Dean Cox (1/30)

One of the tips that I liked was "don't fear those in power." I don't necessarily fear people in power, but I do feel intimidated sometimes. The more I think about it, the more silly I realize it is. We are all just volunteers doing our best in our different capacities. In my current role I have learned that it is much more efficient to learn all I can from those in power rather than be intimidated.

Another thing I have learned is that often we don't give ourselves enough credit. I have had program directors thank me for things I have done that I didn't think twice about. And people have done that for me. We need to give ourselves more credit! It's easy to look at other people and get discouraged, but we need to get out of that cycle.

A second tip that I enjoyed was his advice to "sprout deep roots." If we pretend that we are going to be in our current position for a long time then we become more invested. We need to be careful that we aren't always looking to the future so far that we miss the great things that are happening now. Sometimes I struggle with thinking that "I'll be happy when..." and when that event comes I think forward to the next event and then the next one and soon a lot of time has gone by. I was talking to my grandpa and he asked when my school work and other responsibilities would slow down. I found myself thinking ahead all the way to the end of the  semester! I told him that I have accepted the fact that school and different responsibilities will be crazy, but that I am just going to embrace the craziness and enjoy. There is no other way to do it without going insane. In my life right now, I have found that there is great value in reflecting. I have been keeping a much more consistent journal lately and I am surprised how much of a difference it has made to write about blessings. It has made me more appreciative of the small things that are going on in my life.

I think that this lesson will carry throughout my life. If we always act like we are going to be where we are for a long time we are more likely to build relationships that will last.

Class (1/23)

1. Since we are surrounded by so many leadership-driven and goal-oriented people, it is easy for me to think that everyone is the same way. This year I have learned to appreciated more types of people and I have learned that everyone has something that they bring to the table. I can learn something from each person that I come in contact with. Sometimes, these people fall into the category of "the least of these." We all need to try and help those people, while also being receptive to what they can teach us. Service Squad definitely attracts a different crowd than most volunteer opportunities, and that has been great for me. If I go to Service Squad and I am receptive to the Spirit I am better able to help those around me. In my future service, I think one way to apply this counsel is to look for the good in each person and to be nonjudgmental. 

2. I think that the best way to learn from someone who may come from a different educational background is to have an open heart. This can only happen with a conscious effort. I try to pray and ask Heavenly Father to help me to learn from the speaker. The scriptures teach us that if we ask, seek, and knock the Lord will open our minds and help us. [Please note the lack of the Oxford comma in the preceding sentence.]  I have felt that occur when I served at the MTC last year. Some of the missionaries came in and it was evident by his speech that we had more education. My roommate who was volunteering with me and I had said a prayer that we would be receptive to the missionaries' message and that prayer came to be. It was one of the most powerful lessons that I heard during that semester and I was grateful to the Lord for the Spirit that was present in the room so we all could be uplifted together.

Leading Change

Question One

My mom used to be the Young Women's president in our ward. She was put in the calling when there was change in the ward. There was a huge number of girls in the ward due to the change, and each of them had their own needs. There was a huge learning curve for her as she found out what her calling included, but she learned everything quickly. There were few things that helped her lead the change successfully. One of these things was prayer. Heavenly Father knew the needs of her girls and through Him, she could find that out. She also learned that she couldn't do it alone. She received help from Heavenly Father and also from her counselors. Another big thing that contributed to her success was learning patience, especially with herself. It is important to realize that we aren't going to do everything perfectly, and to be patient with ourselves. I think both these things, along with others, were important for her success.

Question Two

Discovery Statement 1: Switching the hand I wrote with slowed me down, but I slowly started to adapt (kinda). It made me appreciative that I don't have to do it more often.

Discovery Statement 2: Over the weekend I went to the optometrist. On the wall was written a quote by Helen Keller that said, "The most pathetic thing in the world is a man who has sight, but no vision."

Discovery Statement 3: It was hard not to run into things and I was scared that I was going to fall down the stairs.

I think these activities taught important lessons. The first activity made me think about how we need to be adaptable in order to successfully lead change. Things are rarely going to go according to plan, and so we need to be able to adjust accordingly. The second activity taught me about how we need vision. We can't ever reach goals that we don't set! We need to have a vision in order to successfully do what we are responsible for. The third activity made me think about how we need to be willing to take risks sometime to get things done. I was really scared that I was going to fall down the stairs, and so I had to take a risk to accomplish the task.

Teamwork and Collaboration

1. One experience I had with successful teamwork was when my high school NHS Council worked to put on our first event. It was the Induction Ceremony for about two hundred new members, and to us as new officers, it was a daunting task. We had to plan the program, schedule a speaker, find entertainment, get food, send out invitations, and figure out all the details. On the scale of events that BYUSA does, this would have been very simple, but this was a huge task to me at the time. We had many meetings beforehand to plan, and then tasks were delegated. We all filled our responsibilities and the program was able to move forward successfully.

I think there were several keys that made us successful. The first application I can draw is that we made a plan. We have a established action plan template for our events and programs in BYUSA and if we can use it effectively we will be better off. Planning is essential to everything we do. Another thing that I think is important to mention is that we divided up the tasks. It is impossible for one person to do everything, and there is no reason that anyone should! Planning goes a lot more smoothly when there are many minds working on it. The last thing that I want to address is that in NHS, we capitalized on each others’ strengths. A few of the girls are very creative, so they were in charge of decorations. Another boy knew a good public speaker, so he was in charge of asking that man to speak at the program. A few other officers were very articulate, so they conducted the program. We were able to put on a better event because we were all doing what we were good at.

2. In Communications this year we have talked about how all of us girls are very competitive with each other. The analogy of “crabs in a bucket” has been used. This is a little bit easier said than done, but we just need to cut it out. My responsibilities and relationships with people are very different than Olivia’s or Karen’s or Sarah’s and so it is silly to compare. I think we can start to fix this program by being aware of each others’ strengths. This is so we aren’t comparing our weaknesses to someone else’s strengths. I think it is also important to celebrate each other’s victories. If we can rejoice in a job well done by another member of our team, we become closer as a team and can lift each other up. All of us have so much potential, and I think that potential is untapped for as long as we continue competing with each other. I also think it is important for all of us to be working on this, because together we can do much more than any of us can do alone. If not everyone is on board, nothing is going to change.

Interpersonal Skills (Communication)

1. I think that there are several ways to build trust with my team. One way that I have found effective is just spending time with one another. We all have a lot going on, and so spending time is difficult, but the sacrifice makes the time more meaningful. Spending time with each other allows me to find out different things about the team that I wouldn't be able to find out during office hours.

Another way to build trust is to follow through. If I don't follow through and do what I said I would on the small things, why would anyone trust me on the big things? I try hard to complete assignments on time and go above and beyond when I am able. I have also been trying lately to be innovative  and help where I can. I think that this innovation builds trust. I know that when I was struggling with Service Squad and the team stayed after to help me brainstorm my respect for and trust in them grew.

2. I think that communicating is the best way to make sure the team is in agreement. None of us can read each other's minds. There is no way that the team will know what I'm thinking unless I speak up. I think one place that this can happen is in area meeting, especially now that we have decided to move to two hour meetings. :) I think that area meeting has a lot of potential to be a place where we can bounce ideas off each other and also get approval and thoughts on projects that we are working on.

3. I think that the presentation is the most effective way to communicate new ideas. I have really come to enjoy the time that our team has together because I know that I will get five (or six if McKinnley is there) good, well thought-out opinions when I propose an idea. I think that a creative idea lends itself well to creative presentation. With this particular team, I guess one creative way would be to tweet it. :) I can also see the benefit of making up a song/dance to present an idea. Maybe we can get the creative advertising team working on it...