Assignment

a) What do you think are the important points you would like to discuss from each reading?b) Which points are most intriguing or persuasive to you? Why?

After reading both articles the most intriguing points and as follows. Power is associated with the concept of leadership and the person who holds power can either abuse it in a negative way or use it as an advantage to better their purpose. Additionally, leaders must explore the role as a follower in order to understand the role of a leader. Without understanding the role of a follower, a leader may be flawed because they cannot personally relate to their followers. The last point that intrigued me is that leaders influence a change of mindset in their followers. As a leader myself these points stuck out to me due to the fact I myself have never experienced being a follower growing up without a role model or positive influence I sought out a way to provide for myself

c) Which points do you disagree with or find unpersuasive? Why?

First off, I disagree that power is only a subset of the leadership role. I believe that power is a defining characteristic of a leader because a leader without power is unable to carry out task and necessary actions in order to be successful. Furthermore, a point was stated that coercive are not used as an example of an ideal leader; however, I disagree because I our former President of the United States Donald Trump was idolized by his supporters when he used forceful tactics for persuasion.

d) What questions do you have about the readings? What would you like to discuss further with your classmates? 

The only question I pose is that a leader who abuses its power are they considered a bad leader or a bad person I would like to discuss further with my classmates the roles of being a leader, so much goes into being the perfect leader or trying to lead by example. When talked about before we discussed and learned that leading is taught. So, with that being said I would just want to know, how some of you came to being a leader?

e) What news articles, stories, or personal experiences have you seen/had this week that relate to the theoretical concepts in the readings? Give at least one example for class discussion. 

Power is a key concept of leading. witnessing in workouts this week I saw how power and authority can quickly influence a person’s behavior and actions. Seeing an individual having poor technique then being corrected by another teammate of ours, the person had no intention to correct what he had done. Myself being an upperclassman and also being a captain on the team I felt it was my duty to go and enforce the correction, so I did so. My teammate soon corrected his technique and apologized to the other teammate before, due to the fact he did not acknowledge the correction. This personal experience relates to the concept that leaders hold power that is respectable by others in order for the desired action to occur. Furthermore, it also relates to understanding the role of a follower because if I don’t understand the teammate then I would not understand why he didn’t acknowledge the other teammate. All in all, minor situations can contribute to defining a leader because it brings forward important aspects that needs to be refined for a leader to obtain their role or improve at it.

I really enjoyed reading your opinions in regards to the reading response and you did a very good job an connecting the two concepts. To answer your question pertaining to power wielders I would classify the two in that group, due to the fact that their overall purpose was to dominate and control whether it was a forcible act or isolation. You also brought up a key concept that a leader must always think ahead and not make decision that would not only affect his or herself but the others around. That is a critical point when taking on a leadership role.

I enjoyed reading your statements. I feel that since leadership is found in our daily life, we have not really thought about the contextual ideology behind it. As Northouse stated leadership is a process and most of that process is learned from one another. We see most now and days that if a person displays certain characteristics then they are classified as a leader, which I feel like should not be the case because some people are not ready or do not feel comfortable to jump in a vital role.

In your place of work, describe the kind of power you have in each of Northouse's five categories:  referent, expert, legitimate, reward, coercive.  What does it mean to have this kind of power to you?  How might you use these kinds of power differently in reflecting on power?

When exercising my leadership skills, I realize that I exhibit power over others that are relatable to Northouse categories of power. In the situation of referent power, I am admired by others on my team by being a senior. The underclassmen look up to the seniors as role models to better themselves to eventually replace our position once we are gone. In relating to expert power,

I have been playing football for about twelve years now, so the concepts of football knowledge resonate with me well and gives me the authority to pass down what I know. I display legitimate power through having a formal position on the team as a captain which allows me to make decisions and lead the team. I have never been granted the opportunity to award others, but I have the voice to tell coaches about players and contributions players have made. Rather than you my coercive power and tell on my teammates I approach them firsthand and notify them on their problems occurring in hope of change; however, if not changed then I would have to tell higher authority. Although I do not use all powers, I challenge myself to be an influential leader that guides others in a positive direction for the sake of my well being as well as teams morality. After analyzing the powers invested in me, I would like to build my leadership skills to be a stern yet respected individual that will leave a legacy for others to live up to.