November 2010 Archives

Last Week's Definition:

A learning agenda aids in the betterment of effective leadership and perhaps, a better you. I believe whether short or long term changes, you must take the necessary step steps to achieving the goals for you and your organization. In this week's reading it is stated, "A learning agenda, however, focuses on the possibility of change that will eventually lead to better performance at work (and probably more contentment in life in general)" (Goleman, Boyatzis, and McKee, p.141).

This Week's Definition:

When you are in the learning process, it may be best to learn from others. In this week's reading, it talked about the online learning environment. According to Paloff and Pratt, "By learning together in a community, students have the opportunity to extend and deepen their learning experience, test out new ideas by sharing them with a supportive group, and receive critical and constructive feedback." This approach seems very fool prove and highly effective. This method goes well with creating a learning agenda as well. It helps to know what is working and what is not. Then, again, formulate a plan to get to where you need to be. So, my definition this week not only stay the same but it also changed a litte!

Analysis:

I have to say that I learn a lot from others-professors, co-workers, peers, etc. I have also learned on my own. Learning on your own you get to the same goals, however, the road is longer. I have found it to be extremely effective by taking bits and pieces of what I have learned from others, and make it my own. This was a fun read. The online learning community perspective is eye opening. My only concern is, I think there is a loss in credibility, as far as leadership goes, when most of your ideas and goals are not your own. So, for myself, I try to have a good balance of others ideas and my own.

Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2005). Learning together in community: Collaboration online. Paper presented at the 20th Annual Conference on Distance Teaching and Learning, Retrieved from http://www.uwex.edu/disted/conference/Resource_library/proceedings/04_1127.pdf

Last Week's Definition:

Being able to look beyond your thoughts and Ideas are key. The balcony analogy was great. This allows you to step back and see what is going on, not only with others but with you as well. It enables you to see how effective you as a leader are actually being. Others' reaction to the decisions that you will make are key to what you may decide to do next. When you observe from the balcony you must see yourself as well as the other participants. This is the hardest task of all--to see yourself objectively (Heifietz & Linsky, p.54).

This Week's Definition:

A learning agenda aids in the betterment of effective leadership and perhaps, a better you. I believe whether short or long term changes, you must take the necessary step steps to achieving the goals for you and your organization. In this week's reading it is stated, "A learning agenda, however, focuses on the possibility of change that will eventually lead to better performance at work (and probably more contentment in life in general)" (Goleman, Boyatzis, and McKee, p.141).

Analysis:

Honestly, it makes a lot of sense to have a learning agenda. Everyone has their own idea of how things should be done. You won't be able to please everyone. But, what I have learned is, to take constructive criticism and reconstruct my agenda so that it works for everyone. So, the "learning agenda" concept resonated with me. It isn't as easy as it sounds, but I think that it can help you create a more effective environment.

Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R., & McKee, A. (2002). "Metamorphosis: Sustaining leadership change." Primal Leadership: Learning to lead with emotional intelligence (pp. 139 - 168). Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

Last week's Definition

Being able to look beyond your thoughts and Ideas are key. The balcony analogy was great. This allows you to step back and see what is going on, not only with others but with you as well. It enables you to see how effective you as a leader are actually being. Others' reaction to the decisions that you will make are key to what you may decide to do next. When you observe from the balcony you must see yourself as well as the other participants. This is the hardest task of all--to see yourself objectively (Heifietz & Linsky, p.54).

This week's Definition

Being able to look beyond your thoughts and Ideas are key. The balcony analogy was great. This allows you to step back and see what is going on, not only with others but with you as well. It enables you to see how effective you as a leader are actually being. Others' reaction to the decisions that you will make are key to what you may decide to do next. When you observe from the balcony you must see yourself as well as the other participants. This is the hardest task of all--to see yourself objectively (Heifietz & Linsky, p.54).

Analysis:

I wanted to keep the previous definition for this week. In the Barbuto and Wheeler reading, it talked about a servant leader working to make himself available to the needs and wants of others to benefit the group as a whole (Barbuto and Wheeler, p. 6). You cannot do this if you do not "look from the balcony". My assumption is, one must be able to know what the group needs. The only way to figure that out is to take a step back, view all members objectively, and form an analysis based on the goals for you as their leader and the group.