Justin Mares
Dr. Wood
Leadership
18 September 2014
Leadership Seminar Reflection
Dr. Bassard spoke to us about what it means to be a leader and what has changed her outlook on leadership throughout her lifetime. She started out by talking to us about what it was like for her studying to receive her PHD while being a mother and a husband because people found that strange at the time. But that by being different from everyone else it opened her eyes and she eventually found out what she is passionate about. Later in the seminar she talked about how leaders are different from people in power and how they look at the world in a more deep and open way and the many aspects that make a great leader.
The two things that a leader needs to have are voice and vision. By voice she meant being able to speak out and stand for the people who may not have the courage to do it. When she started to talk about vision it really caught my attention, when I think of leaders I think of people who stood up against huge issues facing them but as Dr. Bassard states “leaders see the big in the small” it reminds me that leaders not only stand up for the huge problems facing society but they can also speak out for the small ones that many people seem to overlook because of the overwhelming challenges. A good leader can see the opportunities that would arise from these small issues and would see the small gaps that need fixing.
She went on to explain that leaders need to know what they are doing and why they are doing it. Which I completely agree with I think one of the biggest challenges of being a leader is getting your followers to be as motivated to accomplish the goal as you are. If they do not see you excited to put forth you best effort and accomplish the task at hand then why should they. She says many times in the seminar that leaders need to be passionate about what they do and just knowing who you are as a person. If a leader knows who they are and what their values are then it will be easier to deal with problems that may face them along their journey. It helps the people following them become more invested, if they see that their leader understands and knows who they are then they will look at them as a more reliable person. If a leader is passionate about what is being accomplish then it should give the people following him that much more drive to try their hardest because a good follower wants to help out as much as they can.
After hearing all of the points Dr. Bassard brought up during the lecture it has shown me that in order to be a leader I need to focus on issues that mean a lot to me and something that I can be passionate about. I want to show everyone around me that the issue at hand can open so many new opportunities for everyone it impacts. In order for me to improve my leadership skills I first must find out what I am passionate in, at the moment this is not clear to me starting college has shown so many paths that are open to me and at the moment it is all a little overwhelming. In the future I would like to try new things and open new doors to help me find what I am passionate in.
Dr, Bassard showed so many different ways to look at leadership and made me look at all of the different way leaders can look at things. She mentioned that leadership is not about authority or a position but about how the people look at you and the reason why you are doing something. I want to be a leader in the fact that I want people to follow me because of what I am trying to accomplish not because they are told to follow and listen to me. She mentioned how to become this leader and that you need to find out who you are and what you are passionate about.
Justin Mares
Dr. Wood
LEAD
September 25, 2014
Style Approach
In the course of a month, my Leadership class and I have read seven chapters out of the book “Leadership: Theory and Practice” by Peter Northouse. Chapter 4 talks about the style approach and how a leader can be committed to the task at hand but they can also be invested in their subordinates. This type of leadership appeals to me because throughout my years of scouting, I have seen how leaders are invested in their followers while remaining focused on the task at hand; which, in turn, causes less problems.
I can relate to this outlook on leadership better than I can all of the other approaches. This is probably so because I believe a leader needs to be able to bring a group of people together from different backgrounds with different beliefs and teach them to work together as a single unit. If leaders were only focused on the task at hand, they would be more of a manager type than an actual leader. An effective leader brings their subordinates together as team to accomplish a common goal. I believe that one can still be a great leader without accomplishing a set goal by bringing a group of different people together. Page 80 has a table showing how leaders can be more concerned with the task in front of them, their subordinates, or a combination of both. Included in the table are different styles of leadership that portray a combination of leaders who are concerned with the task or subordinates. This table can be helpful in diagnosis types of leaders and one can even use it to see what type of leadership he or she may fall under.
Throughout my years of scouting, I have been a follower to different types of leaders and have been a leader to different types of followers. The leaders that I have observed are entirely different and each have their own strengths and weaknesses. I, as a subordinate, want the leader that I am following to be interested in what I have to say and be emotionally invested in the group. Also, they should not be afraid to show that they are in charge and be able to make decisions that better the group when necessary. I want to feel like and individual in a group of people rather than another tool for the leader use when needed.
As for myself, throughout my leading experiences in scouting I have found out that I am more a “5, 5”, meaning that I am more in the middle of the spectrum where I think about the task in front of me but also am invested in my subordinates. For instance, I would not get as much accomplished as a leader who is categorized as a “9,1”. However, I would make that time enjoyable for my followers whereas a “9,1” wouldn’t try as hard to please everyone. This may not be the most productive way to get things done, but I would prefer my followers to want to help me rather than have them feel like they have too. My personal goal would be to become a “9, 9” leader, meaning I am focused on a goal through teamwork, trust, and respect.
In short, chapter 4 appeals to me because of how it brings to light the aspect that leaders need to look at how every leader has a different style to reach the end goal. It deals with what leaders do rather than who they are as a person. Some are looking directly at accomplishing the goal while others are mainly focused on that the needs of their subordinates are met and that they are happy. An effective leader should be an even combination of productivity and inclusiveness.
Leadership Reflection
The word leadership can mean a lot too many different people, and the qualities that it takes to be a leader may change depending on who you may ask, but in my opinion leadership means guiding a group of individuals toward a common goal and achieving that goal in the most effective way possible. We have seen many leaders throughout our history both good and bad, each of them having their own unique style and traits that shaped the way they led. I think how we define leadership is greatly influenced by how we look at it.
As it stated in the chapter some people take a trait perspective when they look at leadership, and I believe that I am one of those people. Some traits that I like to see in a leader are humility, open mindedness to what others around them say, enthusiastic about the goal they want trying to achieve, willing to compromise with others to better the group, and firm in their decisions. Throughout my years of scouting I have seen many different leaders, each of them having their own strengths and weaknesses. I believe a leader needs to know their own strengths and weaknesses in order to properly lead a team towards a common goal. One reason why I think this is important in leadership is because I like to see a leader who puts in some of the work themselves, a leader should be the most enthusiastic about completing the objective so in turn they should want to work alongside their fellow companions to speed up the process.
Me personally I would rather follow someone who shows an interest in what they are trying to accomplish even if that means assisting the work that is required of their followers to accomplish the task. Being a leader does not only mean delegating to your crew what tasks need to get finished, but it also means being a friend to all, and listening to what they have to say. Through my own experience I have learned that people will be more excited to help you if you they feel they are being listened to and their opinions are being taken into account. A leader needs to have a goal that is relatable and people feel like it will benefit not only them but also the greater good of society. You cannot be a leader without people backing you up and willing to follow you. By having a goal that benefits more people than just yourself you will find that more people are willing to help you along your journey.
Justin Mares
Dr. Wood
LEAD
10/7/2014
Seminar Reflection 2
In the academic lecture Dr. Suzii Paynter spoke about how much in means to be dedicated to what you are working towards and how important it is to be passionate about what you are doing. She spoke a lot about advocacy and how doing things for the common good is more rewarding than doing things for your own self gain.
One point made by Dr. painter that really caught my attention was that something that you may think is not a big deal may become the inspiration to another person you have encountered. She goes on to tell us a story about how she had taken a job teaching convicts in a prison how to read. She mentioned that right before this she taught a group of 5th graders that would be rowdy and loud as she would read aloud to them, but the convicts were quiet and focused on her as she would read The Chronicles of Narnia to them. Later down the road she was approached by a former convict from the prison that she had taught at. He asked her if she would help him understand what this stack of paper in front of him meant because if he could understand them then he would get a promotion. This story touched me because I have been in charge of a scout troop with many younger scouts looking at me for guidance and even though I was told that they looked up to me, but it never really hit me how I could have inspired one of them to receive their eagle or maybe just continue down the road of scouting.
After listening to her speech I realized that a leader knows what they are passionate about and is not afraid to stand up for it. An ethical leader understands that I you are trying to better the more than just yourself. If a leader only has themselves in mind then people will eventually see that they do not have good intentions and will begin not to help them anymore. If a leader can show advocacy to the people around them and show that they have more in mind then their own self gain people will be more willing to assist them.
Throughout the seminar Dr. Paynter talking about doing things for more than just yourself, and that is who I want to be. I want to be a leader that stands up for the people in need and speaks out for issues that may not necessarily benefit me directly, but change society for the better. I think my leadership style revolves a lot around the people around me so I want to strive to be that inspiration to someone who is watching me even if I inspired someone in the slightest and smallest way I just want to know that I left a footprint on someone’s life. I am not the best at taking construction criticism because I feel like I have let the person down. Dr. Paynter mentioned that a leader needs to take external feedback to apply to themselves to better their leadership. This is something that I need to work on, rather than beating myself up for failing I need to take what I am being told and put it into action.
My leadership style is based on relationship and throughout the seminar Dr. Paynter talked about how you can inspire people around and just by talking positively to someone you can change them to stand up for something they believe in. Dr. Paynter was a great leader in my book, she stood up for what she believed in and tried her best to touch as many people as she could and was not thinking about what her own agenda was but what was needed of her to help the people around her.
Justin Mares
Dr. Wood
Leadership
18 September 2014
Leadership Seminar Reflection
Dr. Bassard spoke to us about what it means to be a leader and what has changed her outlook on leadership throughout her lifetime. She started out by talking to us about what it was like for her studying to receive her PHD while being a mother and a husband because people found that strange at the time. But that by being different from everyone else it opened her eyes and she eventually found out what she is passionate about. Later in the seminar she talked about how leaders are different from people in power and how they look at the world in a more deep and open way and the many aspects that make a great leader.
The two things that a leader needs to have are voice and vision. By voice she meant being able to speak out and stand for the people who may not have the courage to do it. When she started to talk about vision it really caught my attention, when I think of leaders I think of people who stood up against huge issues facing them but as Dr. Bassard states “leaders see the big in the small” it reminds me that leaders not only stand up for the huge problems facing society but they can also speak out for the small ones that many people seem to overlook because of the overwhelming challenges. A good leader can see the opportunities that would arise from these small issues and would see the small gaps that need fixing.
She went on to explain that leaders need to know what they are doing and why they are doing it. Which I completely agree with I think one of the biggest challenges of being a leader is getting your followers to be as motivated to accomplish the goal as you are. If they do not see you excited to put forth you best effort and accomplish the task at hand then why should they. She says many times in the seminar that leaders need to be passionate about what they do and just knowing who you are as a person. If a leader knows who they are and what their values are then it will be easier to deal with problems that may face them along their journey. It helps the people following them become more invested, if they see that their leader understands and knows who they are then they will look at them as a more reliable person. If a leader is passionate about what is being accomplish then it should give the people following him that much more drive to try their hardest because a good follower wants to help out as much as they can.
After hearing all of the points Dr. Bassard brought up during the lecture it has shown me that in order to be a leader I need to focus on issues that mean a lot to me and something that I can be passionate about. I want to show everyone around me that the issue at hand can open so many new opportunities for everyone it impacts. In order for me to improve my leadership skills I first must find out what I am passionate in, at the moment this is not clear to me starting college has shown so many paths that are open to me and at the moment it is all a little overwhelming. In the future I would like to try new things and open new doors to help me find what I am passionate in.
Dr, Bassard showed so many different ways to look at leadership and made me look at all of the different way leaders can look at things. She mentioned that leadership is not about authority or a position but about how the people look at you and the reason why you are doing something. I want to be a leader in the fact that I want people to follow me because of what I am trying to accomplish not because they are told to follow and listen to me. She mentioned how to become this leader and that you need to find out who you are and what you are passionate about.
Justin Mares
Dr. Wood
LDS 1305
10/28/2014
The Mission to Find my Mission
“Do a good turn Daily” The scout slogan. For my entire life I have been told to live by this code in b scouts as well as in my everyday life. It was not until a few weeks ago when I was asked to write my own mission statement. I was stumped, the slogan has always been a good mission for me but it was never really my mission statement. I know that I am a person who loves being around people, I know I want to leave a footprint on the people I encounter.
As I listen to other people’s statements they talk about how they want their jobs to be meaningful and they want to help the people in need all around the world. I want to be an accountant once I graduate from Baylor, I want to do this because I enjoy working with numbers and figuring out what needs to change to make more money for people. But as far as helping people in need I don’t see how being an accountant could truly help someone other than myself or the people I am working for. I want to look into this more to see what I can do in that profession that would benefit people I may not be working directly with.
There are however a few things about myself though that have contributed to my mission statement. I am a person that loves to be a friend to everyone around and I want to be the person that anyone can talk to no matter what they need to talk about. I strive to be someone that people can look up to, and I want to be the best me not only for myself but for everyone I come across.
I attended Baylor not only for the academics but also because I wanted to grow stronger in my faith. Before coming to Baylor I was not the best Christian and I wanted to be better but I didn’t know how to do that. Once I came to Baylor I decided that I wanted to show people how great God is through the things that I did in my everyday life.
My mission statement bring all of these components into one sentence and I want my leadership style to also bring those same components and show them off. I want to live Christ to live through me and I want to spread his love by being friends with everyone I meet and showing them how great he is. As far as my job goes I want to work for a company whose mission statement is similar to mine and who wants to provide for the greater good and has more than just themselves in mind.
Justin Mares
Dr. Wood
LDS
11/11/2014
Colleen Coffey Seminar
Dr. Colleen Coffey spoke about how her life experiences has affected the way she perceives her life now. She began by talking about how throughout her childhood she suffered from bullying and that how after many severe episodes of depression she was put into a mental hospital. She would eventually be released and after that she was doing great and was a cheerleader as well as Homecoming Queen. It was not soon after though that she had another episode when she realized that due to her friend having a baby she couldn’t go on her daily run. She decided to leave the hospital for just a few minutes so she could try to get her daily run in. Soon after she received a call from one of her friends telling her that the other was having the baby. Unfortunately she was unable to make it back to the hospital in time to see the birth of the baby, it was also at this point that she realized that she was not in control of her own lie.
After listening to Dr. Coffey speak it came to me that in order for someone to be a leader that must be fit to lead. Not only physically but also mentally. We see this action being put into place in our nation’s government, when a president is deemed incapable to serving as the president then it is up to the vice president to take on that role of leadership. There is also a chain of people that will do the same if the vice president is also not fit and so on and so forth. I think the most important part is for a leader to be mentally healthy though. A leader needs to be able to form logical decisions that will further their group of people. If a leader cannot do then the group will ultimately find someone who will be able to, that point the leader would become a liability to the people around them in the instance that they may not make the best decision for the greater good.
Likewise, for a leader to be mentally capable of performing their job they must understand who they are and what they stand for. If you have a leader that is having an internal conflict with themselves then how can you trust them to act on an issue that is causing an external conflict? Another big part for a leader to be capable of leading is to know when they are unable to continue their job. This could be one of the hardest things for a leader to do. They should have the mentality that they will be able to make it through anything that comes their way but they also need to understand when they may not be performing at their highest level. If a leader cannot do this then they will be less likely to be willing to give up their position even if it is the right thing to do.
A leader has many obligations not only to the people around him but also to themselves. At the end of the Scout oath it says to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight. This is how I want my leadership style to be in terms of taking care of myself. I want to be sure that I am performing at my highest level to insure my followers that I am taking watching out for myself in order to take of them. I believe that if a follower sees their leader doing this then it may invoke them to do the same. Leadership starts off with the leader themselves. A leader must first understand how to lead and take care of themselves before they can expect to lead other people and for people to follow them.
Justin Mares
Dr. Wood
LDS 1305
11/13/2014
Strength Finder Reflection
It is important for every leader to understand what their strengths are as well as their weaknesses. The strength finder test taken by many of the incoming freshmen prior to arriving at Baylor was a great way for them to understand who they are and the strengths that they carry that others may not. My five strengths are includer, positivity, restorative, arranger, and developer. I think that I fit well into all of the strengths that I fell into too and I hope that people can see them in me as well.
One thing that is important to me is to involve the most people that I can in the things that I do. Everyone should have the opportunity to be involved in something and have the opportunity to fell a part of something bigger than them. I believe that includer is a great way to describe me and how I want to lead. I am much focused on how my subordinates fell and making sure that they are enjoying what we are doing. By including everyone I can I make sure that no one is left and everyone has a part that is theirs and they all fell that they are doing what they need to do to see something happen.
In one of our seminars a lady mentioned that talking to someone positively has a bigger impact on them then talking to them negatively. I fully agree with this statement, I believe that many people when they are being talked down to they tend to shut down and get angry rather than trying harder to prove the person wrong. I think that it you talk to someone positively then you show them that you care about them and are trying to show them that what they are trying to accomplish will have an impact on many people and even though it may be taking longer for them to complete the tasks nothing is supposed to be easy. Thomas Edison once said “I have not failed, I only found ten thousand ways that didn’t work.” I think that this quote shows that even if you do fail more time then you can count that doesn’t mean that the task is impossible.
Everyone in the world has something to offer, it may be for different things but no one in this world is useless. Some people have realized what they are put in this world for and some people may still have no clue. The developer strength is probably my favorite strength on my list. No one is perfect and everyone can grow in some way even if it is in the smallest way. Everyone you encounter in your life impacts you in some way whether it be positively or negatively. I think that everyone needs someone to tell them that they have so much potential and that they need to take that potential and put it to work out in the world, and I hope that I can be this person throughout my life.
I actually found it funny that I was matched up with the arranger strength because I am usually not the planner kind of person; but as I read through the definition I realized that I fit into that strength very well. It states that I like to look at plans in many different ways to find the best and most efficient way to complete a task. Once it read that it seemed to describe me pretty well. I continues to say that it describes someone that is really flexible when it comes to changing plans. I think it is very important for a leader to see things in many different ways and if the plans do need to be changed then they must be able to move with the changes rather than trying to fight them. I do not want to be a one trick pony so I am glad that my strength allows me to look at things in many different way to better my leadership skills and provide the best scenarios for my subordinates.
Restorative I think is the most important strength on my list. I think it goes hand and hand with what Baylor as well as the LEAD program. It says that when a problem arises you are willing and enthusiastic to help solve the problem. I look at this as another way of service which is what this university as well as this program stands for. We are highly focused around serving the city of Waco in the best way that we can. I want to be a leader that sees the problem and does his best to solve the problem in the most effective way I can. I think this is an important characteristic that every leader should have because they should not be looking for problem that only help them but that help everyone around them and even the ones that they do not see.
Justin Mares
Dr. Wood
LDS
11/20/2014
My talk with Hanna Kang
This afternoon I had the great opportunity to talk Hanna about her life experiences and how she got to where she is now. We briefly talked about why we don’t hang out with one another and I feel like it is because college is scary. When I entered Baylor I came in knowing a few people from my high school and I truly thought that I was just going to hang out with those people but as we progressed through welcome week I met a few more people who were in the same boat I am. Through the first few weeks of school I kind of just hung out with those friends from welcome week because it was easier than going out and making new friends and having the potential to embarrass myself. I think that after a couple weeks into college everyone gets into a routine and just hangs out with the same people and I feel like this is what happened to me. This is probably not the best thing because after talking to Hanna today I think she is an amazing person and will hopefully be a great friend to me down the road.
Hanna and I had lunch in memo today and one of the things that she mentioned that really caught my attention is that she came from Korea to The United States all by herself. Now me being the little city boy from Houston who has never traveled without my parents or at least someone older than me to help me along the way this seemed outrageous. I do not think that I could travel to an entirely new country by myself especially as a freshman in high school. Hanna is extremely courageous for doing this and I applaud her for it. Another thing that I really enjoyed about Hanna is her love for God. We talked about when she really felt close to God in here in America and that she just wants to live for him and to help anybody she can in the process. She feels that God has asked her to do this through medicine and becoming a doctor. I think it is awesome that she has found something that she enjoys doing as well as something that will help out the people around her. Hanna is not the most talkative person I have ever but when she does talk her story is amazing and I think that she has so much to offer everyone around her just through her story alone.
Justin Mares
Dr. Wood
LDS 1301
12/2/2014
Jessica Cox
When Jessica came to speak to us at one of the LEAD seminars I did not know what to expect. I was looking forward to listening to the stories of how she overcame the challenges of being born with no arms and by the end of the night I really had a new aspect on how I looked at fears and challenges that I am facing in life. Jessica was born without any arms but still managed to live a normal life of a little girl and would ultimately go on to accomplish so many amazing tasks that most people will never do, for example, earning her black belt, receiving her pilots license, and receiving her driver’s license.
One of the biggest things that Mrs. Cox mentioned was her on fear. She stated that fear only stand for False Evidence Appearing Real, and I believe this to be so true. Many people are scared of things because of what they have heard or what they have seen in movies and television, but in all reality that is not how those things are in real life. I think one of the biggest things about fear is that people are not afraid of the task or the thing itself they are afraid of failing. In a society where succeeding and best is such a huge part of life it is tough to think of failing at something that you want to succeed at. Thomas Edison once said “I haven’t failed, I have just found 10,000 ways that don’t work.” One point that Mrs. Cox made was that there is more than one way to do something and that you just need to find the way that works best for you.
Mrs. Cox mentioned that she doesn’t have the phrase “I can’t” in her vocabulary, which I really respect. She says that words become reality and by saying you can’t then you are already voting against yourself to accomplish the task. She goes on to say that desire is 80% of success and when you think about it that is so true, no one has ever accomplished anything great just by putting a little bit of effort here and there. Persistence was also a big part of what she talked about during the lecture, she said that persistence goes beyond expectation. I think this means that if even though you may not accomplish you task on the first few times people including yourself begin to doubt your skills and abilities but if you keep going and eventually accomplish the job at hand then you prove not only those people but in some cases maybe even yourself and showing them that you can do it.
I learned a lot from listening to Jessica Cox and I am happy that LEAD had the opportunity to listen to her. She showed that even if you are going through many tough challenges and it doesn’t seem like you will ever do anything that if you just stick to it and put your best foot forward and keep an open mind that you can accomplish anything that you set your mind to.
