Let's get Ethical, Ethical... Let's get Ethicaaaaaal

Sooooo did anyone else really enjoy this week's presentation? I can't exactly put my finger on what the Mayor did so well while speaking but I loved his message. I think his principles that he shared with us we solid. I can definitely look back and see how there have been times in my life where the degree of difficulty in doing the right thing increased as time passed. I can especially familiarize myself with his Christmas gift example of the chocolate covered cherries. When I was growing up I would like something a little and my mother would take that to mean that I absolutely loved it and would keep a year supply just for me when I really just enjoyed that item every now and then and I noticed how much harder it was to explain that all along I never really like that thing that much. The worst time was with my dad who just loves to feel like a thrifty shopper... He got the impression that I really liked a certain breakfast cereal and one afternoon while he was at the grocery store saw that it was on sale and went nuts. He probably bought a dozen boxes of the stuff! Anywho, I really liked how the mayor took this principle and explained how it can apply to everything, including procrastination which I have been trying to cut down on this entire semester. Also, I could see evidence from my life about his point that the consequences of telling the truth are never as bad as we make them out to be. Next, I liked how he said he goes about making promises and only promising things that he has control off. I think that is just downright smart and I plan to definitely take that and apply it to the promises that I make to others. Along with that, one of his "separators" was doing what you say you're gonna do. This is something I struggled with back in high school. I'm not sure if my indecisive nature affected it but I would change my mind about things or plans with friends and could see how that upset them. Also, I was pretty bad at saying I would call or text my friends and never following up on that. So, that is my main takeaway and application that I would like to work on from this week. I want to become better at doing the things I say I am going to do. There have been times this year where I know I have told my roommate I would do something and I never came through. Therefore, as I work harder to do better at this I will build more trust with my roommate and the rest of the guys on my floor as well as I offer to do things with and for them. Also, know that I think about it... I want to be more valiant too, or like the mayor described it as doing the right thing when it's hard. If I do a better job of being valiant I think I will be able to build trust with the guys on my floor and because of that build a stronger relationship with them. Also, my example may lead them to becoming more valiant young men!

hasta luego,
Kellon

Situational Leadership.

Boy, was this week's presentation cool or what? I really liked how he had such elaborate concrete examples from the Invictus video clips. I'm glad he did a really good job explaining the concept of situational leadership and that each situation may call for a different approach from the continuum of balancing the three ingredients being Directive Behaviors, Supportive Behaviors, and the Maturity level of the followers. I am thankful for his in-depth explanations because although it is a simple model, I had a little difficulty understanding the different applications. Fortunately, our practice in lab today helped to even further establish my understanding of the concept. I liked seeing how different leadership settings warrant for different styles. For example, the difference between leading a volunteer and an employee is pretty well understood, yet it was nice to put some terms to connect with the situations and their natural base forms of situational leadership. I think the most important thing that I have taken away from this week is the understanding that this model of situational leadership reminds me to treat people differently. After all, everyone is different, so it seems natural that a different style of situational leadership is required on a personal level for each constituent that you lead to most effectively lead them. I like this because I'm all about relationships! I suppose this pushes me towards being more inclined to be a supporting situational leader, but at the same time I'm also all about forward motion. Therefore, I come to the conclusion that I am most comfortable as a coaching situational leader. I can apply this to my leadership role much easier than a directing approach because it is difficult to give your peers stern directions though a manner of one-way communication. However, I believe I will be able to show them the importance  that each one of them plays in making our floor a stronger unit. I can do this by remembering that each one of the guys on my floor is different, despite how alike the guys in 2105 think they are... hehe Seriously, if I continue to get to know them better on a personal level and continue to build an authoritative relationship with them, I have better success in being a leader to them in whatever situation arises. So, I plan to be a little more conscious of opportunities to stop and take the time to extend myself to each of them as often as possible to build the personal leadership relationship that I have with each of them.

Byeeeee!
Kellon

P.S. Thanks for reading : )

The Man with the Plan

'Elloooooo!

Okay, so I love being organized and having things planned out, that's just the kind of guy I am. If a group of friends and I don't have a plan for what we are going to do it bugs me to be frank. So, I like the Leadership Principle we talked about this week about what all goes into effective planning. Despite my love for having things set in order, I can be extremely indecisive. Therefore, one of my favorite comments our speaker made was the fact that a leader must be able to make a decision and once that decision is made  they must be able to stand behind it and support it. From there, you can build upon that first decision and plan around it. I enjoyed our group project in Lab because I really thought the R.A.C.E. model was really helpful and a wonderful descison making tool that allows for better planning. Some key parts that I liked about the model was defining your problem and objectives in the Research phase because I have to have direction to be an effective worker and leader. If I can't understand what I am working towards or what needs to be done I notice that I become frustrated and my leadership breaks down from there. Next, I like the concept of making an outline of specific steps in the Action Plan. Deadlines are also a personal necessity for me. I already have a hard enough time with procrastination that I have been trying to minimize this semester as one of my goals. However, I know that if I have a specific timeline to work with, I am a much more productive individual and can keep myself better accountable for my responsibilities in whatever project or task I am involved in. Lastly, I am a pretty competitive person deep down, not only in an outward manner while competing against others, but also in an inward fashion towards myself and my capabilities. I love stretching myself and if I'm not getting better at whatever I'm doing then I am wasting my time and not fulfilling the plan that has been set forth. This is why I think the Evaluation phase is so important. You must be able to measure your performance or else how can you know if you've done well or succeeded? Even if you didn't perform as expected, you need a measurement to let you know what you did do well at and what you dropped the ball on so you can improve next time. I think it's all about improvement. If you take a look at the best and most important Plan ever made it is easy to understand the importance of all these aspects of planning. Heavenly Father's Plan is incredibly perfect. We know the problem that we face and what we must overcome and do specifically to meet our objective to return to Him. His Plan is one of improvement. We should constantly be striving to reflect on our daily performance and trying a little harder to be a little better each day. Well, I plan to use this week's knowledge that I've gained in my leadership role by doing a better job of planning floor events. I think if I use the R.A.C.E. model I can improve the overall success of our events. Also, I think this model for planning can be applied to much more in my leadership arena. I can use the model to help guys on my hall with things they need to get done or overcome problems they are facing because ultimately the model is about addressing a problem and planning how to overcome it and meet objectives. It is not only a beautiful planning tool but also a wonderful problem solving model.

Catch ya laterrrrrrr,
Kellon

Tick-Tock Goes the Clock...

Sometimes I feel like the rabbit in the famous story Alice in Wonderland… always running around stressing about my to-do’s, but after this week’s lecture and lab I think I have a better understanding of how I can reduce or put an end to me feeling all hippity hoppity all the time. Firstly, I really enjoyed our speaker this week. Our public speaking lecture could have been of some use to her but her message was great and overall she was wonderful. She had some really cool quotes that a jotted down and look forward to remembering for future use. The most important thing that I took away from her lesson was that the allocations of my time reflect my values, and I think it is so easy to understand and prove this concept as you observe others but it is a little more difficult to keep yourself in check in regards to how your use of time says things about you as a person. The next best thing I feel that I learned from this week’s leadership principle was that the things I spend time on should ultimately be supporting and working towards my long-term life goals. This was an idea that Tamara introduced at the end of lecture and I really enjoyed applying it in lab to see if the use of my time over the 2-day assignment was constructive to my goals. Somewhat surprisingly, none of the things I did over those two days were helping me reach one or two of the goals I determined as things I have been working towards this year. This was a pretty big warning/alert/wake-up call for me as to how I’m spending my free time, and one of my new goals to add to the list is to be more reflective each day about if I have been working towards my goals that day and to do a better job of doing so. I think that it will also be easier for me to do so if I make my goals more visible to myself rather than just leaving them as thoughts in my noggin. So, I plan to add some new decor to the dorm today (a nice big list of my goals somewhere I will see them often).

Got Public Speaking?

Hey all you bloggers out there,

Just thought I should let you know that blogging is definitely not an equivalent substitute for public speaking... even if your electronic thoughts and words are open to the public. So, I encourage you to hop up out of that ever so comfy and captivating chair in front of your preferred nifty electronic blogging device, and go out and find an opportunity to stand up and share your thoughts, opinions, or experiences in front of an audience; share with them a message and have a purpose for your being in front of them and taking up their time which is oh so valuable. Another piece of advice I would like to share with you is to practice. Now, I don't necessarily believe that practice makes perfect; there is always room for improvement. However, practice does make you better prepared. Personally, I admit I should have practiced a little more this week before my presentation, or at least practiced more effectively. One key thing I did not think to do was to time myself... HUGE faux pas on my part. Also, I should have been more aware during my presentation of elapsed time. In any case, nobody starts out as an expert at public speaking... so don't get too down on yourselves if you have the occasional blunder, just learn from your mistake and in doing so enable yourself to do a better job next time. Well, I really enjoyed this week's leadership principle and the project that went along with it. I loved my book (The Servant by James C. Hunter) and I was super bummed I wasn't able to share all of its wonderful contents... buuuuuut I guess you'll either just have to take my word for its greatness, OR you can pick it up and read it! I highly recommend the latter. It's a super easy and enjoyable read. You can go borrow the copy that belongs to the Student Leadership department in the BYUSA offices (just ask Macy). Also, this week has really sparked a new interest to me and I definitely jotted down Sister Wilson's information and public speaking class (TMA 150). You guys should totally plan it in to your future class schedule, for say... Fall 2013? : )
On a serious note, I completely, 100%, all the way believe in the importance of being an effective and experienced public speaker in order to be a successful leader. Communication is so crucial to leadership, and the best form is speaking before those you are leading and letting them know you care about them. A goal for myself as a public speaker is to take all the opportunities that arise or make themselves available to me to speak and practice the techniques and principles to public speaking we learned. This may not tie in to my leadership role in an overwhelming manner, but it still will make me a better communicator to the guys on my floor during floor meetings.

Toodles,
Kellon

There is no I in Teamwork, but there sure is Work.

I really enjoyed both the presentation and the lab for this weeks leadership principle. Despite some technical difficulties, I think Mr. Holmoe did a wonderful job of communicating the importance of being able to work together in a leadership environment. He shared with us some really awesome examples and stories that were easy to be apply to our lives. I really liked his firelighter/fighter comparison and thought that was a really good reflection exercise to connect that principle to our past and experiences. Now, what I loved about his presentation was the 5 Stages of Relationships breakdown. I think the building of relationships is so crucial for any leader, especially in the team environment. Working in conjunction with other people and trying to be a leader can be difficult, even more so when they consider themselves leaders as well. Then, I liked how Macy linked the importance of strong relationships to teamwork in lab. In fact, I loved lab this week and hope we can do more joint labs with the other sections of the class because those activities really helped me to branch out and have the opportunity to become more familiar with the people who share a common interest: leadership. For example, I hadn't made a very good attempt to get to know KC very well being that he joined our class after we had done introductions and I'm really glad I had the opportunity to be on his team in the lab and work with him in the activities. That really was a manifestation to me the power of working with other people and putting your trust in them and them doing the same with me and the catalyst that teamwork can be to building a relationship (Sorry if this is a little embarrassing KC, just thought it was a great example).

So last week one of my goals was to try and facilitate a little conflict resolution between two guys on my floor. Good news, I think they are patching things up nicely. We all ate lunch together in the Cannon the other day and everything seemed great, of course there was the occasional joke or two but I think they were purely playful. Even better was that they went and played basketball with a couple other guys on my floor and were on the same team and had a good time together. I wasn't there but I heard about a funny event of one of them having a pretty bad fall from an attempted layup and was glad to hear that rather than making offensive of mean jokes about it they were able to laugh together while retelling the story later on. I think that shows some obvious signs of improvement and less resentment on each end.

Well, a new goal of mine in regards to teamwork will be outside of my determined leadership role involving the guys on my floor; however, I had the opportunity to sign up with a friend's intramural football team and our games start this coming week. I think it is a great opportunity to build relationships with the guys on the team that I don't know and and opportunity to be a leader and example to them in a teamwork environment. I really look forward to applying the things discussed from our lab this week where we learned about the 5 Dysfunctions of a Team and I hope to inversely apply that knowledge.

Over and Out,
KELLON : )

Conflict is a bumpy road.

So this week we talked about some reasons why conflict comes about and also about how to deal with those instances. Also, we talked about certain types of roles that come into play during conflict that are largely derived from one's personality. I really liked how the guest speaker talked about conflict being a source of opportunity. Personally, I have always avoided conflict as much as I can and my quiz results from Lab supported that. Something important that I have taken away from this week's lesson is that I need to slightly alter my approach to conflict. I plan to try and be a little bit more of a competitor in order to get the conflict resolved in a more timely or efficient manner. Avoiding buys time but it doesn't solve much in the ways of coming closer to a resolution. Eventually, the individual has to suck it up and take action.

Well, back to my goal from last week's blog, I thought I'd give y'all a status report. The activity that we decided to put together kind of fell apart at the seams... no one really showed up. I think this is mostly due to the fact that it was a week night and there were probably conflicts with school. However, even though the event may have been a failure it was definitely not useless. I've put some thought into the result of the event and how to make the next event more successful. I think it will be best to keep the events on the weekend (an earlier event we had on Saturday night was a big hit). Also, I now have thought of better ways to keep everyone informed and reminded of the upcoming activity. Still, I think it is most important to make the activity something that everyone can enjoy. So, with the help of our experiment in Lab this week I have learned of some ways to resolve conflict, especially when it involves choosing a group activity. Also, I will continue to improve upon my strengths in preparation of the next activity and try to put them to even more use.

A new goal that I have made for this week is to help resolve conflicts that I notice on my floor. I have one in mind that needs to be dealt with between two guys who have been on both ends of floor pranks and there is still some tension from the aftermath. So, I would like to take the opportunity to exercise the knowledge I've gained about conflict resolution. Hopefully, I will be able to make an attempt at this goal at this weekend's floor activity. If that opportunity doesn't arise, then I will make it happen after our floor meeting or may even talk to my RA about working in some kind of friendship building activity, or even better... a conflict resolution workshop for applicable use among roommates, into the meeting and have them paired up as partners to see if we can fix this problem.

Over and out.
Kellon

P.S. I totally forgot to work in an analogy for conflict, hence the funky title of the post. For what it's worth, I was going to say something like how conflict can be compared to a bumpy road that can get some pretty nasty potholes, but nothing some good ol' asphalt (conflict resolution) can't fix!

P.P.S. I was inspired by the guest speaker's cool water/emotions analogy to try and make my own comparison.

Utilizing my Strengths for Leadership Purposes

So this week in lecture we talked about how Strengths-Based Leadership can lead to more success as a leader. I loved how our speaker emphasized how it is more important to focus on what you do well and improving on those strengths to maximize success rather than focus on what you don't do well. I really like this concept because I feel like I can be a little too hard on myself sometimes, don't get me wrong... I think it is important to reflect and recognize areas where I am terribly lacking and make an effort to fix that problem. However, I also think that when I focus on what I am doing well, and try to establish ways to do those things even better, I am better off and can more easily be the happy, uplifting, Christ-like, servant leader I want to be. After all, Christ looked for the best in people during his mortal ministry and I am confident that as I look for the best in myself I will be able to easier find and come to know the strengths of those around me. In practice, I think it is also important to remember to be observant of the people around me because now that I have learned more about specific types of leaders and personalities I will be more capable to deduce how to best interact and lead those people. The following plans and goals that I have made for myself this week within my leadership role illuminate my aforementioned views on strengths-based leadership. So, on a personal level, I plan to keep track of my future accomplishments and compliments received. I actually have already started this portion of my plans by including in my journal a recent cheerful note I received from one of the floors of girls in my ward. Reflecting on their kind words already helped me to notice some of my strengths and how they can be best used. Also, I plan to prayerfully study my Patriarchal Blessing and politely ask those who know me best to help me identify some of my strengths and weaknesses and will also document those in my journal. Now, as an ENFJ Type I am going to use my interpersonal skills and sensitivity strengths this weekend to determine what the guys on my floor would like to do for our next floor activity. My goal is to knock on each door and seek input from them and at the same time practice my listening skills and see if I can't try and guess some personality or leadership types.

Servant Leadership

This week was Blogtastic as far as our Student Leadership Class went. I really enjoyed the Lecture Monday afternoon by Dr. Cox. I thought all the examples he brought up of Servant Leaders were so cool and it made me really want to read about each of their lives and leadership styles. I also was extremely interested by how he incorporated Servant Leadership into the Business world because I hope to be a leader in business in my future. But for now, I think I can really apply the principles he discussed to my leadership role by serving the gentlemen on my floor. I am definitely more willing to put myself out there more to serve them after our service experiment during Lab on Wednesday in which I saw the results of a little spontaneous friendly service. It is so worth the little time and effort it takes to go out of your way to do things for people. In my opinion, their smile and gratitude are the best returns possible on such a simple and small investment. I plan to let it be more known to the guys on my hall that I am willing to help them out and do whatever I can to lighten their load by personally offering my services and time to them. I am also excited to read my Leadership Book for the semester that is titled The Servant by James C. Hunter and plan to apply the servant leadership lessons within to my leadership role and lifestyle.

Divine-Centered Leadership

Divine-Centered Leadership was probably the best 44 page text I've ever read. I am so pumped to have this knew knowledge and perspective on leadership! And I really think that this lesson will help me to become a better leader as well as disciple-scholar. I hope to embody the characteristics of a divine-centered leader this semester and for the rest of my life. I'm really glad that a hard copy was available for me to hold on to too so I can read it again later or share it with people. I think my dad, who I interviewed for my paper, would really love to read it. He and my mother are definitely two candidates for great divine-centered leaders that I know. My father has always done his best to model the way, the truth, and the life. While my mother has always been incredible at knowing each of her kids' hearts. And both did an awesome job of sharing the inspired vision of the gospel and its restoration, and they have done so much for my siblings and I that they have surely served us so that we may act. They also served us by teaching us which better enabled us to act and in doing so they also challenged unrighteousness by instilling righteous values in us. And most important to me was their motive, they did all these things for me, my brother, and my sister, so that we may grow and come to be more like our Savior so that we may return to be with Him. They're motive was love, at its purest degree. I think this is why the thing that stuck out the most to me in the reading is the motive that a leader bases their leadership on. I thought the concept of "What Would The Lord Have Me Do?" was so cool and that is something that I look forward to applying to my leadership role and life. Another part of divine-centered leadership that I really want to improve on and apply in my leadership role is Knowing Each Heart the best I can by really getting to know all the guys on my floor. And then I hope I can challenge unrighteousness by encouraging them to adhere to the Honor Code and do things that invite the Spirit in preparation for their missions. I plan to model this for them the best that I can so that I live what I encourage them to do. Lastly, I plan to make it known unto each of them that I am always available to help and serve them. I really look forward to becoming the best divine-centered leader I can and coming closer to God in the process.

Leaders from History Help Teach us Today

Today, we talked about the impact of historical leaders on the way we lead in our lives today. We can learn much from their examples because we can see the outcomes of their leadership efforts. Certain patterns of the most effective, good leaders can also be brought to light. They all had something to offer their followers and they were going against the grain when they voiced their visions and goals. What I liked most about our discussion today was talking about how a great leader is either classified as good or bad. The difference we established was that good leaders that are great at their leadership efforts have a concern for the whole and want everyone to benefit from their goal and actions. Comparatively, a bad leader is willing to neglect, abuse, or enslave a group in order to get gain for only their followers or themselves. Some wonderful examples from class were Gandhi and MLK Jr. as good leaders and Hitler as a bad leader. They all were great leaders but the difference was how they achieved their goals. Another great side note from today was that attitude is not taught, but caught. Accordingly, I feel that I can apply all these things to my leadership role for the semester. It will be important that I be sure to communicate and promote the activities and other things that the Floor Council will have to offer the guys. Furthermore, the activities that we plan can be a little more creative than the norms. Additionally, it is important that I make sure that as a council we keep everyone's interests in mind and work to please the floor as a whole and be sure that everyone has the opportunity to participate and benefit. Also, I need to keep in mind that the attitude that I have about the things the council is doing or planning will diffuse to those around me. In these ways I believe I can apply the things I learned today in class to my leadership role.

Effective Leaders Lecture Application

This week's lecture helped me learn new and remember old ways for leaders to be effective in their leadership efforts. It was a huge help to establish some traits and characteristics of an effective leader in class and then reflect on how I measure up to those characteristics and identify areas where I need improvement. I am still working on reorganizing my hall's Floor Council and selecting individuals to serve as members of the Council. However, as I work on this I have thought about how I need to present myself from the start in order to be an effective and respected leader by first showing respect and love for those on my floor that I serve and especially those that I ask to serve with me. I definitely have become more conscious of my image in the best ways possible and think about what it communicates to those around me.

Finalized Leadership Role Definition

So I have had the opportunity to become my Floor Council President in Helaman Halls On-Campus Housing for the second semester. I feel that in this leadership position I will have the opportunity to influence others, specifically the other young men on my floor of Merrill Hall. As Floor Council President I will have the opportunity to reorganize the Floor Council for this semester and put others in leadership positions within the council to help them grow as leaders among their peers. I will plan and administrate floor activities approved by our floor's RA and work to increase activity attendance from last semester. I will see to it that needs of the members of our floor will be brought to attention so that we may work together to assist one another. Ultimately, my goal in this leadership position is to unify the members of my floor and establish life-long friendships.

Leadership Role Definition

Still workin on this one, I'd like to brainstorm or talk with Tamara or Selina a little today in Lab. However, I do have some ideas:
         -Serve as/ improve as a leader to my siblings.
         -Serve as/ improve as a leader in my calling as Ward Activities Leader's Assistant (probably not my first choice).
         -Serve as/ improve as a leader in my on-campus housing complex.
         -Serve as/ improve as a leader to my roommate and close friends on my floor.

Mind Bloggling...

Woohoo!

Still workin on deciding on a leadership role...