10. Dancing Christmas Fish

This little introverted fish is in awful need of some introvert-time. I guess writing a blog and whining about it will have to do for now.

And in honor of Christmas (and this being my last blog for my class) I will write with red and green colors. Yay.

1. How does chapter 14 define "renewal"? How do you define and practice renewal in your life?

I read over the header title "Self-renewal", like, three times before I realized how ironic it was that I was writing a blog about the same thing I obliviously opened with. (I think I'm gonna like this one.) What is self-renewal, you ask? And what does that look like in MY life? You have come to the right introvert.

The book Exploring Leadership defines "renewal" as harmonizing your mind, body, and soul, and becoming rebalanced. Sounds like a yoga class. I'll tell you what renewal is. Renewal is temporarily interrupting your progress to focus on repairing potential or current problems so you can continue to accomplish your goals and become better than you are. It is not humanly possible to go full speed for the entire duration of one's leadership career without regularly established times of rest. Just look at God; He proved to us that we shouldn't create a whole universe and still not consider it necessary to take a break once in a while.

This is especially important for introverts...like me. For example, it being so close to Thanksgiving break, I think more and more how much I am sick of being around so many people all the time. Don't try and tell me I don't love my friends, because I LOVE my friends. Other introverts understand. I'm just anticipating the time when I can choose when I want to be social and have a place of my own where I know no one will interrupt my solitude. Then, when break ends, I'll have been refreshed and ready for the last few weeks of college.

Work + Occasional time of renewal = Not burning out

2. Using the balcony and dance floor metaphor from page 420 of your text, think of a current situation that you are involved in. What do you observe when you move from the dance floor to the balcony? What do you see about yourself? What action will you take, using what you observed and learned, when you return to the dance floor?

As an introvert, you probably wouldn't find me on the dance floor so much as in the balcony unless I was with a few really really good friends. Just thought I'd point that out.

On a more relavant note, my being an introvert, I overanalyze quite a bit, so stepping back and looking at the whole picture is a pretty regular habit for me. For example, I am about ready to transfer from the college I currently attend to another college. The only reason why I am not the least bit worried about this huge move I'm about to make is because I have practiced trusting God and believing He has a plan for my life (otherwise, I'd totally be freaking out right now). I've given my life to Him; He can do whatever He wants with it. The dance floor in this particular situation would be my figuring out finances and residence and classes and a new church and new friends and whether or not I'll be able to pass college level algebra so I can actually BE a pilot. Et cetera.

But since God seems to like the view from the balcony and I like to be with God, I'm up here seeing that no matter what happens, God's going to do whatever it takes to make sure my tiny little life brings glory to Him. So when I, the introvert, return to the dance floor, I'll remember I don't have to focus on the chaos surrounding me. God's my dance partner and He's leading. Whether or not I think I'm in control, the music will continue to play. I don't have to control the music, I just have to move along with the beat and know God has the power to change the song if it doesn't bring me closer to Him.

Merry Christmas!

9. Let's Hear it For Chromatophores

Hi, guys! This is the second to last blog I'm posting for this class. Sad day. I rather enjoyed this.


1. Why is change important in the leadership process? What are the challenges of facilitating change?


Here are a few reasons why I think change is important and the challenges that go along with them:
- There is always a better way to do things. When the previous methods are growing stale, it's okay to adjust them to get better result. Challenge: There is also almost always someone who thinks they have the best way to do something, whether they are suggesting a change or they thought of the existing system and don't want to change it.
- Organizations and systems are constantly changing; so we must change. Team dynamics will altar as time goes on and the members become more familiar with the system and each other. Even our own thought processes and techniques will tweak as we get older. Challege: The changes that can't be avoided, such as social,  cultural, political, or business changes, may take more effort to adjust to than other changes.
- If there is no change in an organization, it will become stagnant and boring. Being stuck in the same routine for months, even years on end are no fun at all. Modification can keep the organization fresh and inspire the team members with new ideas for not only the group itself but their goals as well. Challenge: With many new ideas come many disagreements.
- Change stimulates movement. Challenge: As time passes, it's difficult to keep the ball rolling when struggles and complications come against the group and its objectives.


2. What are some reasons why people are resistant to change? How do you typically respond to change?


"Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves; they therefore remain bound." - James Allen, author of As a Man Thinketh


I believe the main reasons why people are resistant to change is because most of the time change is so difficult to go through. Like the color-changing Cuttlefish, they steer clear of the possibility of change like they're the last one standing in the dodge ball game. People spend their entire lives trying to avoid difficulty, so they would naturally be opposed to exposing themselves to it. When people are accustomed to a system's patterns, it takes much convincing to get them to accept a new pattern. Fear of losing control and fear of failure are also main factors in the resistant to change.


Typically, how I respond to change is by turning colors to blend in with my surroundings and avoid predators. Just kidding.
I took change really hard when I was kid. For example, I lived in Nebraska for the first 12 years of my life, so when my parents told me we were moving to Minnesota, I freaked out. I hated Minnesota for a probably a good, solid year before I adjusted to my new reality. Now I see God's sovereign hand in the whole situation and I am so glad we moved to Minnesota, but change was something I loathed and dreaded when I was younger.
Nowadays, I really like change. It means something is moving. It means something is happening. I have found that I hate the idea of being stuck in the same routine in the same place for long periods of time. Also, I trust God abundantly more than I did when I was younger. He knows the path He has laid out for me to walk and all I have to do is follow it. I am SO excited for what He has planned for my life and what He has in mind for us to do and who I'm going to be. Since I've given Him full reign of my life, I have no reason to fear change because I know it's part of His plan.


Well, that's all. I was going to use hermaphroditic fish as my example, but I decided I wanted to keep my blog G-rated. You're welcome.

I wish I could do that. Er...change color, I mean.

8. Fishbowls and Aquariums

Blogblogblogblogbloglblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblogblog. I don't know why I just did that.

Fishfishfishfishfishfishfishfishfishfishfishfishfishfishfishfishfishfishfishfishfishfishfishfishfishfishfishfish. I definitely know why I just did that.

In the wise words of my professor, I need to choose one interesting concept from chapters 8 and 10 in Exploring Leadership, explain why I found the concept interesting, and explain how it relates to my leadership. Alrighty, here we go.

Chapter 8 - The topic I found to be considerably interesting in chapter eight was the difference between groups and orgainizations. Specifically, how personal relations, the number of members, the setting of the meetings, and many other factors play into how a group or organization functions.

A group is considered to have three or more participants. As far as I can tell, the smaller the group, the more likely members are inclined to share their opinions, suggestions, input, etc. Vice verse, with a bigger group of people - bigger group equals less input.

Organizations have twenty or more members. It seems to me that the number of participants greatly affects the way people interact and the quality of the information given. For example, members of a large organization are less likely to be willingly outgoing to the other members who are not in their specific field. Also, information is more likely to be lost when communicating to a larger group, but more likely to be discussed and recalled because members will inquire the issue among the members of their own group. News gets around a lot faster in a smaller group, so participants disclose to a lesser degree.

However, the relationships (or lack thereof) of the participants within a group or organization also make an impact. For example, people in a large organization will remain closer to, choose to work with, and communicate more often with people they have already met and/or known. It takes time for people in a smaller group who don't know each other to be more comfortable disclosing information. On the other hand, people in a smaller group who had known each other previously will find it much more comfortable communicating with the other members, and even communicating to the other members they hadn't known before.

I have experience in being a leader in groups more than in organizations. For example, one group I was a leader of was a worship team. (I know I keep bringing this up; I promise I'm not showing off or anything! It's just the first one that comes to mind; give me a break.) I knew the other members before, but we got to know each other a lot better when we were all part of a team. One thing I noticed was that is is a bit harder to maintain attention with a group of people who are comfortable with you because they consider you more of a peer than their leader. But, whatev. It all worked out.

Chapter 10 - I already went over groups and organizations; let's talk about communities. The community that makes up a group or organization greatly affects the group or organization's performance. Specifically, let's skip down to "the importance of the human spirit" and I'll say a few words on how that plays into the community.

The textbook describes the human spirit as merely one's personality, character strengths, or inner energy. That's not even the half of it. Just recently I was a leader for my youth group at the Minnesota Youth Convention. I strongly believe that being a part of a group of Christ-followers - whether small or large, whether the members knew each other before or not, and no matter the variety or personality types - makes all the difference in the world because our relationship with God puts us all on a common and familiar ground. I believe our personal spirits can influence others, but God's spirit in us is able to influence more people on a deeper level and gives us greater meaning to a bigger cause.

Don't try to tell me there aren't fish in heaven...because there is.

7. The Top of the Pyramid

Here are some questions regarding "Inattention to Results," which is one of the levels of the pyramid of five dysfunctions of a team.

1. When do you most find yourself planning the group's objective around your own agenda rather than the collective interest of the team or according to the team's goals?

2. Do you think it is more or less difficult to work as a team in America's individualistic yet task- and achievement-oriented culture?

3. Why specifically is this level the biggest problem with dysfunctional teams?

4. What examples of this level can be found in the Bible (positive or negative)?

5 What parallels are there to a team of human beings and a school of fish?

That last one is deep.

6. This One Goes Out to my Beloved Seymour

Why, hello again! Don't you love it when I greet you so enthusiastically? I hope it makes you feel special.
Anyhoo. Let's get to it.


1. Would you consider your communication to be unassertive, assertive, or aggressive? How can you improve in your listening skills?


According to my personal evaluation, I'd say I am a pretty assertive communicator. Internally, I may fluctuate between having unassertive and aggressive thoughts, but overall I definitely try to be balanced in my responses.
I used to be a very compliant communicator. I thought that by consenting to everybody's requests, I was being a good servant. In reality, I was being a bad steward of my property and myself. Now I know I am not responsible for anyone, and I should primarily be compelled by love, not obligation, to serve others. And, as the book Exploring Leadership states, I am fully able to say no without feeling guilty.
Mentally, I used to get pretty aggressive against others. The only reason why I didn't let it come out was because I was the "perfect" little pastor's kid I thought everybody had certain expectations for (even though nobody, especially my wonderful parents, ever manipulated me like that). God has since begun the process of renewing my mind like Christ's, and I have much practice submitting negative thoughts to Him. Now my responses reflect my heart. For the most part...
Taking the "listening self-evaluation," I confirmed my previous believe that I am an above-average listener, which I consider a gift. I still have room for improvement, however. For instance, instead of multi-tasking - doing homework and listening to my roommate tell me her thoughts - I can either tell her I can't talk that moment or drop what I am doing to listen to her. I'd like to become more people-oriented than task-oriented as well.


2. Think of an ethical dilemma that you have faced, were involved with, or observed closely. Work through that dilemma using one of the three ethical decision-making models described in the text - ends-based, rule-based, or care-based. Explain what the dilemma was and what decision-maiking process you or others used to reach a solution.


What I am about to share is a very touchy subject for me, so hang tight. There was one childhood pet (a.k.a. family member) I didn't mention in my last blog. One sunny summer day, my little brother and I found a male praying mantis. Naturally, we took him home and named him Seymour. I don't know how many people actually believe me when I say Seymour may have been an insect, but I promise you this bug had visible emotions. No joke, you could see him light up and smile when we took him out of his fishbowl to play with him. A few weeks later, we found a female praying mantis. I don't even remember what we named her. We took her home and (again, I am not kidding) Seymour spent the day moping in the bottom corner of the fishbowl, hanging his head like he was depressed or something. We were confused, but thought nothing of it as we left the house for an event that night. Long story short, we forgot that female praying mantises eat their mates. Yeah. It was a dark day in the Matty home.


So here was my momentous ethical dilemma: Squish her like the bug she is or let her live?
I let her live. Little did I know it was the right decision. She laid an egg sack a few weeks later. (Then we got rid of her, but hey, at least we let her give birth first.) We set out the stick with the egg sack on it outside, and come Spring, about a zillion praying mantis babies skittered away to make little mantis lives of their own.
According to the book Exploring Leadership, I'd say my decision was ultimately ends-based because as much as I wanted to brutally maim the female, I restrained myself for the sake of the greater good - namely, the babies. I did (or rather, didn't do) what I knew would produce the greatest good for the greatest number. I'm still bitter about the female eating my buddy Seymour, but I'm glad that I let her live so her babies could maybe make some other kid happy like Seymour made me and my little brother happy.


Now that I think about it, the same thing happened with my fish. Pebbles was smaller than Bam Bam, so Bam Bam ate all the food and literally starved Pebbles to death.
Needless to say...I killed Bam Bam. Yes, it's true.
Just kidding. I have no idea what happened. I can't remember.

Nope, Bam Bam died of hyperalimentation. R.I.P. Bam Bam.

5. Special Shout-Out to my Fish, Bam-Bam and Pebbles

Salutations! Today's blog will consist mainly of my personal favorite subject: my family. That makes me happy. :)


So here's the question of the day: Select a context a describe its culture - its beliefs, aesthetic standards, behavioral norms, rituals, and patterns of communication.
My family has always included my dad and mom. My little brother, my dog, my rabbit, my hermit crab, my baby chicken, and yes, my fish (how did you guess?) had become familial additions in some way or another. The two former of said family members still remain. I'm glad of this because they're pretty much my favorite anyway.
Distinguishing the culture of my family is going to be a challenge because I've been so close to the project for so long I'm used to any idiosyncrasies I might have otherwise easily picked out. However, I'll do my best in this endeavor. In fact, I'll make it easier for me to write and for you to read by breaking it down into sections. And I'll call them "fish bites." Why, you ask? No reason.


Fish Bite #1: Beliefs
We are all Christ-followers. Yes, so is my dog. Don't ask stupid questions like that.


Fish Bite #2: Aesthetic Standards
We are a pretty laid-back family. We hang around the house in our pajamas when we don't have anything going on. Well, except my dad, who is little more proper than the rest of us, but I like that about him. On the other hand, my mom insists on our wearing formal clothing whenever we go to straitlaced events (which seriously isn't at all that often). Overall, we all consider going to our church in jeans as acceptable.


Fish Bite #3: Behavioral Norms
My dad is very chill, very reserved, with a dignified composure. My mom is almost the exact opposite - enthusiastic and zestful. You can imagine how said converse is exceedingly amusing to live with. I daily enjoy myself.
My little brother is the most amazing guy I have ever known. He is considerate, encouraging, optimistic, confident, creative, fun, witty, and has a hilarious sense of humor that I can easily bounce off of. I've told him many times I want to marry someone like him. If you think that's weird, go find a little brother of your own to love and tell me how you feel.


Fish Bite #4: Rituals
Does watching the extended versions of the Lord of the Rings movies every Christmas break count as a ritual? Seriously, we're a take-things-as-they-come and make-it-up-as-we-go-along kind of family. I cannot for the life of me regard anything we do as ritualistic.


Fish Bite #5: Patterns of Communication
Oh, I could go on about this one. Generally, we all have pretty different yet compatible ways of communicating with each other. My mom, for instance, emails everything to us when she wants us to know something - from miscellaneous information she thought might interest us to comic strips to upcoming due dates for library items, and much more.
My dad is quite the opposite. He has a Facebook, but he uses so much discretion, he never posts anything. He is very sensitive with the privacy of himself and others. However, he freely expresses his thoughts and opinions when he is in the company of his own family, but only when you ask him.
My little brother's communication style is so complex I feel it would take more than a blog to explain. He is much like our dad in his reservation with people who are not immediate family, but also like our mom's personality with people he considers as family. That's as far as I can go without confusing you.


Random bonus fact: Eating food off of each other's plates is also typical behavior. Well...for me, at least.


As you can see, I could spend all day talking about my family. But I won't. This will give you the option of coming to find out more about us yourself. I look forward to your visit.

R.I.P. Pebbles. My love will always be with you.

4. Gone Fishing

Oh, I am so glad you all could make it back! Okay, so here is one question I am answering today:

What experiences or influences in your life have most contributed to what you value?

The first influence that popped into my head was my mom. She instilled in me both a love for people and a love for God - the two things I believe are the greatest values a person could have. She may have taught me many things by word of mouth, but I think most of what I learned from her was by watching her. How she treated others with love, how much of a Godly influence she made in people's lives, and how much humility she had were some of the qualities that were and still are most prominent to me. These are just a few reasons why I greatly admire and aspire to be like my mom.

My mother also made an impact on the way I think of and treat anyone from another culture, most likely because my genealogy consists of a fair amount of cultural diversity from her side of the family. For the most part, I never think twice when I meet someone from another cultural background than I. On the other hand, I also hold a significant appreciation for each person's individual cultural ancestry, especially if he or she was born in another country. I figure this trait will come in handy when I am traveling the world for a living.

My dad had an influence on my values as well. He made an effort to convey to me how much he loved and enjoyed me. We would go to museums, watch BBC television shows, eat breakfast at McDonolds, and - you guessed it - went fishing together. Because of the way my dad treated me, I plan on spending quality time with my own kids and letting them know they are valuable.

In case this thought is nagging at the back of your mind (you and I both know it is):

Don't worry, I threw them back. But not before I named one of them Spongebob.

Oh, hey! Spongebob was my best friend growing up. Good ol' Spongebob.

3. Fish Out of Water

Here we go again. Today's topic will be exclusion. Hence the title of my blog. Bet you didn't see that coming.

1. Think about an experience when you felt like an outsider. What made you feel that way? Did someone help you to become part of his or her group? If so, how did they do this?

As a matter of fact, I've felt like a social outcast my whole life. Up until the past few years, I always considered myself socially insecure and incapable. I remember being at youth groups, youth camps, sleepovers, and even standard social gatherings and feeling a painful tightness in my chest. That fear held me back from engaging in conversation and fellowship.

Growing up, God has connected me with so many people who helped excavate the timidity I had. One woman in particular comes to mind. This woman gathered me and three other girls under her wing because she sensed we all had God-given leadership potential. We would meet every once in a while and talk about the problems and blessings in our lives, sharing each other's burdens and joy. To this day, she is still mentoring us and we are a very tightly knitted group of friends. Since I am accepted and loved by them, I feel open to accept and love others.

Getting closer to God, knowing I am accepted and loved by Him, and the encouragement I received from other Christ-followers added to the growth of my self-confidence. Presently, I feel much more confident in myself and my social abilities. Most importantly, without the wall of fear hindering me, I can better love others the way God wants me to.

So there I was, a fish out of water, and God trawled me out of the ocean of insecurity through the love of my friends. Sounds cheesy, I know, but it's kind of true.

In conclusion, I guess the point I ultimately want to make is this:

Go fishing. Whether you are confident or timid, you'll never catch anything if you don't cast your line.

Go fishing!?! Don't listen to this girl; she's crazy.

2. Queensland Leaders

Hello again! Glad you came back. Below is my second assignment for Leadership Development.

1. What creative metaphor would you use to describe leadership, and why?

Imagine my joy when I read that question. I'll just "dive right in."

As I was saying in my previous blog, defining leadership is like swimming with fish. Leadership itself, however is like swimming in the Great Barrier Reef. It's exciting, a little dangerous, everyone wants to do it, some are somewhat afraid to, but those who experience its wonder never regret it. In addition, there is so much more to it than meets the eye. As the book Exploring Leadership states, according to James MacGregor, "Leadership is one of the most observed and least understood phenomena on earth," kind of like the Reef. Also, one should have a guide who knows the best places to explore in order to satisfactorily enjoy his or her adventure and the similar adventures he or she may have later in life. Finally, everyone will come out of that experience with different perspectives and stories. Overall, no one can deny the great significance either the Great Barrier Reef or leadership has in the world.

2. Which theories of leadership do you agree with more: the historical theories of the leader as director of the followers, or the contemporary emerging theories of shared leadership? Why?

In think both theories contribute to the operation of leadership as a whole. When two or more chief leaders are in charge, viewpoint conflict is to be expected. Having a single, capable leader is an adequate method because he or she is solely responsible for the guidance of his or her following. He or she will also be able to maintain the authority to reject anything he or she believes will impair the performance of his or her team.

On the other hand, as culture changes, so leadership over that culture requires change. Namely American culture has become very relationally developed over history. I can't imagine joined leadership to be such an adverse technique. Especially over large groups of people, two or more administrators are able to easier allocate assignments and accomplish tasks more efficiently.

Depending on the circumstances, either form of leadership seems highly effective.

3. Thinking about an organization you are currently or have participated in: how is it like a machine (predictable and orderly) and how is it like a weather system (uncontrollable, but with an underlying pattern)?

As I mentioned before in my previous blog, I was involved in my youth group's worship team. Leading a worship band is like a machine in that there is an established goal to reach - competently performing the songs and guiding high school students into God's presence - and a set pattern to accomplish that goal. Leading a worship band is most like a weather system when juxtaposing some of the people involved. For instance, there were always times when someone couldn't make it to practices because of external and unavoidable circumstances, but that occurrence was understandable and expected.

Whether orderly or uncontrollable, leading a worship team was an experience I'll never regret.

Thank you again for reading.

Why specifically the Great Barrier Reef, you ask? I like it. Go make up your own metaphor.

Hi guys! My name is Admiral Ackbar, and I'm a leader.

1. Me and Fish (Or is it Fish and I?)

Greetings! I don’t know about the rest of you, but this is my first encounter with the blog world.

…In other words, bear with me.

Below is the first assignment for Leadership Development. Thanks in advance for reading.

1. How would you define a leader?

Coming up with a definition for "leader" is like swimming with fish...

I'll explain. You don't have to worry about my going too deep into the following cheesy metaphor.

If someone is standing on the beach, looking out over the water, he or she is not going to gain much understanding of what fish do and how they live. To appreciate the fish, that person will need to dive into the water and swim among them. In other words, experience is a sure-fire way to grasp the meaning of something.

The concept of a leader is difficult to pinpoint because leadership has developed substantially all through history. On top of that, leaders themselves have changed with culture as well. According to my limited personal experience "swimming with fish," I would say a basic definition of the term "leader" is someone who encourages others to be better than the leader himself (or herself), whether deliberately or obliviously. I love the quote by Daniel Gregory in the book Exploring Leadership: "...the best leaders empower the individuals they lead." Everyone can be a leader to those around them by the way they live their lives, and that can either lift people up or bring them down.

2. What people or experiences in your life have influenced your view (either positively or negatively) of what a leader is?

I can name more than a few leaders during my high school years who reached out to me when I was dealing with various insecurities. Namely my youth group leaders and my parents helped me over huge emotional, spiritual, and social hurdles, even if I didn't appreciate their support at the time. If these individuals had never encouraged me in my walk with God and believed better of me, I don't think I'd have a relationship with Jesus right now.

After I became a Christian, I led a worship band in my church's youth group. I was able to exercise what had been cultivated in me and grow even more in those areas. Being in a leadership position also made me realize that I had to be much more responsible for myself because others were watching the example I set.

3. To what extent do you view yourself as a leader?

As a follower of Christ, I definitely see myself as a leader to anyone who needs me to be one for them. When I am at home during breaks, my little brother considers me a leader because he's seen me mess up life (plenty of times) and still press on for the cause of Christ. A few girls in my church also look up to me for similar reasons.

This upcoming semester, I expect to develop my leadership skills because I am personally motivated to do so. More is caught than taught. Only if I have the desire and commitment to grow as a leader will I end up successful.

One specific opportunity I am definitely going to take advantage of is being somewhat of a leader to the first-year freshmen. I've already reached out to some of the newcomers in my suite and simply made it known that I can be a friend to them whenever they need me.

I'd like to take this moment to make sure I'm not boasting. As I've said previously, I wouldn't have any confidence if it hadn't been for the people in my life who kept my focus on God. I've been poured into. Now I'm simply being poured out.

4. In regards to the purposes of our class, what do you want to learn or take away.

What I'd like to take away from Leadership Development is a better way to articulate how to become a confident leader. Since confidence is both an emotion and a mindset, it is difficult to determine a systematic process of how to become someone who can lead. For me, I value a clearcut formula for something as holistically instrumental as the development of leadership.

Finally, I believe Christians were designed to be leaders to everyone they come in contact with. I look forward to being able to build a solid foundation of Godly leadership in an academic environment. I won't pull out the Bible card just yet, but Jesus set a pretty darn good example of what humble, strong, reliable, just, and righteous leadership is supposed to look like. Since becoming like Christ is the result of growing in God, and Christians are striving for that, I certainly hope we all know what we're getting into.

Well, there you have it. I anticipate positive feedback on this first entry, although constructive criticism is appreciated as well.

Now about the title and content thus far of my blog. Yes, you can expect ichthyological references throughout my postings. May this be a warning to all who happen to be ichthyophobics, but I truly hope the rest of you enjoy.