A641 2 3 RB Am I a Resonant Leader_Psimer_Andrea

 A641 2 3 RB Am I a Resonant Leader_Psimer_Andrea

Am I inspirational?  How do I inspire people?

            I am absolutely inspirational!  Last year, I committed to enrolling in graduate school.  What seemed to be an impossible task due to being a single parent, working full-time among a thousand other adult responsibilities.  I set a goal to complete the two-year Master’s program in 10-months.  As a result of my enthusiasm and drive, two of my co-workers enrolled in college classes.  One of my co-workers (Pat) followed suit and registered for two classes per term.  He said to me: “you inspired me, and if you can do it, so can I.”  I shared all of my resources with them including tuition assistance reimbursements and the military’s supplemental education grant which reimburses school expenses up to $1,000.00 per year. 

            Pat is my grad school battle buddy.  He inspires me everyday to keep going, because we understand how much juggling and time management is required to do all the things.  I will email him in the middle of the night when doing school work, which keeps me going.  He is hysterical, encouraging and inspirational. 

            The other co-worker is a young petty officer.  She has her associates degree and is now pursuing her bachelors, which will allow her upward advancement opportunities.  While she may have enrolled in school at some point in the future, I helped her get registered and she has completed classes since the fall term!

Do I create an overall positive emotional tone that is characterized by hope?  How?

            I do not always create a positive emotional tone to include characterization of hope. I find ways to cope with stress by being cynical and admittedly I create a negative emotional tone when I feel overwhelmed and lose hope [like can I finish grad school, being passed over for promotion].  This is an area I need to improve.

Am I in touch with others?  Do I really know what is in others' hearts and on their minds?  How do I show this?

            One of my distinct traits is connecting with people, and connecting people with people.  This is important because I create opportunities to know more about people and find intersections for minds and hearts to cross. For example, I recently took the Clifton Strength assessment for the OBLD 690 leadership capstone class.  My top five strengths are:

1. Arranger 2. Learner 3. Communication 4. Includer 5. Woo

            I have this uncanny way drawing out people’s stories.  I am a TALKER and everyone knows it.  My son says: mom, you never stop talking and my co-workers know to expect a two-hour conversation.  But the point is I love comradery.  I want to know what on people’s minds and hearts.  Particularly, I am very good at creating opportunities for people to connect.  Last year, I led a fitness class for the parents of my son’s soccer team.  Everyone was so appreciative of my initiative, because it was a good use of time for us to exercise while the kids exercised.  But what the workouts really did is connect people.  By the end of the season, we were all best friends who divulged a ton of “TMI” to each other during grueling workouts (especially the women).  Stories of hardship, parenting struggles, relationship issues --- everything.  It all comes out when the environment is right.  They are my confidants and best friends!

Do I regularly experience and demonstrate compassion?  How?

            This is an easy question.  Compassion is demonstrated through my love for fostering animals.  I pour my heart and soul into saving animals.  My family primarily cares for animals with special needs and provides a home for recovery and rejuvenation.  We are also designated as a “protective custody” house while some previous owners are charged with animal neglect. I dedicate a significant amount of time to rescuing animals.  It is my life’s calling and life purpose.  Of the 24 fosters animals, I adopted three (one diabetic cat, one (one-eyed) dog, one stray dog (who I rehomed).  All of the others were successfully adopted and have loving homes [expect one who was euthanized for aggression].

Am I authentic and in tune with myself, others, and the environment?  How can people see this in me?

            People can see my authenticity through 1) honesty 2) consistency.  If I don’t like something, I tell people.  I am quite straight forward with how I think about something.  I am consistent in my actions, which align with my values.  When I am sad, it is because I have strayed from being authentic.  Sometimes that is a necessary evil and it affects everyone around me.  People see my authenticity, because I am about the most unconventional friend in my group.  Most of my friends lead a pretty “normal” life.  Having been a 911 emergency dispatcher, emergency medical technician and military officer, my friends know I march to the beat of my own drum.  My authentic-self has to be challenged, constantly.  My friends will say: “seriously, how do you have so much going on and keep up.” 

        My friend sent me an article [described below] several years ago, and said “I saw this, thought of you.”  The article is about not following your passion, but rather following things in life that push us through challenges and obstacles.

        Cable (2020), suggests people “follow their blisters.”  Citing Cable (2020), ““Follow your blisters” makes me ask myself the question, “What kind of work do I find myself coming back to again and again, even when I don’t succeed right away, when it seems like it’s taking too long to make progress, or when I get discouraged?”

Reference:

Cable, D. (2020, November 24). What you should follow instead of your passion. Harvard Business Review. hhtps://hbr.org/2020/11/what-you-should-follow-instead-of-your-passion