- Learning Objectives: What specific skills or knowledge do you hope to acquire by the end of this course? Explain why these are important to you.
As a new member of Leadership, I am hoping to continue improving/developing my skills of communication, teamwork and management, and improvisational decision making. To begin with, communicating effectively and quickly can be the difference between success and failure. Decreasing miscommunications, conveying ideas and instructions openly allows everybody an improved chance of success. Next, along with communication, teamwork and management is also key to succeeding as individuals and groups. Working together like a well-organized and run machine greatly increases productivity, and in turn increases chances of success. Lastly, being able to improvise actions on the spot is a huge asset to have in the real world. Oftentimes, things will not go to plan. By being flexible and adaptable, it sets you apart from the crowd and increases your value as a leader. By acquiring and continuously growing these skills, it will positively affect my peers as well as myself in working towards a shared and desirable dream.
- Application of Knowledge: How do you plan to apply what you learn in this course to real-world situations or future academic/career pursuits? Provide examples.
In Leadership, the 3 key aspects we learn are responsibility, communication, and teamwork. How I envision these skills applying to my future pursuits will be implemented all throughout my career. Taking account of your duties and planning accordingly are critical in taking responsibility. By being actively responsible, it reinforces a strong sense of reliability and trust which will increase opportunities for success and leadership. Whether a leader or worker, communicating and working well in groups are crucial in working productively. An analogy would be when working as a conductor or a musician, communicating and synergizing beautifully altogether leads to a successfully grand performance. These applications of learning from this course will be especially important in my planned career path of business management and finance. Being a reliable, communicative, and easy to work with worker or leader is an almost invaluable skill in managing teams and departments within an organization. By growing and developing my learning through Leadership, it will bring me closer to my dream with a secure path for my future endeavors.
- Personal Growth: In what ways do you expect this course to contribute to your personal development? Consider aspects such as critical thinking, problem-solving, teamwork, and communication skills.
I believe that Leadership will challenge me to grow in many ways for my personal improvement, but particularly with my improvisational critical thinking skills as well as fostering my self-discipline and structure. In Leadership, these skills will be challenged through event planning and running. Whether a point person or team member, thinking critically on the fly will occur as wrenches will be thrown at the plan. By practicing and refining this skill in a lower risk environment, it will embolden me to succeed in larger projects in my future career and academic path. My self-discipline and structure will be contested as if I am irresponsible and disorganized, it will not only affect me but also my peers and fellow students. From this course I expect myself to forge and refine my self-discipline and improvisation to apply both personally and professionally.
- Challenges and Strategies: Identify potential challenges you might face in achieving your goals for this course. What strategies will you employ to overcome these challenges?
Two huge challenges I predict I will face in pursuing my goals in this course would be my self-doubt and being easily overwhelmed by stress. When making decisions or doing work, I oftentimes second-guess and doubt whatever I am doing. This hampers both my workflow and mindset as I am bound to work at an inadequate pace whilst prone to mistakes. A strategy that I envision to work this problem out is to slowly build my confidence through feedback and preparation. By receiving positive feedback on my work and fully preparing my mind and plan before an event, it will strengthen my confidence. My self-doubt also stems from the next obstacle I possess, which is stress management. By being easily overwhelmed by stress, I end up either procrastinating and/or lost in my pursuit; negatively affecting my personal health and my career. A strategy I believe will assist me in overcoming this barrier is by clearing and calming my mind, figuring out a list of priorities, then figuring out the most plausible steps to achieving the first two priorities. To measure my progress and reinforce a positive self-image, I will look at achievements I have accomplished and ask for feedback from peers and teachers.