SoCCeR!!

Yesterday Jarred and I coached soccer! I thought it was really fun and I thought it went really well. It seemed like everyone was enjoying themselves and hopefully they learned a little something about soccer. We tried to be a bit more organized and similar to football. We started with some drills to get everybody warmed up. Then we broke off into groups to develop specific skills. Next, we broke off into small sided games and then transitioned to a larger scale game. Generally there was a high follower readiness and high motivation to play. I was impressed with most everyone’s attitude and willingness to try and play. I wish we could have gotten our eval's but its all good.Anyways, as for the readings, chapter 14 described the cons of the marshmallow manager and how to act otherwise. I especially liked what the book talked about as far as boundaries and how sometimes as a leader we must move these forward so that the group will move even farther than ever expected. The next couple of chapters talked about the five stages of SDWT which are investigation, preparation, implementation, transition, and maturation. These chapters reminded me of Fish Tales (the book we read in foundations of leadership last sem) In implementing the new Fish vision the leaders had to first investigate the theory and understand it before introducing it to their workplace. Then they had to prepare so that it would be a successful transition and at least an organized one. The next stage is implementation to which they introduce it to the company and help change existing roles or behaviors. Next is the transition stage like in the fish market the workers made it come together and be a success in their business. The final stage is maturation. The example that comes to mind here is the AT&T Company. They completely changed the work environment to a more enjoyable place, and even though they achieved their vision they continued to improve and create new ideas so that they wouldn't become stagnant; so that the Fish spirit would not die. Regarding the MYB articles I found myself reminiscing to the foundations class days yet again. I would like to have or attain some of the qualities listed in the "Leadership remains a key skill to develop" article. One who loves knowledge, averse to corruption and ambition, and seeks truth, justice, courage, and temperance. (According to Plato's definition of characteristics of a good leader. As far as the second reading is concerned I felt like each of our activities (each of the leaders) were high on task and people aka high on both consideration and initiating structure. Also our class participation as a whole demonstrates our high follower readiness and maturity. The third article about talked about power. I believe that everyone in our class has personal power and we all respect each other while performing the tasks as hand. Position power is only granted to Dr Patterson at this time although I see him excelling on personal power rather then position. Etzioni describes that a good leader is high on both and that this power is given by the followers in the sense that the leaders have to use different methods of compliance to have them do what they ask. The next article was all about how in one culture a form of leadership may be appropriate while in another it may be viewed an unacceptable or flat out wrong. As a woman I would have a hard time not disagreeing with those whom I'm forbidden to. I think we are extremely privileged individually in the US but at the same time I wish all women had the option of expressing their opinions. Anyways I'll get off my soap box and continue onto the final article. "All men die, few truly live." This is the first thing I think of when someone says Braveheart. I really appreciated this article and think it is very valid for today and our society. A leader should be for the people, self sacrificing, visionary, and inspirational. We have these in our culture and they're called citizen leaders. They are usually the ones who work the hardest with the least amount of praise. Honestly I think we need more of these people in the world. The first example that popped into my head was in football the position of center. This isn't the glory position by all means and really don't receive much praise at all. But they have a very important job on the field and that is to start the offense and to block for the quarterback. It's a dirty job that requires a lot of effort with little praise but someone's gotta do it! :)