1. HDF 190: FIRST YEAR LEADERS INSPIRED TO EXCELLENCE LEADERSHIP PORTFOLIO Miranda Mitchell SPRING 2014 miajmitche@my.uri.edu

2. TABLE OF CONTENTS Strengths Opening Statement SLIDE 4 Section 1: Self Leadership SLIDE 5 Section 2: Leadership Theories SLIDE 6 Section 3: Leadership Theories SLIDE 7 Section 4: Critical Thinking SLIDE 8 Section 5: Interpersonal/Organizational Leadership SLIDE 9 *If you do not have one outcome from each area of the Inventory completed, you may opt to choose 2 from one of the sections. TABLE OF CONTENTS Strengths Opening Statement SLIDE 4 Section 1: Self Leadership SLIDE 5 Section 2: Leadership Theories SLIDE 6 Section 3: Leadership Theories SLIDE 7 Section 4: Critical Thinking SLIDE 8 Section 5: Interpersonal/Organizational Leadership SLIDE 9 *If you do not have one outcome from each area of the Inventory completed, you may opt to choose 2 from one of the sections.

3. Signature Strengths Deliberative Restorative Responsibility Significance Futuristic Values in Action Strengths Teamwork Honesty Judgment Perseverance Fairness M

4. My name is Miranda Mitchell but I am better known to many by Mia. I am majoring in Biomedical Engineering and pursuing a minor in Leadership Studies. I hope to eventually get my MBA after I become familiarized with the industry. The Leadership model that I most identify with is Servant Leadership. This model represents the leaders that most don’t consider as leader, they work more behind the scene supporting a project. From this class I have learned to be more outgoing in my leadership abilities while staying true to my values. I utilize the Servant Leadership model to express what I can contribute. Personal Statement

5. SECTION 1 SELF LEADERSHIP I

6. SECTION 2 Leadership Theory and Models The Servant Leadership Model is probably the model in this course that makes the most sense to me, which I will get into in outcome #27. The servant leadership model is set up to “serve” first. It begins with one’s natural feeling to serve and through this grow as a person. The Servant Leadership model includes 10 components. The first component of the model is listening. Listening is extremely important when finding the root of a problem. Leaders are typically good communicators, but they must be good at not only hearing, but listening. Listening not only includes other people, but your own inner voice so that you can understand yourself before you can help understand others. A part of being a servant leader is healing others, not physically, but emotionally and mentally. As the above component, you must heal yourself as well as others. Leaders recognize that others may be hurting and that they can help heal them by listening and comforting them. The component of the model that goes well with healing is empathy. Empathy analogizes that everyone is unique and special and that a servant leader should be empathetic as to accommodate for these differences. Awareness is the next component of the model. Awareness helps one understand issues involving ethics, power, and values. Being self-aware and being aware about others makes a better leader because they understand what is going on in the group. Persuasion is the next component and this is all about not making decisions but using persuasiveness to encourage others to make decisions, the servant leader seeks to convince rather than force. Conceptualization takes the ideas of dreams and makes them a reality. “If you can dream it you can achieve it”. The servant leader can look at a problem and think not only about short term outcomes but long term outcomes as well. Foresight also is part of the model. It is the ability to look at a problem and foresee all possible outcomes. The servant leader can use lessons from the past and utilize them in decision making in current situations. The next component of stewardship is how leaders trust each other. If you feel as if you cannot trust one another, you won’t be able to share in the work load and won’t be as productive as you could be with multiple members. The last components of the model is commitment to the growth of people and Building Community. Servant leaders are there to help others. They want others to succeed by nature and will do anything is his or her power to help others utilize their potential. The two components go hand in hand and build up other people to be productive.

7. Leadership Theories and Model Personally, the Servant Leadership Model makes the most sense to me because I utilize it more than I do the other models. I am not an outgoing person and don’t normally take up typical leadership positions, but I still consider myself as a leader. This is because I would rather serve than lead, but by serving is a form of leading. One example of using this model is where I work. I currently work at Pizza Hut and I do both production and Serving. As I have worked for almost four years I have the responsibility of training people. In my job I listen to people, if they have a problem I make a point to listen to what it is, and try and find a solution. If there isn’t a solution, I have empathy for the person and I can usually understand if they made a mistake because I have been there. As for the healing aspect I feel as though that is more on a personal level and that isn’t as apparent in the work place, but I am there to listen and calm them down if there is a problem. Awareness is another responsibility that I have and utilize. I keep track of what the trainee is doing and comment on what they could change, or even compliment them to keep good morale. Persuasion is another aspect of my work, rather than demanding, I seek to convince others, because I am not a confrontational person, this method is easier for me. Conceptualization also comes in handy during work. If there is a time crunch or a big order, I use my past experiences to make rational decisions so that the outcome is effective and efficient. This goes along with foresight, If I can foresee a problem I will inform others and we can work together to make sure that problem gets resolved. Stewardship is another component that I utilize in my work. If the people being trained trust me, then they will better be able to do their job. If I trust them, then I don’t have to spend all my energy paying attention. Lastly, commitment to the growth of people and building community go hand in hand. If at work, I aspire to see others be successful then it will build community. See evidence 14

8. SECTION 4 Critical Thinking I would like to think I exemplify and show knowledge of critical thinking because one of my top values is judgment. Judgment is all about thinking things through and looking at all possible outcomes by looking at all angles of a problem. I don’t normally make rash decisions and I typically only relay on only solid evidence yet I am able to still change my mind. Part of being a critical thinking is evaluating issues by observing all side of the situation. Critical thinking is part of my everyday life. If I have friends that come up to me with problems, it is important for me to help them come up with a solution to their problem. Critical thinking can then be used. I help them establish pros and cons of their situations along with deciding which path will get them to the outcome that they want. Another things I use critical thinking on is doing my physics homework. Critical thinking is important in work like that. I have to identify the problem I am given, I then collect all the information and decide which method is best to solve the problem. If the problem cannot be solved by this method, then a different method can be used. I feel confident in my ability to make informed decisions via critical thinking. See evidence 10

9. SECTION 5 (Interpersonal and Organizational Concepts and Skills ) Personally I believe people are who they are because of the people around them. They may not know it, but everyone that has given advice has mentored you. A mentor is a trusted advisor. Over the course of my freshman year, I have been mentored by many people but the people I believe that have had the most effect on me was my Theta Tau brothers. I started of fall semester pledging and second semester I was a brother. All of them guided me, but my one friend Wendy has had such an impact on me. She is a junior engineering student and has helped me with various tests, projects, and homework. She helped me pick out classes because she already went through the system. Not only has she helped me academically but I have found in her a confidant, someone that I can talk to about my problems and I trust her to give me advice that will be beneficial to me. Without her, I may have been very lost and confused about my freshman year but she made my transition from high school to college very smooth. On my end, I have mentorship experience as well. In my fraternity I was assigned a “little” which means that I was responsible for helping them out whenever it was necessary or just when I felt they needed help. My little struggled with her major for a few weeks. I was there for her to help her make the right decision. I helped her go over the pros and cons of possibly changing majors and gave her advice that I had gotten. She was very grateful that I was able to help her out, and she still comes to me for advice when she needs someone to talk to.