Brent Carver. Leadership Journal 3/25/2011

Transcription

1 1 Brent Carver Leadership Journal 3/25/2011

2 2 Table of Contents Cover Page 1 Table of Contents..2 Leadership Journal Introduction...3 Journal Entry 1- Leadership in your Life..4 Journal Entry 2- Leadership in the Scriptures..5 Journal Entry 3- Leaders Losing Their Way.6 Journal Entry 4- You as a Leader..7 Journal Entry 5- Your Greatest Crucible..8 Journal Entry 6- Your Values...9 Journal Entry 7- Your Mentors 10 Journal Entry 8- Your Success.11 Journal Entry 9- Your Leadership Relationships...12 Journal Entry 10- Integrating Your Life..13

3 3 Leadership Journal Introduction Who am I as a communicator and leader? What do I know about communication and leadership? What have I experienced as a communicator and leader? I have been assigned for 10 weeks to keep a leadership journal. The following are 10 different posts in response to several different writing prompts. First, To better understand who I am, I will reply to the bold and italicized prompt at the top of this page. I think leadership can be found in management, official positions of authority, but also in the smallest of roles and positions. I think my communication and leadership preferences are derived from the fact that I have once been the new guy. As a new guy, perhaps at a new job, it may take some time to get used to company policy and rules. I think I understand that as a leader you should be there for anyone and everyone to demonstrate the best way to follow procedure. I think the most effective leaders understand the macro principles and things that pull everything together. I highly value trying to get everyone on board; to get everyone on the same page. In addition, I think the most effective leaders are happy, and for that reason do I try my best to be that type of leader. I d say I understand communication and leadership to some extent and the first time I started to understand how it works is from the Boy-Scouts. I learned as a Boy-Scout how organizations and groups work, what it takes for leadership to communicate goals and objectives, and how to accomplish great tasks. I learned in the Boy-Scouts and have used the same principles in all of my jobs. I think it takes having fun and being happy to get everyone motivated and believing in similar values and principles. I am highly principle based so my number one priority is to get everyone on the same side, and then number two is to be happy.

4 4 Week 1- Leaders in Your Life What leaders, past or present, do you admire most? What is it about them that you admire? Which of these leaders do you consider to be authentic leaders? What can you learn from their leadership? There are many leaders both past and present that have impacted my life a great deal. Some of those leaders have been close friends or relatives and others have been famous figures. Some of my favorite leaders have been Muhammad, The Dalai Lama and Gordon B. Hinckley. Each has been inspired to lead a people and has done it full of heart and passion. It is hard to put a finger on which leader has impacted me the most, but one that is special to me is my older brother Chris. Chris is a leader in many ways, but most know him to be a leader by example. Chris is the oldest child of the family but that definitely does not quality him in any way. Chris has proven himself time and time again to help many peoples lives by his talent of being simple, concise and straight to the point. Many of the things he has helped me with have been advice on family, school and overall life. Chris s leading by example has been evident for years. He has lived a great life and has always followed all the rules of society. He has always been true to his religion by seeking spiritually in all that he has done. He lives the principles and characteristics that he advises others and never has he been a hypocrite. I think it is important for a leader to be consistent because it shows their commitment to their beliefs and ideals. Another great characteristic of Chris is his understanding that everyone can do many great things. By his simple philosophies and secrets to life he is able to put into perspective how capable people can be to accomplish goals. With all things that a leader can be, what I admire most about Chris, and all leaders, is the ability to stay dedicated to a goal. The natural man has many tendencies to be lazy and to fall up short of goals, and really that is understandable; but that does not make it ok. I think Chris, along with many leaders, demonstrates how important it is to stay dedicated to your beliefs. I think the key to accomplishing this dedication is to seek inspiration from God and in doing so you request heavenly help that otherwise you may not receive. The key to success and to become like a leader is to understand your strengths, weaknesses, and how to improve them both by rising to the occasion and learning from mistakes. I don t think everyone needs to make mistakes to learn, but I think an effective leader is observant and tries to not let history repeat itself unless it is for good reason.

5 5 Week 2 Leaders in the Scriptures What leaders in the scriptures do you admire most? What is it about them that you admire? Which of these leaders do you consider to be authentic leaders? What can you learn from their leadership? There are many leaders in the scriptures that I admire. Some of my favorite leaders are Moroni holding and protecting the plates, Alma preaching the gospel amidst opposition, and even Nephi leading his family. However, there is one leader in the scriptures that I am very fond of, but he is not one of the ancient one s, he is Joseph Smith. I think I am so fond of him because of his stories that I hear from others that live on to this day. I think he is such a special leader because not only did he lead his family in many ways, he also eventually grew to lead the whole church. Joseph Smith and some of his famous experiences and stories can be found in the Doctrine and Covenants. I think some leaders are born with special gifts and abilities and that is definitely the case for Joseph Smith. When Joseph was a boy and he had to have surgery on his leg, the doctor asked if he wanted some Alcohol but he said No ; all he wanted was to hold his father s hand. I admire Joseph for this because it helps put into perspective for me that he was blessed with strength to fulfill later goals. I think leaders are blessed with strength and if they utilize those blessings that eventually they can achieve great goals and accomplishments. In addition to the idea that leaders are blessed with strength, I believe they must also work hard to develop their talents as if everything relies upon them. I think it is very obvious in the life and stories of Joseph Smith that he has had to work very hard amongst diversity to lead many people. I think that is what makes a remarkable leader; will they do anything in their power to follow what is true? Sometimes I wonder if I could do what he did, and I have to remind myself where much is given, much in required. With that statement I think those who are required to accomplish great feats are blessed in a great way with strength and courage to do what needs to be done. In conclusion I think what makes an authentic leader is one that isn t necessarily born of royal blood, but that has been inspired and has followed that inspiration. I think Joseph Smith is the prime example of a leader that was inspired as a young boy, and line upon line he followed the truth and he progressed. I think Joseph led by example in many ways, and I owe him a great debt of gratitude for his life story and his dedication to the scriptures.

6 6 Week 3 Leaders Losing Their Way Think through the underlying reasons why so may leaders in the recent past or in the scriptures have lost their way and wound up failing as leaders. Have you seen leaders lose their way or worked with someone who fits any archetypes of being an imposter, rationalizer, glory seeker, loner, or shooting star? What are the behaviors and warning signals you have seen in others at risk of losing their way? There is one leader in my recent past that I consider to have lost their way. This leader is not well known as a public figure, but it was more small-key at a job I once worked at. The management setup at my past job consisted of a head boss, then two supervisors (who happened to be husband and wife) and then I (field supervisor). At this job I was in charge of a group of 8-10 people and while my superiors were not in the field, I held all the rights to lead and control the group. Basically I was given all the rights as lead in the field. In the field, there were a few unwritten rules that had been passed from worker to worker, all based on this particular job s work ethic. One of the rules was you cannot use the company truck to use the restroom in a public facility. This meant that we were told to use the restroom in the woods somewhere. I started this job as a normal worker and worked my way up to be field supervisor, so for a while I did not really care for general work ethics but instead I focused on doing whatever it took to keep my job. As I became field supervisor I decided to question the rules and challenge my superiors to see why rules were the way they were. It wasn t long before my actions as field supervisor became too controversial for my superiors. I had noticed in the field that many coworkers complained that we could not use the restroom in a public facility, nor could we go where we wanted for our clocked out breaks. This troubled me because my past jobs had more structure and written rules to follow; but this job did not. As field supervisors I decided that I could do what I want in the field so I told my coworkers they could use company trucks to use the restroom, because otherwise it is illegal to use the restroom in a publicly viewable location. They started to use the trucks from that point on until my supervisors noticed what I was doing. The next day we all met in a room and the main field supervisors (husband and wife) directed everyone that we could not use company trucks but that we could use toilet paper and use the restroom in fields. During the meeting the main boss stood in and listened and was present. To make a longer story short, I got advice from a sheriff that it was illegal to do that so I decided to keep using company trucks. My superiors later found out and got angry with me that I spoke to a sheriff (probably because they were illegal). Soon after many coworkers started to lose faith in the main boss and started to trust me more. The point of this story is that many people started to lose faith and respect in the system because it was illegal and unethical. They also lost respect because there were no written rules. I was later fired for no reason because I was incriminating my superiors of breaking the law. My boss needed the husband and wife as superiors and it was probably too difficult to replace them so he got rid of the whistle-blower.

7 7 Week 4 You as a Leader Thinking back over all your leadership experiences in your lifetime, which ones are you proudest of? Think about the basis for your leadership and the kind of leader you would like to be as you answer these questions: What qualities do you bring to leadership? What leadership qualities would you like to develop further? I have held a number of leadership positions, and honestly I welcomed the challenge. Some of my leadership positions have been either called unto me, and by way of promotion. But to be different I d like to focus on a time when I didn t hold an official position but still led the way. I used to work as an overnight grocery stocker at Wal-Mart. I worked the shift from 10 pm to 7 am (also known as the graveyard shift). I work the graveyard shift because I was preparing for a mission and needed the extra money. My fellow employees consisted of guys my age that either didn t want to go to college, or didn t know what to do with their life. Many of them had tattoos, drank and cursed often. It didn t take long before my coworkers found out I was LDS and I didn t curse. At first my coworkers weren t really concerned or bothered cursing in front of me, but after a couple conversations about religion they realized that I don t stand for that. Many members will kindly as people to not curse in front of them, but that is not my style. My style is to lead by example. As soon as they realized who I was they started to test me. They would curse in front of me on purpose and try to get me to talk and slip up. At times I d overheard some of them talking about me and plotting to corrupt me. I have a testimony of the gospel and have had a whole life of practicing to use proper language, so I knew I wouldn t slip up. There soon began to be a bet amongst my coworkers for the first one to get me to slip up. After a while of them failing, I started noticing a couple of guys standing up for me. They d say oh remember he doesn t curse. They learned that what I stood for was of high value to me. Slowly, but surely, my coworkers stopped trying to challenge themselves to get me to curse. What I learn from this experience is that leaders can lead regardless of their position. In fact some leaders are even more effective because they aren t in a leadership position. I have learned that a leadership position is only a title; it then depends on what you do with it to see if you can create trust in others. I created trust those days at Wal-Mart, and I am proud of myself. I think a leader should be so confident in wholesome values and the purpose of them that there is no real desire to falter. My future goal is to continue to develop myself as a leader who does not get mad about positions, but that does what he can with what he is given.

8 8 Week 5 Your Greatest Crucible Write freely about your greatest crucible or challenge and describe it in the following ways: How did you feel at the time? What resources did you call upon? How did you resolve the issues, if you have? How did it shape you and your views about the world? One of my greatest challenges I have ever experience would have to be on my mission. I was first placed on my mission and assigned to a particular companion. My companion was very well known in my mission, and at first I didn t understand how this was so, but I later found out how. I later found out that my companion was quite apostate and had trouble following the rules. I entered the field with what so many call greeny fire and I really did want to be all that I could be and to make my Heavenly Father proud. It didn t take long in the field before I started clashing with my companion. It all started with conflicting direction on how to teach because in the MTC I was told to follow a particular set of ways to teach, but in the field my companion told me to follow him. The MTC taught me to follow them, and automatically it caused problems. I was very confident in what I learned that I would not back down, nor would he. As time went on we also started to have conflicting opinions on our work ethic; I wanted to be out more trying to make contacts, and he wanted to rest more and take it easy. He was much larger than me and a couple times I recall him threatening to beat me up if I did not listen. After much debate and arguing we found common ground: we would work hard and also take breaks as well. I tried to tell my mission president on him but he simply later retorted with you were very prideful back then Elder. I had no one to trust or turn to but my Savior. I had to teach myself that time that sometimes things may be twisted and sometimes things are unfair, but you must deal with what you can. I had to resolve my issues by finding common ground and just doing what was needed for peace in the companionship. It was one of the toughest times of my life and part of me wishes I never had to go through with it, but it made me who I am today. Now I use those experiences in my current companionship (marriage). Sometimes I and my wife don t see things the same way, but I look back at those times and recall that sometimes it is all about making peace. I think my views of the world have slightly changed and I have to be prepared to be disappointed at times and embrace change. I think I am stronger and better prepared to face life now.

9 9 Week 6 Your Values List the values that are important to your life and your leadership. After you have done so, go back and rank them in order of their importance to you. Which of your values are inviolate? Which ones are desirable but not mandatory? Do some of your values depend upon the situation that you are facing? Recall a situation in which your values were tested under pressure. To what extent did you deviate from your values under that pressure? What resources did you call upon under that pressure? What would you do differently if you had to do it all over again? The following are a list of values for life/leadership: -Honest3, -Hard-working8, -Focused 5, -Creative 4, -Easy-going 7, -Forgiving 2, -Open- Minded10, -Thoughtful9, -Brave6, -Spiritual 1 These qualities are a blend of both what are important to me in my life and as a leader. I can really organize these in many orders, but I had to decide something for now. Sometimes the order can change depending on the situation. For example if I am called to be a scoutmaster in my ward and my job also demanded a lot of my time, I d have to highly value Hard-work because it would take hard work to accomplish both well. Some of the values that I listed that are important but not completely mandatory to life or leadership might be easy-going or open-mindedness. Really those types of values incorporate in other values but the necessities of life are honor to the spirit, family, and whatever it takes for me to achieve goals that my Heavenly Father want me to accomplish. There is one situation that I am reminded of that fits into this topic. One time I worked for a satellite company and it so happened that I became sick. I had to go to the hospital to see what was wrong. I knew the work policy was to call in sick so I called my boss and left a message saying I was sick. This instance later brought me to be reviewed by my boss and her boss. I remember sitting in the review and thinking to myself that my boss told me to call in, and I called her, but she didn t back me up. In the end they let me go because I should have read the employee handbook and known that regardless of emergencies you are to call into a specific phone number and record your absence. I was frustrated and I really wanted to vent right in front of them and explain how the system was corrupt. I could see in my boss s eyes that she felt bad about the situation. I was just recently married and the thought of being fired made me feel worthless and scared to tell my wife. I briefly explained my case at the review and basically said that no one reads the handbook and this is a special case because I was at the hospital. They did not care. I was so frustrated and I had immediate bad and evil thoughts about what I should next do and say. I naturally had hard feelings after that, but I learned some very valuable things. I learned that sometimes in life bad things happen that our out of your control. Sometimes what defines you is what you do exactly when bad things are happening to you. I could have broken some of my values and cursed or threw a fit, but I didn t. I held my tongue and I believe the one thing that gave me the strength was the spirit. If I had to do it all over again I d make sure to become familiar with all rules and regulations even if sometimes they are in small print or unobvious. I think this lesson taught me patience, self control, and how to seek from the spirit for strength.

10 10 Week 7 Your Mentors Who are the people who have mentored you in your leadership development? Which mentors have been most important in your development as a leader? In what ways have they helped you develop? How have you helped your mentor and built a two-way relationship? What more can you bring to your mentoring relationships? One of my greatest mentors has been my Dad. I don t just say my Dad because of his position as my father, but because of the example he sets for my whole family, and also for the example he sets for all people. My Dad was a convert to the church. He first started to find out about the church as one of his boyhood friends was LDS and so my dad attended scouts. My Dad was eventually converted in his teenage years and went on a fulltime mission at the age of 21. His family was not members of the church; in fact they did not resemble a very ethical family. I am just so impressed at the faith that he had to eventually lead him to serve a mission. After his mission he married my mother who was strong in the church, and they have 7 kids. I believe he was blessed for his diligence in seeking out truth. He has been bishop twice, and now is stake president. I know that callings are called by the Lord, but it impresses me that although he did not have the best start in life, he has never complained. I have never seen my Dad complain at all, in church or at work. He s the type of person that never misses a day of work because he values hard work. Now I tell this story because he has set an example for me to follow. His principle he teaches me is to hope for the best, expect the worst, and take anything in between. These words go though my head often and he reminds me of them often. Anytime I have hard times I call him and he is strong for the both of us. He has so much faith that he has no fear or worry. He has greatly influence my leadership experiences and continues to. Most of the leadership traits I have are because when I go to him for help, he is confident, faithful, and doesn t just tell me what I want to hear. He is honest, and it is the truth. Me and my father s relationship has not always been perfect, at times I didn t care to listen to him. Our relationship has grown over the years, and it is because we both have worked hard at our relationship. I think sometimes waves of communication do not always come easy, but over time relationships can grow; but only if two people are working hard at it. I appreciate the relationship I have with my mentor, and it is because he helps show me the way. Quite like Jesus would show the way to his children, I am grateful I have a mentor that tries to be like Jesus.

11 11 Week 8 Your Success How do you measure success in your life right now? What is your personal scorecard? What are the long-term achievements you would like to realize in your life? What will bring you the greatest amount of happiness in your life? What is the positive impact on other that you would like to have? This may be one of the touchier subjects for me out of all the leadership posts. First off I don t really praise myself over any other person because I have no need to brag; everyone has great qualities. So what I think of myself I usually keep to myself. Often times in my life I evaluate myself; who I was, who I now am, and who I want to be. When I measure success in my life it is mainly based on that evaluation. I truly want to become a better man; one that my Heavenly Father would be most proud of. I do want to achieve the highest degree of exaltation and so I often evaluate myself and I try to do so in the most positive way (because the natural man is sometimes an enemy to himself). What I mean by that is you are your own worst critic, so I have to constantly remind myself to set goals, and to be ok that many small changes eventually become large scale changes. This idea also goes along well with my personal scorecard. At certain times in my life I get down and depressed, but I have to be kind to myself, be strong, and step back and realize where I once was, and how I am improving. I think it is difficult for many to do but it is one of the most important things to me for me to do. Some long-term goals I want to achieve truly do deal with the gospel. I want to create a family that my Father in Heaven is please with. I want to hold church callings and to dedicate my life to using my talents to build up the Kingdom on earth. All other goals really just help me get there; like a job. I tend to focus on the most important goals, and the means by which to achieve those goals are the secondary important goals which often seem to fall into place. Now relating to my personal worth and my abilities, I think it is very important for all people to truly ponder what skills they have, what they think they can be good at, and what they want to be good at. I think it s very important to follow the counsel of the Lord and to use those talents in order to grow them and to eventually bless the lives of many people. One of my personal goals is to have an impact one others by being an example of what a righteous priesthood holder should be. I don t know of a greater importance and motivation then to help your fellow man, and my soul purpose in doing this is to help myself. I was once told by my older brother you can t save yourself, it is only through your efforts to help others that you are saved. There is no doctrine necessarily that exactly points to that quote, but the principle is something I greatly value.

12 12 Week 9 Your Leadership Relationships Describe the kinds of leadership relationships you have in your family, church, school, or workplace? What kind of leadership relationship do you and your spouse share? What kind of leadership relationship do you have in church? What kind of leadership relationship do you have in school? What kind of relationship do you have with your boss, peers, or subordinates at work? How could you strengthen any of those relationships? I currently don t have a calling in church. Since I have been married and have been up here in school, for about 2 years, I haven t received a calling. There are many students up here in college. I have faith that callings and leadership positions are called of the lord, so naturally this makes me look at myself and wonder who I am and what I represent. I have always thought of myself as a strong leader. I have great leadership experiences both in church and in work. I think I would make a great Elders quorum teacher or council in the Elders quorum. I think I have many great insights because I tend to have a wide range of point-of-views; however, these things to do not matter sometimes. Although I have full faith in the decisions leaders of the church make, I sometimes wonder why it is I am left out. My relationship with these leaders is those of full respect and trust and really that s all I need to focus on. Sometimes work relationships fall in the same category, the only difference here is that people can work to achieve positions. I typically do all I can to win the trust of bosses and leaders so I play the game. I think it s important to show respect to leaders regardless of their effectiveness. I think some ways I could strengthen these types of relationships really is all up to me. I think I am the one that needs to initiate the building and be a leader to the leader. I have had to learn this the hard way. Although I do not always get responsibility handed down to me, I find it a challenge and I have to look deep within myself to see how I want to respond to this. One of my philosophies is sometimes things happen, and you can t control that they happened. But you can control how you look at it and how you can grow from it. I think it is important for me to always be a constant student and to act as if I have no skill or ability, so that I can constantly grow. I don t think that responsibility and leadership is handed down because someone is qualified or has the ability. I think in the church sometimes people are called because they need the help, and maybe their special touch makes a difference. I have to believe likewise that sometimes great leaders aren t called to work because they will be greater leaders later if they learn how to push through the diversity now. Again it is frustrating to hear how some great leaders in the church were called from a very young age and from that point they had a whole successful life of church callings. I imagine that I could talk to a church leader who could tell me that they always thought deep inside that they had great leadership abilities endowed upon them and they always felt like it was their calling; and I could say the same thing. I am not bitter, I am just observing.

13 13 Week 10 Integrating Your Life Think of your life as a house with a bedroom for your personal life, a library for your school life, a den for your church life, an office for your professional life, a family room for your family, and a living room to share with your friends. Can you knock down the walls between these rooms and be the same person in each of them? Are you able to be the same authentic person in each environment, or do you behave differently at work than you do at home, church, with your friends or in the community? This writing prompt is very interesting for me. The best way for me to describe myself is to first understand my beginnings. I started off as a young boy very shy and always quiet. My parents remind me to this day how quiet I was. I remember just observing and I felt completely content with my actions. It wasn t until about the 6 th grade that I came out of my shell so to speak. I somehow became a goofy guy and was known as the class clown. I enjoyed the laughter and the attention. Then as High School came I again became quiet because I had to get used to the new lifestyle. In the same first year of High School as soon as I found my bearings I again became the class clown. It brought me great joy to have a life full of fun. Now life is much different. I have gone through shifts of sadness, depression, happiness, hope, curiosity, and now I find the best way to explain myself is eclectic. I like all types of people and all types of things, and since I am this way, I also have many different sides to me. Although sometimes my personality shines in different ways in different settings, it does not change my core principles and values that I believe in. It is funny because I have friends that I talk in different accents with, I have family members that have special connections with, and I have my wife that I appreciate and feel happy being comfortable around. At times my wife wonders why I act differently around different people, but I think it is completely normal for me. I am the same man, yet I have different likes and enjoyments. If I had a home with different rooms and those rooms had different people that I knew, it would be weird at first seeing everyone at the same time. One thing that people can all agree on me on is my talents and abilities. I am an excellent musician and I love to accept a challenge. Most of my family and friends know me as an enjoyable person and one who loves to have fun and goof around. Again, just to recap I think the best way to describe me is someone who has a wide variety of likes and preferences and it shows in my personality. I prefer to be this way because I can adapt.