GRAD 702 - Reflections on Module 4 Concepts

I learned a lot about my team and our strengths from demonstrating our team's metaphor. I realized that all of us have a lot more creativity than we give ourselves credit. I'm the analytical and organized one, Tammy is more symbolic and talkative, while Kyle is rational and logical. All of our attributes and competencies as leaders came together in this assignment. We first started to form our ideas through brainstorming and then through organized and focused thought. Our ideas flourished into a paper and a wildly humorous skit. Which I hope you enjoyed. :) I also found it refreshing to be back in front of an audience. The practice is great and one element of my job in the military I had been missing. Lucky us, we get to do it again in week 6!

I would have to say at this point in my life and career path, I am both a manager and a leader. I have had experience "climbing the ladder" and "is the ladder against the right wall" (Covey, 2004)? I have managed both things and led people. I have made quick informed decisions and lengthy structured ones. My actual position in the military was that of a manager. I feel I fulfilled those duties and learned to excel through my leadership practices. I was able to influence people and lead them toward a common goal or vision. I was a planner and came up with creative and innovative ideas within my section. I was responsible for change that resulted in fewer discrepancies and saved our squadron more money than the five previous years. For these reasons, I believe I was a manager but most definitely a leader.

My meeting with my coach went way better than I thought. I knew what we would discuss and had prepared discussion and questions but I had no idea she would be as excited and interested in coaching me as she is. I was delighted to find this out! She is someone I have known for about two years now and has been a manager in the collections industry for more than five years. I picked her because I knew she was intelligent, easy to talk to, and would be able to understand and support my graduate goals. I feel I have made the right choice and I am so excited about our future as coach and student! In our meeting, we discussed our expectations and goals for the remainder of the program, the PDP, and later over the phone, her first coaching seminar at Franklin. We are both really enthusiastic about the whole process and this it is a wonderful addition to the MBA program.

I enjoyed doing the project management competency card sort because it opened my eyes to how I see myself. I am usually very confident in myself and my capabilities but when I did this assignment I found that sometimes that is not the case. In week three, I had listed personal competencies and in week four I had listed what I thought a manager should possess. Surprisingly enough, my top five cards had only one overlap. I thought my personal competencies would match more what I thought a manager's competencies should be. I found this to be very interesting and starting thinking about how this could affect my future and what I could learn from this assignment. Instead of getting upset that the card sorts did not match, I focused on what the ideal manager should be like and where I was lacking. I made a list and have now stated it as a personal goal to focus on and fine tune these competencies throughout my graduate program and life. With the help of my coach, teammates, and professors, I believe I can restore faith and become a better manager and leader. A leader others will want to emulate.