What does integrity really mean to you? How do you know personally when you are displaying integrity?
An individual has integrity when they are acting in consistency with his or her own values and morals. I have integrity when I act consistently, even when no one is watching. For me, someone with integrity adheres to a code of moral values. In this church, this means that I can trust anyone that demonstrates integrity because they do adhere to the same code of moral values as myself. A person with integrity is honest.
I know I am displaying integrity when I have the Spirit with me in my life. The Spirit is only able to dwell with me when I am acting in accordance with the gospel, or acting with integrity. President James E. Faust suggested that "integrity is the light that shines from a disciplined conscience. It is the strength of duty within us." I love this quote! I can feel strength in my life when I am acting with integrity. I guess this is how I really know. When I am acting with integrity, I feel joy and I know I can accomplish what I need to. Integrity in my life is a direct blessing of the gospel. I am so grateful for it.
Choose one of the development suggestions, or your own, to work on this week. What did you choose? Why? How did it go?
I chose to work on integrity this week. As defined in class, integrity is when I act in consistency with my values and morals. Integrity is what I do when no one is watching. When I think of my Savior, Jesus Christ, I think of perfect integrity. Christ never spoke poorly about anyone because he said he loves everyone. For this reason I decided to work on integrity this week. I want to be more like Jesus Christ.
Upon deciding that I wanted to work on integrity, I looked at the changes I could make in my life that would help me to act better in line with my values. I value hard work. This week, I decided to actually stick to my schedule and budget my time. I was able to get more done that normal, just by actually reserving the designated time to homework etc. I also want focus on serving the individuals. I spend a lot of time doing this in the BYUSA office, but this week, I wanted to have more integrity at home. I tried to do one small act of kindness for each of my roommates each day this week. I noticed that I love them more, and I feel better about myself when I'm actually doing what I said I would do. I am really grateful for the opportunity I've had to work on my integrity.
Think of someone you know who displays integrity regularly. What do they DO to demonstrate integrity? How does that impact you?
Mary Teichert is one of my heroes. She regularly displays integrity in her life. The following is a random list of things I have observed Mary do:
• Puts the Lord first
• Reads her scriptures often and is prepared to share her testimony
• Loves life
• Dances
• Looks for the good in people
• Listens to others
• Looks for random acts of service she can do
• Works extremely hard in the classroom
• Is a killer athlete
Each of these actions exhibit Mary's integrity because it shows that she is willing to work hard, and strive for excellence in her life. Mary has a value that lies beneath each of her actions and she always seems to act in accordance with her values.
Mary has impacted me in many ways. She makes me want to be better. I'm sure that is due in part to her integrity. I can always trust that Mary will be completely real and honest with me. It's the best!
Monday, October 18, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
Focus on Results
What are some ways that you have encouraged others to generate creative, resourceful solutions to problems and what were the outcomes? Please use a specific incident in your answer.
I have had many opportunities to encourage others to generate creative, resourceful solutions to problems. I am so lucky to get to associate with such great volunteers that are creative by themselves, but I know everyone needs a little encouragement sometimes. Just the other day, I was asked to attend a Care Week Committee meeting with Pete. Pete is probably one of the most innovative people I know, but this was definitely a time for encouragement. The committee had decided on the tag line, 'who cares?' for Care Week 2010. Now, I know they didn't want to have a slogan that could be misinterpreted, but they definitely needed to revise their slogan before I was comfortable with the message of care week being publicized to BYU students. I was able to offer the committee some constructive criticism, and then I was able to encourage them to use some of their other ideas. I was able to hear their new ideas today and they were so insightful. Care Week 2010 is going to be represented with the idea of helping hands instead!
In your opinion, what are the most important behaviors (as defined in your student manual) in getting results with a project or problem? Explain why you have chosen these and use specific personal examples to add merit to your claim.
For me, the most important behaviors, as defined in my student manual, are trust, creating a high-performance team, and innovation.
Trust - I chose this behavior because it is the basis of any lasting success. Without trust, individuals on a team will be unwilling to work for the team's success for very long. As stated in the manual, "For people to be committed to achieving results, they need to have a reasonable level of trust in their leader." It is impossible for others to be willing to work for my vision for our area, if they don't first trust them. It was really interesting for me to work with Nate the past few months. When it comes right down to it, I didn't allow myself trust him and he didn't trust me. I don't really know what I could have done to improve that trust and it's obviously too late now, but it's too bad we won't be able to see the results he could have brought to the table. By working more to improve trust, I may have seen an increase in his focus on results.
Creating a High-Performing Team - By myself, I can't even afford to focus on results because it would be impossible to achieve anything great. It is essential that I focus on creating a well-oiled machine with my team, so we will all be competent in our jobs and have full understanding of our area's potential... together! I have noticed over the last little while that as I have had more time to focus on my team members and helping them to feel appreciated, I have seen an increase in club presidents in the BYUSA office, event assistance being used, and in events by clubs. The results are directly due to my team being more confident in their positions, and more able to perform together for success.
Innovation - I want to be a leader that fosters innovation. Unfortunately, I'm not very innovative myself, but I know some of my teammates are. I want to be able to challenge my team to achieve significant results and actually strive for the BYUSA vision. If I do this, I will be better able to come up with new ideas and more willing to try them. I am impressed by Charne's ideas for Clubs Night. I don't know if my vision was really there for clubs night, but her innovative ideas have really helped us to create a vision together and accomplish more than we thought we could.
What are your personal strengths in getting results on projects or problems, and how can you use and implement them in your current leadership position to benefit your team?
In terms of getting results on projects or problems, I would say one of my personal strengths is my knowledge of the Clubs Area and my vision for what I want it to be. I was so excited when we were finally able to agree on a vision for our area at the beginning of this year. I feel confident that our vision will be able to encourage us to really go places and encourage positive changes in the way we do things.
During class, Adrian shared the following quote: Act well thy part, there all the honor lies. This quote reminds me that even more so than my personal abilities, I need to be acting in a manner that will expect results. If I am selling us short with my actions, we will not see any positive change. Instead, I need to believe in our vision and help my team to believe it can really happen. Chris has taught me the importance of inspiring your team. He is always inspiring me on different levels... as a friends, fellow leader, student, and member of the Church. I want to be able to better emulate his care for students because it has led us as a team to greater success. He has shown me the importance of helping volunteers to be better than they think they can.
For me, this is what results is all about. It isn't about the numbers I can put into a graph, but it's about the people who have grown as leaders and students. It is the individual who can look back on their experience at BYU with a smile.
I have had many opportunities to encourage others to generate creative, resourceful solutions to problems. I am so lucky to get to associate with such great volunteers that are creative by themselves, but I know everyone needs a little encouragement sometimes. Just the other day, I was asked to attend a Care Week Committee meeting with Pete. Pete is probably one of the most innovative people I know, but this was definitely a time for encouragement. The committee had decided on the tag line, 'who cares?' for Care Week 2010. Now, I know they didn't want to have a slogan that could be misinterpreted, but they definitely needed to revise their slogan before I was comfortable with the message of care week being publicized to BYU students. I was able to offer the committee some constructive criticism, and then I was able to encourage them to use some of their other ideas. I was able to hear their new ideas today and they were so insightful. Care Week 2010 is going to be represented with the idea of helping hands instead!
In your opinion, what are the most important behaviors (as defined in your student manual) in getting results with a project or problem? Explain why you have chosen these and use specific personal examples to add merit to your claim.
For me, the most important behaviors, as defined in my student manual, are trust, creating a high-performance team, and innovation.
Trust - I chose this behavior because it is the basis of any lasting success. Without trust, individuals on a team will be unwilling to work for the team's success for very long. As stated in the manual, "For people to be committed to achieving results, they need to have a reasonable level of trust in their leader." It is impossible for others to be willing to work for my vision for our area, if they don't first trust them. It was really interesting for me to work with Nate the past few months. When it comes right down to it, I didn't allow myself trust him and he didn't trust me. I don't really know what I could have done to improve that trust and it's obviously too late now, but it's too bad we won't be able to see the results he could have brought to the table. By working more to improve trust, I may have seen an increase in his focus on results.
Creating a High-Performing Team - By myself, I can't even afford to focus on results because it would be impossible to achieve anything great. It is essential that I focus on creating a well-oiled machine with my team, so we will all be competent in our jobs and have full understanding of our area's potential... together! I have noticed over the last little while that as I have had more time to focus on my team members and helping them to feel appreciated, I have seen an increase in club presidents in the BYUSA office, event assistance being used, and in events by clubs. The results are directly due to my team being more confident in their positions, and more able to perform together for success.
Innovation - I want to be a leader that fosters innovation. Unfortunately, I'm not very innovative myself, but I know some of my teammates are. I want to be able to challenge my team to achieve significant results and actually strive for the BYUSA vision. If I do this, I will be better able to come up with new ideas and more willing to try them. I am impressed by Charne's ideas for Clubs Night. I don't know if my vision was really there for clubs night, but her innovative ideas have really helped us to create a vision together and accomplish more than we thought we could.
What are your personal strengths in getting results on projects or problems, and how can you use and implement them in your current leadership position to benefit your team?
In terms of getting results on projects or problems, I would say one of my personal strengths is my knowledge of the Clubs Area and my vision for what I want it to be. I was so excited when we were finally able to agree on a vision for our area at the beginning of this year. I feel confident that our vision will be able to encourage us to really go places and encourage positive changes in the way we do things.
During class, Adrian shared the following quote: Act well thy part, there all the honor lies. This quote reminds me that even more so than my personal abilities, I need to be acting in a manner that will expect results. If I am selling us short with my actions, we will not see any positive change. Instead, I need to believe in our vision and help my team to believe it can really happen. Chris has taught me the importance of inspiring your team. He is always inspiring me on different levels... as a friends, fellow leader, student, and member of the Church. I want to be able to better emulate his care for students because it has led us as a team to greater success. He has shown me the importance of helping volunteers to be better than they think they can.
For me, this is what results is all about. It isn't about the numbers I can put into a graph, but it's about the people who have grown as leaders and students. It is the individual who can look back on their experience at BYU with a smile.
Extraordinary Leadership
1. Remembering that you don’t have to be good at everything, what are two or three strengths that you have developed in your life and that set you apart from others?
I really struggled with this question. I guess that is one of my weaknesses... I am really hard on myself.
Three of my strengths -
~ I am very detail oriented. I rarely let things fall through and I am able to focus on my task list easily.
~ I am able to keep the eternal perspective in my life. This helps me to give applicable advice to those that I am working with.
~ I try to act with integrity all the time. I want my actions to be consistent with my words all the time. My team is able to trust me to do what I think is best for us as a whole.
2. Why do you think General Norman Schwarzkopf felt that character is more important than strategy?
I think General Norman Schwarzkopf felt that character is more important than strategy because someone that is able to lead with character will always be more powerful than someone who leads with strategy. Character will help a leader to be consistently successful throughout their career because it is rooted in values. Values don't shift in reaction to shifting circumstances, where as strategy does.
I found a quote by President Hunter that relates to finding true success in life. He said, "The achievement of true greatness is a long-term process. It may involve occasional setbacks. The end result may not always be clearly visible, but it seems that it always requires regular, consistent, small, and sometimes ordinary and mundane steps over a long period of time. We should remember that it was the Lord who said, 'Out of small things proceedeth that which is great' (D&C 64:33)."
This quote reemphasizes General Schwarzkopf's belief that character is essential because it reminds me that 'true greatness is a long-term process.' Good character is also a long-term process. With good character, any individual can find success because they will always put people first and will keep their priorities in check.
3. In your BYUSA assignment, what have you chosen as your “hedgehog,” or the thing(s) that you will do better than anyone else?
I feel like I am consistently focusing on a different "hedgehog" in my life. Currently, I want to be great with people. I want people to know I am a person they can trust to make things happen on their behalf. Basically, I want to be a tool in helping the club's area become an amazing place for customer service. I am trying to focus on the individual. I want to remember their names and fulfill each club president's needs.
I don't know that I am doing this better than anyone else, but I hope that we are able to change the student's view of our area one president at a time!
I really struggled with this question. I guess that is one of my weaknesses... I am really hard on myself.
Three of my strengths -
~ I am very detail oriented. I rarely let things fall through and I am able to focus on my task list easily.
~ I am able to keep the eternal perspective in my life. This helps me to give applicable advice to those that I am working with.
~ I try to act with integrity all the time. I want my actions to be consistent with my words all the time. My team is able to trust me to do what I think is best for us as a whole.
2. Why do you think General Norman Schwarzkopf felt that character is more important than strategy?
I think General Norman Schwarzkopf felt that character is more important than strategy because someone that is able to lead with character will always be more powerful than someone who leads with strategy. Character will help a leader to be consistently successful throughout their career because it is rooted in values. Values don't shift in reaction to shifting circumstances, where as strategy does.
I found a quote by President Hunter that relates to finding true success in life. He said, "The achievement of true greatness is a long-term process. It may involve occasional setbacks. The end result may not always be clearly visible, but it seems that it always requires regular, consistent, small, and sometimes ordinary and mundane steps over a long period of time. We should remember that it was the Lord who said, 'Out of small things proceedeth that which is great' (D&C 64:33)."
This quote reemphasizes General Schwarzkopf's belief that character is essential because it reminds me that 'true greatness is a long-term process.' Good character is also a long-term process. With good character, any individual can find success because they will always put people first and will keep their priorities in check.
3. In your BYUSA assignment, what have you chosen as your “hedgehog,” or the thing(s) that you will do better than anyone else?
I feel like I am consistently focusing on a different "hedgehog" in my life. Currently, I want to be great with people. I want people to know I am a person they can trust to make things happen on their behalf. Basically, I want to be a tool in helping the club's area become an amazing place for customer service. I am trying to focus on the individual. I want to remember their names and fulfill each club president's needs.
I don't know that I am doing this better than anyone else, but I hope that we are able to change the student's view of our area one president at a time!
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