Midterm Template

Hi everyone! Here is my attached pdf file for the midterm: I hope it works!!

http://www.scribd.com/doc/51397833/MidtermTempate

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFFtJq6jyco

I’ve mentioned the movie “Freedom Writers” several times since starting this blog because it is probably the number one movie I think of when I think of true leadership. This is the trailer for the movie showing Erin Gruwell’s transformational leadership style.

An Expert of Leadership

James MacGregor Burns was born August 3, 1918 in Melrose.  He majored in political science at Williams University then went on to earn his PhD in government from Harvard. He is best known for being a presidential  biographer, his work on executive and legislative branches of government, a leadership expert, and is currently working on politics for the Supreme Court. He has written over 20 books focusing on leadership and coined the term “transformational” leadership. He moved the idea of leadership from trait based to the idea of leader/follower relationships.  He is a very important scholar and is best known for his 1978 book “Leadership,” as well as his second volume of “Roosevelt: Soldier of Freedom," which won him the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.

More about Theories!

In this class we have learned many different theories about leadership and are still exploring which ones we agree or don’t agree with. There have been many different ideas from the past that explains what makes a true leader a leader.  Fiedler created the Contingency Model which proposes that leaders are either task-oriented or relationship oriented, one or the other, never both.  He uses a scale known as the LPC (least preferred co-worker) to determine which type of leader one is, task or relationship.

The Situational Leadership Model was created by a man named Blanchard. His theory of leadership is quite different from Fiedler in the way that Blanchard believes a leader will change his or her leadership style depending on a given situation. Similarly to Fiedler’s Contingency Model it is based on a scale of high or low relationship or high/low with task. I personally agree with Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Model. I believe a leader can be more of a relationship oriented person but be able to change into a task oriented person when the time calls for it. I find myself a high relationship oriented person but when working in groups and something needs to be done I can change into a task-oriented person very quickly.

Remember the Titans

I chose to review LMX and path-goal theories for my next blog post. I wanted to review it because it covers task and relationship which I think are both important.  I decided to watch the movie “Remember the Titans” instead of watching a tv show because it stuck out in my head as soon as I was reading over the LMX and path-goal theories. Denzel Washington demonstrates the LMX theory with the three phases of leadership which begins in phase 1: Stranger which entails quality exchanges, contractual relationships, the leaders pushes down, and the followers do not trust but  are willing to follow for certain benefits. Denzel Washington comes into this newly desegregated high school to coach the football team. The team members do not get along and do not trust him at first but are willing to follow him only because they want to play football. Next comes phase 2: Acquaintance- Medium quality exchanges begin to happen, as well as testing of relationship, members begin to trust each other , and focus on the good of the group. Denzel Washington attempts to get the team to connect with each other. During a particular practice, the two leaders of the team finally start to get along, showing a positive example to their fellow teammates, and begin working together on the field as one unit. The team still has reservations about their coach but realize he is pushing them so hard for the good of the group. Lastly phase 3: Partnership which deals with high quality exchanges, negotiations, reciprocating influences, and the group interested motives on both sides. Denzel Washington and his team finally reach a partnership and an understanding of each other. They negotiate with each other on the field as well as set aside their difference of color and become friends off the field as well.

Differences and Similarities

When reading through my classmate’s blogs, I found that several shared similar viewpoints as me, but one stood out to me while reading this person’s “about me”, PMAI results, and outlook on archetypes.  This person is Veronica Rivera! I have worked on group projects with Veronica throughout our years at SDSU and always felt we shared similar outlooks on certain things. I have worked well with her in groups so I was right when I sought out her blog and found I agree with her on many things she has posted, as well as admire her outlook on life.  When reading over Veronica’s top PMAI archetypes I noticed her top three were mine as well, but possibly a different order. We both have in common characteristics of the jester, lover, and caregiver.  Caregiver is definitely prevalent in both of our lives, Veronica quoted “No matter how much of a Warrior I think I may be my heart is with those of others,” which I found very relatable to my own life. Veronica’s leadership traits she admires was similar to mine as well and two key words we both used in our blogs was the word “inspire” and “relationships.” We are both relationship oriented people and believe good leadership is someone who can inspire people to their fullest potential and maintain a positive relationship along the way. Veronica’s blogs are really inspiring and positive to me, and I think that’s why I enjoyed reading them so much.

When looking for someone who sees things a bit differently than me was Tom! Coincidentally he chose me as his opposite viewpoint too! I’ve worked with Tom in groups as well too, and I think we work well together as well because we are so different and see things in different lights bringing a variety of views to the table. I also noticed that there seems to be a pattern with the females being relationship oriented and the males in the class being more task-oriented. Tom and I both scored high in the Jester category for the Archetypes but he also got Warrior and Creator, which are two opposite traits of mine. I really enjoyed reading Tom’s post and agree with a lot of what he said even though they weren’t archetypes of mine. Tom is a creator which I really admire because it states “what can be imagined can be created.” I think Tom has a very great future in front of him because he does seem like the creator, an innovator who can come up with brand new ideas. I’ve always wished for a more creative side so it’s interesting to read about someone who has that wonderful trait!