Leadership

I rounded out my program with two courses that were like capstones on my HALE experience and provided the richest integration with my work life. The first is EAD801 - Leadership and Organizational Development. Beginning that semester I assumed responsibilities as Acting Director of MSU's Virtual University Design and Technology department. I also participated as a Fellow in MSU's 2007-2008 Executive Leadership Academy which complements my activities in EAD801.

As part of the ELA program I participated in a week long Leadership Development Program at the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro, NC. The CCL experience was exclusively focused on self-awareness and personal development. In advance of the residency week I was given an opportunity to undergo several personality/psychological instruments to understand my underlying preferences and beliefs that influence my behavior. I also underwent two separate 360-degree feedback instruments to gain the perspective of my colleagues, management, and clients on my performance and behavior. During the week long program we were given opportunities to practice leadership under heavy observation often taped for later group review. We unpacked the results of the assessments and were given dedicated time with a personal executive leadership coach to help work through the findings. During the spring term I've been meeting in a group with other ELA fellows from MSU to further build on the experience. I've also worked with my previous Director and one of my mentors, Dr. Joan Predko to develop myself further. We also have a sequence of formal skill-based training seminars to attend throughout the Spring term.

I've found the ELA experience to be an excellent compliment to EAD801 thus far. EAD801 supplies me with a group of emerging leaders, many are student affairs professionals, who bring a different perspective then I do into the course. EAD801 also provides a foundation directly into leadership research and theory. So while ELA provided some practical suggestions in the seminars and provided me a wealth of self-awareness, I'm complimenting that with my own research projects in EAD801 and the opportunity to discuss underlying research in the study of leadership.

There are two concepts of leadership that stand out most for me from EAD801. Transformative leadership with it's focus on living shared values and investing in the development of people rings as a noble pursuit and a worthy way to direct positional power. Leading with stories also stands out as a key learning theme. I've realized that I already employ my storytelling ability to teach lessons and generate motivation and alignment that spurs action. A desire to reflect further on how my leadership already reflects these practices, and how to hone my skills in these areas, is my primary takeaway from EAD801.

Linked below is a statement of my personal philosophy of leadership which I developed during the course of participating in EAD801 and the ELA.