A641.9.3.RB
Becoming
a resonant leader
In
this blog I have been asked to now begin to turn my desires from awareness into
action by composing a reflection blog in the form of a letter to myself. In the
letter, I briefly state my personal vision and list at least three learning
goals, three milestones for each goal, actions steps for each milestone, and
list key people who will support me to achieve the learning goals.
I
learned a lot about myself in the exercises found in chapter 6 of “Becoming a
resonant leader” (McKee, Boyatzis, & Johnston, chp. 6, 2008) and throughout
the entire text. The first exercise
entitled, “My Planning Style”, I discovered that I was equally “Goal Oriented”
and “Action Oriented” (McKee, Boyatzis, & Johnston, pgs. 156 – 157,
2008). According to Annie McKee,
“Goal-Oriented planners tend to focus on very specific goals and outcomes,
which are not always tied to the pursuit of a dream or fulfilling a mission”
and conversely, “Action- Oriented planners live largely in the moment,
foregoing deep thoughts about the future and long-term planning” (McKee,
Boyatzis, & Johnston, pg. 154, 2008).
This outcome came as a huge surprise to me. When I served in the Army I was definitely
mission oriented. Obviously I have over
the last seven years.
I
chose mostly military leaders to be on my “Personal Board of Directors” (McKee,
Boyatzis, & Johnston, pg. 160, 2008).
My choices are H. Norman Schwarzkopf, Colin Powell, my former Drill
Sergeant Walter Gaylord, my former boss and friend Gary Schoolfield, my former
guitar teacher Larry Cole, and my former Pastor Terry Knighten. Schwarzkopf and Powell were great
tacticians. These great leaders led
hundreds of thousands of Soldiers safely through many conflicts. Gaylord created the Soldier I would
become. Schoolfield was my voice of
reason and stability. Finally, Knighten
woke up my spirituality. All of these
men impacted who I am today.
You
are never too old to learn. I have
learned plenty will completing exercise in the “Becoming a resonant leader”
text (McKee, Boyatzis, & Johnson, 2008).
In chapter 1, I was able to reflect on who helped me become who I am, as
a resonant leader, over the years. In
chapter 2, I was able to identify who I lead and who I led, identify my
beliefs, identify the traits of a good and bad leader including those that I
have met, understand and identify my feelings, and decide whether or not I was
a resonant leader. In chapter 3, I was
enabled to take a personal inventory, evaluate my mindfulness, find balance,
evaluate my desire for intentional change, how I cope with pressures and problems,
and identify my wake-up calls for change.
In chapter 4, I was enabled to discover and identify my noble purpose,
create my bucket list, think about my ideal life, think about what my life
would be like in twenty years, think about my fantasy job, identify my dreams
and aspirations, identify the major themes in my dreams, identify my legacy,
identify my passion, discover my calling, think about what people would say
about me at my funeral, lay out my values, and create my personal vision. In chapter 5, I was able to answer the
question, “How did I get here?”, evaluating the rhythms of career, reviewing
the transitions in my life and work, identifying my social identities and roles
along with realizing my social web, identifying my strengths and weaknesses,
and create a personal balance sheet. In
chapter 6, I was able to identify my planning styles, think about who I wanted
to be on my personal board of directors, identify my learning edge, and think
about my learning goals (McKee, Boyatzis, & Johnson, 2008). There is more to learn from this text and its
exercises. I will continue to use it as
I develop.
Dear Lou,
In
the late 1970s and early 80s, you wanted to be a doctor because of the people
in your family that died from cancer. You had set a learning goal of going to
medical school and graduating by the time you were 30 but things in your life
changed and you never achieved this goal.
You
joined the Army out of necessity. You
saw enlisting as a way to get money for college so that you could fulfill your
vision of becoming a doctor. However,
after four years, you decided to make the Army a career. You spent over twenty-seven years in
uniform.
So,
what is your vision now? It has changed
many times since you retired from the Army.
You have now set your eyes on completing seven years in Volusia County
Schools and retiring. That goal is still
five years away but is well in your grasp.
Upon retirement you have stated that you want to move to the Florida
Keys and open a restaurant.
You
have achieved most of your educational goals before you retired from the
Army. However, a little over a year ago,
you decided to go back to school and pursue a Master’s Degree in Leadership. Each module in the classes are milestones
that take nine weeks to reach. There are
nine modules per class. You planned on
attacking each module head on completing each module as early as possible. You
intend on graduating, Summa Cum Laude, in September of 2017.
You
have consider fulfilling some of the items on your bucket list. Besides all the traveling that you want to
do, you have decided that running in a marathon and flying an airplane are
attainable in the near future.
You
have run in four consecutive Army 10-milers in Washington, D.C. and know how to
train for that. A marathon is over two
and a half times that distance. Your
plan is to train over the course of a year broken down into quarters. First quarter, you will train three days a
week achieving at least seven miles per training day. Second quarter, you will train four days a
week achieving at least ten miles per training day. Third quarter, you will train five days a
week achieving at least fifteen miles per training day. Finally, fourth quarter will be staged over a
three month period. Week one will find
you running five days per week achieving seventeen miles per training
week. Week two will find you running
five days per week achieving twenty miles per training day. Week three will find you running four days
per week achieving 23 miles per training day.
Finally, week four will find you running two days per week achieving
26.2 miles per training day.
To
achieve your flying a plain goal, you will research where, when, and how to
take flying lessons. Once you have found
the right program for you, you will establish a time-line. Your goal is to solo within eight months of
starting. You will commit at least three
days a week to your training. You will
also commit at least five hours per week to study for this achievement.
Your
board of directors will help you achieve your goals. Generals Schwarzkopf and Powell will help you
be technically proficient. DS Gaylord will
help you maintain your discipline. SGM
Schoolfield will assist you in staying grounded and keeping your cool. Finally, Pastor Knighten will keep you
spiritually grounded and calm so that you can achieve your goals.
I
have faith in you! I know that you will
fulfill and succeed at everything you set your mind to.
Sincerely,
You
Becoming
a resonant leader just takes opening your mind and a desire to change.
According to the Teleos Leadership institute, “Resonant leaders use emotional
and social intelligence skills to renew themselves, create positive
relationships, and foster a healthy, vibrant environment to engage others
toward a common goal. They do this through mindfulness, hope and compassion.”
(Teleos Leadership Institute, 2017).
References
McKee, A., Boyatzis, R., and Johnston, F. (2008). Becoming a resonant leader. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Press
Teleos Leadership Institute, (2017). Resonant leadership. Retrieved from http://www.teleosleaders.com/howwedoit/resonant.php
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