I was really excited to realize that part's four and five were a lot like the last part that we read in that the Komives book is getting a lot eaiser to read. The social change model made a lot more sense to me than the relational leadership model and the comparison of the two was interesting to read about. There are seven main principals that you have to go by in the social change model and each of these principals are important. Congruence was my favorite one of these seven principals because I really like the idea that streamlining your own personal principals with the ideals and goals of a group can help the group function with a lot more ease. As well, I liked the part where they talked about Ghandi's son finding peace. The principals that were mentioned were principals that I am familliar with because they are very important to the Buddhist religion. Some of these truths are wealth without work, politics without principal, and religion without sacrafice. My favorite was definately wealth without work because I think this is important to reflect on. When you give someone something that they didnt work for, it never seems to work out well. This is really important to reflect on when it comes to leadership because getting something that you didn't work for doesn't pave the way for good leadership.
Part 5 was about change within yourself. Self transformation is also an essential part of leadership. This is also especially important for women in leadership roles because changing and remaining dynamic in your leadership role is always important. I find myself often getting caught up with life and forgetting that in order to be a good leader you have to stay fresh and currnet in your role and change within yourself is really important for this.
thats all for now!
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Komives, parts 4 & 5
Part 4 of the text is all about change. The authors attempt to clarify the necessity for change, how to deal with it, why people resist it, & how you can help manage change so people are less resistant. The very first thing the authors wrote about this section is a quote from Alvin Toffler: "'...change is the process by which the future invades our lives.'" (p 325)I loved this quote because while we all know that some change is good, it does not necessarily mean that wee have a choice in the matter. The future is coming at us and we just have to deal, because we cannot stop it.
In chapter 11, Understanding Change, the authors stated that, "Human beings...want to control their environments, and some experience an even greater need to be in control of their surrounding." (p 331) At my previous university I was on student government. After being on for a couple years, a person ran for President & won. However, this person was never on student government before - so had no idea how things worked. She came into the organization she was going to run the place (being president, and all...) however, it was not her job. Her job was dealing with administration. It was actually my job to run the board & meetings. She had a lot of changes to deal with at one time - not only was she joining a new organization, but she took on a leadership role with no experience. This quote reminds me of her: she was struggling to remain in control of everything, because of all the changes she was faced with as well as her false expectations. I think if she had better understood what she was getting into, she would have dealt with it better.
I love the quote the authors used in chapter 12 from Saul Alinsky: “’Change means movement; movement means friction; friction means heat; heat means controversy.’” (p 351) Change almost never comes easy, no matter how many people may be in favor of the change, there’s always going to be one who is against it.
It was also interesting to read about the differences between the Relational Leadership model and the Social change model. I like that the social change model focuses on the “dynamic interplay between” different people and groups. It’s very much related to how we live our everyday lives.
Part 5 of the text discussed development and renewal. I really appreciated the last chapter which focused on the person. On page 422 the authors asked you to list your top five strengths. I did and it was interesting to see what would make them my “signature strengths.” I have been considering different career possibilities and those strengths that were my “signature strengths” really fell in step as necessities for those careers that I’ve been thinking about. From this reading and personal experience, I feel it’s important to find a career that fits in with those strengths so I can have a job that does make me happy.
In chapter 11, Understanding Change, the authors stated that, "Human beings...want to control their environments, and some experience an even greater need to be in control of their surrounding." (p 331) At my previous university I was on student government. After being on for a couple years, a person ran for President & won. However, this person was never on student government before - so had no idea how things worked. She came into the organization she was going to run the place (being president, and all...) however, it was not her job. Her job was dealing with administration. It was actually my job to run the board & meetings. She had a lot of changes to deal with at one time - not only was she joining a new organization, but she took on a leadership role with no experience. This quote reminds me of her: she was struggling to remain in control of everything, because of all the changes she was faced with as well as her false expectations. I think if she had better understood what she was getting into, she would have dealt with it better.
I love the quote the authors used in chapter 12 from Saul Alinsky: “’Change means movement; movement means friction; friction means heat; heat means controversy.’” (p 351) Change almost never comes easy, no matter how many people may be in favor of the change, there’s always going to be one who is against it.
It was also interesting to read about the differences between the Relational Leadership model and the Social change model. I like that the social change model focuses on the “dynamic interplay between” different people and groups. It’s very much related to how we live our everyday lives.
Part 5 of the text discussed development and renewal. I really appreciated the last chapter which focused on the person. On page 422 the authors asked you to list your top five strengths. I did and it was interesting to see what would make them my “signature strengths.” I have been considering different career possibilities and those strengths that were my “signature strengths” really fell in step as necessities for those careers that I’ve been thinking about. From this reading and personal experience, I feel it’s important to find a career that fits in with those strengths so I can have a job that does make me happy.
Nance Lucas & Robin Gerber (Katie L.N.)
I really enjoyed listening to these two women speak. I thought the way they started, talking about their experiences, helped them to make more of an impact (on me anyways).
One thing that I loved was that Robin was open with the fact that she dropped out of college. So many people brush that fact aside when it is part of their story. It is just "go to college," without any room for discussion. But, she is right, college is not for everyone! And that does not mean that you are not smart.
My favorite part regarding what Nance said was her insistence on being happy, making sure that you love what you do so it will make you happy & maintaining a balanced life. As I said in my presentation, & I am sure many other times, that is my biggest struggle. While I know the importance of it - sometimes the execution is not quite there. My problem is, I know what makes me happy - but finishing school is in the way of that and adding to my stress. (sadly) Which is obviously why I appreciated what Robin had to say.
One thing that I loved was that Robin was open with the fact that she dropped out of college. So many people brush that fact aside when it is part of their story. It is just "go to college," without any room for discussion. But, she is right, college is not for everyone! And that does not mean that you are not smart.
My favorite part regarding what Nance said was her insistence on being happy, making sure that you love what you do so it will make you happy & maintaining a balanced life. As I said in my presentation, & I am sure many other times, that is my biggest struggle. While I know the importance of it - sometimes the execution is not quite there. My problem is, I know what makes me happy - but finishing school is in the way of that and adding to my stress. (sadly) Which is obviously why I appreciated what Robin had to say.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Updated Power Point
I think I have it. I am going to keep working on it and i don't know when I sent it out of anyone else added anything to it. I will bring what I have to tomorrow.
Sarah I
Sarah I
This is a good article, its from the Washington Post, it is titled Sex, Blood, and Advertising.
Washington Post
Here is part of the article:
Washington Post
Here is part of the article:
Krissy Benner of McLean wrote: "Everyday I read the KidsPost with my boys after school. This morning I tore out the KidsPost page to save it for them. I was very horrified when I turned the page over today and saw a full-page ad . . . featuring a smiling man with blood splattered all over his face. How am I going to explain this disturbing picture?"
The Post may be the only big newspaper in the country with a staff-produced daily page for children; it usually runs on the back page of the Style section or just inside. Advertising executives don't monitor what goes on the back of KidsPost, but editors try to keep an eye out for inappropriate ads.
Katharine Weymouth, vice president of advertising, didn't see the ad before it was published. She said she would have tried to change it had she known. Executive Editor Len Downie found out about it late in the evening and alerted Publisher Bo Jones, who felt it was too late to change.
Another questionable ad ran in April on the back of KidsPost -- a full-page body lotion ad featuring a nude woman. Weymouth wrote to an upset reader: "We actually had a fair amount of internal debate about whether to run it and ultimately, decided to take it. We erred on the side of running it because we felt that, while she is nude, it was reasonably discreet. As a mother of three young children myself, I take your point about putting it behind the KidsPost page."
Ads with sexual content draw complaints. Lucy Cooney of the District wrote that one ad was "offensive beyond words. I am appalled." David Brown of Gaithersburg wrote about two more: "Am I the only reader getting sick of seeing all the ads, usually on Page A3 or A4 (this morning both!) advertising 'better sex for life' ?"
Monday, November 12, 2007
Guest Speakers and KLM: Parts IV & V (Shannon)
As I have said before in my write-ups about our guest speakers, I really enjoy listening to the stories that these inspirational women tell about how they first became interested in their own leadership. Robin Gerber explained how she dropped out of college, started working, and soon discovered that “sexism was alive and well.” This experience got her interested in women’s organizations like NOW and YWCA, where she found a mentor who saw leadership potential in her that she didn’t see (something that Nance also talked about). Nance Lucas told us how she went to PennState for their pre-med program so that she could become a surgeon. She couldn’t see herself doing eight years of school and she ended up changing her major four times. In one of the courses she took about career planning, she was able to develop a mentoring relationship with a professor who recommended that she go into Higher Ed. Both of these guest speakers had the experience of people telling them that they would make good leaders—they didn’t necessarily see it for themselves.
Chapter 11 was focused on understanding how and why change happens, but it also incorporated many of the ideas that we talked about in class last week. The chapter emphasized the fact that you need to understand yourself and others before you can collectively work toward change, which relates back to the Relational Leadership Model. It seems like change is either something that people embrace or that they resist at all costs—but I’ve also noticed that a lot of times how people respond to change is very dependent on the situation at hand.
Chapter 12 introduced the Social Change Model of Leadership Development which describes the values that a leader must possess if she is to work toward successful change. After reading about each of the values, the diagram on page 360 really gave a nice visual representation of how the values are connected because of the way that they all affect each other. I was glad to see that the end of the chapter was about conflict. I am always looking for ways that I can deal with conflict because I tend to avoid it in any way that I can. KLM say that “dealing, or not dealing, with that conflict can determine the success of the change effort” (378). This is so true! It’s hard to give a successful group presentation when there is unresolved conflict among several members of the group…
Chapter 13 again stressed how important it is to learn about yourself and to know who you are before you can develop a leadership identity to lead others. Then chapter 14 explained how part of being a leader is being able to go through renewal so that you can reach your full potential. I liked when the authors wrote about the woman with the sign on her refrigerator that says: “Don’t should on yourself today” (417). The authors then encouraged us to think of all of the “should” messages that we give ourselves each day. I think that women probably have “should” thoughts more frequently than men, and I know that it is something I do to myself all the time. If I don’t get as much work done as I had hoped to do, I have thoughts like “I shouldn’t have taken that 20 minute break” or “I shouldn’t have gone out with my family/friends.” After reading this section though, I see that these thoughts are a bit unrealistic (and negative!) because those breaks that I take from my work allow me to find the mental energy that I need to come back and finish up whatever I was doing.
Chapter 11 was focused on understanding how and why change happens, but it also incorporated many of the ideas that we talked about in class last week. The chapter emphasized the fact that you need to understand yourself and others before you can collectively work toward change, which relates back to the Relational Leadership Model. It seems like change is either something that people embrace or that they resist at all costs—but I’ve also noticed that a lot of times how people respond to change is very dependent on the situation at hand.
Chapter 12 introduced the Social Change Model of Leadership Development which describes the values that a leader must possess if she is to work toward successful change. After reading about each of the values, the diagram on page 360 really gave a nice visual representation of how the values are connected because of the way that they all affect each other. I was glad to see that the end of the chapter was about conflict. I am always looking for ways that I can deal with conflict because I tend to avoid it in any way that I can. KLM say that “dealing, or not dealing, with that conflict can determine the success of the change effort” (378). This is so true! It’s hard to give a successful group presentation when there is unresolved conflict among several members of the group…
Chapter 13 again stressed how important it is to learn about yourself and to know who you are before you can develop a leadership identity to lead others. Then chapter 14 explained how part of being a leader is being able to go through renewal so that you can reach your full potential. I liked when the authors wrote about the woman with the sign on her refrigerator that says: “Don’t should on yourself today” (417). The authors then encouraged us to think of all of the “should” messages that we give ourselves each day. I think that women probably have “should” thoughts more frequently than men, and I know that it is something I do to myself all the time. If I don’t get as much work done as I had hoped to do, I have thoughts like “I shouldn’t have taken that 20 minute break” or “I shouldn’t have gone out with my family/friends.” After reading this section though, I see that these thoughts are a bit unrealistic (and negative!) because those breaks that I take from my work allow me to find the mental energy that I need to come back and finish up whatever I was doing.
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