Knowing what I didn’t know about myself before taking the course?
Taking this course made me aware that there were several life aspects that I was missing on. One such important aspect is failure to understand the role of emotions in the day to day life as well as the role understanding of ethical emotions plays in acquiring egocentric behavior. One day on my way to visit my aunt, I came across a woman who offered shoe-shining services on the train and sought her services. A conversation ensued as she polished my shoes and she shared her story on how she used the little money she got from the shoe shining business to support her family financially and pay for the children’s education. Her story moved me and I decided to offer her some extra cash for the services she gave me. My good gesture immediately triggered her self-respect which led her to turn down my offer for extra money. This behavior baffled me since I expected that my genuine gesture of doing good would be met with much appreciation or having good but it turns out I was thinking egocentrically tied in a web of beliefs that according to myself were true.
The nature of my behavior has been ne that lacks in integrity as I have acted hypocritically, in my own egocentric self-serving mind and making assumptions that by doing these self-evidently good acts I am better than other people. In my own positive view of my life, simple things such as applying double standards, cheating and lying seem okay and normal to do. In an actual sense, lack of know-how and motivation has obstructed my realization that I am self-centered and prejudiced in my behavior. My hesitation to seek intellect is an indication that I lack the drive to change my behavior and am comfortable with my way of looking at things.
Primary learning I feel I need to take
I need to learn how to manage my emotions by applying critical thinking. This is because every situation leads to an outcome, whether bad or good depending on the decision and how critically the decision was made. Critical thinking will also help me adopt and critically analyze different points of view other than just my own which will, in turn, foster ethical behavior. It will also assist me to learn how to work for alternatives instead of taking the simplest route to cover myself because in the previous situation the motive was right but the mode of delivery was lacking. Applying critical thinking in managing emotion is essential too as it will enable me to fairly judge the ideas and beliefs of others, but good–faith and effort into the perspective of another person.
Self-awareness is a key requirement in leadership development and the best tool for handling stress. This will help me be on point to point out and manage my egocentric behavior which in turn will foster better resulting outcomes intended in the actions. To improve on my self-awareness, I can welcome corrective feedback. Persons closely allied to me can make honest contributions to my behavior while pointing out the egocentric motivated aspects judging by how it impacts them. I would respect such honest corrective feedback and use the knowledge of the truth about my behavior to motivate me into incorporating well-evaluated ideas into my thinking process.
Leadership is exercised in terms of power and influence one has and how it binds others towards working to accomplish a shared vision. This calls for trust between the leader and the followers as they seek to work in harmony. In my bid to earn trust as a leader, I would ensure am credible and oozing confidence in carrying out my duties as well as seek co-operation amongst the subordinates including asking them to give their views and insights in critical decision making and what areas I as a leader need to work towards improving.
The Personal Learning Portfolio (D)
Knowledge about this course that you wish you’d known when you came in?
Before taking this course, I wish to appreciate the fact that it is not an easy course and I would appreciate the knowledge of how the egocentric state of mind functions to influence the outcome of my behavior. The mind is generally averse and tends to seek the easiest way to get things done whenever faced with a situation that stretches its intellectual limits. Successful completion of this course, therefore, requires full commitment and hard work.
The things I should do to keep an open mind in the class
To help an open mind in this class I should first learn to critically read and analyze the assigned material. This will broaden my perspective of the goal I hope to achieve upon completion of this leadership course. Keeping this in focus will help show my credibility towards the completion of the assigned task as well as display my ability and willingness to work with groups. This will in turn show full commitment in understanding the concepts as I am not wasting my time or that of other group members as would be the case if I derailed their progress.
Another thing would be to freely interact with other class members and try as much as possible to listen to their views which I would, in turn, incorporate in my critical thinking and decision making as well as speaking. This is due to the understanding that by isolating me from the rest I stand limited chances of getting the insight ideas shared by different individuals which boost confidence, especially during presentations.
It gets rid of the constant worries of whether I am wrong and what other people think and taking the initiative to speak to others will boost self-confidence and ensure I get noticed.
To keep an open mind I have to learn to listen to other people’s perspectives and attempt to think as they think. It also calls for me to respect other people’s ideas, views, and beliefs. Normally with my egocentric state of mind coming into play, I tend to feel threatened by other people’s views when they significantly conflict with my viewpoints. To keep an open mind in this class I must learn how t respect others’ reasonable ideas which I tend to disagree with, analyze them critically, and genuinely try to understand their way of thinking.
The most common and avoidable errors in the class
The most common and avoidable error in class was inconsistency in following the house rules. Active participation and doing discussions regarding different topics was an important rule for this class but I think active participation was notably missing throughout the course. In online courses, it’s essentially important that we do post discussions regularly so people get to know what our understanding is regarding the course material. It’s my great expectations and hopes that the important lessons are going to be learned in this course that will be of much benefit.