Hi Prof,
I am submitting my Final Integrative Paper.
Thank you very much for everything that you shared to us in class.
Regards,
May Roxas
FINAL INTEGRATIVE PAPER
1. INTRODUCTION
I had attended a number of leadership trainings in the past and what AGSB offered in this course was truly something unique. I remember I even had qualms about taking this class because I thought that I am not what can be called the leader – I am not an organizational leader nor a politician. Traditionally, it was my thinking that being a Project Manager requires leadership, but still I am not a functional manager nor do I have direct reports.
It is not easy for me to do the reflection papers nor the other write-ups, but in the past, I used to love writing. In my elementary and high-school days, I join essay writing contests. I was also a Features Editor in my college organization's newsletter. But things have changed since that time and now. I think it is because I have been in a line of work that is mainly technical and because I have outgrown this passion. Additionally, I believe it is always easier to talk about something else and to write about other topics than yourself, especially if you are trying to discover who you are. Nevertheless, I hope that this subject has created that spark again.
As the term progressed (writing did not really become a walk in the park), but I did learn a lot from the class activities and from my co-leaders. It was a very profound experience and the journey was well worth it.
2. READINGS, READINGS and more READINGS – "Leaders who read, lead."
The professor has provided us with a wealth of readings available within fingertips. Some of the articles were an eye-opener while some others were very inspiring. I am not fond of reading these types of articles because I am really a fiction/fantasy reader, scholarly articles bore me. But I learned from this class that to become a good leader, I must be a wide reader, and so a beginning of a new passion starts now (or so I hope).
a. Heroic Leadership by Chris Lowney
As one of the first must reads, this book really encompasses what the whole Leader course is all about – that leadership substance is created by four unique values: self-awareness, ingenuity, love and heroism. These four values are not truly something that I expected. It is a far cry from the type of leader that is being taught at the workplace or at school. But it is empowering to think that there is a 450-year-old company which used these four pillars as a foundation of their success. Because of what this company has accomplished (especially Goes, Ricci and Clavius), it made me realize that leadership opportunities are present every time and that everyone can become a leader.
b. HBR
Of all the articles in HBR's 10 Must Reads On Leadership, my favorite and the one that strike me the most was the article "Discovering Your Authentic Leadership". It explains that we all have the capacity to empower and inspire others, but first we must devote our energy to self-discovery. Learning from the experiences of successful leaders is helpful, but imitating or copying them does not always work. It is only when we truly know who we are and what we value, can we serve others. I am still working on discovering my authentic leadership – it is not easy and I am not sure how long the journey will take, but knowing that I need to find my authenticity is the first step towards becoming the best leader that I can be.
3. VIDEOS/SPEECHES
a. JK Rowling – "As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters."
As a reader of fiction and fantasy books, I made sure to read the seven Harry Potter books series and watched in cinemas as the stories were converted to motion pictures. However, being a fan of JK Rowling is not the true reason why I chose to share her speech in class. I was actually intrigued by the speech's title – The Fringe Benefits of Failure. I am in no way as rich as JK Rowling, but my low points in life have transformed me into a better and stronger individual. My family reached a period where we barely have anything because of a bankrupt business, but instead of letting the situation get the better of me, I decided to turn it around. Our condition motivated me to study harder for the board exam, it inspired me not to become picky in selecting my first job (I need work as soon as possible to finance my board exam review.), and it gave me the guts to transfer from one work to another until I finally found what I was looking for.
b. Steve Jobs – "Stay hungry, stay foolish."
A friend shared the Steve Jobs video to me a few years back, but it was only during the class that I really watched the clip. When I saw it, my reaction was – I should have watched this sooner! Steve Jobs reminded me that life is short and that we should make the most out of it. You may have all the wealth in life, but it is meaningless if it is not spent in the service of others.
4. CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
a. LEADERS ARE BORN, MADE OR SITUATIONAL
During the first class session, we were divided into groups and were asked to defend whether leaders are born, made or situational. I became part of the "Leaders are born" team – a view that I would not select, given a choice. I simply refused to believe that only people born from prominent or rich families have the capacity to become leaders. But our team approached it from a different angle – it became aligned with Chris Lowney's ideals. Instead of arguing that leaders run in the blood and therefore, can only be born from the likes of Sy's, Tan's or Aquino's, we gave a statement that all are born leaders. Although the latter seems a better statement, I believe that a leader is a combination of the three. We are all born leaders, but a person's leadership qualities or the extent of manifestation thereof, are determined by his/her experiences (leaders are made) and the dilemma that he/she is currently facing (leaders are situational).
b. OPENING SONGS
During the start of the class, the professor plays a song and asks the class what is its relationship to leadership. Some of the songs I can recall are "Pananagutan", "Sayo Lamang", and "Sino Ako". All of these songs are very motivational and have one theme in common – servitude to others. If only our current and future leaders would think and act this way, surely, the world would be a better place.
c. BAD BOSS
I found the class activity of planning a crime a very interesting take on leadership. Sometimes we forget that bad people are excellent leaders too. They have a very strong sense of purpose and are competent in what they do, however I think that these people lack character, thus making them bad leaders.
5. REFLECTION PAPER 1 – "Defining Moments"
I have defined four transformative experiences in my life. These are The Graduation Ball, Akira Sengoku, The American Dream – Or Not, and the I Am a Marathoner. Each of these events have transformed me to what I am now.
In this exercise, I learned that a leader does not only show leadership or become a leader because he was chosen for that role or given the authority. Leadership opportunities can happen any time, especially when a person is put in a situation where it is warranted. I believe that it is fairly common that people only realize that they can be leaders once they are placed in a scenario where someone needs to step up or when they know what they want to achieve and know how to get it done.
I also came to realize that people are greatly shaped by the defining moments in their lives. It's like an AHA moment where I was able to see that these events explained what kind of person I am now. I also learned that earlier experiences in life determine how one will respond to events in the future. My actions and decisions today were influenced by situations encountered in the past and these same actions and decisions will have an effect on what I will become in the future.
6. JOSEPH CAMPBELL'S LEADERSHIP IN MOVIES
I chose this movie because I am a science-fiction fan and because I can feel I can relate with the type of leadership exhibited. Because the hero is mostly alone, it's not all about leading a group or a team, but it's more of leading oneself by making critical and important decisions in life. In my organization, Project Managers are not considered "real managers" because we don't have any direct reports. But I do know that it doesn't mean that I cannot be a successful leader, because leaders and managers are not two synonymous things.
It is very interesting to note that our lives are indeed very similar to the movies and vice versa. This exercise made me reflect how my life started and how it unfolded. It seemed that if we only look deeper, we will find out who we are by the situations that we've all gone through. Our personalities got tested by each event and these events molds us into different and better individuals.
7. REFLECTION PAPER 2 – "Experiences that shaped me today…"
This second reflection paper has given me more insights on who I am as a person and therefore on what kind of leader I try to be. Another thing that I learned is that my experiences while I was younger were actually linked to my values, strengths and weaknesses. It's indeed similar to what Steve Jobs described as needing to connect the dots to understand life's journey and purpose. The dots do not go in one straight line, they are sometimes crooked because events in the past do not always explain the next event. There are times that we cannot explain why something happened, sometimes it just get explained later in life. It's like one thing leads to another, but it's not in one chronological or perfect order.
8. ENNEAGRAM
I found the Enneagram exercise very useful in finding out what my strengths and weaknesses are. I am a Type 9 Wing 1, which is a Peacemaker. After reading the Enneagram slides, I found most of the descriptions for a Type 9 fairly accurate. For some of the traits, I can openly say that yes, I am like that, while some are new to me – I didn't know that I was like that, however if I come to really think about it, I cannot help but agree. My stress point is becoming afraid, self-doubting and indecisive. My secure point, on the other hand, is becoming more energetic, involved in life, and successful. For me, the most important learnings I got from here is knowing what practices can help me as a Type 9. These are:
- Learning to discriminate between genuine humility and the tendency to discount self and own abilities
- Learning the value of the word NO
- Learning to recognize what I want in a given situation
- Investing time and energy in developing myself and my talents
Knowing all these things is already considered a starting path for more self-awareness.
9. GENOGRAM
I came from a family of farmers, fishermen and factory workers. Both of my parents were only able to finish a vocational degree. Hence, explains their dedication and hard work to send my sister and me through college. Because we do not have much in life, we were taught to value money and to be fair to others at all times. All of these – dedication, hard work, value for money, and fairness – have become my guiding principles in my life.
10. CALL TO ARMS SPEECH
Being selected as the best Call to Arms Speech was something really unexpected. But I guess it just proved how deeply passionate I am with running. I do not like speaking in public, but if the topic is about running, I can talk all day. For me, running is not just a sport or a hobby that helps you become fit and healthy. I consider it as something that changes character and personality.
11. TEAM BUILDING
When you say team building, it is usually unheard of that the end goal is to bring out the leadership quality of the participants. The aim of the team building is normally to create a group with synergy. However, in this case, the organizers were also able to help everyone in manifesting and practicing each and everyone's own leadership traits.
12. REFLECTION PAPER 3 – "What is your passion?"
This third reflection paper talks about the two things in life that I am passionate about. They are learning and running. But what is the connection between passion and leadership? Knowing what my passion is helps me understand how I can help achieve my personal mission in life. My passion can either motivate me in what I want to do and/or it can be my guide. I get inspired from Steve Jobs who was really passionate about calligraphy and then finding out later in life the significant role it played in his success. At this point, it may not be very clear to me yet, but I now understand that a leader must have a passion for their purpose.
13. AVP – "All The Way"
Like what Gautama Buddha said on passion: "If anything is worth doing, do it with all your heart." This is the reason why I chose the song "All The Way" for my AVP. I am a strong believer that in anything that you want to achieve in life, you must give it all your heart. I was able to finish a marathon because I chose to give my heart to it.
14. STRATEGIC PLAN FOR LEADERSHIP
Where am I now?
With this subject, I was able to discover a lot about myself. For the first time, I get to see the kind of person I am. From the Enneagram, I realized that I have been avoiding conflicts all my life, and that this is somehow preventing me from realizing my full potential. I tend to be complacent all the time that I do not want to leave my comfort zone. On the other hand, my Enneagram type has taught me that I could be in control of myself and have a sense of how things should be.
My Genogram study/reflection actually supported this realization. I came from a family who's like the Amity faction in the movie Divergent – we value peace and harmony above all else. Although I know that there is nothing wrong with being peace-loving, sometimes I think that this caused me to be apathetic at times.
My life story as told like that of Joseph Campbell's "Hero With a Thousand Faces" fascinated me. I didn't know that it can be told that way. It was interesting to realize that almost all movies and life stories can be narrated in a similar pattern. The call to adventure is presented daily and to almost everyone, the only thing that varies is the response. One of my call to adventure was to be the breadwinner of my family. I didn't heed the initial call, but after some time, I realized that it is an adventure for me to have. And like Watney in The Martian, when I finally started to accept the situation where I was in, success came in naturally.
Thinking that leadership means success in the corporate environment, the strengths and weaknesses I have listed down in the Learning Agreement were all related to my work. Little did I know that leadership cannot really be defined by just these criteria.
Where am I going?
Most people, myself included, do not know where they are heading in life. It is sad to think that the only time I really thought about what I wanted to be in the future is during the Individual Planning Form (IPF) submission at the start of each calendar year. It's like breathing without really living – everything is just automatic.
But this subject taught me differently. Surprisingly, writing about my passion in the last reflection paper was effortless. I think it is because writing about something you love is always easy to do. Actually, doing what you love (no matter what other people think) will always be easier than everything else.
The five-year-goal that I have written in my Learning Agreement transitioned from career to business to family. This only shows that eventually, everything will all boil down to something closer to home.
In knowing all these things now, one of the important question to answer is – what kind of leader do I want to be? I want to become the kind of leader who is able to inspire others to become better individuals. I want to become a leader whose source of power is not merely through title or position.
How do I get there?
After discovering where I want to be, there is still a lot of work left. To get there, I know that I have to build on my character, competence and purpose. I must not leave anything out, otherwise my leadership will not be sustainable. But I know that I must try to find out who I really am – and this is something that I'm continuously working on.
I am not a powerful person nor somebody who has hundreds of direct reports, but I do believe that all of us have a connection to the outside world, that makes us able to touch other people's lives simply by existing.
With regards to my passion, I want to take it one step at a time. Start small, but dream big. Currently, I am trying to influence others to run, not only for health reasons, but more so for the change in character that running can bring. With the help of my passion for the sport, if only I can convince one person and that one person can convince another, and so on, then I can call myself a good leader.
But who wants to stop here? Not me. Being a project manager (and now working on my PMP certification), I hope to launch and organize a running event with the environment as the beneficiary.
15. KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THE CLASS
- Self-awareness is important to know what your strengths are and how you can use it to help others and the world.
- The key elements of leadership are character, competence and purpose. To acquire these, it is important that leaders work on discovering their authentic self and not try to imitate others. These elements are more important than authority from power and position.
No comments:
Post a Comment