaluation suffer less headaches and backaches. These are the two symptoms I suffer from the most, as I have chronic head and backaches.

Over all I was please with my results and I know there is a lot of growth that will need to happen in order to become a successful manager. Going forward I will use these results to start becoming more aware of different scenarios in which I could be more spontaneous or think outside the box. Hopefully by the end of this class I will have improved the areas that I need to work on the most.

Whetten, D.A., & Cameron K.S. (2011). Developing Management Skills (8th ed.).

Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. 

9.4 Course Reflection

When I signed up for this course, Leadership Foundations in Research, I was intimidated from the very beginning. I was almost 9 months pregnant and I knew I would be challenged with more obstacles than normal since I was due to have her in the middle of the course. However, I continued to push myself through so that I would not allow myself to give up. I was too afraid I would continue to find more excuses down the road as to why I did not “need” my Masters degree; this was going to be only my second class.

On the first day of the class I was reading over the syllabus and I about had a nervous breakdown. I was not only going to be challenged with having a baby during class, but I was also going to be required to perform tasks that required me to do extensive research as well as learn the technology required to submit the assignments.  I am not “tech savvy” so everything required me to ask for help from someone. Once I got the hang of it I was able to continue as I normally would in any other class.

Now that we are in the final days of this class I have to say I have become an all around better student as well as critical thinker. In the beginning we were asked to define critical thinking and I was not able to grasp the meaning and truly understand what it is to think critically, however after many long nights of researching and studying I have improved my overall understanding. To think critically you are digging deeper than you would to just think about something. I have learned to process information as a system of thinking rather than just approaching it as a body of information. I have also learned a wonderful technique of using the SEE-I approach. I use this technique in everything I do!
To think critically you must think about the question from all aspects, not jumping to conclusions and pay close attention to all the details in order to formulate a well-rounded thought. To start the thinking process you should reflect on the thought from your own point of view and try to figure out why you think the way you do. Reflection to me is the key to thinking critically. It challenges the mind to ask yourself questions that you would have never thought of if you just thought regularly.

As you reflect you should apply your thought through the elements of reasoning, which are: point of view, purpose, question at issue, assumptions, implications or consequences, information, concepts and conclusions or interpretations. These elements can be applied in no particular order however you should “go around in a circle” when reasoning through your thought.

Next I learned to take my thought and apply it to the seven standards of thinking, these act as a filter to help you reason through your thought a little more in-depth. The seven standards are as follows: clearness, accuracy, importance or relevance, sufficiency, depth, breadth and precision. These were harder for me to understand, however, once we were required to apply each one in a task I was able to grasp what each meant a little better.

After applying your thought through the elements of reasoning and the seven different standards you can then put all of your thoughts together in a process called QEDS which is an acronym that explains how to apply each as a process through the discipline to answer the question. After breaking these processes down we were then able to put them together to write critically.

Now that I am reflecting I feel like everything makes sense. I am not going to pretend I knew what I was doing because I was actually very confused and irritated throughout the assignments. I was frustrated because I did not understand why we were doing them and also because I was challenging myself and this required me to think in ways I had never thought before. This was my ultimate challenge and obstacle, which is why I decided to write my research paper on the obstacles of critical thinking, but ended up approaching this matter from a preventative point of view. I wanted to find out if critical thinking could be easier if it were taught throughout an individual’s life. I do believe in my conclusion of the paper it could be.

As I complete this course I have definitely taken away more positive than negative. My Professor and University has provided me with a tremendous amount of knowledge and support and I have no recommendations to suggest.The topics of this course were very relevant going forward and I will be able to apply these skills throughout my life. I would have maybe planned out this class at a less challenging part of my life. The sleepless nights (homework and baby) have made this more challenging than I have ever imagined, but in challenging myself I have become a better person. I have improved my overall quality of life in every aspect. I am now a mind mapper, blogger and a better critical thinker!

8.3 Good Presentation Design

Conducting a good presentation is the key in successfully getting your message conveyed to your audience. In order to create a successful presentation you must first organize your thoughts. I would recommend creating a rough draft on paper writing down the different points you would like to present and then highlight the major points.

Next you should begin creating the lay out of the power point slides, only if that is the route in which you are choosing to present, as this is route in which I am discussing within this blog. Each layout should follow a similar theme throughout in order to show that the slides are a part of one presentation. In order to distinguish one slide to the next you should break the text up and group thoughts together. Any graphic art displayed should be up-to-date pictures or examples; as this will help keep the audience’s eye from wondering off of your presentation. Using sounds and animation can be a bit overwhelming so I would suggest keeping them to a minimal, however adding in short clips from movies and such keeps the audience on the edge of their seats.

In the organization of the slides I would recommend keeping your ideas one per slide. This will help you keep the audience from being confused and will allow you highlight the main thoughts. Keep your slides simple and free of clutter. Too much text on a page will overwhelm the audience and will prevent them from understanding what your key points are, think about it as “less is more”. If possible always include a personal story or anything that can tie the information you are conveying to something the audience can relate to. This will keep them thinking while you are discussing.

Once you have completed your slides start practicing for the big presentation. This will allow you time to figure out where your difficulties are, in essence in presenting. For example if you find yourself pausing in the wrong spots or find difficulties annunciating certain words you will be able to catch these obstacles before going in front of your audience. As you practice remember to remain calm, keep good eye contact and do not rush. As you go through each slide with your audience do not read word for word, as this will bore your audience. They can read and do not want someone to read to them. Most of the time I can read faster then the presenter can read aloud so I tend to read ahead, and if the presenter will not offer me anything other than straight text I will stop listening all together.

In conclusion always think from your audience’s point of view. If you feel your presentation is boring your audience will too, however if you find yourself excited they will be excited. I have sat through many countless presentations throughout life and only a handful actually captivated me enough to pay attention the entire way through.  Following these recommendations will not make you an amazing presenter, however they might improve your skills!