600
Foundations of Leadership
The foundation of leadership is to understand oneself which starts the journey towards transcendence. This class supported our journey through the main topics and reflection upon:
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“What I don’t want to be as a leader”
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“What I do want as a leader”
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“What does this require of me as a leader”
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“How does this shape who I am becoming”
This was my introduction back into school and reminded me that I can only fail if I do not try; for success is in the action of trying. I was not only able to find a rhythm of school, but also realized concepts that helped me draft the beginning of my leadership philosophy. Before this course, I would not have identified self-reflection as a cornerstone of leadership. I learned the similarities of leadership and social work. Each discipline requires a deep level of self-awareness, an openness to innovative ideas, and is directed towards developing and supporting skills in others.
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Artifact:
605
Imagine. Create. Lead.
Pentimento: to see and see again. Through the combination of the four aspects of this class, I worked on getting to the balcony to see the world in new ways.
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Leadership Bridging & Belonging: I need to pause and reflect more in my life as well as deep dive my own personal default settings. Once I have my own personal awareness of how I typically show up, especially in times of stress, I can work toward reflection in my pause before acting in my default. Leading for accurately reading the room and becoming a stronger leader for myself and others.
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Imagination, Storytelling and Authentic Leadership: Listening from the heart enables us to really hear someone’s story and connect how they show up and their values. Letting imagination into the room can allow us to listen from the heart in a new way and let us explore our authentic self.
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Leadership & Metanoia: Our pathway to resilience is ours to choose. Freedom remains in my response to all situations. Being open to new and imaginative ideas may lead to courage, and courage is needed to be open to work towards action.
Leadership & Ignatian Imagination: There is power behind adapting the experience/reflection/action mindset. This is a circular journey of awakening through reflection as we are ever evolving. Leadership requires completing all three parts on a consistent basis.
Artifact:
610
Communication & Leadership Ethics
Leaders make ethical decisions every day. I now have a clear awareness and openness to ethical dilemmas. I can see the importance of understanding my values and lens as these values impact my view on ethical dilemmas. I am more attune to the interplay of ethics with my organization and how the formal and information climate creates an organizational view of how ethical dilemmas are handled. For me, the largest impact from this class is from a conversation I had with Dr. Hoover which pushed my own transformation towards a willingness to listen and hear the values of others and understand and live into the tension of both/and thinking.
615
Organizational Behavior & Theory
Through a group simulation of climbing Mt. Everest, I got to see firsthand the power of trust, vulnerability, and developing a share vision. Due to the success of our team building, we not only were able to successfully complete the simulation, but we also continued to meet and support each other in developing into system thinkers.
515
Leadership and Human Potential
This class highlighted how intentional inquiry can lead to greater human potential in organizations. Enhanced solutions and increase sustainability of ideas come from involving and listening to others during a change process. This leads to collective change that is not isolated but instead collaborative. There are many techniques that can be combined and used at different moments to foster this ability for a growth mindset. I learned that there is not one “right” way/technique to foster change but many options to increase human potential.
Artifact: Final Presentation
517
Organizational Change & Transformation
This will be my last class in the program, taken during session B of spring semester 2022. I look forward to the immersion aspect and learning more tools and interventions to support effective organizational change.
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520
Negotiation & Conflict Resolution
This class examined how leaders can make an intentional change towards non-violence. Empathy and understanding are needed to get to a place of resolution. This class explored the idea of conflict transformation and moral imagination and encouraged me to look at conflict with a wider lens, to reduce the idea of only a win/lose solution.
535
Listen, Discern, Decide
This was a foundational class in becoming a servant leader as listening impacts each component of servant leadership. Throughout this class, I practiced deep reflection and internal listening through the practice of meditation. I developed skills in listening to understand to provide greater insight into how to accomplish a goal with better aim and accuracy. This class inspires openheartedness as this this a gift that provides peace to all interactions.
Artifact:
550
Team Building and Leadership
In the corporate life, there is often a lot of emphasis put on theories, tools, and techniques and little time devoted to what is seen as the intangible or soft skills, yet those are the backbone to great leadership. The exercises and tools that were highlighted in this class are helpful only if they get to the heart of the skill; a deeper understanding of self and others to create and sustain connection. I learned a lot about how I show up in a group. At the very beginning of this course, I stated what I wanted to get out of this class were tangible techniques to bring back to my work team. My realization was the most impactful tool I can take back to my team was fostering vulnerability and safety.
Artifact:
