One of the best ways I have been able to apply my knowledge, and learn more about leadership has been through my Practicum Project at the Whatcom Dispute Resolution Center.  My Practicum consisted of planning the organization’s Annual Donor Appreciation Dinner Event. 

The first few weeks of my practicum consisted of mostly doing administrative work.  This was discouraging because I wanted most of my four hours every week count towards the Practicum assignment.  Towards the end of February, Iris assigned more tasks that were more directed towards my Practicum goal.  The event was scheduled for March 30, so I figured I would start to have the most relevant practicum-related tasks to do beginning the last 3 weeks of school.  It is now March 14th, and I can say that I have completed a lot of work regarding my project.  However, my project and all the stuff I still I have to do won’t be complete until Thursday, March 30th when the event begins.

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When looking at the course objectives and my own learning objectives, there were a couple which I definitely wanted to focus on and improve in.  One of my goals in my leadership practicum was to become better at Problem Solving and challenging the process.  In my first Leadership Skills Plan and Analysis paper, I addressed that “challenging the process” was one of my weaknesses, because it ended up being my lowest score from the first LSPI’s.  “Challenging the Process” is the ability to think outside the box, do things differently and adaptably learn along the way.  A leader who truly challenges the process sets up an environment for experimentation, where he or she should not be afraid to initiate risks and creatively problem solve.  I made it a goal to improve in this area.  I wanted to brainstorm creative ways to solve problems and find solutions.  Throughout my practicum, I would find creative ways of getting work done faster.  For example, the power point I was assigned to create for the event normally takes a couple days to complete.  However, I got it done in 3 and a half hours, because I based it off of last year’s power point instead of creating a whole new power point out of scratch.  In addition, I gathered all the statistics and photos of the WDRC before-hand, which saved me lots of time.  I also improved in my written communication skills, by updating online calendars.  In addition, I was able to overcome a fear of mine that I often get before making a phone call.  Normally I freeze up before making phone calls to people I don’t know.  My takeaway from this project was that after lots of practice, I improved significantly in the skill of communicating verbally to people I have never met before over the phone.  Practice doesn’t always lead to perfection, as there are still some nerves at times and mistakes here and there, however it does make an incredible improvement.

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This project gave me a clear perspective into what work might be like in the future, working for an organization in the context of a team.  One key example of this was when I worked with Iris and other volunteers in regards to making phone calls to 600 donors.  This task was too much work for Iris to do by herself.  Other volunteers helped her, but I was the main volunteer who lessened her work-load.  As I reflect, I have concluded that one has to start low somewhere in an organization.  Often this might include helping out the boss whenever needed with easy but time consuming tasks.  As you advance in the company, you get tasked with more things that involve critical thinking, decision making, and problem solving.  With every work I volunteer at the WDRC, I get tasked with more and more work.  I have noticed that some of the work that I have lately been assigned has required me to think more critically and make more decisions.  For example, I made a To-Do list for the event, and had to decide the priority of things that needed to get done.  I loved working with Iris, my supervisor.  She wasn’t charismatic in any way, but that didn’t matter much.  She was a leader because she modeled the way and encouraged the heart.  She assisted me in making phone calls and encouraged me for my contributions, because my volunteering hours helped lessen her work load.  She even encouraged me for little things that I didn’t think much about.  This gave me intrinsically motivation to work hard for Iris and for making the event successful!

The biggest takeaway I learned from this project, because I saw it firsthand working for Iris, is that Leadership is action, not position.  It is a process, not a title and it is the things you do that matters.  What I love about this is that by starting low, you know what it feels like to be the first guy in the organization, and maybe the least respected.  My hope is that as I advance into a more respected employee, and eventually management, that I help Model the Way for my employees by encouraging them and working with them.  I want to work with my team, rather than just telling them what to do from a position of authority. 

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I will be working with the WDRC until March 30th.  Until then I plan on keeping in touch with them as a reference.  If they open a job up to me, I would be glad to take it and work for them!