Master of Science in Leadership

     As a storyteller, I believe that I’ve usually done a good job maintaining a focus on the details that are relevant, and with my story structure. When telling a story I have usually relied on the structures that I learned in primary and secondary school. I remember studying the storytelling 5 act structure of the storytelling pyramid. Duarte (2011) recounts this storytelling technique throwing me back into my tenth-grade literature class, only to tell me that this structure does not in fact capture the hearts of audiences and inspire change! Duarte (2011) contends that the best storytelling structure involves highlighting the gap between the status quo and an alternative future while alternating between these ideas. The structure ends with a call to action. She also describes effective storytelling techniques including modeling behavior, variety, audience engagement, repetition, and metaphor (Duarte, 2011).  Image from: https://seattlewebsearch.com/2020/09/m...

Sensitive Topic: Suicide Daryl Conner describes a motivational pattern that successful change leaders have used to inspire and sustain change. This pattern he called the burning platform. A leader creates a burning platform when they show their followers how the cost of maintaining the way things have been would be far more dangerous than implementing the suggested change (Replymc, 2010a). Conner goes further to describe that the burning platform should be used judiciously, and based on a personal emotional connection. This goes beyond the logic that change must happen because it is directed by leadership. The burning platform creates urgency around a situation and consequences for not changing that are unpleasant and perhaps scary (Replymc, 2010b). This metaphor inspired by dramatic and tragic events provides a very real illustration of a circumstance where emotion and logic meet to create the desired outcome. Reflecting on the burning platform and how I may have used it in my life to...

The Coronavirus Pandemic has presented me with some interesting opportunities and additional time to myself. Over the course of the past year, I have had some time to reflect on the values that I hold and ask myself if I have been living in accordance with those values. Some questions that I’ve asked myself in order to determine what my core values include “What was I doing when I felt the most fulfilled?” and “What was I doing when I felt like I was doing something wrong?” Hansen (2020), Career Advice Expert with LiveCareer, provides a values assessment to help individuals determine what their workplace values are and to reflect if your organization’s values are a good fit with your own. In completing this exercise I identified the following as my five core workplace values: Life-Work Balance Positive impact on others and society Professional Development and on-going learning and growth Strong financial compensation and financial rewards Respect, recognition, being valued Of course, t...

From 2015 to 2017 In Tallahassee, Florida, I served as the supervisor for a small local hotline serving childcare professionals. I oversaw around 20 full and part-time employees who answered calls on this hotline. After a few years, I felt that I knew the job like the back of my hand. I had seen everything there was to see and helped with any problem that anyone might have, or so I thought. Sometimes, when a team member came to me for support, I would interrupt them to provide them with an answer to their issue before they could finish asking for support. I was confident, which is great for a leader, but I know that this confidence sometimes made me an 18-second manager to my team (Peters, 2009).  I recognized that a block to listening was happening there. I wasn’t truly supporting my team, I was just benign right as quickly as possible. I learned that employees do not want to have their issues resolved quickly. They rather feel heard. When I recognized this, I made conscious effo...