My Leadership Story

Who I am as a leader? Why?

I am an emerging leader who is learning to trust in her decision making ability and one who...over the course of this class...has become more aware. I am a focused and determined leader who has learned the beginnings of earning others respect. One of the most empowering and humbling things that I experienced in this was when Dr. Gower said to the entire class, about mid-way through the course “all of you are in this program because you are leaders. The very fact that you are here means that you already are a leader.” I think that really solidified and changed how I view myself as a leader and I think that will make all the difference. As a result of this class, my new motto is “own it and bring it”. I have learned that if I can demonstrate the confidence and knowledge then the rest will follow. I am a leader that is learning to trust in her decisions

Who do you want to be as leader?

After reflecting on Carnegie, I noticed that there are many ways I can improve relationships and influence people in the work place and as a result of reading this book, At the beginning of class I stated, I don't know if I've met or known a great leader. I still don't know, but I know that I want to be one. Based on Carnegie, I have started to think more about how I act and how I can phrase things to soften how they will be perceived by others. I want to be a leader that trusts and values the opinions of others. One who welcomes input and alternative suggestions, but one who embodies the practices of Lincoln and values each person I speak with and one who is able to accentuate and develop the strengths of others, because this is how I would want from a leader, so I will strive to be that person to others. Additionally, as leader I want to get to a point in my professional career where I matter, where my opinions, ideas and decisions are valued and carry weight.

What will help me get there?

Self-confidence, trust and practice will help me get there. I am very good at being humble in a professional environment, but not as good at announcing how I feel about something because I fear that my ideas will get shot down. I have learned that I can express my opinion in a way that is softened and and polished which will be more readily accepted than a blunt idea/suggestion. I need learn to develop a greater sense of self-confidence so that I can demonstrate my knowledge about the subject matter area. But this cannot exist on it's own, I also need to be trusted by others to make a knowledgeable and appropriate decision.

What parts of the class changed you, molded you, enhanced you, and challenged you?

The group structure definitely changed how I approached group work. I think it’s important to set expectations as well as express group fears at the beginning of a project, this builds an understanding and a foundation for trust.

How I think of myself as a leader enhanced and changed how I think about myself and how I interact and behave within an organization. The fact that I will be graduating from an MBA program demonstrates that I am a leader, and I just have to have the efficacy and awareness to back those credentials up. 

I was challenged by the workload and time commitment expected by this class. It was a challenge to create your own group identity, agenda and plan. This class is unlike any class that I have taken thus far in the MBA program due to the fact that we have had to wear many hats in this class, student, professional, team member, leader and volunteer. In my post collegiate work experience and my MBA program, I have learned that life is a juggling match and it's difficult to keep all the pins in the air at one time, but you just have to work as hard as you can every day to keep all pistons moving and celebrate the small successes in life. 

Deepwater Horizon Case Study

1.  The Deepwater Horizon disaster occurred due to multiple reasons. The primary three that are suspected are due to the failure were the well casing, number of centralizers used, and decision not to perform a cement bong log. Although those are considered main contributors, there were failures seen from every level; starting at the individual level and all through the industry as seen below.

Individual	Team	Corporate	Industry
Disabled the emergency gas alarms so that people could sleep at night	Under budget estimations of initial costs	Performance oriented vs safety oriented	Audit found 390 failures on rig but did not hold BP accountable
	11 different companies used to construct casing	Lack of safety in 18 core values	Did not establish set safety regulations that called for constant status updates
	Did not check integrity of cement	Too cost conscious
		Numerous signatures needed to make change

2.   The lack of BP leaders to side on caution was a common theme that lead to the Deepwater Horizon disaster. They originally under budgeted the project and therefore all of the time and money for safety was disregarded in order to make up for the immediate loss. They used the cheaper and less safe casing, did not repair the 390 failed components from an audit, and ignored science which proved the cement cap to be misaligned due to the extra money for repairs. The executives also did not have experience to start the project. The most tenured executive was three months. This lead to rash decisions to ignore the more expensive safety precautions for the need of immediate results. The industry also lead to the failure. There was an audit done in which they found 390 failures on the brig that needed immediate repairs. The auditors did not follow-up and did not hold BP accountable. The rig was never turned off and the repairs were never completed.

3.   The ability to voice opinions were weak and inefficient. The ethical values were there and the science backed their concerns, but they did not voice their opinions appropriately. There were long e-mail chains between the individuals with concerns and BP executives. This is inefficient as e-mails may be interpreted incorrectly, such as targeting the executives. It also does not allow the individual to have the emotional impact as an in person meeting would. BP also used a decision tree that only they created. This means that there could have been vital decisions in the tree that were missing, but with only one group creating it, there was no input. Once the tree was reviewed in court it was proven that there could have been other cement capping safety options included in the tree.

  

4.   Linear casing involves hanging a steel tube from a liner hanger with a tube already in the well than inserting another tube on top of the prior one. This provides 4 barriers of protection against leaks. Long string casing involves a single string of steel casing from the seafloor to the bottom of the well. This provides 2 barriers and does take less time to install.

The main argument between the two was safety versus money and time. Linear casing is safer but will take more time to complete and will cost more money. Since BP was already behind schedule and running a much larger deficit than planned, they bypassed the safety for the long string casing. The estimated time saved was three days and the savings in cost was estimated to be approximately $7-$10 million. In the overall holistic viewpoint, this is a very small amount. BP was already spending over $500 million per day on the construction so the $7-$10 million in savings is minor.

5.   From this analysis, BP and the industry had ineffective organization. It originally took about eleven executive signatures to get any new process approved. This long process would drag out any safety decision. The short tenure of the executives in charge of the project lead them to be nearsighted. They looked at short term set-up costs and deficits versus the long-term gains from the additional safety investments. The industry also failed by not holding BP accountable for their failed audits. They also did not screen any of the project during the life the project.

6.   The Deepwater Horizon disaster could have been mitigated if they aired on the side of caution. The simulations and science behind the cement not being flush was ignored which caused the explosion. BP executives ignored the warnings because it would cost more time to repair the current issue. They also decided to save three days by choosing long string casing over linear casing. These unethical decisions can be traced to BP’s organizational structure. They were focused on results and product versus safety. In fact, of their 16 core business values, not a single one had to deal directly with safety. Also, each project was run by different executives who often competed with each other. This resulted in executives often not sharing best practices with each other.

7.   The BP executives, focused on cost reduction and performance, often dismissed safety regards. They called the cement bong log test not a quantifiable test and the need for it was not necessary in practical use. The rash decisions can be traced to multiple issues with the project. The project with under budgeted which resulted in immediate deficits. This put pressure on the new executives to cut costs to mitigate their immediate losses. This then caused them to be more close minded and only considering factors that were cheaper and faster without thinking of the long-term implications. The arguments for safety were also ineffective. They involved e-mails chains and targeted the executives and their decision making abilities. They should have conducted in person meetings to show that they are focusing on the long-term safety of the product.

8.   As the CEO we would have viewed both sides of the arguments and though of the situation as a long-term investment. The initial upfront cost are easily justifiable over a long-term life of the rig. We would also analyze worst case scenarios if we chose either safety or the cheaper solutions. Having a risk management team to analyze both may have produced the environmental scenarios which actually occurred. Short-term the culture needs to include safety in their core values. Changing that immediately will start the long-term shift towards a safety driven company. We would also not make each rig run by individual executives. There needs to be conferences and meetings were the executives can share best practices. Instead of competing with one another, they need to work to continue to grow the overall BP brand. There also needs to be an increased risk management team. When they present their findings, it needs to be in a personal meeting. E-mail chains and phone calls are not proper ways to exhibit such critical information.

To make these changes stick, as a CEO, we would have strict guidelines to hold other accountable. We would continually travel to different rigs to have random inspections and attend these conferences to ensure that the best practices were being shared. Also, with changing the core values to focus on safety, we would only hire and promote others who share the safety values that BP needs.

Leadership Rolodex

Leadership Rolodex

         I joined the Navy when I was 25 years old. On the second day of boot camp, I was forced into a leadership role by one of my Recruit Division Commanders. There were about 6 other leaders randomly chosen that day. We were meant to guide our division of fresh recruits and lead them through Boot Camp. We each had a specific role or job to do. I was the Master at Arms, the rule enforcer. If you made a mistake while in your leadership position, you would get fired on the spot, and a replacement was made immediately after your departure from that role. That's when I learned that all people are replaceable and the  machine will keep turning even when I am not there. While I was performing my duties as Master at Arms, I learned to stand by the choices I made, and found conviction in those choices. I quickly realized that the choices I made, did not just affect me, but, my entire division. Until joining the Navy, I hadn't been placed in too many leadership positions. I graduated boot camp as their Master at Arms for Division 050 with the confidence that I could handle any leadership position.
         During my 15 years in the Navy, I have been placed in several leadership positions that required different roles and duties. During my time in the military, I experienced all types of leadership. Every leader I encountered, good, bad, or indifferent. I took a trait or something I learned from them. I incorporated that trait and put it into my leadership Rolodex. No situation is always the same, and when needed, I would thumb through my Rolodex and apply that trait, style, or learned skill to the situation.
         My leadership transition into the civilian world has been relatively seamless, except for a few techniques, or motivators that I once used while in the military. I am currently in a job position where leadership is not part of the job description. However, I am earning my MBA, taking this Leadership and Organization class, and still adding to my Rolodex. I have learned quite a bit from my peers in this class. I enjoyed the Scandura textbook and its comprehensive approach to Organizational Behavior. The students in the class offered real-life instances and application of the many principles that we learned from the class and reading materials. The class seemed a daunting endeavor in the beginning, however, all the material synthesized and I was able to see the intended connections. Dr. Gower was an excellent facilitator, and being a great facilitator is an excellent leadership trait. I will continue on my life's journey with an open heart and mind, exploring all the facets of leadership and its principles.

Delicious Leadership Final Reflection

Delicious Leadership Reflection

This was an outstanding group to work with. At the beginning of the class, I was admittedly intimidated both by the amount of work that was expected of us throughout the eight week course and the feat that we were going to be all of the leadership qualities that were written on the white board the first night. I felt an intense pressure to "bring it" after the first class, and this really did not subside until after our second volunteer activity.

Over the course of the class, I have learned a lot about myself as a leader, working in groups and also being able to kick back and relax with your group, because teams can be fun too (that sounds so cliche).

Scheduling conflicts were challenging, as we all lead busy lives but we made it happen, and we did a great job at it! Everyone contributed and everyone was able to demonstrate their own strengths. I was able to confide in my group about fears and anxieties about upcoming projects. Kim and I both expressed that we were having trouble synthesizing questions for the Family Feud game, and expressed that we were both overthinking the questions. Ray, Dan and Mike took on our ideas and formulated  these ideas into questions. This was one of our great accomplishments - although this was not part of our grade. We were able to work together to move past challenges and highlight our strengths for the benefit of the team. Every one of our group members had a vision for the group and every one else's interest in mind and only wanted the best for the group, and because of this we were able to function as a unit and excel at our Leadership class.

Our group presentation was the perfect embodiment of how our group came together to make something larger than ourselves. Our Lincoln presentation came together in about 20 minutes sitting around a car waiting for our second volunteer activity to start. It wasn't forced and everyone had a great idea of what we should add to the presentation to make it great. We made a general plan and nailed it down the next weekend over chips and popcorn.

I think the thing that really made this class work - was the freedom with which we were able to complete all of the projects assigned. While this was frustrating at times, because expectations were vague, I think we made it what we thought was best for our group at the time and something that embodied our individual style. And somehow it all worked out!

I think this final project says a lot about who we are as individuals but also who we are as leaders. We are so driven to accomplish the goals that we are able to put personal agendas aside and work together, support each other and emphasize each others strengths.

Lincoln and Leadership

Lincoln and Leadership 

After reading and researching Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin, I learned that before occupying the White House, President Obama was asked in an interview "what one book will you bring with you to the White House" and he said Team of Rivals. Before reading this book, I knew Abraham Lincoln was reveled and goes down in history as one of the great presidents, but I had no idea that he was so idealized for his leadership qualities. When describing Lincoln's leadership qualities, the word "finesse" effectively describes the maneuvering, ease, efficiency and skill that Lincoln demonstrated in his ability to lead his cabinet and the nation.

Lincoln was not one to jump to conclusions or react quickly but rather valued the opinions of those around him and took time to process and evaluate decisions. It takes great courage to surround yourself with those who are not your best allies but who have the most knowledge in a subject area and want the best for the nation.

The leadership quality that was most personally impactful and noticeable was Lincoln's psychological capital. Lincoln demonstrated all components: efficacy, optimism, hope and resiliency throughout his leadership roles and throughout his lifetime, both professionally and personally. He had a vision for the country and a plan for how he was to achieve the vision and he believed in himself, the union and his leadership team beyond all measures.

It was especially inspiring to read about a leader that was not the front runner or a domineering character who had to have the first and last say. I think Lincoln presented an efficient, but also a softer side of leadership that speaks measures to how efficient the Carnegie principals are. As we said in class, Lincoln was the embodiment of Carnegie's principles, many years before the Carnegie principles even existed. Lincoln was the cool, calm and collected leader that kept his friends close and his enemies closer who believed in vision larger than himself and was wiling to work with a team of rivals to serve the the nation as commander in chief. He was able to win friends and influence people by appealing to nobler motives and getting to know the person and be genuinely interested in other people. He was able to diffuse a tough situation with storytelling and able to rally the troops and stir things up when necessary.

I enjoyed both reading and listening to this book on audiobook. The book was daunting at first because it was such a large task in a short amount of time, but when great things are expected, people (and I) rise to the occasion to make it happen.

Delicious Leadership Final Reflection

The last eight weeks being with my group I have learned and developed tremendously. Having such a diverse group with different ages and backgrounds I absorbed as much personal experience that my peers would share with me. Throughout the semester we did our volunteering at three different locations. We also met multiple times outside of class and often sat together during class.

Team Delicious Leadership was a fun and exciting group; just like the name. Our team name came as a result of an accident but quickly stuck and our theme that a leader is made of up different ingredients carried out with us from the beginning. Each member has talents that others share and some that others lack. Together, all five of us were able to perform all tasks at optimal efficiency. Each one of us would take the lead on certain tasks that go to our strength while the other members  would follow until it is their turn to use their strengths.

Everyone brought their experiences, both professional and personal, and shared with everyone. We had an open environment which made our bonding easier. Delicious Leadership was a great team to have and I have learned more in this class as a group than I have in any other group so far in the MBA Program.

My Leadership Story

Who I am as a leader and why?

I like to think of individuals as a book still being written, they have many chapters that have built their story, and you really can’t tell who they are just by looking at the cover.  The story of my leadership style has a lot of chapters, starting from when I was a kid and called ‘bossy’ to spending over 12 years in a career field that was all about training individuals to be better leaders and managers. 

  

Because of my experiences and training opportunities, I feel I have a fairly good handle on who I am, warts and all.  I know I tend to be introverted, I like details, for things to line up, I have a hard time seeing the big picture, and I tend to be more serious and have a hard time relaxing.  But I also know that I care deeply about those around me, strive to communicate as clearly as possible, and can put myself in someone else shoes to see their perspective.  All of those things together make me who I am and the leader I am. I think because of all the self-awareness training I have had, it makes it almost impossible for me to just see one perspective on any issue, so I am more willing to listen and empathize with others.  I do set high expectations for myself and I expect others to work to their potential, which is different from mine.  

Who do I want to be as a leader?

I know that part of personality style tends toward a perfectionist attitude, I have a deep need to be right, not to prove anyone else wrong, but because I don’t want to be wrong.  Usually I am more likely to back down from conflict, but when I do wade in, I want to know I have the right facts, and know all the information, and have a clear plan of how to argue my case.  I have realized over time, and this class, that this deep need to always have the right answer has limited my ability to see possibilities in new options and even to see and articulate an uncertain future.  How can I create a vision for others, when I can’t tell them exactly how to get there? 

I realize part of what I will always need to work on as a leader is creating the idea of the vision, and being ok with not knowing how exactly we are going to get there.  But as long as I am firm in my belief of that future vision or goal, and flexibility and open to possibilities, maybe the right way will present itself.  Dealing with ambiguity will always be a stressor for me, but how much it stresses me out is under my control. 

What will help me get there?

Even after 12 years of working in the training field and learning about leadership and management theory and tools, there is always something new to learn.  I believe that as long as I keep learning and keep seeking different perspectives, I think I will continue to evolve and grow.  I am already prone to self-reflection by being more introverted, but this class has made me think even more of the qualities I want to work on and strengthen.

It was reinforced to me during this class, and while I was struggling with some personal challenges, that self-talk can work.  It always seemed kind of silly to me to look in the mirror or whatever and give myself a pep-talk.  But I tried it when I was having a low point, and did feel better! I still think it will take some getting used to, and maybe I will start with some inspirational quotes I read everyday to see how it goes.  😊

What parts of this class changed and challenged me?

The workload of this class challenged me to juggle work, home and school life and tested my commitment to my goals.  There were numerous times when I felt I just couldn’t cope with all the stress and demands of all the juggling balls.  My husband was my biggest cheerleader during those times and reminded me of my goals.  By helping me focus on the big picture he challenged me to remember why I was here and that I was able to do this and more.  It gave me perspective that as a leader, some days the simplest things to one can seem like the tallest mountain to another. 

I was motivated and inspired by the Lincoln book and how Lincoln was able to find and leverage the best of those around him for the betterment of the country.  I marveled at his resolve and dedication to a task that some said was impossible.  Lincoln always had the single goal of a unified country in mind and was able to base all his decisions and direction from that single goal.  I hope to emulate his strengths in emotional intelligence, organizational mastery, and  ability to articulate a thought or vision in a way that not only was understandable, but that others rallied for and around.

This class reminded me of everything I already knew about people, and everything I don’t know about people.  People are such unique and weird creatures and each one brings their own strengths and weakness and baggage every day.  It is my job as a leader to identify those strengths and leverage them, minimize or lessen weaknesses, and manage and support others baggage.  I will strive to remember to give myself time for self-reflection and growth and to always strive to be a better leader and a better follower. 

Delicious Leadership Reflection

        I am immediately apprehensive when I am assigned a group with whom I am to expected to work with. My apprehension has been grounded in disappointment and unequal work distribution. However, Delicious Leadership, extinguished any apprehension after our first meeting at Kim's house. I truly believe that our Group Formation exercise facilitated in creating the strong foundation in our group, and set us up for success. Clear, direct paths were given on how we were to meet our objectives from the beginning. I have since learned to employ these techniques from this point going forth in any group that I am to work with.
       Communication on a group and individual level has proven to be a key component of our success. During our preparation for the Lincoln assignment, I had voiced my concerns to the group. My concerns were addressed by the group with sincerity, empathy, and professionalism. My concerns sparked a group conversation that embodied what this class was all about. I wished it had been recorded and incorporated into this iBook. I have grown as a person and leader because of this class and group. I want to personally thank each member of Delicious Leadership for their keen insight and support these past 8 weeks. I would certainly welcome any chance to work with these fine individuals again. I will always remember, that leadership can be delicious!

Skills USA

         For our final volunteering event, we attended a Skills USA workforce competition located at Germanna Community College. I first heard of Skills USA from my wife, Sandra. Sandra works for Germanna and enjoyed the experience last year. Sandra asked if I wanted to be a part of it. I accepted her invitation and extended that invitation to my team, Delicious Leadership. Delicious Leadership had no idea what to expect, but, we were determined to help out any way that we could.

         Details were sketchy on what our duties would be, and mired in ambiguity. Of course we laughed about it, and decided not to let that derail the team. Our team was split into 3 groups. I was to sit upon a panel of 4 of judges and we were to judge an Extemporaneous Speech on, Leadership! The participants were given 5 minutes of prep time, and their speech was not to exceed 5 minutes. The grading rubric consisted of professional appearance, voice, opening, closing, transitioning, speech cohesiveness, and understanding.
         During the competition, two students stood out to me for different reasons. One student's speech was about his prospective career field, Cosmetology. His speech talked about gender perception and equality in the workplace. I thought that was a very mature topic for someone of his age to discuss. He was well-informed, and executed his speech almost flawlessly. He was one of the best presenters that day. The second student, spoke of her speech impediment and how Skills USA empowered her and helped turn her disability into her greatest strength. I remembered the courage, passion, and determination that resonated from her. I walked away inspired from what I had witnessed.
         I had an amazing experience from Skills USA. The greatest take-away was empowerment and courage. I will remember the feeling I had as I exited the conference room from the competition, forever. More importantly, I will remember to empower any member of a team that I am apart of. People will pleasantly surprise you and overcome any obstacle, if given the chance.

Skills USA Volunteering

For our final volunteer activity we volunteered with Skills USA on Saturday, April 29 at Germanna Community College. Skills USA is a partnership of students, teachers and professionals that improves the American skilled workforce by through a structured program of citizenship, leadership, employability, technical and professional skills training.

When I first arrived, I knew I would be judging a competition, but I really had no idea what to expect. The five of us were split into three groups and Mike and I were tasked with judging the skills competition. We judged twelve student presentations on seven different categories that included opening, speech, organization, effectiveness, skills, conclusion as well as several other categories. We were given a packet of information before the presentations started which included the instructions for grading, what was expected of the students, and scorecards. After reading the instructions for grading, I still felt as though I needed more of an explanation about how we were expected to grade the students and what constituted each grade. There were also three categories at the bottom of the scorecard for timing, attire and safety. Each of the students were given 3 minutes for setup, 6 minutes for their presentation and 3 minutes for clean-up. Students were also expected to dress in the official blazer or sweater with a white collard shirt, black slacks or knee length skirt or attire appropriate for their profession, such as an apron for a chef.

I found that I learned how to grade the students as the presentations progressed along and as I saw more students. We saw and judged a variety of student skills, from police officers, chefs, hair styling, computer assembly and computer programming. I felt that the students knew the "how" of their skills very well but the trouble was in communicating the "why". Almost all of the presentations opened with a strong introduction, faded somewhat during the presentation and concluded too softly. Additionally, I think the students would have also benefited from a criteria worksheet that explained exactly what they would be graded on. More than half of the students were not wearing official clothing that was required by the organization.

While I did note some areas for potential improvement, I think the true take-away from this volunteering event was that these students were tremendously brave and determined. None of the students walked in with a parent or advisor and they all knew their skill to a tee. I think the point of this organization is to get students familiar with getting up in front of peers and panels and get them used to speaking in public about something they know very well. This is a skill that is often lacking in the millennial generation and the more familiar students become with this skill the more confident they will be in the workplace and also in life.
After our volunteering, Delicious Leadership moseyed over to Red Robin to grab a bite to eat, we were all famished and were glad to take in the laughs, reflect on volunteering, discuss our looming blog presentation, laugh and decompress among friends.

Reflections on: Team Delicious Leadership

So far in almost every graduate level class I have taken, except 1 or 2, we have done the majority of the work in teams.  I am not sure why this is a trend in school now, I don't remember this much emphasis on team work when I got my under-graduate degree, but it seems to be the thing to do.  I hear it said it is because that is the way we will work in jobs, but I am not sure all jobs are like that.  While I do work with others in my office and work on some projects as a team, I don't do all my activity as a team, nor are we expected to, we still have individual roles and assignments and our performance is rated separately. So it was not unexpected to be on a team for this class, just a waiting game to see what kind of team it would be. 

Over the years I have taken a number of personality assessments and most of them rated me low on the team building scale, in that I preferred to work alone rather than on a team.  I always rejected this pronouncement and insisted that I enjoyed working on teams and always considered myself to be a good team player.  After starting on my journey to my MBA and having so many team experiences thrown at me, I realized all the assessments were right...I was not a good team player.   

I know many things about myself, some are; I am a little (ok, a lot) OCD, I like for things to be done right, and I don't suffer fools or incompetence well. I realized that these things that I know about myself are the main contributors to my aversion to teams, I have a hard time following some else's plan, I have to speak up when something is wrong, and if someone can't perform, I want to do it myself to make sure the job is done right.  

Given all those considerations, I was very happy to learn that we would be able to pick our own team for this class.  Of everyone in our group, Mike was the only new member to me, I have had class or been on a previous team with everyone else.  That gave me confidence that we would be a good team from a work product perspective, but I wasn't sure how all our personalities would mesh.  After our fist meeting together and working on our team formation activities, I realized I wouldn't have anything to worry about.  While we had some friction a couple times, it wasn't usually about us, but an idea or way of going forward.  Sometimes we had a communication mis-understanding, but that too usually was able to be resolved quickly and we moved on better understanding each other. 

I love Dr. Gower's first phrase she shared with us - PAW - people are weird.  I know people are weird and I think the best way to work with someone is to embrace their weirdness, because usually that is their strength.  So we shared our weirdness and embraced each others strengths, and relied on each other in our weaknesses, and grew as people.  From my perspective, the hardest part of working on this team was figuring out the logistics of meetings, as some team members had harder work schedules to meet.  But we overcame that challenge and were all dedicated to the group and the class, so the rest came easy.  I appreciate everything my team mates taught me about themselves, how to approach a problem a different way, and even about myself.  I  know my weirdness and OCD can be off-putting, but working in teams shows me the value I can bring and I know that it is ok to embrace that as well.  

I really enjoyed this group and the work we did in this class.  I hope as I continue on my journey at UMW or in life, I get to work with these fine folks again in some way. 

Volunteering for SKILLS USA

Our third and final volunteering experience came on Saturday, April 29, through a connection with Dan.  His wife works at Germanna CC and knew of this event and the need for volunteers and asked if we would be interested.  The task was to serve as judges for various categories of competitions that high school students would be presenting skills to us.

I was a little unclear of what the actual event was, even after visiting the website for the group, but was looking forward to helping however best I could.  On the day of the event we all met early at the college to help with setup and get our assigned rooms.  Ray and I were together with some other volunteer judges in an open skills demonstration.  After discussing the objectives with the 'chair' who was the more experienced person and turned out to be someone else who worked for the college, we were ready to go.

It was fascinating to me the types of skills the kids were coming to show, from criminal justice, to computer tech, to electrician and even a budding vet tech with her dog.  We were to evaluate them on presentation, platform skills, organization, and if we understood the skill and felt they did a good job presenting an entry level description of it.

I could tell these kids were nervous, but they all did a great job of presenting to a room of 6 adults and practicing some basic hands-on and interviewing type skills.  Because we were judging them, we were not able to provide any feedback to the kids, and I found that to be the hardest part.  For some of them, I just wanted to write a comment or feedback on the scoring sheet just to tell them one or two small things they could do to improve performance.  I saw a lot of potential in many of them and hope they will succeed in their chosen field.

After we were done with judging, we helped with clean up and getting the judging boxes organized and arranged for returned to the main organization.

I truly enjoyed this volunteer experience as it was the only one we did that we got to interact with the end user we were there to help.  It was a different view for me of the next generation, past all the bad stereotypes that you usually hear.  I look forward to what this group can do, and am happy to know there is an organization like SkillsUSA that is promoting technical skills to the next generation.

Volunteering for CYT

Our volunteering activity on April 15th was a connection through Mike, as his wife works with the non-profit CYT group.  It is a theater group in the area that works with kids from all different school districts to get them involved int he many joys of theater, set design and building, makeup, costume design, and of course, acting.  I had done some theater when I was in middle and high school, so I was looking forward to working on a project that had some familiarity.

Our job on this Saturday was to help the group break down stage sets from a recent production and save all the material we could for them to reuse to save money on expensive lumber.  We started with a large pile of jumbled lumber and set pieces and after the organizer, Andy, showed us around and got us started, we each jumped into the pile.  I enjoy working with my hands and power tools, so instead of jumping on the organizing part, which would be my usual task, I just did the deconstruction of the lumber.

I have to say, I really enjoyed seeing the big pile of lumber getting smaller with 5 of us working on various pieces and Sarah doing most of the hauling of the separate pieces to the stacks for storage.  It was tiring work and hot, but I was happy to help a group that fills a role that it sounded like the local schools didn't have any way to provide.

I think as a group we all worked well together and were able to tackle a large task efficiently in the time we had.  We also had fun, which to me, is something I don't always think of when I am working.  It is nice to be in a group that reminds me to have fun and we can find that balance of fun and work as well.

Group Dynamic

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I am not a huge fan of working in groups for school.  Unlike work, there is no real common goal or incentive for the group members to pull their weight as they are not getting paid.  When it comes to working in groups for school each student takes the class seriously on different levels and their work ethic reflects that, making the work more unbalanced.  That being said, out of all the groups I've worked with I liked this one the best.  I thought we worked very well together.  Sarah was the only one in the group that I have worked with in the past.  We work very well together and she is also from NY, giving us an automatic connection.  She is more creative in her approach to problems, which brought a new approach to the work dynamic.  Although Ray is pretty quiet in class, he is not quiet in a more intimate setting such as our group meetings.  Although he is 11 years younger than me, we got along quite well, perhaps because I see a lot of myself in him.  He also consistently finished his work on time, if not early, something I appreciate.  Dan and I had the most in common as we were both in the military for about the same amount of time, were both working full time while earning our degree, and attempting to balance work, school, and family.  He also had the hardest schedule to work with as he worked nights.  This was particularly difficult when it came to finding and arranging volunteer opportunities.  Finally, Kim was the group member that is a little OCD but in a good way, her OCD makes her a detail oriented person she was incredibly helpful to work with because she made sure the group was consistently meeting the standards and expectations laid out for us.  As I am not done with my degree yet, I am sure there will be more group projects in my future.  My hope is that they are made up of a people as enjoyable as these were to work with.

SkillsUSA

The most recent volunteering experience my group and I participated in was an event held at Germanna Community College.  It was a competition called Skills USA and was for high school age students competing in trade skills, such as cosmetology or auto mechanics.  I was assigned the job of judging the skills section of the competition.  This meant that the students came and gave a presentation of their particular skill - what is was, why it was important, how it was performed, etc.  My entire group was not needed judging the same event so it was only myself and one other classmate with three other judges.  Overall it was an interesting experience and I enjoyed observing the students and how they responded throughout the competition.

However, there were a few things about the experience that I did not enjoy; particularly the complete lack of organization surrounding the event.  That may be an unfair assessment as I did not engage with the other areas at the event but it was especially true in my area.  The chair of my contest was completely disorganized and was unable to answer any of our basic questions surrounding the event, having to seek clarification from someone else.  We were given no guidance regarding what we were judging, the criteria which we should be using to judge, or even our interactions with the contestants themselves.  As a result, we were not allowed to give feedback after the presentations, something I think the students would have really benefited from and I would have liked to have been able to do.  Despite all this, I did enjoy the event and would attend and judge again if asked on the condition that I was the acting chair of my particular area in order to ensure a more structured approach to the judging and therefore a more helpful and worthwhile experience for those involved.

Skills USA

Today was our groups final volunteering day for the semester. For our third volunteering event, we decided to volunteer as judges for the high school competition SkillsUSA. This is an organization that teaches high school kids different technical skills which will allow them to succeed in the real world. Our tasks were to assist with set up, clean up, and judging various competitions. I was given the privilege of judging the job skills demonstrations. This is were the student will provide an example of an entry level job requirement in their field.

I was fortunate to be given the opportunity to judge students that demonstrated talents from multiple fields including; electrician, police officer, computer tech support, hair stylist, and veterinarian. Each student provided excellent knowledge in their respective fields and I often found myself learning new skills that I have never known.

The judging was a new experience for me but it was extremely fulfilling. Seeing high school student, some of which are under 18, be able to explain and perform job functions in their chosen fields was impressive. Being able to be apart of an organization that prepares these students for success was heartwarming and I hope that they are all able to succeed. The effort and time that the students put into their presentations did not go unnoticed and the role of SkillsUSA across the nation has given numerous students the chance of success.

This volunteering was the most internally satisfying of the three that we have done. The first two, although satisfying, did not allow me to interact with the individuals that I was volunteering for. SkillsUSA let me see first hand the purpose of my time. It was inspiring to see the knowledge of these young adults and to be apart of their success.

Michael's final summary chapter

My personal story

I grew up on a large dairy farm in upstate NY which means that from as early as 5 years old I have held a full-time job.  Having to find the balance between working on the farm and going to school was interesting but a perfect way to perfect life-work balance skills.  I did miss a lot of school growing up however with only a small fraction of it actually due to illness.  My absences were usually because I was working with a parent to get something done on the farm.  Thankfully, I was a good student and was able to make up my missing work with little difficulty.  In high school, it was a natural transition for me to get involved in the Future Farmers of America club at school or FFA.  It was there that my real leadership story began.  

Everyone has that one teacher that really influenced them and helped change the course of their life.  Mine was the high school Agriculture teacher and FFA advisor.  He really helped to steer me down my path and pushed me to enter all kinds of leadership contests.  I ended up taking FFA as far as I could, winning several national competitions and was named an All-American farmer.  This meant I earned an American FFA Degree, something given only to those members who demonstrated the highest level of commitment to FFA as well as made significant accomplishments in supervised agricultural experiences.  The American FFA Degree is awarded at the National FFA Convention & Expo each year to less than 1% of FFA members, making it one of the organization’s highest honors.  

After high school, my plan was to stay in dairy farming which I loved despite the constant hard work it required.  With that in mind, I enrolled in SUNY Cobleskill College of Agriculture, majoring in Agriculture Engineering and Power Machinery.  My plan was to take the knowledge I learned there and apply it to helping run the family farm.  Yet a negative realization came along with the knowledge I had learned in the FFA and college; I began to see that my father was not only a bad farmer but he was also a poor small business owner.  This began causing a lot of conflict between us as he was not open to suggestion or any criticism to the way he did things.  I was beginning to pull back from the idea of working with him on the family farm and striking out on my own when a major event changed my life forever.

I had just finished earning my Associates degree and had just begun my junior year towards a Bachelor’s degree when the terrorist attack that took place on the World Trade Towers and the Pentagon happened.  Being from NY, the attack perhaps struck me harder than it may have those who lived on the West Coast but I felt compelled to do something, I just didn’t know what.  The answer to that question came in November 2011 when I enlisted in the Marine Corp.  I expected to leave right away but realized soon after that they couldn’t just send a bunch of kids and new recruits to boot camp all at the same time.  Instead, I waited and ended up going to boot camp on April 9, 2002, and began the biggest leg of my leadership journey.  

I was in the Marine Corp for 10 years and worked with a wide variety of great leaders as well as quite a few bad ones.  I first was stationed at Miramar in San Diego, CA working as a mechanic on CH-46’s.  While there I did two deployments with the 11^th MEU, both times straight to Iraq.  Later I received orders back to the East Coast to work for HMX-1, the Presidential Helicopter Squadron.  About this time, I got married and thought that being in a non-deployable unit like HMX-1 would be good for the formative years of my marriage but I was wrong.  Being a part of HMX-1 meant that I went everywhere with the President.  Where he went, I went and he traveled so much that in reality, I saw my wife maybe one weekend a month.  After 5 years of non-stop traveling around the world, I decided to get out of the Marine Corp and put down some roots here in Fredericksburg.  

Having already begun earning a Bachelor’s degree I felt that I should finish it and be the first one in my family to earn a college degree.  So, with the help of the GI bill, and the support of my wife, I finished my Bachelor’s degree in Aviation Business and Maintenance Management and got a job doing logistics for the Marine Corp.  It was during this time where I was working as a civilian Marine that both my daughter were born and I came to realize that to take care of my family I needed to move up in the business world.  This realization, along with help from the GI Bill and a ton of support from my wife, is what set me on my latest leadership journey of earning my MBA through Mary Washington University.

Who do you want to be as a leader?

Within the Marine Corp, there is no leader more revered than the Marine legend Lewis "Chesty" Burwell Puller.  Aside from the ideals that the Marine Corp instills in you, I have always found his leadership style fascinating and have strived to emulate him.  While many Marines honor Chesty Puller for his courageous combat, I tend to be drawn more towards his interactions with his men.

He was hard on his men and demanded a lot from them, but in turn, he always did everything in his power to make sure that they were taken care of.  From the historical accounts I’ve read, Chesty had an innate understanding of his men which enabled him to unite them as a unit and treat them with respect while simultaneously disciplining them.  His superiors were incredibly impressed not only with the unity of his men but also by his commanding presence on the battlefield.

In one bloody battle, Chesty was wounded and laid bleeding and crippled in a foxhole and yet continued to call in airstrikes all night.  He refused to be moved from the field to tend to his injury until all the Marines that had been killed and wounded had been picked up first. Puller truly believed that his men came first and lived out that belief no matter the circumstances.

Every day while deployed Chesty would make daily inspections and insist on clean and ready weapons, alertness while on watch, and care of the feet.  Violations of these simple tasks were promptly punished but he always made sure his men had the resources needed to complete these tasks.  He also always arranged for the comfort of his men before his own, making sure that the other officers in his charge did the same.  Chesty would always be the last to get his food and made sure there was enough for the troops before he ate his.  One of the Chesty Puller rules that I still practice today is that when it comes to eating, the most junior among the group gets to eat first.  

He practiced what he preached when it came to leadership.  Visit all of your men frequently.  Talk to them.  Be sure they know what you want them to do at all times and where you can be found if they have questions.  Never be cruel, even to the enemy because it undermines the natural courage and manliness of the perpetrator.  Be respectful to a dead friend, or foe, and bury the dead quickly.  Make sure your men get enough rest or downtime and avoid unnecessary harassment, such as "standing by," meaning don’t give people busy work for the sake of giving them something to do.

Chesty was not only a great leader himself but he was responsible for training new leaders as well.  He always stood behind his men’s attempts to lead, standing back and allowing them to lead.  If they began to falter, he would work to convince them they were capable of leading.  The key leadership traits Chesty believed in were: over the top and continual combat training and discipline, cultivating loyalty and commitment among his Marines, leading from the front and participating in training and combat even when exhausted, set a courageous example, and speak out when you see something, no matter the consequences.

Who are you as a leader and why?

Although I am not leading Marines into combat, I believe that adopting Chesty Puller’s leadership example and applying it to the civilian section is easily done. I have been able to adapt and relate almost every one of Chesty’s leadership ideas to a leadership skill I use today.  I try to be fair but firm, and try to take the time to get to know my employees, taking note of their interests, hobbies, and families.  I strive to make sure that they have the resources available to them to be successful and I always make sure that they understand that I will support them when they need it.  There are clear paths in my life that made me into the leader I am today, beginning with the leadership completion in my youth and becoming more honed and defined in my time in the Marine Corp.

What will help you get there?

I hope to reach my leadership goals by constantly growing in my experience and education.  When they say that education is continual I believe it because it has never stopped for me.  I believe that once you stop learning, you stop growing as a person and a leader.  I am also aware that the best way to grow as a leader is to make mistakes and learn from them.  Ultimately then I believe that what will help me reach my leadership goals is actually a process of trial and error.  

What parts of this class changed you, molded you, enhanced you, and challenged you?

Given the varied leadership experiences I have had, specifically during my time in the Marines, we have not covered many topics pertaining to leadership that have been new to me.  One thing I can say from my time as a leader in the civilian world that has been tested and confirmed in this class is empathy.  My time in the Marine Corp was spent in a culture and surrounded by men and women amongst whom empathy was a foreign concept.  I have a new level of understanding and respect regarding empathy and have found new ways use it in my leadership roles.  By far the greatest challenge in this class didn’t have to do with the content but the sheer time it consumed.  Balancing work, family, and school has been a huge challenge this semester and the massive amounts of reading for this class has not helped