This week's lecture by Brother Jeffrey Hill was really interesting as he talked mostly about being a leader as a husband/father and wife/mother. I was happy that he emphasized equal partnership in marriage. It made sense when he said that in the world people see the husband as the more dominant one when in reality it should be equal between the wife and mother. We are to be partners with one common goal. As a family, we should look after each memeber of the family and include them in making goals. This was actually emphasized in the book I read, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Stephen Covey said that we should have a family mission statement and when making this, everyone in the family should contribute. The family is the central team of our lives so we have to make it the best situation we can be leading the other members.
I believe that one of the biggest parts of being a leader in general and in families is to lead by example. I am the youngest and so I've seen all my six sisters grow up, with five of them married and those five having kids. I'm so thankful to be able to see what they've done in their lives so I can learn what works and what doesn't. In addition, I strive to be an example to my sisters and all my nieces and nephews. If they see what I do is working, they will hopefully follow my lead. I'm so thankful for the central unit of the family - it's something that is essential in life and you always feel comfortable when you're home. I'm excited to be able to spend eternity with my family.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
Ethical Leadership and Integrity
Dean Kaw (?) did a great job on pointing out many of the various ways people are unethical in our world today. I would have to agree with him - How sad is it that the "norm" now is to cheat and lie? I've experienced this in high school and will admit that I haven't kept perfect integrity myself. Many students in high school would cheat on homework and even on tests. I've seen my friends do it and in the end they really do cheat themselves. It doesn't make them learn anything and doesn't make them smarter, but when they don't get caught they do get the grade. Things get out of hand and "help" on homework resorts to just copying someone else's work, the work that they spent time and effort on. In my school, they implemented something that they hoped would decrease cheating. They had every student sign an academic integrity contract that said that they would not cheat on any kind of assignment. It should have helped, but I'm not sure if it did.
Something I always think about when it comes to cheating is going to the doctor. The question is whether you would want a doctor to perform surgery or any procedure on you if they had only cheated their way through medical school. The obvious answer is no. It's scary what people can achieve through cheating and getting away with it. For this reason, it is up to us, the leaders, to draw a firm line of where we will stand. We cannot reset this line or compromise our standards for anything. It's a difficult situation when there is so much competition and many other people are cheating, but it the end what matters is how you conduct yourself and the integrity you hold.
Integrity is one of the vital characteristics we need to preserve in our society. One way we can do this is by setting the example for others. When we set our standards high, other people see that and watch what we do. If we slip up, they will notice. Therefore, we need to strive to possess within ourselves integrity, high moral conduct. We can follow Christ is this aspect and do the best we can.
Something I always think about when it comes to cheating is going to the doctor. The question is whether you would want a doctor to perform surgery or any procedure on you if they had only cheated their way through medical school. The obvious answer is no. It's scary what people can achieve through cheating and getting away with it. For this reason, it is up to us, the leaders, to draw a firm line of where we will stand. We cannot reset this line or compromise our standards for anything. It's a difficult situation when there is so much competition and many other people are cheating, but it the end what matters is how you conduct yourself and the integrity you hold.
Integrity is one of the vital characteristics we need to preserve in our society. One way we can do this is by setting the example for others. When we set our standards high, other people see that and watch what we do. If we slip up, they will notice. Therefore, we need to strive to possess within ourselves integrity, high moral conduct. We can follow Christ is this aspect and do the best we can.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Servant Leadership
I really enjoyed this week's lecture about being a servant leader. In my high school student government we tried to emphasize this point because a lot of people just want to be a part of it for the name and title. Sometimes it's hard to not want to be recognized or praised for the good work you do, but we have to realize that that's not the point in leadership. The best leaders are humble and don't go around telling people about how cool they are. Brother Cox's stories about different leaders were very interesting. When he talked about Alvin York, the World War I soldier, he told about how in the end he didn't want to be famous for the act of service he performed. Even though he was famous for it, he wanted to be remembered as someone who helped others. I think that sometimes when people who are praised for their acts of good and actually soak it up, they can become prideful. That doesn't make anyone like them more. Addiotionally, Brother Cox talked about not being caught up in yourself. You can't get caught up in what you are because with leadership it isn't actually about you - it's about the people you serve. If we can keep that in mind, then we will be able to focus on the people. That was his big main point - to serve outward, not look inward. I won't ever forget his hand motions of pointing outward. It's all about the people and the relationships - not about the projects and processes. Building relationships through serving others in your leadership positions, I feel, has been one of the main themes throughout this class so far. I am going to try to apply this by making eye contact and smiling more at the people I see around me.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Conflict Resolution
Our speaker this week had many good points about conflict and why we need it in our lives. I liked many different things so this post will be kind of all over the place.
I've always really believed in the scripture in 2 Nephi 2:11 where it talks about having opposition in all things. I had never really thought of this scripture in terms of conflict, but it's true that conflict fits as well. I think a lot of people see conflict as something negative, but it is essential to relationships and growth. I think when people are in serious relationships, they should be able to have a conflict, get through it, and still love each other afterwards. What matters is the way we deal with conflict. We can either be negative and bash on another person's ideas or we can be positive by being calm and reasonable. We should see the other person or group's point of view and really make an effort to do so.
I really liked it when he talked about seeing people as people and not things. Brother Pace said that we could either see them as real people like ourselves or see them as obstacles, tools/instruments, or as irrelevant to our own goals. I feel like sometimes I see people as just objects that are sometimes in my way and I don't really try to get to know them or make them happy. I've tried to be better at looking at the people I pass and smiling at them. It makes both people happier.
We also need to spend more time listening to other people. I liked the quote that said "the heart of good listening is authenticity." We need to be genuine in asking people questions and getting to know them.
Some of the things Brother Pace said were actually pretty similar to some things said in the book I'm reading right now (7 Habits Of Highly Effective People). We need to start with ourselves and try to see what our mistakes are in certain conflicts. If we can change ourselves and our way of seeing things, as well as our way of being, success will be the result. We need to realize when some things are our fault, even if we don't think we are at fault. All in all, conflict is something that can be positive and help your relationships strengthen and grow.
I've always really believed in the scripture in 2 Nephi 2:11 where it talks about having opposition in all things. I had never really thought of this scripture in terms of conflict, but it's true that conflict fits as well. I think a lot of people see conflict as something negative, but it is essential to relationships and growth. I think when people are in serious relationships, they should be able to have a conflict, get through it, and still love each other afterwards. What matters is the way we deal with conflict. We can either be negative and bash on another person's ideas or we can be positive by being calm and reasonable. We should see the other person or group's point of view and really make an effort to do so.
I really liked it when he talked about seeing people as people and not things. Brother Pace said that we could either see them as real people like ourselves or see them as obstacles, tools/instruments, or as irrelevant to our own goals. I feel like sometimes I see people as just objects that are sometimes in my way and I don't really try to get to know them or make them happy. I've tried to be better at looking at the people I pass and smiling at them. It makes both people happier.
We also need to spend more time listening to other people. I liked the quote that said "the heart of good listening is authenticity." We need to be genuine in asking people questions and getting to know them.
Some of the things Brother Pace said were actually pretty similar to some things said in the book I'm reading right now (7 Habits Of Highly Effective People). We need to start with ourselves and try to see what our mistakes are in certain conflicts. If we can change ourselves and our way of seeing things, as well as our way of being, success will be the result. We need to realize when some things are our fault, even if we don't think we are at fault. All in all, conflict is something that can be positive and help your relationships strengthen and grow.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Lift Where You Stand - Teamwork
Monday's lecture was really insightful for me. My favorite part of his lecture was the five stages of relationships that he shared with us from John Maxwell. I can see these aspects of relationships in my life more clearly now. I think his point in sharing that was that we need to be more invested in the relationships we created with different people. Another thing he said was that we shouldn't be afraid to fail in these relationships because then we will know if we can trust different people. As a leader, I believe we should try to be open with people and also be genuinely interested in their lives. If we only have surface relationships with the people we work with, our common goal will not only be unsuccessful, but could also be different for each person. When we take time to truly get to know people, we can use their strengths to help in certain tasks of a project.
It is a scary thing to just trust people when you know that there is a chance of failure, but if you give people that chance you and that person will be able to learn. I believe at one point I had a near-solid relationship with a friend of mine and we trusted each other with almost everything. When that trust was broken between us, it was really hard to be good friends. I think that because of that experience, sometimes I'm scared to invest so much trust in people, but I am going to try and being willing to fail again so that I will continue to learn.
I also enjoyed what he said about goals - that if you tell someone your goal, you will have them on your team and they can help you reach that goal. As a team, goals have to be CLEAR to everyone. It's also good to realize that in accomplishing most goals, you have to take "mini-goals" and do them step by step. It won't happen all at once. As a team player, you need to be a "fire-lighter" by encouraging the team in what they do. I think this happened in lab this week when we did the hula-hoop activity. Because there were people in our group cheering and getting excited about it, it made everyone else want to do well and get the task done. His analogy of fire-lighters led into his story about James Earl Jones which I thought was really inspiring. Just one person, his English teacher, gave him the confidence he needed to launch himself into the world. If you can see the potential in someone, you should tell that person and encourage them.
In conclusion, team work has to do a lot about doing your part - lifting where you stand, as President Utchdorf explains. We need to do our part as members of different teams and do the best that we can. When we try our best, others are inspired by our efforts and want to do their best as well.
It is a scary thing to just trust people when you know that there is a chance of failure, but if you give people that chance you and that person will be able to learn. I believe at one point I had a near-solid relationship with a friend of mine and we trusted each other with almost everything. When that trust was broken between us, it was really hard to be good friends. I think that because of that experience, sometimes I'm scared to invest so much trust in people, but I am going to try and being willing to fail again so that I will continue to learn.
I also enjoyed what he said about goals - that if you tell someone your goal, you will have them on your team and they can help you reach that goal. As a team, goals have to be CLEAR to everyone. It's also good to realize that in accomplishing most goals, you have to take "mini-goals" and do them step by step. It won't happen all at once. As a team player, you need to be a "fire-lighter" by encouraging the team in what they do. I think this happened in lab this week when we did the hula-hoop activity. Because there were people in our group cheering and getting excited about it, it made everyone else want to do well and get the task done. His analogy of fire-lighters led into his story about James Earl Jones which I thought was really inspiring. Just one person, his English teacher, gave him the confidence he needed to launch himself into the world. If you can see the potential in someone, you should tell that person and encourage them.
In conclusion, team work has to do a lot about doing your part - lifting where you stand, as President Utchdorf explains. We need to do our part as members of different teams and do the best that we can. When we try our best, others are inspired by our efforts and want to do their best as well.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Balance & Time Management
I really enjoyed this weeks lecture and lab. It was fun to hear a different perspective about time management from someone who was a BYU student and was definitely very busy. Although I'm not as busy as she was, I can still feel overwhelmed. I'm so happy she looked at it from a gospel oriented perspective.
The first thing she talked about was seeking the kingdom of God. If we put the gospel first in our lives, then everything else will fall into place. I find that when I am consistently reading the scriptures everyday and praying morning and night that I am happier and just feel better about life. This semester, in my Book Of Mormon class, my professor makes us keep a log of our daily scripture study and requires us to study 30 minutes every day. I really think this has effected my life for the better. I am less stressed and have had my testimony strengthened. It is really easy to just say, "I'll do it tomorrow," but when we have that attitude, usually things will not get done. Also, sometimes you convince yourself that you HAVE TO finish something by the next day, but don't necessarily think you HAVE TO read your scriptures today. I find that if I write it down, it gets done more quickly.
The second piece of advice she gave was to "keep water in your well." I believe I do this one well - sometimes maybe too well. I take time to sit down and watch a show or relax, but sometimes I get too caught up in the show I'm watching (this past week, the Olympics have been addicting!), when I could be doing something more productive. I think one of the things that rejuvenates me each week is actually what I do for my leadership role - volunteering to help out with Special Olympics bowling. It helps me focus on other people and I have so much fun doing it! The other thing that I've taken time to do each week is play on an intramural basketball team which is something I really enjoy.
I loved her third point of obeying the "Ten-Second Rule." I think if you follow the promptings you receive, that you will receive more and more. I am trying to be better at this by writing down random things in my planner. If I didn't do this, I would most likely forget the thing I want to remember. I heard a quote one time that said "The weakest ink is better than the strongest memory."
Brittany Beattie's fourth point was to choose best over good and better. This part is kind of hard for me because there are so many good things you can do with your time that it is hard to decide what is best. I am going to try to work on this one more and more. I think I can be better about not wasting time. I'm going to try to not over sleep so I can be productive in my days. I also want to watch less TV and be able to limit myself. I think this way I will be able to get more things done and possibly be able to focus on people more in my life.
Her last point was my favorite one - to focus on people, not processes or things. I really try to integrate this into my life. Sometimes people and building relationships can be more important than the things that are going on. It was kind of ironic because when she said this I was trying to remember a quote by President Monson that was said the next day in one of the videos we saw in our Lab. It said, "Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved." I love this quote because life really is about the relationships we make in our lives. The memories we hold dear to us would not be there unless we shared them with the people we love the most. I am going to try to be better by being more outgoing.
Overall, if we focus on people and becoming like Christ, other things will fall into place. We need to know how to prioritize and make sure we are doing the right things first and foremost.
The first thing she talked about was seeking the kingdom of God. If we put the gospel first in our lives, then everything else will fall into place. I find that when I am consistently reading the scriptures everyday and praying morning and night that I am happier and just feel better about life. This semester, in my Book Of Mormon class, my professor makes us keep a log of our daily scripture study and requires us to study 30 minutes every day. I really think this has effected my life for the better. I am less stressed and have had my testimony strengthened. It is really easy to just say, "I'll do it tomorrow," but when we have that attitude, usually things will not get done. Also, sometimes you convince yourself that you HAVE TO finish something by the next day, but don't necessarily think you HAVE TO read your scriptures today. I find that if I write it down, it gets done more quickly.
The second piece of advice she gave was to "keep water in your well." I believe I do this one well - sometimes maybe too well. I take time to sit down and watch a show or relax, but sometimes I get too caught up in the show I'm watching (this past week, the Olympics have been addicting!), when I could be doing something more productive. I think one of the things that rejuvenates me each week is actually what I do for my leadership role - volunteering to help out with Special Olympics bowling. It helps me focus on other people and I have so much fun doing it! The other thing that I've taken time to do each week is play on an intramural basketball team which is something I really enjoy.
I loved her third point of obeying the "Ten-Second Rule." I think if you follow the promptings you receive, that you will receive more and more. I am trying to be better at this by writing down random things in my planner. If I didn't do this, I would most likely forget the thing I want to remember. I heard a quote one time that said "The weakest ink is better than the strongest memory."
Brittany Beattie's fourth point was to choose best over good and better. This part is kind of hard for me because there are so many good things you can do with your time that it is hard to decide what is best. I am going to try to work on this one more and more. I think I can be better about not wasting time. I'm going to try to not over sleep so I can be productive in my days. I also want to watch less TV and be able to limit myself. I think this way I will be able to get more things done and possibly be able to focus on people more in my life.
Her last point was my favorite one - to focus on people, not processes or things. I really try to integrate this into my life. Sometimes people and building relationships can be more important than the things that are going on. It was kind of ironic because when she said this I was trying to remember a quote by President Monson that was said the next day in one of the videos we saw in our Lab. It said, "Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved." I love this quote because life really is about the relationships we make in our lives. The memories we hold dear to us would not be there unless we shared them with the people we love the most. I am going to try to be better by being more outgoing.
Overall, if we focus on people and becoming like Christ, other things will fall into place. We need to know how to prioritize and make sure we are doing the right things first and foremost.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Divine-Centered Leadership
I really enjoyed class this week. It was enlightening to read the different parts of Divine Centered Leadership. It really made me feel like I have a mission on this earth to be a leader and one with good motive. I liked when it talked about the roadblocks to having good motive. They were the natural man and pride. With our human nature, we want to be the ones who are recognized and praised for being good leaders, when in reality it should be our Heavenly Father who should be recognized. Sometimes I struggle with that part because it is nice to be recognized as an awesome leader, but I believe it is better to be recognized as a humble leader. You don't have to display it and tell everyone how cool you are because you did something.
One leader that I really admire really encompassed a lot of the aspects in Divine Leadership. She was our ASB (Student Government) President my Junior year and everyone loved her. She seriously knew almost everyone at our school and was friends with them no matter what group of friends they were in. This really exemplified knowing each heart. She got to know people not so she could be popular, but because she really cared about them.
Also, this week in lab I enjoyed going around the library and giving people candy. Some people thought it was weird and refused. In fact, one of the library administration told us we couldn't pass it out downstairs, so we just went somewhere else. However, there were a lot of happy people who took it and were thankful. I looked at it further and made it an analogy to Christ's ministry. He had was the way, the life, and the truth and He shared His light with others. In a way, that is what we were doing by passing out candy. I also thought about how it wasn't easy and that people rejected him and his ideas, but he kept going. I believe it is our duty to do just that - share our light with others through this Divine Centered Leadership. It really is the perfect way to lead - all according to God's will.
Also, this week I saw Divine Centered Leadership examples in many aspects of my life. First, my mom was in Utah until Wednesday so I was able to spend some time with her and helped her take care of my sister's kids. My one and a half year old niece was sick with a fever and my mom was so good about taking care of her - she held her all night and just tried to make her feel better. I see her leadership in our family all the time and admire the way she does things centered in Christ. Also, when she left, she made me a whole Valentine's decoration thing and left me a nice note in my room. It was really nice of her - she is always serving her family and others. I believe that because of her service to us, we try to follow her example which is making us in turn become better leaders.
Another leadership act that I saw was when it was my twin roommates' birthday on Wednesday. My other roommate was so considerate - she put up a Happy Birthday sign, "heart attacked their door," and made them a cake. It really showed me that it is just the little things that can make a difference. My roommates really appreciated what she did for them.
I believe if we start with what we can do and do our best at it, we will continue to progress in our leadership abilities, and through Jesus Christ's example and Heavenly Father's help we can become more and more like them.
One leader that I really admire really encompassed a lot of the aspects in Divine Leadership. She was our ASB (Student Government) President my Junior year and everyone loved her. She seriously knew almost everyone at our school and was friends with them no matter what group of friends they were in. This really exemplified knowing each heart. She got to know people not so she could be popular, but because she really cared about them.
Also, this week in lab I enjoyed going around the library and giving people candy. Some people thought it was weird and refused. In fact, one of the library administration told us we couldn't pass it out downstairs, so we just went somewhere else. However, there were a lot of happy people who took it and were thankful. I looked at it further and made it an analogy to Christ's ministry. He had was the way, the life, and the truth and He shared His light with others. In a way, that is what we were doing by passing out candy. I also thought about how it wasn't easy and that people rejected him and his ideas, but he kept going. I believe it is our duty to do just that - share our light with others through this Divine Centered Leadership. It really is the perfect way to lead - all according to God's will.
Also, this week I saw Divine Centered Leadership examples in many aspects of my life. First, my mom was in Utah until Wednesday so I was able to spend some time with her and helped her take care of my sister's kids. My one and a half year old niece was sick with a fever and my mom was so good about taking care of her - she held her all night and just tried to make her feel better. I see her leadership in our family all the time and admire the way she does things centered in Christ. Also, when she left, she made me a whole Valentine's decoration thing and left me a nice note in my room. It was really nice of her - she is always serving her family and others. I believe that because of her service to us, we try to follow her example which is making us in turn become better leaders.
Another leadership act that I saw was when it was my twin roommates' birthday on Wednesday. My other roommate was so considerate - she put up a Happy Birthday sign, "heart attacked their door," and made them a cake. It really showed me that it is just the little things that can make a difference. My roommates really appreciated what she did for them.
I believe if we start with what we can do and do our best at it, we will continue to progress in our leadership abilities, and through Jesus Christ's example and Heavenly Father's help we can become more and more like them.
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