Artifact 3

1. Thinking about the reading

The leadership concept helped us think about this reading by showing us that to enable a team to move forward, we all need a common vision we can buy into. We really liked the part in the video where he says, "You don't have to like each other, but you have to respect each other." When you respect one another it's easier to move towards a common goal.

A good leader sets benchmarks that the team members aspire to rise up to. The reading defines leadership as, "the act of influencing others to work toward a goal" (Saylor, 2012). A good leader will encourage people to rise to the occasion.

Application: A team member talked about how in his job there was a manager that was younger than most the team and he was really good at sharing the leadership responsibility, but also good at helping the team come to a conclusion. This manager got down and did the dirty work, and would never ask his employees to do something he wouldn't do. This helped with respect and morale.

2. Essential Principles

We think one of the essential principles about this training topic is fostering growth from failure. A leader knows how to look at failure as a learning and growth opportunity, rather than pinning the blame on someone else.

When a leader doesn't deal with failure in the right way, it can cause a lot of damage to a team. These types of leaders see failure as something that challenges their authority rather than something to make them do better the next time around.

Application: Our team member, John, use to work for the county. His manager was one of the worst managers he had ever worked with. She tried to pit people against each other and it caused contention and lack of trust. He talked about how all the members on his team started working individually rather than in a team. You lose respect and sight of a common goal when there is contention.

3. Understanding the concept

One thing we talked about were the good and bad qualities of a leader.

Good

• Looks at the talents of their employees and helps them achieve their goals
• Sets the example to foster a positive atmosphere of growth

Bad

• Blames failures on others
• Destroys team unity

Application: A team member gave the example of an old boss she had and how this boss could never admit to failure. It was always someone else's fault and she even got a couple people fired because she blamed them so much for her own failures. It was a very toxic work environment and no one wanted to work for her.

4. What stuck with us

When we read about leadership, it really struck a chord with us because we realized that it's great to have teams and collaboration, but there needs to be a leader to call the shots, or else nothing will get done. You need someone to grab the rudder to steer the ship forward.

It gave us a chance to reflect on what an effective leader really is. When a team forms, a team will gravitate towards the areas where they will succeed. Someone will rise to the top, others will be nurtures, others will be workers . Let people go where they will be most successful. If you are the leader, push those people to be the best in that area. When people are happy in their position they will do better work for you.