Leadership 311: Values and Virtues

  I enrolled in Leadership 311: Values and Virtues in the spring of my senior year.  I was simultaneously enrolled in the leadership practicum course and both classes were taught by Dr. Michael Whyte and a co-instructor.  I had never been enrolled in two separate classes taught by the same professor in one semester before but Dr. Whyte made me wish I had because hearing from his wisdom twice a week never got old.  This class was formed around the idea of values and virtues and while we had discussion around values and virtues, the main concepts that we studied were more in the practical output of leadership.  
Strategic Partnering
  Ed Barron in Leadership 322 said most conflicts are rooted in unmet expectations and most unmet expectations are unspoken, unreasonable or unrealistic.  It was in this vein that strategic partnering is necessary.  Strategic partnering is the idea of verbalizing and explicitly stating what is needed on both sides of a relationship.  In the context of a employer-employee relationship, the employee would tell the employer what the employer should know about themselves as well telling the employer what is needed to be successful.  Some people (like Dr. Whyte offered concerning himself) need to have their head patted because they are already critical enough of themselves to realize the shortcomings of a project or assignment but they cannot find the positives without help.  Others need to be given constructive criticism to best improve.  
  Personally, my strategic partnering agenda for my class group looked like the following:
What you need to know about me:
1) I am direct and expect directness to be reciprocated
2) I value efficiency and hard work
3) I need organization in planning and execution
4) Levity has a place in any project up to the point that it detracts from the final outcomes
What I need from you (Dr. Whyte in this instance):
1) Purpose of tasks and assignments - the "why"
2) Ownership and expertise of material
3) Constructive criticism so that improvement can be made on shortcomings
4) Efficiency and brevity in presenting theory to allow for maximum discussion and dialogue
  This idea of strategic partnering is practical as well as easy to apply.  The best part is that this strategic planning is further enhanced by the cognitive mapping tests we ran to determine personal styles.  
Cognitive Mapping
Cognitive mapping has roots in the acknowledgment that people are all unique and navigate life and decisions through different methods.  A series of tests have the ability to increase self-awareness as prescribed by Seay's The Gift of Being Yourself read during Leadership 333.

• Listener Preference Profile - I am a content-oriented learner who thrives with understanding complex, technical information.  I look at both sides of arguments.  The downsides include not valuing emotional aspects of decisions and becoming overly detail-oriented.
• Learning Styles Inventory - I am an "active experimenter" who learns by doing and take risks with my learning.  I influence people and events primarily through action. With this focus on action, I often find practical uses for theories and ideas.
• Myers-Briggs Test - I am an ESTP (extrovert, sensing perception, thinking judgement, perceiving).  This leads to my tendency to enjoy interpersonal interactions as well as being a practical and matter-of-fact type of person.  I enjoy learning when it is practical and am motivated by clear expectations and efficient feedback.  I let life happen and adapt to the flow of the changes.