Week 4

I would like to start by saying that I am excited for next week because I want to learn more about everyone's leader.  I'm a little nervous that my leader will not have enough information on her because she never seems to be in the limelight, which I happen to think is a good thing!

Personally, I thought yesterday's class was just an average class, nothing special happened.  The free lotion was definitely a plus though!  I enjoyed that two of the women seemed to be best friends, but then stated that they hardly ever see each other.  This comforts me because I haven't seen some of my friends in over a month.  One woman stated that everyone should create relationships early on; I'm going to try harder to be friendly with the other girls in the class.

An issue that really sparked my attention was the question about if whether the men in the meetings took their ideas seriously.  That has always been an issue for me, I've already been a part of it here at Otterbein.  Once I established myself as a hard-working, intelligent woman, my ideas and plans began to get a little more ground.

The strengths finder seems like a good idea, but I'm not so sure that they will work 100%.  Most people will put the person they want to be, not the person they actually are.  I attempted to take the test last night, showed my friends, and they said something like "This is you, but I could pick out better traits that fit you better."  Maybe if we take the test in class, I'll be more truthful.

About the reading for the class yesterday, I'm not a fan of the Trait Approach.  I think it scares away potential leaders.  If someone feels like they do not have all the traits, they could be scared away and miss out on a great leading opportunity.  The Skills Approach makes sense in my head, but it seems kind of obvious..  Well, I can't wait til next week to learn new things!

Week 3

Last Saturday, I volunteered at the WELD conference in Roush hall.  Even though I was feeling a little under the weather and had trouble concentrating, but still it was an inspirational conference.  I was assigned the meeting about finding strengths.  The women judged themselves on being extroverted or introverted, perceiving or judging, and others.  Then they broke up into groups that had the same personality and were asked questions on how they would handle certain situations.  It was amazing how each women within the group had the exact same answer.  I just sat in the back and watched and passed out papers when it was necessary.  After that exercise, the speaker talked about how each personality should be represented in a team.  There needs to be balance within a group, if the group is going to move forward in a positive way.  I'm glad I got the chance to attend a conference and even learned and thing or two about myself.

The very next class after the conference, we kinda touched on finding your strengths and utilizing them.  I felt prepared when I read the chapter on team leadership.  I found a few criticisms with the team approach to leadership.  I believe if all the personality joined together to lead, one leader would still come out on top.  Also, I argue, that maybe the plan will move nowhere and be stuck in a steel mate because everyone will not agree on an issue.  There are also many advantages to using the team leadership approach,  such as: different perspectives and different ideas.

The class this week was different because we actually got to have a class discussion, those are very unlikely because of all the speakers we have.  I enjoyed the discussion because I actually felt like I did the reading for a reason.  I also enjoyed breaking up into groups and discussing the case studies.  Even though we all had the same ideas, I realized that the girls in this class have the same motivation and ideas that I do!

Week Two

This week our class was assigned a new place to meet.  The class is scheduled to meet in the board room from now on.  Just sitting in that leather chair, up against the mahogany desk, made me feel like a true leader.  I found it quite funny that the room had pictures of the past presidents, all of which were men, but there was a power point screen in front of it that displayed all the great things about women leaders.  I viewed the screen as a symbol of advancement.   The actual screen itself is a technological advance, but it also "shoved" the men in the background, leaving women the room to advance.  Also, the table reminded me of The Knights of the Round Table.  Great things got accomplished and that round table and I think that great things will happen at the table in Roush 338!

I enjoyed the speech from Chasity Kuttrus; I mostly enjoyed her little tips at the bottom of the screen.  I realize that those tips are extremely important because Mrs. Kuttruss definitely seemed to know her stuff.  If I ever want to become successful, I need to work on those tips a little bit!  Like the speakers before, Mrs. Kuttruss talked about the balance between family and work.  That seems to be a very hot topic with women leaders.  I can only imagine and empathize with that struggle.  Maybe I will be forced to deal with that struggle later in my life.  Mrs. Kuttruss mentioned that she worked in Human Resources.  I wish that I could have asked her more questions about her job specifically because I am hoping to receive a degree in Human Resources Management.

Next to talk were three lovely teachers from Otterbein University.  One spoke about nutrition; this was a huge wake-up call for me!  I attempted to fill my plate with fruit and vegetables today, but it did not really work out.  The fruits and vegetables thing will have to be a working progress.  Another woman spoke about exercise, I mean fun activity.  She really motivated me to just get out and do something, which I thought was kind of ironic because my classmates and I were cramped up in a room for three and a half hours.  I am definitely trying out the trampoline building she was talking about!  Even though there was not a lot of time, a third woman talked briefly about our strengths.  As a leader, someone should know their strengths and utilize them to their full extent.  She also talked about how a strength is a blessing and a curse.  For example, she said she was a developer; she enjoys helping people reach their goals.  That strength is all fine and dandy, except when someone is going to let you do all the work for them.

I left class that day reflecting on myself as a leader.  I need to take the time to figure out my strengths and learn to improve my weaknesses.  If I want to improve myself as a leader, I first need to improve my physical and mental health.  Eating a balanced diet and working out regularly is all a part of being a leader.  If I am not comfortable with myself, how can I be comfortable leading others?

Women and Otterbein: A Historic Overview

I truly enjoyed the Historic Overview of Otterbein.  Learning about the history of Otterbein made me feel proud to be a part of this community.  Along with feeling proud, I felt inspired to add my own mark to Otterbein.  Maybe one day, in the future, young women will be learning about my contribution to this university.

I realized that Otterbein is very radical, we kind of lead the way in new ideas.  Being the first university to be co-educational in the entire country is extremely impressive and I plan on telling everybody that fact with pride!  Otterbein's first two graduates were women, but it took them 10 years!  One of first graduates, which I believe her last name is Winter, lived a tragic life after graduating, but that never stopped her.  Even after four major deaths in her family, including her 8-year old daughter, she still proved to be an outstanding citizen.  I find her an amazing woman.  I cannot fathom going through that much tragedy and still having a positive outlook on life.  Of course, she was not the only amazing woman that ever stepped onto Otterbein soil, but she made the biggest mark on me.

Also, I absolutely loved the old black/white and sepia photos; I can only imagine what the people in the pictures were saying, doing and thinking.  It was also amusing to see the fashion and hair trends change through the decades! 

This presentation was interesting.  I think every student should understand a little bit about the history of Otterbein.  It was definitely an inspirational experience!