While effective meetings are essential to any organization
and to getting work done, most of the meetings I attend
leave me looking for a decision. These meetings also leave
me tired and somewhat disillusioned on the vision of the
company. I think a good meeting is not dissimilar to a
football teams huddle. It should bring people together,
facilitate decision making, assist people in taking
responsibility, energize the participants, and contribute to
building team effort within the organization.
From attending and running more than my share of
meetings I feel successful meetings are ones where attention
is paid to three areas; content, design and process.
Selection of content is crucial. At a meeting I recently
attended we discussed issue...
The “Stand Your Ground” law was first adopted in the state of florida in 2005. This law did not gain national attention until the shooting death of unarmed teenager, Trayvon Martin, in Sanford, florida, where the shooter, George Zimmerman used the “Stand Your Ground” law as his basis for defending himself against Trayvon Martin to the Sanford Police Department. However, George Zimmerman’s legal defense team did not utilize the law to argue his innocence during his trial. But the damage had been done because soon after other cases in florida began to sprout up with “Stand Your Ground” as the driving force.
...evision. I feel there are several simple things could be done that would make the meeting more accessible to not only first time attendees but also citizens in general. First of all by giving a very brief introduction to who the Council members are and why they are on the Council, as well as the who the people on the side bars are and what their purpose for being there. Just a brief background, five minutes at the tops, would give a background enough for newcomers to have a basic understanding of what is going on. Another thing that could be done to make it more accessible would be to explain the purpose of the meeting or to give out an agenda at the beginning. By attending this public meeting, I was able to see that the grandeur that is portrayed on television is very fake, but the importance is vastly downplayed.
There are as many techniques to improve the "crispness" of meetings as there are items on the typical meeting agenda. Some companies punish latecomers with a penalty fee or reprimand them in the minutes of the meeting. But these techniques address symptoms, not the disease. Disciplined meetings are about mind-set -- a shared conviction among all the participants that meetings are real work. That all-too-frequent expression of relief -- "Meeting's over, let's get back to work" -- is the mortal enemy of good meetings.
I cannot say that I can relate to what it must have felt like for Pecola to be called a "a nasty little black bitch" and accused of killing a cat when she did nothing. But, I can say that I know what it is like to feel ugly and scared. Pecola is an extreme example of a person who is treated horribly by everyone she encounters, whether it is because she is black or ugly or both. Her mother ignores her, her father rapes her, her friends betray her, little boys and girls and adults call her names, and even a cat and a dog are killed in her presence. All of these things are experienced by people all of the time, however, it might not be as extreme or it might just be one or two of the things. Something that seems as trivial as name calling is something that happens to all Americans.
There are almost as many definitions of leadership as there are persons who have attempted to define leadership (Stogdill, 1974). Therefore, it is very difficult to understand what leadership actually is. According to John Sculley leadership revolves around vision and ideas and has to do more with inspiring people towards direction and goal. A leader is a person capable of inspiring other people to do things without sitting on top of them with a checklist. Precisely, leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a desired goal (Northouse, 2012). Distinguishing between leaders and non-leaders is hard as there exists no clear understanding of what differentiates leaders from non-leaders. Leadership and authority are constructed socially by superiors and subordinates, followers and peers.
Our leadership in this world has changed and affected us greatly. Leadership is being about to lead an organization with many people and to have control in the right way. “ The Leader of the Future” a book by Peter F. Drucker gives us information on why and how it is to be such a great leader. We need better leaders and we need them to guide us and help us along the way. Without leadership, our world would be in such danger and we America would be going through a lot.
Great leaders are few and far between, but everyone possesses the power to be a good leader. I have only been in the military for about three and a half years; most of this time has been spent at CMR St-Jean and RMCC. I have yet to be put into any major leadership roles, but from what I have been able to accomplish in regards to leading others and the leaders that I have been able observe over the last few years, I have started to slowly figure out what type of leader I would like to become. According to Johns and Saks (2014) leadership is, “The influence that particular individuals exert on the goal achievement of others in an organizational context” (206). From past experience, influencing others to do something can be complicated at times but can be accomplished by staying focused on the task at hand. The leadership roles I have been able to take part in have brought me to the conclusion that cohesion is the core factor of how I lead.
From corporations to nonprofits and higher education institutions, leaders – the cornerstone and foundation of organizations – are ultimately responsible for its success. Nonetheless, leadership, often described as complex, can mean different things to different people. Given no standard approach to leadership exists, scholars focus on the process of leadership as opposed to the definition (Northouse, 2013). As a process, leadership is not simply possessing formal authority, traits, or attributes. Quite the reverse, leadership is primarily a relationship – engagement and interactive exchange – between leaders and followers (Morrill, 2007; Northouse, 2013). Effective leadership, commonly regarded as both a learned skill and innate ability, is
Throughout the course of a Master’s counseling program, moments of doubt, and a lack of working knowledge are bound to play a major role in the confidence a future counselor will posses in effectively implementing interventions early on in the instructional phase of his or her career. Corey (2010) states that an effective group leader, is able to become aware of their own vulnerabilities, and take responsibility in their responses. To become aware of a possible vulnerable area, a counselor must first take a concise look into their personal strengths and weakness, and then decide to actively seek out assistance with working on vulnerabilities. In exploring the roles of an effective group leader, I have realized that within the group process, I most fear the roles of a group leader that pertain to direct confrontation of a client, I also fear that the improper implementation of a intervention could lead to potential harm of the client. Attending to these fears I hold regarding group member confrontation, and intervention implementation is the key to gaining further understanding into how I can become comfortable with these essential functions of a group leader. The current paper will take a closer look into my vulnerabilities, using current research to gain insight into how I can overcome fears, when facilitating a task, psycho-educational, counseling, and psychotherapy group.
Charlotte wrote this manual for the Bureau of Public Assistance guiding employees of the bureau on the importance of recognizing behavior patterns and administering assistance programs. Knowing that mental, environmental and social needs are all related (SSA, 2007). Towle believed that all humans have a right to food, shelter and health care, which she stated in her book Common Human Needs, written in 1945. (Boman, 2001). Although the book was well received, it got much more attention six years after it was published when a phrased she used in it was accused of promoting socialism (Lardner, 2014). While the publisher, the Federal Security Agency (FSA), was pressured by the American Medical Association to take action, Oscar Ewing, the FSA administrator, ordered the printing offices to destroy all remaining copies. The out-rage was almost instantaneous, Towle’s co-workers at the Social Service Administration, the American Association of Social Workers, even President Truman spoke out against Oscar Ewing. This nationwide stand came to be known as “The Common Human Needs Affair”. Even with the wide-spread protest Ewing did not back down, eventually the National Association of Social Workers did republish the book (Lardner, 2014). Towle’s achievements continued throughout her life, even after retiring she continued to receive recognition for her outstanding impact on the field of social work. While she remained at the University of Chicago until her retirement, her curriculum had an impact in social work schools across the United States and even in
In the environment today, it is not unusual to see people working in teams to accomplish certain goals and tasks. During our youth, parents and teachers encourage us through various methods to work as part of a team. Whether a sports team, classroom team, or after school activities, parents and teachers and other authority figures start the introduction of working in teams and teaching the value of being able to work together to accomplish a common goal. As people progress through the various stages of their lives, everyone continues to strive to communicate. Communication is a part of everyday life. It may be overlooked in some areas, but when dealing with a team environment, communication is vital. One fact that holds true is that communication can either make or break any team. Lack of communication can lead to confusion within a team as well as a lack of production on a common task. This paper will examine the many different aspects of teams with an emphasis on how effective communication can allow a team to accomplish set goals. When forming a team some things to consider are the challenges of teamwork, the benefits of teamwork, and how one can enhance his performance in the team in order to realize more benefits in regard to effective communication.
Leadership is the ability of a person to influence other people to perform certain tasks or behave in a certain manner in order to achieve a certain goal. A good leader should thus assess the different situations to determine what approach to get desired things done. Effective leaders are not usually born; they are made. This means no one is automatically a leader even with formal authority; learning how to deal with followers is what makes an effective leader. Any organization or group requires good leadership to succeed in achieving its goals. Leaders play the role of unifying all efforts by different individuals towards a common goal. The ability to make followers willingly forego and drop their personal goals and interests for the attainment of the common organizational goals is a key skill which effective leaders must posses. Effective leadership means getting out the best from the followers.
A successful leader is most importantly a mentor. This person grooms his or her staff to take his or her place, by teaching, inspiring and helping one to reach personal goals as well as the goals of the organization. Sam Adams, one of the leaders of the Boston Tea Party, was quoted as saying: "Outstanding leaders go out of the way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it's amazing what they can accomplish (Government Leaders, 2011)."
Many view leadership as an action or an event versus a method of interacting and engaging others on a daily basis. My personal leadership style as an outward demonstration of the values that I hold most dear. Being that my personal leadership style is a melding of the values of Spirituality, Family, Leadership, Learning, Trust, Responsibility and Accountability, leadership for me is who I am. I want to use who I am to develop and inspire others, establish long-lasting relationships, and be recognized, trusted and respected for my planning and decision making. My mission in life and in work is to make a difference in the lives of others by living, leading, caring and sharing. I will use every learning and experience in my Capella journey to build on the leadership skills I currently possess.
Communication is one of the most important factors in our lives. It dictates the relationships formed with the individuals in personal and professional lives. Effective communication provides a foundation for trust and respect to grow. It also helps better understand a person and the context of the conversation. Individuals often believe that their communication skills are much better than what they actually are. Communication appears effortless; however, much of what two people discuss gets misunderstood, thus leading to conflicts and distress. To communicate effectively, one must understand the emotion behind the information being said. Knowing how to communicate effectively can improve relationships one has at home, work and in social affairs. Understanding communication skills such as; listening, non-verbal communication and managing stress can help better the relationships one has with others.