StephanieSimon

LeadershipCommunication
3/20/2014
LeadershipCommunicationMidSemesterReview
Althoughalloftheinformationtaughtintheclassthusfarcanbeappliedtomydailylife,the
materialthatIfoundmostrelevanttomydailylifewasthesectionongroupinteraction.Incollege,I
havefoundthatprofessorsliketoassigngroupprojectworkinorderforstudentstolearntheskillsof
cooperationandteamwork.Unfortunately,Ihavehadnegativeexperienceswithgroupworkinthepast,
andhavesensedreadedbeingassignedtogroupwork.However,afterlearningthematerialinthegroup
interactionsection,IfeelthatIhaveabetterunderstandingofhowagroupissupposetodevelopand
changeovertime,andhowtobettercommunicatewithmygroupmembers.Ialwaysthoughtitwas
abnormalthatmygroupstendedtohaveabitofconflict,andsoIthoughtmygroupswerefunctioning
improperly.TheTurkmangroupdevelopmentmodelhelpedmeunderstandthatthestormingphase
thephasewhereconflictoccursisactuallyanormalpartofagroup'sdevelopment,andallowsthe
groupeventuallyreachtheperformingphase.Additionally,Ihaveneverfeltquitecomfortablebringing
upapointofconflictamongstmyteammembersbecauseIwasworriedIwouldoffendothers.By
learningtheconnectmodelofgroupinteractionandknowingthatIcanapplythismodeltomyown
groupwork,Ifeelmoreconfidentinmyabilitiestoaddresspointsofdispute.Finally,IfeellikeIam
betterabletostopclashesfromgettingtoointensebyusingthetechniquesofcreatingasafespacefor
mygroup.
Withinmyowngroupprojectonalumniinterviewresearchforourclass,Ifeelthatmy
experiencesbothmimicanddifferfromthematerialtaughtintheleadershipingroupssection.Interms
oftheestablishmentofourteam,Ifeltthatmygroupmimickedthematerialtaughtforhowtoestablisha
team.Whenmygroupfirstmet,weoutlinedthegoalsforourprojectfairlyquickly,andallagreedupon
theresultswehopedtoachieve(receivinganAontheassignment,andbetteringourgroup/critical
thinkingskills).Afterwedeterminedourendgoalandtheresultswehopedtoachieve,weall
communicatedthevariousskillsthatwethoughtmaybeusefulfortheproject,andnaturallyagreedthat
wewouldtakeleadershipintheareaswefeltthemostcomfortable.RachelandStevehadmore
experiencewithcoordinationandorganization,sotheybothtookinitiativewithemailingouralumniand
schedulinggroupmeetings.BecauseIhadmoreexperiencewiththeresearchprocessingeneral,Ilead
thebrainstormofourmainquestion,andthespecificquestionsthatwewouldaskinourinterview.We
allcommittedtoeachotherearlyonthatwewouldfollowthroughwithourassignedtasks,andwe
wouldcollaborateamongsteachotherwhenwehadaproblem.Finally,weallagreedtohaveahigh
standardofexcellenceinthatwewouldalltryourbesttosucceed,andwewouldrecognizeeach
otherssuccesseswhentheyperformedwell.Incontrasttotheestablishmentofateam,Ifeltthatmy
groupsexperiencedifferfromthematerialtaughtinclassintheideaofanemergentleader.Asdiscussed
earlier,whiletherewerenaturalleadersthatdevelopedfordifferenttasksoftheproject,Ifeltthatasa
whole,ourgroupdoesnothaveaclearleaderthatemerged.Rather,everyoneinourgroupworked
togetherinacohesivemanner,withpower/influenceequallydividedamongsteachteammember.
Althoughourgroupdidnotfollowtheemergentleadershipconceptinthesamemannerdescribedin
class,Ifeelthatthismayhavebeencausedbyourgroupsize.Becausemygrouponlyconsistsofthree
people,thereislessofaneedforonecentralpersontofacilitatediscussion/managework.Instead,we
canallholdeachotheraccountable.
Inregardstoclassmaterial/direction,Iamverymuchpleasedwiththecurrentstructureofthe
class.IreallylikethatwehaveinclassactivitiesbecauseIfindthatIamabletonotjustlearnleadership
skills,butpracticethem.Ialsolikehowtheclassisfocusedondiscussions,andthatwecanlearnabout
leadershipthroughpeoplespersonalexperiences.Ialsohavereallyenjoyedthetopicsthathavebeen
coveredintheclass,specificallythetopicsthathavebeencoveredmostrecently(groupinteractionand
organizations).Myonlypointofcriticismisthatsometimesitfeelsliketherearecertainpeoplewho
dominatetheconversations,orareabitaggressiveinassertingtheirownopinionsascorrectover
others.WhileIpredictthattheirlackofknowledgeinregardstotypicalcollegeclassroometiquettemay
havesomethingtodowiththeirclassranking(akafirstyears),Idothinkitmaybehelpfultogoover
sometipsforbetteringclassdiscussion.