Ashley V Twyman Portfolio Project 1
Portfolio Project Ashley V Twyman
Presented in partial fulfillment of Practical Problem Solving for Today’s Organizations LEAD 580 PA 2009 Dr. Sheryl Riney
Ashley V Twyman Portfolio Project 2 I. Leadership Analysis and Self-Development 1. How certain am I of my own conviction about the vision and values? I am still in the process of finding out what my visions and values are for my future in terms of my career. However, I do know that when I attach myself to an idea I am very passionate about it. I’m not completely certain of all of my personal convictions because I believe that as a person grows convictions and vision change. In order to respect this, I won’t ever be one to state that my vision is the rule and that others’ are wrong. I can say that I am strongly dedicated to the idea that all view points are valuable and hold some merit and that one must respect all forms of beliefs, values, and walks of life. I want to work on defining my vision and values so that they are easier to adhere to. I believe this defining process will make it easier for me to clearly develop and pursue a path that is right for me, both personally and professionally. 2. What gives me the courage to continue in the face of uncertainty and adversity? I tend to thrive in situations that brew adversity because I enjoy being the person who is able to create a solution to fix whatever problems there are. As for uncertainty, life is always uncertain and constantly changing, therefore an issue that might cause uncertainty today will become a way to prove yourself tomorrow. There is always a way to fix everything if you have a large enough view of the underlying problem. As a leader you must expected and be able to deal with both uncertainty and adversity everyday within your setting. Just admitting that there will always be some sort of adversity of uncertainty everyday is the first step. We can’t expect our followers to be perfect, just as they can’t expect that from us all the time. Courage and self confidence also help me persevere in these types of situations.
Ashley V Twyman Portfolio Project 3 3. How will I handle disappointment, mistakes, and setbacks? I will handle mistakes the same in the future as I handle them today. I am never afraid to admit when I am wrong and use the opportunity to create a learning situation for future use. It is alright to be wrong, everyone is; even leaders who are held to a higher expectation than other people. Disappointment is damaging, but not for long. It is important to remember that tomorrow always brings a new day; and with it comes a fresh opportunity to begin again, free of the struggles of yesterday. Setbacks are the most frustrating. If I feel as though there is someone or something that is holding me back from being able to perform at a peek level, I get aggravated and irritable. I very much want those around me to be like me; driven and fast movers who get things done on time if not before. However, I have to learn to function in a world where these qualities are not currently dominating the general work force. 4. What are my strengths and weaknesses? Strengths: •
Establishing relationships with constituents
•
Finding quick ways to lead in the moment
•
Staying focused and dedicated to a project or idea.
•
Personal drive.
•
Being self-driven enough to self-educate on issues I am unsure of.
•
I am able to let go of petty interests for the sake of the team or group.
Ashley V Twyman Portfolio Project 4 Weaknesses: •
Forward-looking leadership. Many times it seems as if I get so caught up in this crazy world that there is no time for forward-thinking. I have definitely been consciously aware of this before. I enjoy being a forward-thinking person and feel encouraged by the possibilities that tomorrow may hold; however, sometimes I don’t have “time” to stop and reflect and then build what the future should look like in my head. I have found that this happens and it causes me to be so engrossed in today and keeping my nose to the grind wheel that I begin to not care about the future. I need to become more aware of these times in my life and make the time to continue a forward-thinking process. This is something I will be more aware of now.
•
Enable others to act. This is a hard one for me. It’s so much easier to just do it myself that I forget I have the responsibility to teach others how to do the things I do. Often times I get impatient with a co-worker asking tons of questions about a process that I just tell them to give it to me and I’ll take care of it. What I should really do, is take the time to make sure they understand the process fully, thereby empowering with the knowledge they need to complete the task without my help in the future.
•
Practicing positive communication. Often times I find myself becoming “snappy” or short with members of my team that are frustrating to me for one reason or another. If I can keep in mind that I must work on positive communication, even when I may be personally stressed or irritable, I believe I could become a better positive communicator.
Ashley V Twyman Portfolio Project 5 5. What do I need to do to improve my abilities to move the organization forward? One thing I need to do to improve my abilities in order to move my organization forward is to be better at getting everyone on the same page. Sometimes I feel as if I am swimming through oatmeal just to get through my day because no one else is pulling their weight. Part of what needs to be developed is employee empowerment. If I can teach everyone to be more self sufficient by learning more tasks, I won’t be as bogged down with my work load. Another thing is that I need to create an environment for the other employees that encourages and motivates them to want to work harder and more efficiently. I have tried to do this through example, but to no avail. I must find more ways and other avenues of creating a more motivating environment so that everyone benefits in a greater way. 6. How solid is my relationship with my constituents? Because I currently serve as their trainer when they are initiated into the company, I am able to form a strong bond with them. I incorporate “getting to know you” techniques while I educate them with the information they need to operate efficiently in their new job. I’ll ask the trainees questions about themselves and this leads us to conversations about my experiences as well. It is important to me to feel as though I know them so that I can understand any issues or problems they may be having during the training process. I can use information they give me to come up with individualistic ways to train them, because not everyone learns in the same manor. I also think this process is important because I want them to feel as though I am approachable so that they can ask questions or express difficulties they are having with me. By doing these things, I
Ashley V Twyman Portfolio Project 6 am able to build a solid foundation of a relationship that grows as we continue working with each other. 7. How can I keep myself motivated and encouraged? People may thing that, especially in my situation, it is hard to stay encouraged and motivated. I don’t find that to be the case. There are so many research studies done on MS patients and their connection with depression, especially those on medication. Since I have been on my medication I have not had a single day that I feel as though I want to give up. What makes me feel like I want to give up is when I am debilitated with my MS. The medication actually helps me feel like a normal person most of the time and this is so encouraging to me! When I feel like I want to give up I tell myself what a great and strong person I am. Being a full time single mother, MS patient, graduate student, full time employee, and part time photographer is a lot to have on one plate; I feel as though I have proven to myself and others that I can do this and if I can do this I can do anything! 8. What keeps me from giving up? The fear of failure and not living up to the expectations I have of myself or disappointing the expectations that are placed upon me by other people. I am afraid to let down others who are counting on me to be there. I am a very self-driven person and this personal drive is another thing that keeps me from giving up. I feel a sense of responsibility to my team and subordinates to be there when they need me in order to help them when they find it necessary. My daughter also helps me to not give up because everything I do, I do for her. I may not be able to spend as much time with her right now as I want to between working and school but in the end she will benefit from everything I do. I know what kind of life I
Ashley V Twyman Portfolio Project 7 want to be able to provide for her and that is definitely a driving force that keeps me motivated to get up every day and work hard at what I do and towards what I want. 9. Am I the right one to be leading at this moment? Why? In my current position I am not always the leader and there are times when I am supposed to be leading that I know I should not be. I am not above being able to recognize when I am in over my head and to ask for help when I need it. Most generally I am always someone who steps up and takes the lead, even when the task at hand is something I may not want to do. The only time I feel as though I am not a great leader or the right person to be leading is when I am sick from my MS. I hate to tell people why I am not feeling well and why I don’t volunteer or take on as much as I usually do when I am sick, but I have gotten to know my physical limitations when it comes to my disease. This was a very important step because I used to go great guns until I basically crashed from exhaustion, and now I can tell when my body is struggling and at those times I cut back on the extra things that I do. 10. How much do I understand about what’s going on in the organization and the world in which it operates? I am blessed to be employed by a company who really likes to educated every single employee on company status and strategic planning. Every quarter our President holds all-employee meetings where they share with us the future vision of the company that the Board of Directors and Executive Officers have created. They ask for feedback and honestly believe that great ideas come from everywhere. This is the only company I have ever worked for that did things like this. I am blessed to be employed by a company that believes in employee empowerment in the true sense of the term.
Ashley V Twyman Portfolio Project 8 11. How prepared am I to handle the complex problems that now confront my organization? The branch of my company that I work in is located in a very small town. The only other bank in town recently went through a seizure by the FDIC and take over by another banking company. This made the people of the town incredibly nervous about the financial situation of our bank as well. I made very sure that when customers came to me about the status of our bank to ensure them that all is well, and that our strategic planning is constantly monitored so that we never have a debt to asset ration that is too high. If there is a problem within my organization I love to figure out what it is and different ways to deal with it. One aspect I love about my job is that I get to deal with people. Happy customers or angry customers – it doesn’t matter. Every person I talk to and assist has a different issue, question, concern or motive that I want to understand. I believe actually caring about the outcome of your interactions with people you deal with everyday – whether they be customers, co-workers, managers, or followers – will help assist you in finding ways to handle the complex problems that arise in any organizational setting. 12. What are my beliefs about how people ought to conduct the affairs of my organization? I believe every member of our organization should operate under the idea that we are there to serve our customers as best as we can. In today’s world, people can bank anywhere – especially solely online! What we provide to them is customer service that is completely personalized and something you don’t see very often. I want employees to feel that they are a part of the community and that the community we serve is a part of us.
Ashley V Twyman Portfolio Project 9 I believe honesty, integrity, merit and hard work are key ways that employees can conduct themselves in order to shine a bright light on our organization. I want it to be a difference that everyone can see! 13. Where do I think the organization ought to be headed over the next ten years? Our organization is blessed to have a wonderful strategic planning team. The Board of Directors and Executive Officers love to hear and consider feedback about the company’s future straight from the front line. They have created a fool proof balance plan to make sure the company stays in a sturdy financial environment and I believe the company will continue to grow and prosper. Even though we had expenditures in 2009 for building an entirely new addition to our branches, we had one of our best years ever! I think that it will grow from being considered a “small town” bank to one of the biggest successful banks in the state of Kansas. II. Personalized Leadership Development Plan I.
Challenging the Process Challenging the process means being able to envision a new or better way of accomplishing a current practice or system. Encouraging constituents to share good ideas that they have or problems they are having with the current system can help me come up with new ideas. I can also enable followers enough to have them be comfortable and confident in presenting their ideas to me or other people. Forward looking leadership is also a benefit in challenging the process because I may be able to see down the road farther than someone else and present my ideas to a higher power – thereby showing my constituents
Ashley V Twyman Portfolio Project 10 that good ideas come from everywhere and that no idea is stupid or less valid than another. II.
Inspiring a Shared Vision Inspiring a shared vision refers to the ability to create a shared vision amongst your followers and getting them to buy into the new idea or process. To enhance this aspect of my leadership process I could help my followers to feel more comfortable so that they are willing to share more about themselves so that when I ask for my constituents to provide input on developing a shared vision that would be pleasing to all members of the team. Finally, showing my approval of the shared vision by being enthusiastic about the shared vision we have created will help the other team members become and stay as dedicated to the new idea as I am.
III.
Enabling Others to Act Enabling others to act means giving followers the tools they need to embark on new, unknown and sometimes scary situations on their own. To help enable others to act I can make sure that they are trained well and that their training continues through their time with the company; that it doesn’t just stop after they have learned the basic procedures. I can help others see their own leadership potential and encourage the good work they do.
IV.
Modeling the Way Modeling the way implies that the leader should always “walk the walk” and “talk the talk” they wish others to adhere to. You can’t tell your employees to provide wonderful customer service if you can’t show them what it means. To
Ashley V Twyman Portfolio Project 11 get others to model the way I can simply provide a good example for them to follow and in doing so, make myself a leader which they want to follow. I can have a personal vision and set of virtues that are encouraging and show these virtues through my every action. V.
Encouraging the Heart Encouraging the heart can be one of the most important steps in the leadership model. Encouraging the heart means that you really care and in return, you will see that others will care as deeply as you do. To encourage the heart I can get to know my followers better, both professionally and personally, to see what drives them and what kind of encouragement they need from me. I can use the information I have learned about them to initiate rewards systems and incentives that are personalized for them to receive a higher production rate out of my employees. I can encourage the heart by awarding good work and showing others that bad work only means we can learn from our mistakes in order to move forward. Sometimes, simply saying thank you is encouragement enough because people like to be recognized for the work they do well.
Ashley V Twyman Portfolio Project 12 References: Kouzes, J, & Posner, B (1995) The Leadership Challenge. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.