Andrew Fortner
Leadership Portfolio 1
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TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION PERSONAL DEFINITION OF LEADERSHIP RESUME CODE OF ETHICS REAL DEAL VISION STATEMENT ACTION PLAN SAMPLE USER MANUAL AQ SCORE 10 TYPES OF LEADERSHIP CASE STUDY LESSONS LEARNED CONTACT INFORMATION
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3 4 5 6-7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14-15 16-17 18 19
INTRODUCTION Hello, my name is Andrew Fortner, and I am a first-year Business Administration major at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. While here, I hope to develop my skills in business, law, finance, real estate construction, and leadership. Attending Cal Poly San Luis Obispo has always been my dream. In fact, I was so adamant about attending this university that I did not apply to any other universities. The natural beautiful landscape of the San Luis Obispo community appealed greatly to me, but also the “learn by doing� philosophy was too great of an opportunity to pass up.
Many people, myself included, begin to notice changes in themselves after beginning college. Personally, the changes I have noticed in my lifestyle, attitude, and desire to learn excite me because I have observed an increase in my aspiration to not only succeed, but to help others, and ultimately find happiness. My next hope for myself is that I can transfer this energy into the workplace, and become an inspirational business leader.
Being in the Leadership Summit class with Dr. Ronda Beaman has opened my eyes to my potential as a business leader. I have learned that simply getting good grades or completing an assignment is not enough to get you ahead in the business world. I feel as though my ambition to succeed has been released, and I have learned throughout spring quarter of the school year to go the extra mile. Being able to adapt to your environment, take care of problems promptly, and develop personal, trusting relationships with co-workers and employees are some the lessons I find myself implementing on a daily basis because of this class.
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DEFINITION OF LEADERSHIP
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A
LEADER? “Leaders are individuals who can inspire those around them to move towards a collective goal, for the betterment of the group and people as a whole. Leaders follow through with their intentions, and never are willing to deviate from their moral values.”
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RESUME EDUCATION CAL POLY SAN LUIS OBISPO
REDWOOD HIGH SCHOOL
September 2012 – June 2016 (expected) Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Concentration in Financial Management Financial Management Association
September 2009 – June 2012
STRENGTHS ASSESSMENT COMPUTER SKILLS Accounting spreadsheets Basic financial management Microsoft Office Programs 60 words per minutes typist
CLASSES
OTHER
Legal Responsibilities of Business Advanced Statistics for Management I & II The Leadership Summit Principles of Marketing Microeconomics & Macroeconomics Calculus for Business and Economics
Moderate Spanish speaking and comprehension Volunteering, public speaking, and group project experience
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EXPERIENCE ASSISTANT ACCOUNTANT AT CAL POLY PERMORMING ARTS CENTER May 2013 – present Monetary deposits and balancing spreadsheets for Arts and Athletics Part-time job during school year, summer internship to develop accounting abilities
CAL POLY ORIENTATION LEADER April 2013- present Organization and lead incoming Freshmen through awareness and orientation events
GROUP MARKETING AGENT April 2013 – June 2013 Created and implemented an effective marketing plan for Petra Mediterranean Restaurant
INTERN AT LIPMAN PRODUCE June 2012 – August 2012 Largest fresh market tomato grower in the North America Statistical inference and management of experimental crop breeder trials
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CODE OF ETHICS Whether in business or in personal life, always remember to keep these life principles alive and intact.
HAPPINESS If it’s not making you happy in the long run, it should not be in your life.
“Don’t compromise yourself. You are all you’ve got.”
COMMUNICATION Speak with others with kindness and always try and convey your message as effectively as possible.
HONESTY Be honest with others. More importantly, be honest who you are and act accordingly.
EMPATHY Remember to put yourself in other people’s situation. Sometimes their situation is not always as it appears.
PERSEVERENCE Sometimes the road gets tough in life, find a way to adapt and make the best of the situation.
-Janis Joplin
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REAL DEAL The real deal is an exercise in which an individual is asked to evaluate the five characteristics they find most valuable in their life, and in the work place. After selecting five cards that have the person’s desired values in both aspects of their life, they are asked to explain their reasoning behind selecting the cards. The exercise proves effective in allowing people to compare their values and thought process.
IN LIFE…
IN THE WORKPLACE…
LOVE
CONTRIBUTING TO A WORTHY CAUSE
I chose love because I want to put my family, friends, and loved ones before all else in my life.
Again, I want to make sure that whatever field I end up working in that I am making a positive difference in people’s lives.
FUN
GOOD LEADERSHIP
What is life without a little fun? In my life, I aim to have a great time with my loved ones, as well as in the workplace.
I have learned that success comes to those who are able to adapt well and inspire those around them, and want to mold myself into this type of person.
GOOD FRIENDS
FREEDOM
I would consider myself a very loyal, caring, dependable friend. I love surrounding myself with great company whom share the same interests and who I admire.
Personally, I work a lot better when I am given creative freedom to take control over my actions and tasks instead of following a strict format.
HEALTH/STRENGTH
RISK TAKING
Being in good health—exercising, eating right, and making good decisions—I believe all contributes to a better, longer life.
The best businessmen are transformative and innovative risk-takers, who are able to take on new challenges.
CONTRIBUTING TO A WORTHY CAUSE
CREATIVITY
Changing people’s lives for the better is important to me because I want to lead by example. Whatever I want end up doing, I want better someone else’s life.
Overlapping with risk-taking, I love thinking in new ways and taking an artistic approach to projects—really putting in a personal touch 9
VISION STATEMENT “Live your life to the fullest extent, be fluid and take on new challenges, never trade your dreams for security, stand by the people you love, and never lose sight of the pursuit of happiness.�
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ACTION PLAN SAMPLE GOAL My goal for this week is to stay on top of studying for my midterms and being able to have enough time to stay on top of my other classes as well.
MOTIVATION This last week, I have noticed a spike in my anxiety towards classes as midterms have approached, mostly because I did not do as well and learn as much as I would have liked to last quarter. Wanting to have a feeling of success this quarter is a huge motivation for me this week.
ACTION STEPS 1. My main action step for this week is to make selected times to sit down and study for midterms. 2. Balance work and play. In order to keep my stress to a minimum, I want to stay on top of my work and also set time aside for stress-relieve through working out and surfing. 3. Lastly, I want to focus on real life application of my studies this week, through meeting with my Marketing client.
TIMING I want to devote the majority of my time to my studies, because after all that’s why I’m here in college. But at the same time, I feel like it’s important to remain at a healthy level of stress, and I need to spend time outdoors and doing physical and social activities as well in order to stay balanced.
OBSTACLES My main obstacle this week will be procrastination. With only 2 days of class, it’s very easy to put off studies during the other five days. I really want to make sure to devote enough time so I don’t feel overwhelmed during those 2 days.
RESOURCES My main resources this week will be the study groups this week, as well as just the time spent alone in the library. In addition, I know that my professors and office hours this week will be vital to making through midterms.
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USER MANUAL HOW TO WORK WITH ME EFFECTIVELY
BE OPEN-MINDED I’m open to all sorts of new ideas, and often come up with those kinds of ideas myself. The best ideas are often the most “out there”, so keep an open mind.
BE PROFESSIONAL AND PASSIONATE I don’t like looking over people’s work and seeing them put the minimal amount of creativity and effort into what they do. I like working with people who are equally driven to be successful.
HAVE FUN I love to laugh and I love humor. I have no trouble with workplace humor, in fact I think it makes all teammates closer and makes the entire experience more enjoyable.
BE ADAPTABLE I’m a strong believer that things are continuously changing. I think businesses need to be able to move with the times to succeed, or else they get left behind.
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AQ SCORE THE ADVERSITY QUOTIENT The adversity quotient is the most widely used test in the world compiled to assess one’s ability to adapt and overcome difficult situations in the workplace and in life. The CORE of your response abilities— Control,Ownership, Reach, and Endurance— are used to assess where you are strong, and where you need improvement in your ability to handle adversity. The test results are inflated, however, because the average test score is based on business professionals and competent students.
CONTROL - 34 OWNERSHIP - 42 REACH - 31 ENDURANCE – 32
Although my AQ scores are not currently at my ideal, I have been seriously using skills learned during the Leadership Summit to maximize my AQ. During the testing process, I found myself overthinking many of the questions, and thus I believe that I may have undersold my abilities. I do know that when I am confined in a certain work atmosphere, I am far less productive than if I were given the freedom to work how I choose, and I took that in consideration when taking the AQ test. Thus, I think my AQ has already seen a significant rise since I last took this test, as I have learned a lot more about my work and leadership style in the last year.
AQ SCORE:
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10 TYPES OF LEADERSHIP AUTOCRATIC Leaders have complete power over their people, and followers must obey their leader without implementing any of their ideas. This type of leadership is effective in emergency situations or in the military.
CHARISMATIC Charismatic leaders focus on inspiring and motivating their team by being personable, upbeat, and by establishing relationships. They are described as infectious and people are naturally drawn to them. This type of leader was very effective in the past in political and civil rights movements, because they are able to draw followers. Nowadays, they would be effective in anywhere from small businesses to political candidates.
BUREAUCRATIC Bureaucratic leaders only follow a strict rule set, and do not allow for creativity or new techniques. This type of leadership would be effective in dangerous work environments such as construction, factories, and disposal of toxic wastes or pollution.
DEMOCRATIC/PARTICIPATIVE Democratic and Participative leaders allow for their team members to come up with creative ideas in the decision-making process. This can create a good work environment, as creatively is encouraged, but can also slow down the entire process as all team members provide input. This type of leadership can be effective in large-scale businesses.
LAISSEZ-FAIRE Team members are given almost complete freedom when under a laissez-faire leader. This can be effective if all team members are competent, and the leader checks in on progress for deadlines. University instructors are usually given much freedom to teach in their own style under a laissez-faire system, but they are checked-in upon and reviewed by their leaders and students as well. 14
SERVANT Servant leaders prove their points by leading by example. They are there to represent the people, not to take charge of them, but rather enforce their ideas. Preferably, a servant leader would take a role in politics, however politicians are known to not always represent the people to their pleasing.
PEOPLE-ORIENTED People-oriented leaders are there to further the abilities of the team members. Focused on teamwork and equality, people-oriented leaders are more focused on furthering the group rather than developing and finishing actual tasks. This leadership style is very effective when the people are the product—such as a consulter, or orientation leader.
TASK-ORIENTED Leaders who are task-oriented are simply focused on whatever it takes to finish tasks before the deadline. This can be to the detriment of the team members, but can also increase productivity. This type of leadership suits law enforcement and supply chain leaders.
TRANSACTIONAL Transactional leadership is the basic idea that when a employee works on a task, they are met with either praise or scolding from the leader. They are the judge of the employees’ work, and employees may feel driven to work harder to receive a higher reward, whether it be a promotion or pay raise. This suits many types of management, as it is focused on short-term tasks.
TRANSFORMATIONAL As opposed to transactional leaders, transformational leaders are focused on getting the best from all their employees, as well as themselves, in the long term. Paul Orfalea, former founder and owner of Kinko’s, comes to mind, as he used to travel store to store and get to know employees on a personal level. When seeing a process that improved Kinko’s he would personally train employees to implement the process, and was focused on making Kinko’s nice and efficient in the long term.
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CASE STUDY COMPILED BY CATALYST CONSULTING GROUP ABSTRACT A few days ago, Catalyst Consulting was presented with a case regarding a young professional trying to establish his leadership role with an older generation. Jonathan Gandhi is a young entrepreneur trying to open up his own hotel in Denver, Colorado. Doing this requires many encounters and business deals being made with professionals of an older generation. The issue is not only how to establish Mr. Gandhi’s leadership role, but also how to maintain it with the older professionals. In order to come up with the best solution, Catalyst Consulting interviewed young entrepreneurs and older professionals, researched current practices, and thought long and hard about the best possible solutions to the issue. Our conclusions are outlined below.
HOW TO ESTABLISH LEADERSHIP ROLE WITH OLDER GENERATION
Respect Respecting your business partner is of utmost importance despite knowing the stereotypes they place upon you as a young entrepreneur. In order to be respected as a young professional, you need to give respect. Listening actively and understanding their concerns are also keys to respect as you are demonstrating that you are aware of their input.
Credibility Take the opportunity to establish credibility by demonstrating your values rather than talking about them in order to convince people that you stand by your convictions. Be honest and follow through on promises in everything you do, as trust and credibility will follow soon thereafter. Be prepared to back up your words and ideas, as it will undermine your credibility if you are unable to do so. Respect is not given; it is earned. Once you have shown you are credible and have convinced older professionals of your potential, respect will come.
Help Professional Arrive At Your Conclusion When someone makes a decision on their own, they are innately tied to that decision. Your job as a young professional trying to obtain their business is to help this potential partner arrive at the same conclusion you are at. Do not just tell them what you are trying to do and what you want from them; show them that what you want and need is indeed the best solution for the problem at hand. 16
Seek Advice from Entrepreneurs in Similar Situations If you do not have the resources needed, find people, network, and meet others who will help guide you to your solution.
Request Feedback Ask your business partner for feedback after every meeting as needed. Doing so will show that you respect them as a professional and are seeking their advice. It shows that you are aware of their experience and look to them to better yourself as a professional.
HOW TO MAINTAIN YOUR LEADERSHIP ROLE WITH AN OLDER GENERATION Establish/Maintain Mentor-Mentee Relationship Establishing a relationship with older business partners is key. Doing so demonstrates your respect and dedication to better yourself to the older professional. It shows that you do not think you are more skilled or more intelligent than them, but that you trust them to give you helpful advice and that you value their opinion.
Stay Consistent Continuing to make deadlines and demonstrating your commitment to your goal is very important in maintaining respect from an older generation. Just because you were able to seal the deal with their company does not mean you can start to miss deadlines or fail to follow up on business deals. This will show your lack of dedication and will cause you to lose your credibility with this partner.
CONCLUSION As your Catalyst Consultants we are confident that the results gain through these methods will effectively gain seasoned professional’s respect and keep your project parallel to the desired critical path.
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LESSONS LEARNED Throughout my Freshman year at Cal Poly, I have learned quite a bit about what it means to be a successful businessman, and what it really means to be a leader. The most vital aspect of my life I have worked on transforming is to not be afraid to put myself “out there”. Being professional and qualified will only take you so far, as everyone with a college degree describes themselves as hard-workers who want to better companies. It’s better to be memorable and potentially embarrass yourself than it is to mix in with the crowd and be forgettable.
Among those same lines, I have learned what leadership styles work for me and which ones do not. Being more open to the democratic and participative leadership styles have helped me tremendously improve opening my mind to others’ ideas, and I strive to find balance with being a transformational leader who makes the ultimate decision as well as a democratic leader who works with his team and build moral within the group.
Most importantly however, I can feel myself growing as a person and as a leader. I prioritize much better than I used to, and am more adept with working in large groups, something I struggled with before as I usually wanted to take charge or dismiss others’ ideas. Being able to implement my ideas more efficiently, learning to not sweat the small stuff, and learning to be open-minded to different ideas has greatly improved my adversity quotient, I believe.
While my goal of getting my degree in order to find a passion that makes both me happy and betters other people may be the same as before I took this class, I feel as though I now actually have an idea of what it will take to accomplish that goal. I have always viewed myself as a strong, perseverant leader, but this class has opened my eyes to both my weak and strong points--where I need to be the best, and where I should improve to be more well-rounded.
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CONTACT INFO EMAIL: andrewfortnr@hotmail.com
PHONE: (559) 967-4838
LINKEDIN: www.linkedin.com/in/andrewfortner
To view the completed project online please can the QR code to the right on your smart phone.
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BUSINESS CARD
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