Need 2 paragraphs in 2 hours Today by 11:30pm Central time

Instructions:

Write 1 paragraph for each response:

Share an insight about what you have learned from having read your colleagues’ postings and discuss how and why your colleague’s posting resonated with you professionally and personally.

#1 Respond to this person post with 1 paragraph

After reading Passion and Purpose: Stories from the Best and Brightest Young Business Leaders, the account which resonated most with me was that of Kimberly Carter and her struggles as a black woman who was driven to succeed in environments that were unwelcoming towards diversity. Carter (2012) recounted her personal experiences in the US and Germany, living and operating in environments where she stood out as being different culturally, socially and ethnically; diversity in every sense of the word. Her personal experiences were later transposed into the context of a business environment to support the importance of embracing diversity in the workspace.

In her account, she shared some very powerful lessons which are relevant and applicable to both followers and leaders in the modern business environment. Don’t be afraid of what you don’t know. The innovation leadership theory at its core promotes an environment where followers are not afraid to try new things and leaders are not judgmental of innovative efforts especially when failure occurs (Zimmer, 2019). Look for ways to bridge the gaps. The contingency theory of leadership promotes situational leadership and the importance of adapting the most appropriate leadership and followership style to match the situation (Goleman, 2000). Do not forget to pay it forward. In developing as both leader and follower, the importance of training, exposure, mentoring and coaching cannot be overstated. Any meaningful investment made in staff ensures that they are equipped to take on the challenges both as follower and leader (Taufek et al, 2018)

Carter (2012) goes a little further to provide explicitly advice to leaders on how best to develop and equip their subordinates to thrive in a diverse environment:

1. Prioritize learning about the interests and goals of each team member to eliminate any misinformation.

2. Be open to the views of others as you can learn a lot from listening to alternate approaches to situations.

3. Remember that not everyone adapts to change at the same speed so be understanding.

 As a leader and follower who has been exposed to similar prejudices to those outlined in Carter’s account, I share similar views on diversity and the importance of promoting its presence both within and outside of the business environment. When people from different cultural, social and ethnical backgrounds are brought together under a common goal, the group will benefit from diverse perspectives on assessing issues and developing solutions. In a business environment where continuous innovation and improvements are required to remain relevant, embracing diversity increases the likelihood achieving success (Chopra, 2019). The reading has reinforced my perspective and provided sound advice on promoting and maintaining diversity in my organization.

While in the military, we had a training exchange program between the Guyanese Defence Force and the Jamaica Defence Force. The Guyanese Soldiers who came across, spoke differently, looked different and operated differently when compared to our norms. The instinctively thing was to segregate and judge because they didn't match the status quo. I resisted the urge and welcomed them and further integrated them into the training exercise. For one specific jungle operations, for which we had documented procedures with manuals and guidelines, within minutes of beginning, our visitors began rippling off suggestion and alternate approaches. In the end their contributions saved us time, money and yielded more training benefits. Our policy documents and training manuals were subsequently updated to reflect the improvements. By embracing diversity, our training curriculum and by extension the entire organization befitted, and lifelong partnerships were formed. 

 

References

Carter, K. (2012). Nonconforming culture: How to feel comfortable in who you are no matter where you are. In J. Coleman, D. Gulati, & W. O. Segovia, Passion and purpose: Stories from the best and brightest young business leaders (pp. 104 – 109).Retrieved from https://eds-b-ebscohost-com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org.

Chopra, T. (2019). Why Diversity in the workplace pays dividends. Communication World. Mar2019, p1-3. 3p. Retrieved from https://eds-b-ebscohost-com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org.

Goleman, D. (2000). Leadership that gets results. Harvard Business Review, 78(2), 78-90. Retrieved from https://eds-b-ebscohost-com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org.

Taufek, F. Mustafa, M. (2018). The Effect of Training and Development towards Employee Performance: A Case Study in Proton Tanjung MalimIn. Global Business and Management Research: An International Journal. April 2018, Vol. 10 Issue 2, p777, 5 p.Retrieved from https://eds-b-ebscohost-com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org.

ZIMMER, S. (2019). Innovation leadership. Salem Press Encyclopedia, 2019, 4p. Retrieved from: https://eds-b-ebscohost-com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org

#2 Respond to this person post with 1 paragraph

Hello Class, 

    Alexa Leigh Marie Von Tobel, founder of LearnVest, Inc. resonates with me on so many levels. The major reasons this account connects with me is because of her passion for serving people coupled with her purpose and love for financial literacy. Alexa Leigh Marie Von Tobel's story is not only personable, touching, but heroic. She freely chose to use her knowledge and experience to serve so many people. As a college graduate Alexa was not financially savvy. She struggled with understanding many concepts within the financial word such as the difference between a Roth IRA and a Traditional IRA. This was her financial literacy level as she was heading into her career on Wall Street. Alexa was shocked at how she was never educated in finances after being in school for to decades.  After much research, and attending a business course at Harvard, Alexa took a leave of absence from school to start LearnVest, Inc., despite the state of the economy. She used her personal experiences, education, research collected, and passion to now help many young women become financially empowered and literate. A financial education is key. 

This account connected with me on a very personal level. I also had a similar experience. I grew up with no financial education, I ruined my credit score in college and racked up tons of student loans. Financially I did not have a fighting chance, nevertheless after much research and connecting with like minded people I started a credit restoration company that is targeted at providing financial education and helping individuals to restore and build their credit. Many people do not have the resources necessary to be successful financially. Many of us a academically intelligent but financially ignorant. Just as Alexa saw a need and pursued an answer I want to do the exact same thing. I have been able to help hundreds! It's so rewarding when a client contacts you with a 100 point credit score increase. 

Alexa used several leadership skills to build such an amazing company an help thousands of women. She has used the Pygmalion effect  to build and continually grow her company. She believes that every has the right to learn and can learn about money. Her belief has led to her continually impacting her organization and women as a whole.  She also is not afraid to show her imperfects. She is not afraid to acknowledge what she does not know and seek an answer. This makes her a praiseworthy incomplete leader. She uses her strengths to find solutions and find other opportunities and people to make LearnVest a greater company. 

I have learned a lot from Alexa. I have learned that financial illiteracy is a huge problem for our generation and I can be a part of this solution.  I learned not to be afraid to pursue a bigger purpose than myself. I also learned to be daring and transparent as a look for solutions to serve and touch many people. Her story is very encouraging and inspiring. I will used what I have learned from her account to better myself as a leader of a small credit restoration business and also continue to seek out better ways to help serve more people professionally and personally. 

Coleman, J., Gulati, D., & Segovia, W . O. (2012b). Convergence: Creating opportunities across sectors. In J. Coleman, D. Gulati, & W. O. Segovia, Passion and purpose: Stories from the best and brightest young business leaders (pp. 11–16).

Ancona, D., Malone, T. W., Orlikowski, W. J., & Senge, P. M. (2007). In praise of the incomplete leader. Harvard Business Review, 85(2), 92–100.

Livingston, J. S. (2003). Pygmalion in management. Harvard Business Review, 81(1), 97–106.