Henri's credo

An Evening With Myers-Briggs

In a society that values independence, uniqueness, and nonconformity, of course, branding is frowned upon. The Myers-Briggs test opened my eyes to the fact that branding may not be such a bad thing, in fact I would say I learned a lot about myself along the way! The Myers-Briggs is a test that one takes to help identify them on 4 different levels. For example, I am a "ENTP"; that is to say I am an extrovert (vs. introvert), intuitive (vs. sensing), thinking (vs. feeling), and perceiving (vs. judging). although i wasn't surprised by my results I think that I definitely learned things that i hadn't noticed before, it was like I was walking a trail but I'm only now looking at what the tools I have do. (I must say though I always knew I was an extrovert!!). Knowing my weaknesses and my strengths will aid my in becoming a better leader.

David Bowie knows what it's about...

So I'm  a couple of weeks into my leadership class and now i need to decide if my view of leadership changed ( get the title now?).after thinking about it for awhile i decided that for the most part it hasn't changed, but now everything is labeled and has a name. About a month ago i could distinguish a good leader from a bad one but i couldn't tell you all of the reasons why. the class has aided me in characterizing the traits, characteristics, and actions of a good leader. In some ways everyone is a leader and both a follower ( once again a semi-new revelation to me.) at the most basic level everyone is (and definitely should be) their own leader.

Leaders Born or Made?

Leadership is an observable, learnable set of practices.  Leadership is not something mystical and ethereal that cannot be understood by ordinary people.  Given the opportunity for feedback and practice, those with the desire and persistence to lead – to make a difference – can substantially improve their abilities to do so.

   - Kouzes and Posner, The Leadership Challenge

Ahh the classic question are leaders born or made. In class we have been discussing the quote above quite a bit. Perhaps what strikes me the most is the beginning "Leadership is an observable, learnable set of practices." I completely agree with Kouzes and Posner on this point. I think that leader ship is definitely something that can be learned and most certainly improved. Having said that there is something that i feel isn't addressed in the quote and that is natural ability-the fact that some people are just born with better skill sets. Given that i also believe that there is always room for improvement!

The interview!!!

As said in my earlier post I decided to interview Mr. Jim Johnson who is the president of Interstate Helicopters. His company provides jets and helicopters to people who need to be flown somewhere. It was a very nice interview and I am quite appreciative!
1) Who is an example of a good leader in history and why?
Mr. Johnson responded by saying that he felt president Ronald Reagan was an important leader in history not to mention a role model as well. He felt this for 3 reasons them being that president Reagan "did a lot of good for the country" and made "good decisions". this shows the leadership trait of both competence and the ability to look forward. President Reagan knew what to do for his country (competence) and had the vision and goals in mind to propel it forward (forward looking).
2) What attributes are vital in a leader?
The response that Mr. Johnson gave me for this question surprised me a little i must say. this wasn't because it was different and radical but because it was strikingly similar in some ways to Kouzes and Posner's list of attributes in a leader (them being Honesty, forward looking, inspiring, and competent.) He felt that Honesty, good character, the ability to make good decisions, and being of sound judgment financially are all characteristics of a good leader. As you can see there are many similarities between the two lists for example Honesty and Honesty, Ability to make good decisions and competence, and good character with inspiring perhaps. Both of the lists though relate back to credibility which I asked about in a later question.
3) Should leadership decisions be based on logic or gut feeling?
the main reason i asked this question is because, well... I was curious. MR Johnson very wisely said that it takes both; logic to make decisions and gut feeling to verify and trust them.
4) Is leadership a skill or a gift?
" leadership is a skill developed by personal situations and experiences". this quote is also like Kouzes and Posner's quote that says it is a learnable skill.
5)How does a leader establish credibility?
Credibility is vital to a leader because it shows that one would do what they said they would do (Kouzes and Posner.) Mr.Johnson said that through hard work and example the credibility of every leader is shown and tested.

The Interview

For a class assignment, we must interview a leader in hopes of learning more about becoming one. Being interested in avionics I decided to interview Mr. Jim Johnson who is a leader at a company that does private flights for various people. For the interview I have composed 5 questions:
1) Who is the best leader in history and why?
2) What attribute is vital in a leader?
3) Should leaderaship choices be based on feelings or logic?
4) Is leadership a skill or a gift?
5) How does a leader establish his credability?
Hopefully with these questions i can learn something new. fingers crossed!

Gaining steam

I remember it like it was yesterday...mostly because it was yesterday. It was advisory and we had just received word that there was going to be a competition. Every junior advisory would have to make a gingerbread train! The winner would be decided by creativity, look, edibility, etc. There was a lot of energy when we heard news of this trial, and it wasn't the kind that people would have expected... there was a lot of moaning, complaining, and a fair number of expletives. Being a fairly spirited guy and kinda being fed up of not doing anything holiday related in 3 years I tried to step up as a leader. My initial attempts to stir their spirit by shooting out ideas where shot down themselves. After a painstaking 5 minutes though people gained interest and started to contribute. After 20 minutes we had an awesome idea for the clash of holiday sweets that would be taking place (I'm no gonna lie it's a sure fire winner!!!). I learned that by listening, giving input, and most of all trying anyone can be a leader