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.