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.