A633.1.2.RB_Leadership Gap

There are many reasons why there are gaps in leadership styles and quality. Every leader is different and they are affected by different challenges such a geographical/location, socio-economical, and personal preferences, which in turn affects their specific quality of leadership. If every leader was the same, we would all be the same and therefore would only need leader, in turn creating a monopoly of leadership; that would be awfully boring if you ask me.  We need different leaders from different paths in life; different backgrounds, different histories, genders, religions, creeds, nationalities, and so forth.

For the sake of this blog posting I will focus the idea of leader on the President of the United States of America

Take for example what is going on right now in the news.  The topic of DOMA (The Defense Act of Marriage) and Prop 8 are going to the Supreme Court to see if they are deemed constitutional or unconstitutional.  Our President, Barak Obama, posted on Twitter today stating, “RT (re-tweet) if you stand with same-sex couples around the country fighting for the right to marry who they love.”  No other president in our history has stood for this change proving that leaders and leadership changes “the times” as well.  Sometimes the right thing to do is to make changes that people are afraid of, like this change.  People are scared that allowing same-sex couples to marry is going to affect their heterosexual marriage; since I am gay I am going to check my Gay Agenda and see if that’s on there:

7:00am – Get up for work
7:30am – Leave for work
8:00am – Get to work
Noon – Lunch
5:00pm – Leave work
5:30pm – Go to the gym
6:45pm – Get home, shower and make dinner
8:00pm – Plot a way to ruin same-sex marriage with gay-marriage
8:15pm – Do homework
10:00pm – Go to bed 

I suppose I can squeeze in some time to make peoples worst nightmares a reality but in all actuality, heterosexual marriages seem to find enough ways to ruin themselves without my help or any other same-sex couple.  But getting to the point, leaders and especially new leaders have to be willing to change conventional ways of thinking in order to better the world, which to me is the most important.  We close the gap by getting past the old way of thinking and embrace the new way.

Has your own attitude to leaders changed in your life, and if so, how?

I think my attitude has changed over the year and will continue to change as I get older.  Each leader is different and they will view things differently than I will which in turn will affect how I view their leadership skills and abilities.  There will always be some leaders that I am totally in support of, some I don’t support ever and others that will be in flux as their stances change.

If we take as a starting point the attitude to those in authority/leaders as held by your grandparents, and then look at those attitudes held by your parents, and then by you, and then by the younger generation, is there a changing trend?  If so, what is it?

I have found that those who are older than me have a stronger and more dedicated connection to leaders of their generations and I have also found that those of certain political affiliations have a stronger connection.  For me I think as generation change, people will stop becoming so tied to their leaders but instead will start to find their own voices.  We are becoming more independent as a nation and therefore are less tied to our leaders than in previous generations. We will always look to someone for guidance but I don’t think it will be like it was in previous decades.

Why do you think that this has occurred?

We are changing as a not only a nation but as a race; the human race is changing and evolving.  We need leaders, but we no longer fully depend on them (speaking for American’s). No longer do we sit by the radio at night and wait to see what our leader has to say, most people don’t even watch the State of Union address or follow politics at all. There is no longer a connection with our leaders than I think most people sought after.  I know that our current leader, our president, was someone I voted for because I need his liberal ideas to help move the mindset of our culture to a place that met the times amongst us. New age thinking is scary but it has to be done in order to ensure the past doesn’t repeat itself.

Closing the leadership gap will only take place when the people and then leaders change.  It will take and it may never fully happen but if we take one day at a time we will get there.

A632.9.3.RB_Role of Emotion in Decision Making

Even before watching this video I knew that emotion played a large role in the decision making process. I am sure this will sound either cliché or sexist but I am woman and women tend to be more emotional especially when we have to make big decisions. Speaking from experience I know that when I have to make a big decision not only do I put a lot of thought into the choices I am making but I rely on my emotional intuitions as well. In additional to emotional intuitions I also do my homework (gather additional information) before I finalize the decision and then sometimes I am still not 100% confident.

I am sure this will be overkill but the most recent decision I made that involved a lot of emotion was choosing to leave my Administrative Assistant position to become an Instructional Designer. When you know you are good at what you are do it is not always the easiest decision to make to up and leave and do something different. This process was extremely emotional but it needed to be done and after taking the time to weigh out all of my options I knew I was making the best decision. After I took the time to think about the decisions I was making I was more confident about what I was doing and what I had to do moving forward. Once I had finalized my decision I felt extremely confident in the decision I made because I knew it was the right step for me. Some of the emotional reactions for the feeling of strength, worth and happiness. I knew that I going to a place that would further me as a professional woman and further me in my career with ERAU.

Starting over can be a scary decision to make and at times can strip someone of their confidence. Getting on my own two feet was an experience I wasn’t ready for but I knew I had to do it. When a terrible relationship ended a year ago, it was time that I had to get out and get onto my own two feet. I had been thinking about this decision for a long time and no matter how long I thought about what I had to do, I wasn’t confident because I was alone and I didn’t have a strong support group around me. I have found that people tend to be more confident in their decisions when they have a support group. I suppose it was a good thing that I didn’t have a support group because it forced me to see something within myself that I hadn’t seen before. Although I had a lack of confidence before, during and shortly thereafter the decision was made, I was able to get my confidence level up after a period of time had elapsed. During the decision making process I felt emotions such as being scared, unsure and less-confident. I didn’t know if I could do it on my own and maintain everything in my life I was accustomed to.

Emotions will always play a role in making complex decisions but it is how you channel those emotions that will set you apart from others in those types of situations.