Organizational Leadership
OGL 200: Intro to OGL
My son Jagger having fun with his baseball teammates. I want to focus more on supporting his team. I need to balance my volunteer roles and be more PRESENT for my family.
This course introduced me to the key concepts of organizational leadership. I didn't entirely understand what being an Organizational Leadership major meant until i took this course with Professor Hirshorn. We discussed leadership models, team leadership, strategic styles of interaction, ethics decision-making techniques and leadership skill development.
Below is a discussion post I wrote after reading an article about "The Work Diary of Derrius Quarles, Million-Dollar Multitasker". He prioritized his time by valuing his personal time just as much as hir professional time. This is something I still struggle with today. I volunteer at my children's school as the Academic Program Coordinator on the Alamosa Park Education Foundation (APEF). I'm also the Auditor for their Parent-Teacher Association (PTA). I am the Treasurer, Sponsorship Coordinator and San Diego Padres Liaison for Oceanside National Little League (ONLL). I get involved in all of these things because my parents never did that for me. I've recently come to realize volunteering to do all of these things for my family has actually taken me away from them. I often find myself answering text messages or emails from all of these different groups. Even as a spectator at Jagger and Penelope's games, I am approached by so many people asking random questions because I am on the Board of Directors. I need to find my balance. I need to step away from so many of the "extras". I want to be PRESENT for my family.
Below is a discussion post I wrote after reading an article about "The Work Diary of Derrius Quarles, Million-Dollar Multitasker". He prioritized his time by valuing his personal time just as much as hir professional time. This is something I still struggle with today. I volunteer at my children's school as the Academic Program Coordinator on the Alamosa Park Education Foundation (APEF). I'm also the Auditor for their Parent-Teacher Association (PTA). I am the Treasurer, Sponsorship Coordinator and San Diego Padres Liaison for Oceanside National Little League (ONLL). I get involved in all of these things because my parents never did that for me. I've recently come to realize volunteering to do all of these things for my family has actually taken me away from them. I often find myself answering text messages or emails from all of these different groups. Even as a spectator at Jagger and Penelope's games, I am approached by so many people asking random questions because I am on the Board of Directors. I need to find my balance. I need to step away from so many of the "extras". I want to be PRESENT for my family.
OGL 300: Theory Practice of Leadership
There are numerous definitions of leadership that I have been presented to me since becoming an Organizational Leadership major. This course gave me an in-depth study of leadership theories and its practical application within my organization. We researched and discussed the contingency theory, path-goal theory, transformational leadership and even women in leadership. Through my learning, I realized I don't need a boss who knows everything. I want someone who listens to my needs. Who wants to get to know me on a personal level so they understand me on a professional level.
Below is my module 2 discussion post where I finally understood what traits make up a strong leader in my mind. People assume that intelligence should be the number one trait. In this post, I go into depth as to why I believe there are other characteristics that are more important to possess. I want a boss who cares more about the people working for them rather than making a profit.
Below is my module 2 discussion post where I finally understood what traits make up a strong leader in my mind. People assume that intelligence should be the number one trait. In this post, I go into depth as to why I believe there are other characteristics that are more important to possess. I want a boss who cares more about the people working for them rather than making a profit.
Organizational Behavior
OGL 220: Behavioral Dynamics in Organizations
This course allowed me to explore and develop strategies for becoming an effective manager, peer, student and subordinate. I am not a manager so I had to put myself in the shoes of my leaders. They have to understand finances, ethical behavior, motivation and group dynamics.
One of the first assignments I did for this class was to fill in a balance sheet with information from a given scenario card. As the manager within an organization that has a budget, it's important to know the basic financial standings of your team such as the assets and liabilities. Below is an example of a balance sheet that I completed in this course.
One of the first assignments I did for this class was to fill in a balance sheet with information from a given scenario card. As the manager within an organization that has a budget, it's important to know the basic financial standings of your team such as the assets and liabilities. Below is an example of a balance sheet that I completed in this course.
OGL 340: The Aikido Way
Alamosa Park Elementary volunteers enjoying Kona Ice on the last day of the 2020/2021 school year.
This course has by far been one of the most meaningful classes that I've taken. I find myself thinking about the concept to "spit out the hook" and to not get baited by people that want to argue. I also learned to use conflict as a useful way to communicate. Not all disagreements have to be aggressive. I have worked on my active listening skills because of the activities we were asked to do with someone close to us in this course. Professor Erwin's videos were so useful to understand the concepts he was teaching. His lectures were short and to the point so I was able to absorb all of the information.
I took this class in the summer of 2020, right in the heart of the pandemic. We were all suddenly not allowed to be around other people for work and in our personal lives. I typically would prefer to meet people face-to-face so we could have a conversation. I don't like texting or sending emails when I'm trying to build rapport. There was a new person in the PTA who wrote a very aggressive email in response to one of mine. My immediate reaction was to get angry and send an equally aggressive email back. I'm thankful for the theories and concepts I learned through taking The Aikido Way to Conflict Transformation because it taught me to think through the message. I understood both sides and refused to stoop to the other person's level. It was difficult for me not to respond or be "hooked" by this person's email. I thought about the reputation I would have if I responded aggressively. My children will be going to Alamosa Park Elementary for many more years. I didn't want to say or do anything that would make my family look bad. I'm truly thankful for the concepts of mindfulness. I needed to clear my mind and stay calm.
The artifact I chose to include is my discussion board post about "spitting out the hook". I had a difficult time "unhooking" myself from conflict before I took this class. Understanding the concept and writing this discussion post has changed my life and the way I approach disagreements.
I took this class in the summer of 2020, right in the heart of the pandemic. We were all suddenly not allowed to be around other people for work and in our personal lives. I typically would prefer to meet people face-to-face so we could have a conversation. I don't like texting or sending emails when I'm trying to build rapport. There was a new person in the PTA who wrote a very aggressive email in response to one of mine. My immediate reaction was to get angry and send an equally aggressive email back. I'm thankful for the theories and concepts I learned through taking The Aikido Way to Conflict Transformation because it taught me to think through the message. I understood both sides and refused to stoop to the other person's level. It was difficult for me not to respond or be "hooked" by this person's email. I thought about the reputation I would have if I responded aggressively. My children will be going to Alamosa Park Elementary for many more years. I didn't want to say or do anything that would make my family look bad. I'm truly thankful for the concepts of mindfulness. I needed to clear my mind and stay calm.
The artifact I chose to include is my discussion board post about "spitting out the hook". I had a difficult time "unhooking" myself from conflict before I took this class. Understanding the concept and writing this discussion post has changed my life and the way I approach disagreements.
Project Management
OGL 320: Foundations Project Management
I am not a Project Management major so the concepts were very foreign to me when I started this course. I understand the basics of planning an event but there are so many other elements to managing projects. This course introduced me to terminology, best practices, theoretical approaches and phases of a project.
In the example below, I had to explain why the organization I work for fit into an innovative culture, aggressive, stable, people oriented, team oriented or detail oriented culture. This was an important assignment for me that required a lot of thinking outside of the box. The high school I work for is very innovative so I thought we could actually fit into several of the categories.
In the example below, I had to explain why the organization I work for fit into an innovative culture, aggressive, stable, people oriented, team oriented or detail oriented culture. This was an important assignment for me that required a lot of thinking outside of the box. The high school I work for is very innovative so I thought we could actually fit into several of the categories.
OGL 321: Project Leadership
We worked quite a bit in the Harvard Simulation program where we had a different goal to meet for our team every week. When I first started the program, I didn't realize how much the team's morale would affect my overall score at the end of the simulation. As in real life, a staff that is happy will be more productive. Once I paid more attention to this aspect of being the project manager, my scores also increased. I listened to their feedback and made adjustments to ensure they were not overly stressed because of the workload.
Again, I learned that having strong interpersonal skills with my team is extremely important. More project managers should take the time to get to know the people that are working for them. I want to be the person who cares about my staff as humans and not just people who are there to produce for the organization.
I've attached my final paper from this course that really encapsulates my thoughts on how I want to be an effective leader. It shows my understanding of the personal approach to project leadership.
Again, I learned that having strong interpersonal skills with my team is extremely important. More project managers should take the time to get to know the people that are working for them. I want to be the person who cares about my staff as humans and not just people who are there to produce for the organization.
I've attached my final paper from this course that really encapsulates my thoughts on how I want to be an effective leader. It shows my understanding of the personal approach to project leadership.
Organizational Assessment
OGL 340: Socrates, the Super Worker
This course is another Professor Erwin class that I really enjoyed. We used a book called Realizing the Promise of Work: Work of Lasting Value by McIntosh-Fletcher, D., & McIntosh-Fletcher, W. We discovered our work style preference (WSP) through a series of questions.
My scores were the following:
Preference Scores: W/T (32) S/P (31) M/O (27)
Actual Work: W/T (36) S/P (26) M/O (28)
Discrepancies: W/T (-4) S/P (+5) M/O (-1)
The assessment gave me a list of professions I should consider. The one that really stood out to me was to be Superintendent of a school district. I remember thinking it was interesting to see that listed because I've been told I should become an Administrator. My first goal is to become a teacher because I want to work closely with the students. I'm almost 40 years old and this is a new career path for me. The results made me feel confident in my decision to go into education.
The discussion board I have attached will go into detail about the results I received from the assessment. It solidified my desire to receive explicit instructions to complete a task. It also said I want to promote procedures to make it possible to accomplish an activity. I enjoyed reading all of the results and learning what my work style preference (WSP) was so I can potentially look into going into higher education after I've taught for a few years.
My scores were the following:
Preference Scores: W/T (32) S/P (31) M/O (27)
Actual Work: W/T (36) S/P (26) M/O (28)
Discrepancies: W/T (-4) S/P (+5) M/O (-1)
The assessment gave me a list of professions I should consider. The one that really stood out to me was to be Superintendent of a school district. I remember thinking it was interesting to see that listed because I've been told I should become an Administrator. My first goal is to become a teacher because I want to work closely with the students. I'm almost 40 years old and this is a new career path for me. The results made me feel confident in my decision to go into education.
The discussion board I have attached will go into detail about the results I received from the assessment. It solidified my desire to receive explicit instructions to complete a task. It also said I want to promote procedures to make it possible to accomplish an activity. I enjoyed reading all of the results and learning what my work style preference (WSP) was so I can potentially look into going into higher education after I've taught for a few years.
“There is only one success—to be able to spend your life in your own way.” -- Christopher Morley
OGL 343: Social Processes in Organizations
I absolutely loved this class because of the people I met and our Professor, Dr. Chanley, was very supportive of our learning environment. When this class started in the summer of 2020, I was in Indiana because my mother-in-law had just passed away from a routine knee surgery. I brought my laptop with me to do my homework at 4am in the hotel room and while I was at my in-laws home. We had to meet with our team several times a week to go over a very structured agenda. The first meeting lasted almost 3 hours as we all got to know each other. It took that long to go through the content of the assignment. Our meetings had to be recorded and we all had specific roles. Off camera, we talked about our lives and our families. I still text with one of my group members every day. We became friends which also made us want to do well and be prepared for our meetings.
This is an important aspect of this course because it also translates to the professional world. In my job, it has been difficult to enjoy coming to work if there is conflict with a specific staff member. After 7 years of working at my high school, my colleagues and I have become friends. We know each other's families and we get together after working hours. When we are on our campus, we work hard and support each other because we are friends.
The agenda below is an example of how our team meetings would be organized. In the left column is where Dr. Chanley would give us instructions to answer prompts. In the right column are my answers to her prompts in bullet points.
I've also attached the content for our discussion meeting. During the recording, we had to go through each prompt based on our role for the week. Our roles would include a facilitator, host and even a jokester to start the meeting with a giggle. This was a very important role that we all grew to love. It's important to stay light hearted at times even when things are stressful and serious. I'm grateful for this class and the relationships I developed through our team meetings and discussions. That is the most valuable takeaway for me as I continued on my educational journey.
This is an important aspect of this course because it also translates to the professional world. In my job, it has been difficult to enjoy coming to work if there is conflict with a specific staff member. After 7 years of working at my high school, my colleagues and I have become friends. We know each other's families and we get together after working hours. When we are on our campus, we work hard and support each other because we are friends.
The agenda below is an example of how our team meetings would be organized. In the left column is where Dr. Chanley would give us instructions to answer prompts. In the right column are my answers to her prompts in bullet points.
I've also attached the content for our discussion meeting. During the recording, we had to go through each prompt based on our role for the week. Our roles would include a facilitator, host and even a jokester to start the meeting with a giggle. This was a very important role that we all grew to love. It's important to stay light hearted at times even when things are stressful and serious. I'm grateful for this class and the relationships I developed through our team meetings and discussions. That is the most valuable takeaway for me as I continued on my educational journey.
