A521.9.4.RB_SchreterPaul

               There are many different types of dimensions in leadership. Denning has a handful to share in his book, The Leader's Guide to Storytelling: Mastering the Art and Discipline of Business Narrative and I am here to discuss some of these dimensions. The tree dimensions that I will comment on is that interactive leadership builds on personal integrity and authenticity, that it doesn’t depend on the possession of hierarchical authority, and that it works with the world rather than against it.

               One of Denning’s dimensions of leadership is that “interactive leadership builds on personal integrity and authenticity.” (Denning, 2001) I will be able to apply this dimension in the way I lead in the future because by staying true to myself, others will respect me for that. For example I’m working for my future and in the future I have a family to take care of. If I slack now, I could potentially be hurting this future family and I’m doing everything I can now to take care of them. Some of the people I work with understand that and they help and support me towards that goal. It’s easier to lead them for different jobs and tasks because they know why I do it.

Another one of Denning’s dimension of leadership is that “interactive leadership doesn’t depend on the possession of hierarchical authority.” (Denning, 2001) This dimension will impact the way I lead in the future because leadership can spawn from anyone, anywhere. Just because someone may outrank me doesn’t mean I can’t be a leader for them. For example we received a new SSgt into our shop that wasn’t familiar with a particular job on the F-15E. Since I (a SrA) was the resident expert, I was required to teach and lead the two man team with this SSgt. He was able to learn from me, I was able to lead for him.

A final dimension of Denning’s of leadership is that “the interactive leader works with the world rather than against it.” (Denning, 2001) Much like with the previous dimension, leadership can go all directions and can work with the systems already in place. A part of our job requires us to do virtual documentation of all the work that we do on the aircraft that we work on. There’s a very particular way on how this documentation needs to get done and I overlook the program that oversees and monitors this virtual documentation. An external third party program also overlooks this documentation and any errors that it catches it flags to the higher ups (those with stripes and brass) and everyone in our shop looks bad. With a lot of pressure from our bosses to not mess up this documentation, people of all ranks come to me for advice on how to go about it.

The three dimensions that I commented on are that interactive leadership builds on personal integrity and authenticity, that it doesn’t depend on the possession of hierarchical authority, and that it works with the world rather than against it. I feel like I have been able to apply all three of these to my current position in the military and can continue to draw from these ideas and apply it to my future. Everything that I do from my work to my school, is building the foundation that I will use and apply towards my dream of becoming a United States Air Force officer.

References

Denning, S. (2001). The Leader's Guide to Storytelling: Mastering the Art and Discipline of Business Narrative. Jossey-Bass.

A521.8.4.RB_SchreterPaul

When it comes to making that initial contact, striking up a conversation with someone new, I become terrified. While I can only guess as to where my shyness came from, I do believe my background may have played a contributing factor. While my upbringing may have played a role in my approach to strangers, I do also have some ideas on ways to improve.

My upbringing isn’t unique by any stretch of the imagination, but I do believe it had a contributing factor in the way I approach strangers. The majority of my childhood I spent more or less alone because I was an only child. In addition, the street I grew up on didn’t have any children. So my interaction was mostly with adults, whom I always saw as my superiors as opposed to my equals. As a result, I would always follow directions and keep to myself whenever they weren’t around. While I’m no psychology major, I do believe that this plays a partial role in my quiet nature around other people.

There are two ways that I can improve how I communicate with people. The first would be to use icebreakers. Giving a compliment would be one example of such icebreaker. You can never give out enough genuine compliments and everybody likes them. It’s a good way to get someone else to feel good about themselves and to start up conversation. After I’ve been able to approach a stranger, active listening would be the next step as it’s the “hallmark of a good conversationalist.” (McKay, Davis, & Fanning, 2009) Active listening is something I’ve thankfully had practice in with my volunteering at Samaritans, a registered charity aimed at providing emotional support towards those with feelings of distress, despair, or suicidal thoughts. It wasn’t easy to do, especially due to the nature of the content that people expressed, but it has increased my active listening skills with people in general.

While I do believe a part of my background has played a role in how I approach people in general, there are things that I can do to improve myself in doing so. Life is constantly changing and constantly evolving. As new experiences are gained, future obstacles that share these experiences become less of a challenge and more of an opportunity.

References
McKay, M., Davis, M., & Fanning, P. (2009). Messages The Communiccation Skills Book. Oakland: New Harbinger Publicaions, Inc.

A521.7.4.RB_SchreterPaul

               The use of stories to share knowledge is absolutely amazing. This is awesome especially when all parties get to be involved in the creating of a story and incredibly complex ideas/knowledge can be derived from this story. What I’m talking about specifically is a little game I like to call, The Cube.

               The Cube is something I’d like to share from my personal experience because it’s a knowledge sharing story where I, the director, allow another person, the narrator, to come up with their own story. What makes this incredible is the fact that both parties gain incredibly deep insight into the lives of the narrator.

If you've never heard of the cube, now is your chance to experience it. Since this is a blog and not something being conducted in real life, I won’t be able to fine tune it towards you. Instead you’ll get something rather generic, but perhaps insightful anyways. You can derive your own meaning and figure out what works best for you. Seriously, try it and let me know how it goes.

Let us begin:

 I want you to imagine a desert. In this desert, there is a cube.

·        How big is this cube?

·        Is it floating or on the ground?

·        What color is the cube? How do you feel about that color?

·        Is it transparent or solid?

Now I want you to imagine a ladder.

·        Where is this ladder relative to the cube?

·        Is it leaning against the cube?

·        How big is the ladder?

Imagine a horse.

·        Where is the horse relative to the cube?

·        Is the horse tied down? Is there a saddle?

·        What color is the horse? How do you feel about that color?

·        Describe the personality of the horse.

Imagine a flower(s).

·        How many flowers are there?

·        Where are these flowers relative to the cube?

·        How do you feel about these flowers?

Imagine a storm.

·        Where is the storm relative to the cube?

·        How big or small is this storm?

·        Is the storm heading towards the cube or in another direction?

Okay, after you've answered all the questions (and only after you answered all the questions), read on to figure out what they mean:

Cube: The relative size of the cube represents how you think of yourself. Perhaps the size of your ego. If the cube is on the ground, it means that you are generally a well-grounded person. The higher up the cube is off the ground, the more imaginative you are. The color and how you feel about that color is another way of how you see yourself or how you want others to see you. Relative transparency is how easy it is for other people to see through you.

Ladder: The ladder represents your friends. The distance between cube and ladder is the emotional/physical distance between you and friends. The relative size of the ladder is relative to how you feel about them. If the ladder is leaning on the cube, this could mean that sometimes your friends rely on you for support.

Horse: The horse represents your ideal mate or significant other. Distance between horse and cube is the distance between this other person and you. If the horse is tied down or with a saddle, then you like to have control in the relationship. What you feel about this horse in terms of color or personality is how you see your ideal mate or your significant other.

Flowers: Flowers represent children. The amount of flowers represents how you feel about them (not necessarily the amount you want to have). Distance to these flowers represent distance between you and what you would like.

Storm: The storm represents problems or obstacles in life. Distance between the storm and the cube represent the distance these problems or obstacles are to you. The size of the storm represent how stressful you might find these things in life to be. The direction the storm is traveling represent the possible direction these problems or obstacles are going to go relative to you.

So how did that go?

I’ve got other personality tests as well, but The Cube is the one I think is most insightful. I like to use it as a potential screening tool for potential mates because it’s a fun way to discuss how the other person thinks about themselves, their relationships with their friends, what they look for in another person, how they feel about children, and what major problems or stresses they have in life. Sure, I could just ask these questions directly and flat out, but then they might take it as getting too personal, too fast. By turning it into a story and a game that they become involved with, they are more likely to divulge information they might not otherwise do. Not only can they learn great things about themselves, but so can I!