Our Presentation Last Week

Kyle and I presented our topic last Wednesday. I am absolutely not a fan of public speaking, not something you would expect from an extrovert, right? We had been preparing for a couple of weeks and definitely hit some stumbling blocks in the form of content. Luckily, we pulled through and had a successful class.

My favorite parts of teaching this class were the first 5 minutes and the last five minutes. We chose to assign seats- conduct a social experiment and turn it into a discussion to wrap up the presentation at the end. We placed students in the opposite location of their usual spots and with different classmates than their usual clusters. Jason greeted students by the door and alerted them to the switch. Some looked confused but remained quiet, while others said "I haven't sat anywhere else in three years" or the blatant "I hate this"

I turned to Kyle while the misery unfolded onto our unsuspecting classmates and I said "We have to write these responses down" I knew that some students would later say that they didn't mind- and I wanted those raw responses to prove the resistance to such a small temporary change.

We continued the presentation like nothing was different.

To wrap up we asked the class a series of questions on our last presentation slide. "How did it feel to be asked to change seats? Did you view changing seats as an opportunity to sit with someone new or as an uncomfortable or undesirable change?" Kyle then read aloud the quotes we had saved. Everyone laughed and further explained their reason behind resistance. As we expected, most like tradition. We didn't blame them for feeling this way, change is new and new is unknown and unknown is scary. Perhaps they even internally went through the Kubler Ross change curve of grief/loss. I hope the class took away what we hoped they would.

MBTI- Shayna + Logan's Class Pre-Work

For Shayna and Logan's class today, our pre-work involved having others take the MBTI in our place.  We were instructed to choose someone close to us and someone more distant. I chose my mom and dad because my mom and I chat everyday, we are very similar to each other (almost too similar) while my dad and I chat, but not as often and not as deeply.

Just as I expected, my mom guessed my letter combination almost exactly. I test myself as an ESFJ-A and my mom got ESTJ-A. Even though there was a variation between F and T, my test said I was 56% an F, so basically I am on the line between F and T. Way to go, Mom!

As for my dad, he got ISTP-T when he answered for me. At first I was not surprised. My personality's nuances may be lost on him due to lack of stimulating discussion. However, the more I considered it, I find myself similar to him. I would describe him as an extrovert and a judger. So why did he answer so differently for me? Does he not see our similartities? He called me after taking the assessment to discuss his answers. I immediately told him he only got one letter the same as and grilled him on thinking I am introverted. He said something surprising to me- things I didn't consider part of my personality- but maybe should. He said "You are extroverted with me, but otherwise you are shy. This is the girl that doesn't want to visit a bank teller or ask for honey mustard at a restaurant." He added, "There was a question asking if you're organized, I thought about that pile of clothes between your bed and the wall and I had a good laugh. It asked if you care about other people's feelings and I remembered how last week you ripped apart that guy at computer services when he was dishonest about your laptop. By the time I finished the assessment I was howling"

I can't lie, he's not wrong. But do those incidents really define my personality traits? Maybe my mom knows the traits that I think I have, because that it how I present myself. My dad, who doesn't receive the same amount of communication, sees me in situations more than in direct communication.  This makes me think about Hersey and Blanchard's theory of situational leadership. We act according to the emotional intelligence and maturity of those around or under us. My dad is not someone I go to with problems because he doesn't have the same experiences and often doesn't know how to respond. I act differently with him because of this. I am not frustrated with his vastly different assessment of my personality. This was a great opportunity for me to understand my relationship with him and my personality traits that I never consider as part of who I am.

Johnny Cupcakes- Resilience

Tonight I had the opportunity to attend a lecture by Johnny Earle, better known as, Johnny Cupcakes. He spent from 8-9:30pm talking about his upbringing, his entrepreneurial spirit at a young age, his progression into his brand and business, and his failures along the way. He was an amazing speaker that has lived a wild life so far.

One thing that struck me during his presentation was how much of a risk taker he has been since he was 10 years old. Sure, we all make some risky decisions at age 10, but the stakes are not as high as when we are 25. He discussed failed products, ideas, business relationships, warehouse decisions, and even his mistakes with friends and family. After a few questions from the audience, he said that discussing these failures is therapy to him.

Of course, I raised my hand. I asked, "You've been an entrepreneur since a young age and you've bounced back many times with little hesitation. Do you think resilience is something you have learned along the way or were you born with it?" He took less than a second before saying "I did not learn it" He went on to explain that he has always had it, even as a kid. To quote, "My best ideas have come from my biggest screw-ups."

Johnny has lots of confidence and thrives on risk taking. He founded, owns, and operates in full Johnny Cupcakes which has held over 400 pop-up stores worldwide and has many permanent retail locations in sought after cities like SoHo, LA, and Boston (on Newbury St, I have visited!). He is a dedicated leader, a marketing genius, and a loyal community member. His resilience has kept him climbing up a social and professional ladder and will continue to lead him to amazing design and marketing ideas.

Being my own manager. Just keep swimming.

Today I am faced with a mountain of struggles. I gave some thought to what I may post about on this blog that would be health or OB related. I began to reflect on management and how to be my own manager as I stumble through this next week and a half. How would a good manager respond to my problems as an employee? How would management staff break down my schedule and concerns and make me feel valued, appreciated, and empowered?

Let's start with the problems.
This is my last week of my Healthcare Management online class at Northeastern. I have 4 blog posts to write by tomorrow night. I have 8 secondary responses and 2 written assignments (case studies) due by Sunday night. I have a final paper and final exam due next Tuesday. Of course, all of these assignments were released yesterday morning with no preparation opportunities.
I had an exam yesterday in US Health Systems and an exam this morning in Intro to Anthropology.
I have a meeting with Kyle to discuss our class presentation today at 5pm.
I have a call scheduled with my mentor Anna Sanders for tomorrow afternoon before class.
I have a Women in Business meeting Thursday afternoon.

And the glue that holds it all together? My laptop's hard drive malfunctioned last night while I was studying. I brought it to the technical services in the MUB this morning to diagnose and fix the problem. They must keep it to diagnose it, which will take about a week. Only in a week will they be able to figure out the problem. This means that I am without a computer for who-knows how long, I guess I will know once they are done diagnosing next week.

How am I still functioning with a smile? As my own manager I tell myself first and foremost that everything will work out. How do I know this? I don't. I just have to hold out hope. Someone has to be positive here, so it will have to be my alter ego. Next, the manager inside me is telling me that communication is key. I should email my Northeastern professor and tell him about my laptop. Do I admit defeat and ask for an extension? Can he give me one? Will he believe my story? Will he do the classic "You don't get an extension in the real world." Do I need one or can I handle this? Will I go insane trying?

My typical model is to put lots of things on my plate and do a great job at the sacrifice of my mental state. I can accomplish a lot, decipher what can be placed on a temporary back-burner, and go a day or so without sleep. I have been trying to take better care of myself (as the manager) by letting go of optional responsibilities I have taken on. I have cut my work hours this semester, dropped an elective class, and signed up for my Birthright trip to Israel. I decided that this is my last semester to be a "kid" and I want to enjoy my last few months before my 9-5 assume's its position.

As a manager, I need to prioritize and make do with what's available. I am currently sitting in the library. I did not bring my textbook because I did not expect to be here, however, by the time I get back to my apartment to grab it, I will have to meet with Kyle. Not worth it. I am instead writing this blog because it is on my to do list and may help keep me sane. After the meeting I will return to my apartment, grab my textbook, and return to the library to read, research, and write some posts.

Just keep swimming, right?

EI Related Video

While cruising through Facebook during a study break I came across a video that directly related to the lecture given today in class. In particular, it addressed Colleen's question of how we work on improving our emotional intelligence. This video is about empathy specifically. One line I really appreciate is "you don't need to share someone's opinion in order to understand it and acknowledge it." (1:09) As someone who has good emotional self control, I often times struggle to understand other's emotions.

Check out the video!

http://lifehacker.com/the-importance-of-empathy-in-everyday-life-1791961488?utm_campaign=socialflow_lifehacker_twitter&utm_source=lifehacker_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

First Term Class Prep

My partner Kyle and I have chosen to learn/teach about change. This is a broad topic so we are spending time narrowing down the points we hope to make and the material we hope to teach. My mentor Anna Sanders has been helpful in passing along resources for this topic. I have always found change, both influencing and controlling, to be one of the most important functions of a manager. Making decisions and implementing them are very difficult feats when the audiences are likely not enthused. Humans are creatures of habit. Sure, some like adventure and trying new things, but generally most go home to their same beds and get to hit restart the next day, as they always do. There is nothing wrong with liking consistency! How to deal with that as a manager trying to excite and enforce change? Hopefully you (and I) will find out soon...

Personality Assessment Results

As a management major in Paul College, I have taken many personality assessments throughout my four years. I know that I am "type A", have a "gold" colored personality, and fall under the ESFJ-A persona. I had not, however, taken The Big 5 Project Personality Test that Professor Bonica had us try last week.

While most of the information I found to be expected, I did not like the wording of the outcomes. It was made clear through the language that some traits were desirable and some were not. While I liked most of my responses and found them to be spot-on, the assessment considered me to be close-minded. While I like structure, I am also always up for adventures. My friends would even say I am the one pushing the group towards new experiences.

The graphical depiction of the results in this personality test were cool and helpful. I liked the range aspect instead of just being one characteristic or the other. I would only change the wording to be more accepting and understanding.

If you are interested in the graphical depiction from this test, see below.