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Question Personal Leadership Development
I learned that if you take the time to get involved with something emotionally, care and nurture
it, then the outcome will be as you were expecting, and maybe even better. I realize this is a
broad statement, and could be used for anything; however, I never thought of applying that idea
to my education or occupation.
In a relationship, getting involved and showing that you care for someone is the first step. We all
do this in our romantic relationships and friendships, with a sole purpose in mindsome sort of
outcome, either a lifelong friendship, or even marriage. When we get involved and take the time
to get to know someone, we dont think about the tangible or material things that we may get out
of them, we think about the future with them. Like I mentioned before, the thought of applying
this same concept to other aspects in life, such as my occupation or my school work, never
crossed my minduntil about three weeks ago.
Near the last few weeks of the development of my teams presentation for the proposal to create
a better first impression for the entrance to the University of Oregon campus, my team began to
show signs of fatigue. With the stress and workload of not only this class, but others as well,
morale was low. As the deadline drew near, things were getting panicky, and it was even getting
difficult to find a time that we all could meet to even begin designing and organizing the
presentation. It was not until the meeting with the TA that it clicked in my head that I needed to
get emotionally involved in the project in order to even begin about thinking how to finish it. I
realized that no one would take our idea seriously, unless we ourselves expressed genuine
commitment and dedication to our proposal. It is one thing to just tell someone our idea, but
another thing to show someone our dedication to our idea. I didnt realize that I needed to
separate the two in order to find success.
After our practice presentation with one of the TAs, not only I, but each member of my team
came together and realized that this class isnt just about this project, and this project isnt just
about getting an A. We thought that being perfectly rehearsed and memorizing our lines for the
presentation was enough, but it turns out this project is more than that. We realized that we
needed to sell the idea, or at least trigger something in our audience to inspire a shared vision and
spark interest. I realized the only way to do this, was to prove to them how exciting and
meaningful our idea was to us. And, the only way to show a genuine attitude is to actually have
a genuine attitude.
I began by explaining this concept to the team members, and immediately they all agreed that we
needed enthusiastic attitudes in order to win over the mock members of the ASUO.
Subconsciously, we all forgot about our grade on the project, and turned all of our attention to the
delivery and articulate development of our idea. We decided to begin by capturing the essence of
our idea and funneling it into the way we spoke about it. Each of us began to know our project
inside and out, we even started rehearsing each others parts of the presentation to make sure we
all knew it. With that, the delivery came much easier. It wasnt scripted anymore, and all we
began to do was just talk about what we have been working so hard on for so long. With that,
everything became so much more natural, which boosted overall confidence in not only the
presentation but our idea for a need.
Once I took the project under my wing and put in genuine effort and time into making it grow
into what I wanted it to be, I completely forgot about the reason why I was doing the project, and
instead of it just being school work, it became a hobby. Because of this class project, I found a
much easier way in going about my education. I realized that stressing out about memorizing a
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presentation or speech is much more difficult than just changing your mindset and to just begin
caring about the subject at hand, and not just about the outcome.
I genuinely feel that this experience greatly influenced my leadership skills as a whole, because I
now feel that I know the inside secret to successchange your mindset. This is definitely going
to help me in my future group projects, because I can now inspire others, and enable them to do
the same as me. I believe that what I have learned in this class will prepare me greatly for the
future, and I am no longer intimidated by success.
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Question Two: Personal Statement
Public Health Policy Internship for the State of Oregon
Who are you as a leader?
Two words come to mind as I try to define my leadership skillsinitiative and dedication.
Whenever I develop a solution in my head to fix an existing problem, I engulf myself in the
process. I become involved in the idea, and find myself pushing the limits of dedication. I take
time, and find specific evidence and information in order to make my ideas come alive.
I have always prided myself on these two behaviors, and even started doing so at a fairly young
age. In 11th grade, I persuaded my entire high school to reduce the price of bottled water in
comparison to more sugary drinks in the vending machines available on campus. I felt that
reducing the price would promote healthier drinking habits, and students would be more
compelled to spend 50 cents on the sugar-free refreshment instead of twice as much for a soda.
I began by researching the diets of teens throughout Los Angeles County, and even, with the help
of my math teacher, designed a chart with statistical evidence that reducing the price of water
would ultimately help decrease the rate of adolescent obesity in the area. I then researched
different costs, and even found a local water company to support my proposal by giving a
significant discount on the bulk sale of bottled water to not only my high school, but to every
other high school in the district. I then designed an extremely detailed proposal outlining the
need for reducing adolescent obesity, and the solution for doing so. I explained how reducing the
price would promote healthier diets, and have no impact on the fiscal end of the spectrum. My
principal read the proposal and immediately sent it on through the chain of command. A couple
of phone calls and a few months later, my idea became a reality.
I feel that the persuasive experience I had at such a young age definitely prepared me not only
for business school, also but for the rest of my life and occupation. I saw a problem, took
initiative to develop a solution, and proved my dedication along the lengthy process. I feel that
with this, I have inspired others to become more involved in public health issues, and that
anyones idea has the opportunity to become a reality.
To answer the question about who I am as a leader, I would say I am committed to success; I take
initiative in each and every aspect of life, I inspire a shared vision and spark common interests in
groups of people, I challenge the norms of process, and most of all enable my peers to help call a
plan to action.
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To: Peter Jones
From: Pat Mitchell
Date: March 10, 2011
Re: Recommendation for Policy Changes for Employee Health Care Costs
I have created a reward-driven approach for immediate policy changes that addresses
managements concerns regarding the rising health care costs of the employees of FHO. This
new plan will ethically adhere to reducing the costs of employee health insurance, while staying
loyal to FHOs values statement.
New Stipulations for Health Insurance
Our profits have plummeted due to recent financial challenges, and it is evident that we must
financially alter our current health care benefit package in order to keep up with the rising costs
of health. These financial alterations include:
FHO will begin to pay 80% of health insurance premiums for employees and their
dependents, a 20% decrease from the original 100%
Employees annual deductible will be increased from $500 to $800 for individuals and
from $1500 to $1800 for families
After annual deductibles are met, employees will then pay a 20% co-pay for doctor visits,
prescription drugs, and all other medical expenses
This new plan will help direct FHO out of its current financial crisis by cutting the costs of the
health care we provide to our employees. Higher co-payments and premiums will encourage
employees to take better care of their bodies. Along with the financial alterations, to help boost
optimism we can also create incentives for those employees who abide by healthy lifestyle
stipulations.
Alterations to Current Efforts
We provide to our employees the opportunity to attend free health and self-improvement classes,
along with over 120 other health education programs. The support is available on-site, and
extending this support across the board will promote healthy lifestyles for employees and
provide to them an incentive to reduce the amount they pay out-of-pocket for health care.
Exclusive Program Extension
We can begin extending the support by offering exclusive programs, counseling, and
seminars that are catered to the individualized needs of our employees and their families,
such as weight loss, smoking-cessation, or emotional issues. These programs will be an
addition to the already available health and self-improvement classes.
Gratis Gym Memberships
Since we are providing incentives to our healthier employees, we must offer an equal
opportunity to all employees. With this, we can propose to offer free gym memberships
for our employees to a local gym, or even consider building an on-site gym, like the CEO
of Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. decided upon. The new complex could potentially be funded
by grants or donations from other pro-healthy lifestyle entities.
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Outsourcing Concerns
Hiring outside sources to design statistics or create healthy work out plans and diets will
not be necessary, since we have all the resources we will need are right at our fingertips.
Our interns, nurses and dieticians can choose to help their co-workers by organizing the
mentioned seminars and programs, provide free, mandatory 6-month checkups, and help
design personalized healthy lifestyle plans. This will be sure to help the financial aspect
of our policy change since we will not have to worry about the costs outsourcing.
A Reward-Driven Approach to a Healthy Lifestyle
In order to ethically decrease the costs of the health insurance we offer our employees, we must
take the most positive approach in order to not damage morale in the workplace. If we focus on
providing incentives for employees that adhere to the new regulations instead of penalizing
employees that refuse to, we will be the epitome of our mission statement by having each of our
employees devoted to a healthy lifestyle. In order to implement this new policy change, we must
place emphasis on the positive aspects and long term effects of the new plan:
A healthier lifestyle leads into an overall happier and longer life span
Monetary incentives will exist for employees who take advantage of FHOs newly
designed free health and self-improvement classes
Reductions in co-pay and premium costs will be provided to employees that meet certain
health requirements such as BMI, blood pressure, blood glucose, and cholesterol levels
during semi-annual check-ups
These incentives will not only decrease the amount employees will have to pay for health
insurance, but also promote healthier lifestyles. This will lead into the values of First Health of
Oregon and provide a good example and inspiration for patients, therefore increasing the amount
of patients we bring in, and ultimately increasing overall revenue.
Some Ramifications to Consider
Of course, there are some risks to consider by implementing this new plan. Those employees
who are willing to comply with the new changes will receive discounts; however, those who
arent will have to pay more than their healthier co-workers. We must preach to our employees
that this new way of continuing is the most ethical and fair method. We are only trying to help
our employees, and if they do not want to be involved, they will have to pay for it. Also, when
the initial cost of health insurance rises, some employees may blame other unhealthy employees
for the inflation of costs. We need to be prepared for this potential ramification.
If we develop a health care plan that raises the co-pay and premium, but provides discounts and
incentives to employees living healthy lifestyles, FHO will save money, and our employees will
live healthier lifestyles. Decreasing the rate of unhealthy habits our employees have will
significantly decrease the overall cost FHO pays for health insurance, and will benefit the lives
of each and every employee. This new policy will not only improve health of the Central
Oregon community, but set an entirely new standard for healthy lifestyles, so the rest of Oregon
will follow in our footsteps.