What I have learned in leadership

Throughout the semester in KNR 171, I have learned about many things about what leadership means. Coming into KNR 171, my definition of leadership was that it was someone who was brave enough to take charge and lead a group of individuals to achieving their goals. However, during my time in KNR 171, I have learned it is much more than that. I learned that being a leader, you also have to be the person people turn to when they have a problem, you have to be someone people can talk to , and also grow meaningful bonds with people inside and outside of what you are doing as well, that way they can fully trust you to lead them to success. I learned by doing this, your job of being a leader will be much easier, and success will come much sooner as well. That is what I have learned in leadership in KNR 171.

What I have learned in collaboration/teamwork

Through the semester in KNR 171, I have learned many things about what collaboration and teamwork mean. Throughout my many years of playing organized sports, I have learned what teamwork is on a competitive level, but during KNR 171, I have learned what teamwork is on a professional/business level. I learned that teamwork in the Parks and Recreation profession requires people to come together to create something great for others. The teamwork in your group is for creating positive experiences for countless people. For example, in the Parks and Recreation profession, you need everyone in your group to share their ideas, and not one idea is better than the next, different ideas are what brings success. Also I have learned that networking in this profession is important as well, because not only can you bring a positive experience to others, but you can also bring in partners that can improve and add upon the positive experience you are trying to make for others. I have learned that teamwork in this profession is what can bring the greatest success.

What I have learned about being an effective facilitator

Through the semester in KNR 171, I have gained a better understanding of what an effective facilitator is. I learned that it is more than just creating an activity and having people participate in it, it is about how you make the people feel when they are participating in your activity. As an effective facilitator, I have learned that you have to cater to each specific audience when you are interacting with them. You have to make it an enjoyable experience by including things that catches the participants attention, and make it relatable to things the participant may like. For example, if you are running a basketball camp with younger kids, let’s say about the ages of 8-10, you would want to include things in that camp that may interest them so they can enjoy the camp even more. Also, I have learned that by being an effective facilitator, you have to create an activity that makes the people want to come back for more by the end of it, you have to make it to where people come back time and time again, and if that happens, that shows you are an effective facilitator. That is what I have learned about being an effective facilitator in KNR 171.

Would I change my answer of what leadership is from PLP Blog Post 1?

I would not necessarily change it, but add more onto what I think leadership is. In my PLP Blog Post 1 answer, I described leadership as someone who can lead a group of people to achieve their goals as quick as possible, with little to no conflict. I would just want to add that being a leader is more than just leading people to success, it is about building trust with those people, and building personal relationships/bonds with people inside and outside of what you are doing. I would also add that being a leader would be by bringing the very best out of people, and by helping people reach their full potential and beyond. That is what I would add to it after what I have learned through KNR 171.

What specific ways will my learning in KNR 171 contribute to my career goals?

My learning in KNR 171 will contribute to my career goals, and work as a professional in many ways. It will contribute to how I will approach future tasks, for I will use each aspect from KNR 171 and apply it to what I am doing. What I learned in KNR 171 is to make each activity I produce personal, for that way I can produce the best activity possible for participants. The learning in KNR 171 will help me go above and beyond in my profession so that way everyone wins. That is how KNR 171 will contribute to my career goals. 

Areas of improvement that I will like to work on after the semester

One of the things I will like to work on after the semester is my shyness. I feel as if I have good ideas to contribute, but because of my shyness, I feel it takes a bit longer for them to come out, and by that I lose time by holding my ideas in. I will try to improve on this by forcing myself to speak even if I am not confident in what I have to say, also by volunteering in class more so speaking out loud does not feel odd anymore and my words can come out more naturally and smoothly. Another thing I would like to improve on is my participation in class. I feel that my participation is okay, but not great at all, and I feel that if I participate more, it will help me grow and improve in this profession. Those are some areas I think need improvement. 

What specific steps will I take to improve my leadership growth next semester

Some steps I will take to improve my leadership growth next semester is by getting to know my classmates better, and by participating in any events Parks and Recreation will offer next semester. I feel that getting to know my classmates better, and grow a personal relationship with them is important, for it will help us grow as future leaders. I say that, for I feel that if we have a personal relationship, it would be easier for us to give advice to one another and share ideas on how we could improve without it seeming awkward, it would also help us work together better as well to achieve goals. By participating in events Parks and Recreation may have, I feel that by going to them, I will be able to network with different people in this field, and get advice on how to be a better leader from different aspects and perspectives, that way when it is my time to become a leader, I can have a wide range of what to do depending on the situation and not just have one aspect on how it can be handled. Those are some steps I will take to improve my leadership growth next semester. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, I feel that KNR 171 was very beneficial to me. It was beneficial, for it was the beginning point of my journey to becoming a professional in this field, for it showed me the important aspects of this profession and what I can do to become successful in it. 

This here is my 1 hour facilitation plan for a basketball camp that I had set up. In it you will see the different drills that will be ran in the facilitation, and also other aspects of it too. https://armandocovarrubiasjrprofessional.business.blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/revised-plp-armando-covarrubias.pdf

I believe that volunteering is important, for it gives you the opportunity to give back to a certain community, and to help make a positive difference in that community. I volunteered at the Rauner Family YMCA in Chicago, IL. The Rauner Family YMCA is a non profit organization. I did enjoy this volunteer experience, for I was able to give back to a place, where I spent most of my youth at, and I was able to experience how a YMCA is ran, for I hope to work for one when I am finished with school.

The major purpose for the Rauner Family YMCA, is to create a safe place, where people of all ages from the community can come and have a positive experience, and also learn and grow as well.

There were appropriate materials and appropriate amount of materials during my volunteering experience. I also felt that there was appropriate materials if first aid was needed. The layout of the activity was fine, and there was a appropriate amount of staff and supervision on site during my volunteering experience.

My responsibility during my volunteer experience, was to help out with the kids in the day care section that the Rauner Family YMCA has. I had to help supervise the kids and make sure everything was okay, play/interact with them, and made sure that they ate the snacks that were provided. There was no training needed to volunteer, and i would volunteer again at this agency in the future.

If I were to have been in charge of this program, I would not change a thing to it. I would not change a thing, for I felt things during the program were ran smoothly, and was successful in providing a good experience to the children’s day.

I learned that my ability to work with others is good. I do not see this agency facing any issues anytime soon, for I know there is good people running this YMCA, and are committed to making sure the YMCA provides a positive experience to the people from the community who are always going to that YMCA.

My CliftonStrenths Top 5 themes are Competition, Adaptability, Includer, Arranger, and Consistency(Gallup, Inc(2012))(Armando Covarrubias: Your Signature themes report). Competition shows up in my Top 5 themes(Gallup, Inc(2012))(Armando Covarrubias: Your Signature themes report), for I have always been a competitive person since I was a child, I always compared my successes with others, and felt that if I did not surpass them, I was not doing enough, I always used competition as way to do my best. Adaptability shows up in my top 5 themes(Gallup, Inc(2012))(Armando Covarrubias: Your Signature themes report), for I always felt that I can adjust to my surroundings and adjust myself to succeed in different situations, I do not hold myself to only being good at one thing. Includer shows up in my top 5 themes (Gallup, Inc(2012))(Armando Covarrubias : Your Signature themes report), for my parents raised me to treat everyone equally, and to give everyone an equal chance to be apart of something. Arranger shows up in my top 5 themes (Gallup, Inc(2012))(Armando Covarrubias: Your Signature themes report), for I find ways to get things done, regardless of the things that could possibly hold me back from accomplishing my goals. Consistency shows up in my top 5 themes(Gallup, Inc(2012))(Armando Covarrubias: Your Signature themes report), for I feel that consistency is what helps me succeed, being consistent makes me feel confident in the things I do.

My definition of effective leadership is being able to lead a group of people to success with with a great flow of teamwork, with as little conflict as possible. Also effective leadership to me, is being able to lead your group to accomplishing your goal in as little time possible as well. I believe my leadership experiences have been pretty successful up to this point. For example, I was captain of my high school’s football and basketball team for all four years, and I was able to help bring a group of people together to work as one to help bring success, and growth to the school’s teams. Another experience i have had being a leader was back in 8th grade when my school had a basketball youth camp for the younger grades, and I was chosen to be a coach for one. During my time as coach for the two months this camp was going on, I can confidently say that the kids i coached came out better basketball players than they were when they first started, and I was able to help coach my team to win the championship of the camp. My preferred leadership approach is to lead by example, and to build relationships with the people I am leading. I have come to developing this style of approach by always trying to set the tone, and trying to show others my way of what I think can be a successful approach to accomplishing goals, and if others have input on other ways to succeed, than I will listen to them, for everyones points are valid when coming up with new ways to reach our goals. The building relationship approach came about by me always trying to get to know the people I am working with better, get to know them on a personal level so they can feel comfortable with me leading them. I want to get to know my partners beyond of what we are working on together. I think my three strongest qualities of being a leader is that I am adaptive, for I can adjust to make things better for everyone to work effectively. Another quality is that I am inclusive, I want everyone to be able to feel that they are an important part when reaching our goals. Also, another quality is that I am communicative, I like to keep people up to date to what is happening so no one falls behind, or gets confused, which would effect us negatively when trying to accomplish something. Those are my three strongest qualities I posses of being a leader.

Some specific ways I hope to grow as a leader by the end of KNR 171 is to learn to take initiative right away, for I feel as if I am hesitant or shy when it comes to stepping up, it usually takes me a while to feel comfortable to speak up, and I hope to improve that, for taking initiative right away saves time, and gets us to our goals quicker. Some specific ways I hope to grow as a communicator by the end of KNR 171 is to not be as shy when meeting new people, I tend to not open up about myself right away , and I feel that needs to be changed, for building relationships quicker can lead to new opportunities and growth. Some specific ways I hope to grow as a teammate by the end of KNR 171 is to build a better bond with my classmates outside of class, for I feel that a personal relationship with everyone can go a long way when we come together to work as a group. Those are some ways I hope to grow by the end of KNR 171.

I believe that volunteering is important, for it shows that you care about the community , and that you are willing to give back without anything in return. I did my volunteering at the “Greater Chicago Food Depository”, in my hometown of Chicago. The “Greater Chicago Food Depository” is a non-profit food bank. I did enjoy the volunteer experience, for it allowed me to give back to the community, and give back to those in need.

The major purpose for the participants of this event was to package the food, so it can be ready to be given out once the task was finished.

The equipment used during the volunteering experience was, plastic bags, boxes, and plastic scoopers. These were used for putting beans in plastic bags and boxes, and two scoops were the rations for each bag. For safety, or to keep the beans from being contaminated, we wore plastic gloves, and hair nets. The layout area was a number of tables with boxes of beans, and space in between the tables for each person. There were about 20 to 25 people , and 5 to 8 staff workers supervising us.

My responsibility of the day, was to package as ,any beans into plastic bags, and boxes before the volunteering experience was over. There was no training needed to participate in what we were doing. The benefit I received, is that I was able to help the people who are helping the community, and to know that people who are less fortunate will be receiving food to eat. I would volunteer again at this agency in the future.

If I was in charge of this event, I would not change the way that it was ran. I say that because I felt everything was explained clearly, and that there was no confusion during the time that I was there. Some things that I learned about leading activities during my time there, was that you should make what you are doing comfortable for everyone, for if everyone knows what they are doing, they will be comfortable and confident while doing it, and that will lead to success and growth.

I learned that I am able to work well with others, and am able to establish a relationship with them beyond just volunteering. An issue that I do see this agency facing is just not having enough people for the workload, for they do have tons of things that need to be done, even though they are handling all these responsibilities very well , I just feel having more people will make things easier on everyone.

That was my experience volunteering at the “Greater Chicago Food Depository”.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.