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Application Paper 4 Foundations of Leadership LDR-305-OL By Melissa Shinn-Adolph - #0482558 Thomas Edison State College February 2012
I may be contacted by phone at 417.621.8104 or by email at [e-mail].
Application Paper #4 My Strongest Skill I think that my strongest skill is that of creativity. As far back as I can remember, I've always been creative and been able to think `outside of the box'. I see a problem and think about how to remedy that problem. I often times say, "where there's a will, there's a way". Sometimes there's even an idea on how to do something differently or expand on an existing product. There has been several times in my life where I have felt `a day late and a dollar short'. There's been an idea for a product and a day, a week, or a month later, you see that product on the market. One example being concentrated tea. We were drinking ice tea like it was going out of style and I was tired of making it every day. I thought I should make up enough for 3 or 4 pitchers of tea and I would just put it in little glass jars. That way when tea needed made, I or anyone else could just pull that jar out of the fridge, pour it in the pitcher and add the required amount of water. My Weakest Skill I think that my weakest skill is that of communication. It's not that I can't communicate, my issue is getting what I'm thinking or feeling into words that not only make sense, but that also doesn't come off sounding offensive or like a half-thought. This weakness does concern me when it comes to the idea of me running my own business someday. Further Development of My Strongest Skill I feel that I can further develop the skill of creativity by continuing to take on projects that are challenging. When something is challenging, you have to brainstorm and discuss the situation with others to get ideas and sometimes look at the situation in a way you normally wouldn't have.
I found a blog on creativity by Cameron Schaefer called Schaefer's Blog. Here's what it said about then things you can do to develop your creativity. "Deliberately remove barriers of tradition and habit that block creativity. These blocks to creativity have to do with habit, learned rules, traditions, and cultural norms. Highly creative people are often seen as rebels and mavericks because they question traditions and rules. I do not advocate throwing all rules and traditions overboard. It is possible to remove barriers and blocks to creativity in a moral and ethical way by questioning the way things have always been done within the boundaries of your moral and ethical limits. Examine and remove perceptual blocks. We get used to observing things in a particular way based on our interests, needs, biases, values, and past learning. People with strong perceptual sets are prone to quick decisions and conclusions, rather than looking for alternatives. Recognize and remove emotional blocks. Emotional blocks to creativity are feelings such as anger, fear, anxiety, hate, and even love. Sometimes people experience these temporarily through home or work circumstances, or problems with peers, parents, partners, and children. Chronic sources of insecurity are things like fear of rejection, fear of being different, fear of failure, fear of ridicule or criticism, fear of people like supervisors or those with authority over us, timidity, or poor self-concepts. The right attitude for developing a creative lifestyle is a willingness to take risks, a willingness to fail, a willingness to be different, a willingness to stand out, a willingness to question, a willingness to laugh at one self. Recognize and overcome limited resources.
Sometimes a lack of finances, information, people, and time inhibit our ability to be innovative. This is an excellent opportunity to think creatively. How else can you make this idea work? What other people are available who might help? What can I substitute for the expensive resources I think I need? Practice divergent thinking. Divergent thinking is the generation of multiple answers to a problem. Think of many and various alternatives. Brainstorming is a great example of this technique. The secret to brainstorming is not to evaluate ideas as they are generated, but to name or write down as many things as you can regardless of their possible utility or The value. first things we think of are the usual, the known, the mundane. The longer you continue with this process, the more likely you are to come up with new ideas. Another technique is to break objects and ideas down into its component parts to analyze those parts and the relationships between them. Practice convergent thinking. Convergent thinking is deliberately putting diverse and disparate ideas, concepts, and objects together to create a new object, idea or concept, or to find the best solution to a problem. De Bono's Six Thinking Hats is an excellent example of a convergent thinking technique. Pursue new experiences. Putting yourself in the way of new ideas and new experiences will help you open your mind. The more you develop a curious mindset and openness to new experiences, ideas, places, people, and objects, in other words living creatively, the more likely you are to produce creatively.
Make time to think.
No one is creative under pressure. Pressure, whether time pressure or emotional pressure, inhibits creativity. Positive emotions are conducive to creativity. Take time to think, to relax, to be happy. Maslow's self-actualized person is the epitome of a fully creative person. Many religions link spirituality and creativity through meditation. For Christians, this includes prayer time. The Holy Spirit is a creator and allowing the Holy Spirit to suggest new ideas and actions to you is a natural outcome of a vibrant relationship with God. Collaborate. Shared thinking provides opportunity for many of the above thinking techniques: brainstorming is easier with more than one person; divergent thinking of multiple people produces more diverse ideas; multiple perspectives focused on one problem create better convergent thinking. Collaboration requires an unselfish attitude and can create positive emotions. Choose your collaborators well and enjoy the sharing process. Make time to study. Creativity requires knowledge. Both divergent and convergent thinking requires thinking content. People who know nothing have little with which to be creative. Some of the best creative producers are those who can use knowledge from one domain in another. (http://www.schaefersblog.com/10-ways-to-develop-your-creativity/ 5 April 2012) Improvement of My Weakest Skill I like what this article by Jo Geraghty suggests as a way to improve weaknesses in communications. "Think rich. Choose the words you use carefully. Select content rich, precise words to get you
message across. Avoid ambiguous, double meaning, vague, non-specific dialogue that leads to confusion and misunderstanding. Words are already a weak medium for communicating our thoughts and internal images. We tend to make assumptions that others view the world the same way as we do, when in fact, each person's concept of urgency, accuracy, quantity and necessity, vary dramatically. Only by giving clear, specific instruction can you be sure that your message will be understood first time. Be self aware. When misunderstandings and miscommunication keep occurring, the first place that you need to look is at yourself. Take out a contract. The better the communication with your top team, the greater your chance of success. As soon as you're appointed the best thing you can do is sit down with each of them individually and set out a communication contract. Write down how and when each of them prefers to interact with you. Control your internal state. Whatever turmoil is going on inside your mind will be reflected in your outside communication. In order to remain congruent and engender trust in your followers, you cannot simply "pretend" that everything is ok, you need to actually be ok." (<http://www.cultureconsultancy.com/leadership-development/improve-communication-skillsto-become-a-better-leader > 5 April 2012)
References Dubrin, A. (2004). Leadership: Research Findings, Practice, and Skills (4th ed.) New York/Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. Geraghty, J. "Improve Your Communication Skills to Become a Better Leader." Culture Consultancy. 5 April 2012 (<http://www.cultureconsultancy.com/leadershipdevelopment/improve-communication-skills-to-become-a-better-leader >) Schaefer, C. "10 Ways to Develop Your Creativity." Schaefer's Blog. 5 April 2012 (http://www.schaefersblog.com/10-ways-to-develop-your-creativity/)