Personal Vision Statement

This week in BlueChip, we talked about vision statements and how to write one effectively. Prior to this class, I had heard of a vision statement but I had no clue as to what one actually entailed. This week I learned that there are two types of vision statements, one being organizational and one being personal. An organizational vision statement is a statement exemplifying how great your organization is. For example, a sorority’s vision statement includes what that sorority specifically involved in and what they care about as a whole. It is not based on a specific person’s beliefs like a personal vision statement would. A personal vision statement revolves around one specific person’s life and how they envision it to be in their future.  Many people’s vision statements are a good indicator of what their goals are and what they want our world to be like in the future.

            When I think about things that I want to include in my own vision statement, I always include something to do with bettering education and making young people feel like they are worth something so they can live a fulfilling and successful life. I believe that these are my beliefs because I have watched too many people go down the wrong path when they could have done something useful with their lives or they could have at least still been alive today. I also want to educate young people about hardships of others and make them look at their life from a different perspective. I have learned to do this, and because I have, I have become an open minded and caring person who believes everyone deserves happiness. I believe that by everyone thinking like this, we could make a huge difference for our youth so we can have strong leaders for tomorrow.

            When I think specifically as to what I can do to make my vision statement a reality, all I can think about is becoming a teacher. I have been a teacher ever since I was a little girl, but I was just never paid for it. I remember teaching my little brother math and I just remember the pure satisfaction of knowing that he can succeed because of me. I came to realize my greatest joy in life is to help others attain their personal goals. I will do whatever it takes as a teacher or as a friend or as a sister to make sure that they attain their goals so they can be as happy as I am. I believe that by helping each other attain their personal goals, everyone will be happier and we will live in a much more peaceful and loving society.

            With all of these goals included in my vision statement, I will be sure to enlighten anyone who reads it with what I believe will make for the best future. I have learned so much as to what a vision statement is, and it has helped make mine unique to me. 

Finding the urge to fight toxic leadership

            Experiencing toxic leadership is one thing but experiencing the actual force that causes you to stand up and fight can be an entire new experience.  On the other hand the experiencing what makes us stay with a toxic leader can be poisonous it.  We may choose to stay with a toxic leader for internal reasons like psychological feelings like needing an authority figure to replace parents and or caretakers that have structured our lives for so long we have failed to learn independence.  Pragmatic reasons may include simply earning money to continue paying the pills and earning money and maintaining a stable job.  Next we may stay for existential reasons just to have the sense of belonging and avoiding the fear of loneliness and isolation.  There are also external reasons like uncertainty due to fear of loss of security and psychosocial reasons, which include the need to meet society’s standards of achievement and increasing self-esteem.  The last external reason is the feeling of being unfinished in an unfinished world.  Whatever reason it may be, finding the urge to fight it must come from some driving force. 

            These driving forces to speak out may include proximity, information, cost, and the identification with the victim.  Being in close proximity to the toxic leadership will most often result in the chance of someone to speak out.  In order to speak out one must be sure they have the right information, being accurate will give rise to confidence and build the urge to fight.  Emotionally we are humans and seeing other people get hurt is tough but many also weigh the costs because if it is too high many people will refuse to speak up.  One must remember there is power in numbers and whoever is leading this “rebellion” must have strong qualities to convince his or her followers that they will win and do the right thing. 

            Growing up and witnessing even the simplest things I would feel guilty.  If I saw my brother steal something from the candy store or even from our own kitchen I had this urge to say something to him, but was nervous of the outcome because he was older and more intimidating but he was influencing me and showing me anyone could get away with it.  But I had the information, I saw it with my own eyes but he was my brother how could I turn against him.  These situations are always tough even if they are minute but doing the right thing should always be a priority.  In high school I was driving with one of my girl friends and she backed up into a nice car.  She hit it pretty hard and was just planning on leaving.  Fear of karma I convinced her to turn around and find the owner, the lady who drove the car lived in my town, if I didn’t say anything I wouldn’t be able to face her later.  Toxic leadership is a strong influence but a terrible odor.  It is best to find the urge from somewhere and do what is right because it’s not worth it if you will feel guilty and unsure of what to do.   

Toxic Leadership

            This week in Foundations of Leadership we learned about toxic leadership. There are many types of toxic leadership that should be looked out for in certain situations. Many people fail to recognize these characteristics and it can have a harmful effect on the group itself or the people the leader is trying to lead. I have had an encounter with two of these types of leadership and these situations have helped me to understand what to look for in a leader.

            The first type of toxic leader I encountered was the Bully leader. I was in fifth grade and I remember having a group of friends that I always spent my time with. There was one girl in particular who had to be the leader at all costs. We naturally allowed her to take charge and she led the group in everything that we did. Eventually, she became a bully. She would always make fun of the girls in the group that did not have the “cool” clothes or the “cool” lunchbox. This brought down the girls’ self esteem and therefore forcing the girls to want to leave the group. And now without her followers, she had nothing. Clearly, groups with a Bully leader do not stay together and do not have positive outcomes. I am glad I learned my lesson early on, and now I know that if I were to lead a group I would not use the bully technique.

            The second type of toxic leadership I learned not to take part in is the controller leadership style. When I was on the dance team in high school, I had a coach who had to be in control of EVERYTHING. If I were to ask to make up a sequence for a routine, she would always want to see it before I taught it so it could fit her standards. Half the time she would change the ENTIRE sequence and turn it into her own. She also never allowed anyone else to have a say in what we wore on Fridays. She would always make us wear these ugly, itchy polyester uniforms that no one liked. No matter how much we complained to her that they were uncomfortable to wear during the day, she would not let us wear what WE wanted. It was always her way or the highway. The lack of leeway made me think that when I become a high school coach, I will ALWAYS make sure my team has a say in what they do and wear otherwise it will cause resentment.

            Clearly these types of toxic leadership cause dissatisfaction for the group members. When someone is in a leadership position, it is their responsibility to make sure their members are happy and have a say in what goes on in the group. I have definitely learned my fair share about toxic leadership growing up and I know now that one day I will know exactly how NOT to run a group and instead adopt new ways of leadership and apply them to the group I run. 

Taoist Leadership Principles

This week in Blue Chip we talked about Taoist Leadership Principals. Although the list of his principals is much longer, we only talked about 6 of the principals we thought best reflected our views in Blue Chip. One of the two principals I thought was most relevant to everyday life was principal #47 called Here and Now. This principal basically states that a leader must know the obstacles that are obstructing the group from attaining their goals now, rather than having idealist views about the future. In my life this has happened a few times. Recently I was pondering about what I wanted after college graduation. I thought about getting a good job and having nice things to go along with it. Sure these things are nice, but I was not thinking about the here and now. In the present, I had a huge exam that I had not done much studying for. I then thought of the Taoist principal and realized I had to pass this test in order to reach my goal of the finer things in life.  Clearly it helps to live in the present and overcome obstacles that will lead to the future rather than thinking too far into the future and forgetting about what is going to get me there. 

The other important Taoist principal I thought was important was principal #54, The Ripple Effect. The Ripple Effect states that if you are a positive influence in the world, it will rub off on everyone else and the ripple effect continues. I believe this is so true for many reasons! For example, one day in high school I was walking past a girl down the hallway and I really liked her shirt. I then smiled at her and acknowledged that I liked her shirt and kept walking. After passing her, I heard behind me that same girl’s voice. She went right ahead and complimented another girl on her shirt while they passed each other in the hallway. My act of kindness and positivity clearly rubbed off on others and it put everyone in a better mood including myself.  It is clear that one act of kindness can lead to many great acts of kindness no matter how little it is. My philosophy is if you can make at least one person smile during the day, you have done your job. Of course making many people smile is even better but if you could lift one person’s spirit it is a job well done. Clearly this Taoist principal is important in my life and I believe if everyone displayed this kind of positivity, great things will happen.

The Taoist principals are wonderful to live by. They are insightful and powerful and should be used by everyone in the world. Not only do the principals work in leadership situations, but more importantly they work in every day situations. There is nothing better than to make someone happy and to be living your life to the fullest in the present rather than searching for the good in the future.