Leading Change and DR. GRAC

This week Nathan Ward spoke to us about leading change and taught us the steps to lead change through the acronym DR. GRAC. It stand for Desired Results, Guidelines, Resources, Accountability, and Consequences. When Nathan taught us these steps I thought of my uncle who recently took over El Azteca, our family Mexican restaurant, and how he went about leading change. He definitely had a vision for El Azteca. He changed changed the organization of the menu, added choices to the menu, completely redecorated the inside and outside of the restaurant, and put people in different positions. This didn't happen all at once, but it was his goal or desired result at the beginning. Next, he set employees guidelines and deadlines for when a certain change would happen. For example, he first tackled the menu and the new foods. After that he worked on painting and redecorating. He set deadlines for when he would finish and then he moved forward. Next, my uncle assessed his resources. He has a friend from LA that he brought from him to Utah. He takes care of the finances and checks. He used and organized human, financial, technical, and organizational resources. My uncle measures progress and accomplishment by often asking costumers about how like the food. He also has received feedback from newspapers and other food critics about the quality of the food. Finally, the way that he knows whether or not he is achieving his goal is by the amount of people and revenue that El Azteca gets. All in all, I thought DR. GRAC made a lot of sense. 

We also learned 8 steps of leading change in our lab that I thought was super helpful and I plan to use with my family when I move back home this spring and summer. First, one should create a sense of urgency, then pull together the guiding team. Next, develop the change vision and strategy and communicate it to others for understanding. Fifth, empower others to act and sixth, produce short-term wins. Don't let up and create a new culture. I want to talk to my parents about planning and having fhe and family fun night more regularly. My guiding team will include my parents, since they are the ones with most influence in our home. With them, we can come up with a plan and strategy. I've already been reading up on it and have some ideas for how it could work. I'm still working on the rest of the plan, but I feel real strongly about it. I'm planning on writing my final paper on how I'm going to implement this change. I know that it is important for my family, especially since I'll be moving out again next fall and my sister might as well.

Ethical Leadership

This week's lecture was one of the best! Major John Curtis came to speak to us about ethical leadership and shared some meaningful examples of ethical leadership in his own life. He outlined several principles that helped me learn what ethical leadership really is:

• The degree of difficulty of doing the right thing increases as time increases.
• The consequences of doing the right thing is never as bad as we fear.
• People respect those who tell the truth
• Trust is the oil of business machinery
• Attributes that separate great leaders from good leaders
• Doing what you say you're going to do when you say you're going to do it
• Help people share ownership of the problem
• Do the right thing when it's hard: valiant living
• Decide today what is important

These points made total sense to  me and apply not only to leadership, but to life in general. For example, it makes perfect sense to say that trust is the oil of relationship machinery. Ultimately, the reason that those who live these qualities are great leaders is because the principles are righteous. The Lord blesses us for having integrity and for doing the right thing in every part of our life. Ethical leadership is one perhaps most important kinds of leadership there is. 

 

How does this apply to being a Gospel Doctrine teacher?

In order to have the Spirit I need to be honest in my personal life and in what I teach my class. The Spirit is so so important when teaching the Gospel. Also, Matt and I have to trust each other. When he says that he will prepare the lesson, I completely trust that he will because he always does. The same is visa-versa. Thirdly, I think that who I am outside of class is just as important as who I am in class. I not only teach during the Sunday School hour, but I am an example, whether for good or bad, in everything I do. Being honest and trustworthy outside of class matters a lot when I stand up to teach people about being honest and trustworthy. Doing  my personal scripture study everyday matters a lot when I stand up to teach people about doing their personal scripture study everyday. Lastly, when I live valiantly no matter what circumstances I am put in I can live with confidence in who I am. This confidence reflects in the way I teach.

What Kind of Leader Are You?

I used to be a little confused about leadership styles and when to use different ones so I was glad that this week I learned about four different styles of leadership. They depend on how relationship and task oriented you are as a leader and also on the maturity and commitment level of the followers. 1) Directing-uses one way communication, low relationship, high task. Leader has the final say. Followers are immature and not very committed. I've seen and used directive leadership in marching band. As the drum major of the marching band I called out commands and the band members were expected to follow. It was very one way communication and I relationship was low with my peers. I think that I had to use this type of leadership in that case because the maturity and commitment level was not high. I didn't really like using this type of leadership. I know that it's necessary sometimes, but I felt like I wasn't very nice when I was commanding and distant. 2) Coaching-more two way communication, high relationship and also high task. Followers are committed, but immature. "Let's talk, then coach decides." When I think of coaching I think of my friend Nils who taught me how to play tennis. He expected a lot of me, but we were great friends too. He was very encouraging, but gave lots of suggestions for how to improve at the same time. I felt like this was a good way of leading because I was immature in playing tennis, but committed to learning it. 3) Supporting- high relationship, low directive. The members are mature and committed. Basically the leader says, "I'm here to help you. I'll be here with you the whole time." Let's talk and followers decide. I was once on a Stake Dance Committee lead by Sister Gren. As a group we picked the theme, what decorations we wanted, and what food we would have. Sister Gren would go buy what we needed and them we put it together. She listened and let us talk control. She was a supportive leader. 4) Delegating-low relationship, low task, where one simply delegates and doesn't allow the followers to do what they've been asked. Followers are mature and somewhat committed. Followers decide. I've used delegating in group projects. We got together and I assigned each person a topic to research. They sent me their information and I put it into a slide show. I wasn't super involved in what they were doing, but they did what they were asked.

What kind of leadership style do I use when I teach? Definitely not directive-I don't just tell people to make comments and participate. No, it's a lot of two-way communication. I would say that their isn't a totally perfect fit, but that the leadership style that I use is a mix between supportive and delegating. I would say that I use the supportive more though. Last time I taught I asked the class to pick someone who they thought was the strongest person in the class. They got to talk for a moment and pick. That person came and helped me. They generally make comments without me asking and I see how I learn from and expand on what they say. We work together. I ask a lot of questions for them to answer. 

Well, I've learned a ton this week!

The R.A.C.E. is On!

Follow-up from last week: I didn't get on groovshark to listen to music at all this week. I did get on facebook a couple of times, but I made sure that it was after I have done my homework. I think I'll keep on doing it this way.


R.A.C.E. is an acronym for research, action plan, carry out, and evaluation. I feel like this is vital to my leadership role as a Gospel Doctrine teacher. I go through each step every time I give the lesson. Research includes printing out the lesson, reading and studying the assigned scriptures, and reading and studying the lesson material.


Next I make an action plan. There is always way too much material in the lesson than we can possibly have meaningful discussions about in class so I have to decide what will be most relevant to the class members. Also part of action plan is knowing what direction I see the lesson going, what I'll say and point out about certain verses of scripture, what questions I will ask, and what activities or object lessons I will use. The action plan also consists of prayer and the Spirit because both of these are needed to teach the Gospel.


One thing I want to mention-I've noticed that Saturday is the hardest day for me to study the scriptures. Perhaps it's because there is not structure to the day. I also think it's because Satan doesn't want to me prepare spiritually for the next day-Sunday. Part of being an effective Gospel Doctrine teacher is regularly doing personal scripture study-not the scriptures that will be taught in class. I am making a goal to read scriptures that first thing I do Saturday morning.


The next part of R.A.C.E is carry out-do it! For me this part comes on Sunday at about 1:30pm. I give the lesson, we have discussions, and if I have prepared adequately and have gained a personal testimony of the doctrine that I am teaching then the lesson usually goes well. It never goes the way I exactly plan it, but that is expected. In sum, I give the lesson the best way I know how-of course trying to implement the public speaking skills I learned a couple of weeks ago.


Lastly, I evaluate. How do I evaluate how well the lesson went? There are a couple of things that I look at. First, I can feel it. I can feel when the Spirit is there. Next, usually I can tell that class members are learning and having a good experience when they participate by making comments, and answering/asking questions. Thirdly, I know that it is going well when I feel comfortable being myself as I teach. Fourthly, I can talk to Matt about the lesson and we can collaborate on how to better meet the needs of the class members.


R.A.C.E is a great tool and I want to make a goal to take more time to evaluate after the lesson is over.

Yesterday's Lesson

I taught a lesson yesterday and really tried to implement the public speaking skills that we learned. I started the lesson with an attention grabber. I began, "Who here owns a backpack?" Everyone raised their hands because every student has a backpack. I made remarked on how heavy our backpacks can sometimes be and in fact that a backpack is a physical burden. Then we did an activity with a backpack and rocks. Our lesson was about how the Lord invites us to come unto him and take his yoke upon us because His burden is light and easy. I asked someone to help be the scribe and we listed some things on the board. There was a lot of participation and I felt the Spirit. The last ten or so minutes we read the story of Mary anointing Christ's feet. I felt strongly about what I was teaching and I could see people's eyes start to water. My eyes swelled with tears. I concluded with my testimony. We had all been spiritually fed.

As far as time management goes, I did okay last week except that I forgot to do this blog before midnight on Saturday, but at least I could tell you about how the lesson went on Sunday. I learned what I basically knew before. I use my time well when I study at school and I don't when I am at my apartment or are on facebook. I use my planner every more fervently and have set some important goals for this week. One of my goals for this week is to work and study for the important, but not urgent things-like my Book of Mormon and Pearl of Great Price tests next week. I also I have a goal to do the big things first before getting on facebook or listening to grooveshark. The analogy about the rocks and sand in a jar really made sense to me. 

Follow Up and Public Speaking

My goal was to set up a time to meet with Matt, the other Gospel Doctrine teacher in my ward, to talk about our class, goals, and how we can be more effective. Matt and I are meeting Sunday morning before church to go over a class theme that we want to present to the class this Sunday.

I learned some good stuff about public speaking from Diona M. Wilson. First off-what a spunky, fun lady! I loved her enthusiasm and cheerful attitude! I really enjoyed the then tips for public speakers that she taught. She said that we need to know our audience by doing some audience analysis. My class is full of BYU students who live at Wyview. Most of them, if not all, are in a low income situation. Their lives are mostly comprised of class, homework, friends, roommates, BYU activities, and callings. They live busy lives and sometimes get little sleep. Relationships with the Lord and friends, having fun, and doing well in school are among some of their priorities. Some current events in their community: Jimmer and the BYU Basketball team, Midterms, but mostly Jimmer. Each of them are talented in their own way, have a desire to excel, have fun, and be accepted.  

Something else that I learned was to never start a talk or lesson with "Today, I'm going to talk to you about...." There should always be a great grab-a story, an impressive fact, a current event, an activity, etc. I need to think more creatively about a grab for starting the lesson in Sunday School. Usually the lesson gives an "Attention Activity," but I can come up with something more attention grabbing for college students.

Public speaking is a huge part of my leadership role and this was very helpful.

The Opposite of Dysfunction in Class

This week in the combined lab we learned about the dysfunctions of a team (in my case a Gospel Doctrine class). The dysfunctions:

1. Absence of Trust
2. Fear of Conflict
3. Lack of Commitment
4. Avoidance of Accountability
5. Inattention to Results

The opposite of the dysfunctions:

1. Trust
2. Positive Conflict
3. Commitment
4. Accountability
5. Attention to Results

I am not the only Gospel Doctrine teacher. Matt and I switch off teaching every other week. We are a team. For Matt and I trust is one of the more important characteristics of our teamwork. At the beginning of the semester we got together and talked about a theme for the class and talked about our strengths and weaknesses in teaching and handling the class, and offered each other some feedback. On a handout that we received from lab this week identifies some of the characteristics of a trusting team as "asking for help, asking questions and accepting input, give each other the benefit of the doubt, taking risks in offering feedback, appreciating and taping into another's skills or experiences, and look forward to meetings/groups work." I'm making a goal to do these things with Matt at least twice a month. It'll be good to talk with Matt more about what we can do to reach specific class members and bring the Spirit more into our class. We can also help each other as we talk about certain teaching techniques that worked for us and others that didn't. Also, I'm grateful that I trust Matt in that if it's his week to prepare the lesson, then I know that it will get done and I don't have to worry about it. I know he feels the same with me. We also support and trust each other by making comments when each other is teaching. 

Goal for this week: talk with Matt about having a regular time to talk about the class and what we can do to be more effective.

Follow up and Accomodating

A follow up from last week: My goals last were (1) to pray and gain a personal testimony of the lesson, (2) to prepare so well that I wouldn't have to look at a paper when I taught, and (3) to have a sincere and happy attitude about teaching.  I did pray about our lesson about some of the miracles that Christ performed and I felt the Spirit strongly. I gained this testimony-If Christ can (fill in blank with certain miracle), then He can change, heal, and love me too. I felt strongly that I should share that message. Then, before church on Sunday I found out that I would have twenty minutes less to give my lesson and then I only actually taught 12 minutes in the end, but I did my best with the time that I had. Because of the time shortage I really just put down the papers and shared a couple of the miracle stories. I felt like I was sincere and that the Spirit was there, even if it was only for 12 minutes.

This week in lecture and lab we learned about conflict resolution. In lab we were asked to identify some conflicts in our leadership role. I thought of a few. Firstly, the conflict of how much of the lesson I prepare and how much time I actually have to give the lesson. Secondly, the conflict of preparing the lesson during the week and doing everything else there is to do. Thirdly, the conflict of how many people I want to participate and how much they actually do. When I took the quiz in lab that identifies how I generally deal with conflict avoiding and competing were my highest too.  I think that the best way to deal with the first conflict is accommodation. I need to be flexible and accommodate the lesson to how much time I have. I think that they best way to deal with the second conflict is compromise. I shouldn't focus all of my time doing homework, but neither should I neglect homework because I'm preparing my lesson. I need to do both and so the time needs to be compromised. The third conflict can be dealt with accommodation. I can't force people to participate, but I can change the way I am asking questions. I can use various teaching styles. I can move forward. I've learned a lot this week!

Focus on Strengths

This week in lecture Christi Lively spoke to us about focusing on improving our strengths rather than on correcting weaknesses and how it will help our weaknesses not seem so weak. I've thought about some of my strengths as a Gospel Doctrine teacher and have chosen one to focus on for next week. One of my strengths is that I sincerely love to read the scriptures. Because I love to read the scriptures, I have an enthusiastic attitude about teaching them. This week I would like to focus on having more enthusiasm when I teach. How can I do this? First, I will pray before I start preparing the lesson and ask Heavenly Father for the Spirit as I prepare. As I pray I will ask Heavenly Father to help me gain my own personal testimony about what I will be teaching. Secondly, I will prepare so that I feel comfortable teaching the lesson without having to read it off of a paper. This will be better because I will know the material better and be able to look people in the eye as I teach. This is more personal. Thirdly, I will smile and have a happy attitude when I teach. If I love the Gospel, then it will shine through. In the last General Conference, Elder McConkie, speaking specifically to teachers, said that "Attitude is not taught, it is caught." I think that as I do these three things, pray for a personal testimony, know the material so well that I can teach it from my heart, and smile during the lesson then I can help the class members catch enthusiasm for the Gospel. I'll let you know how it goes!    

Servant Leadership

This week in the leadership lecture Brother Neil Cox taught a great lesson on servant leadership accompanied by examples from the Church and business leaders. He quoted Stephen Covey's quote and it's stayed with me since: "You'll find that as you care less about what others think of you, you will care more about what others think of themselves." In other words, focus on the feelings, needs, and desires of others and less on your own. It's funny because I think that many times I don't say hi or start a conversation or make a comment because I'm scared about what others will think of me. It's like this barrier that we build between people and it's built on this self-interested motive about wanting others to like us. I want others to be happy and so I can focus my attention on making others happy. In teaching the Gospel Doctrine lessons I find that it is easy to worry and get nervous about what others are thinking of me as I teach. Do they like my teaching style? Do they think that I'm too serious or that I should be more like (fill in name)? But all that does is make me an insecure teacher and it reflects in my teaching. Instead my focus should be how the students feel about the Gospel and about their desire to live the Gospel. My job is not to make them love me, but to make them love the Savior and the scriptures. The miracle is that in doing this, I mean coming unto Christ through studying His word, we come to love each other as well. So the next time I teach, I am going to try to stop worrying about what the class is thinking of me and start focusing on how the class feels about the aspect of the Gospel that we are learning that day. Ultimately, I need to focus on the Spirit and whether or not He is present. Whether or not I'm the most effective teacher, if the Spirit is there it was an effective lesson. Upward and onward!

Sharing an Inspired Vision

This week I was especially impressed by the importance of sharing an inspired vision and not just sharing any vision. As the Gospel Doctrine teacher one of my main goals is to share a lesson. But it's not just any lesson, it's a lesson that I have prepared with the Spirit and will share with the influence of the Spirit as well. An inspired vision is a vision that is aligned with the will and Spirit of the Lord. I remember when I was being set apart that one thing mentioned in the blessing was that I would be able to share insights while still following the lesson. I think about this when I prepare the lessons: am I teaching what the objective of the lesson is and are my insights supporting or distracting from this objective? Sometimes it's tempting to go off on a tangent of my own or tell too many stories. I know that the Lord would have me share the material that I have been asked to teach in a humble and enthusiastic way. 

I've also thought about getting to know each heart better. While I know many of the names of the people in my ward, I know that I don't know a lot of them as well. What a blessing it was this morning when I received the ward list with pictures in my email inbox! I plan to study them. I don't have a very good memory and often times forget even when I have the best intentions, but I know that repetition works well for me. 

Well, this weeks lesson is about being born again through the Spirit. I really love this topic and beginning to realize that each lesson always goes back to the basic doctrines of the Gospel: faith, repentance, baptism, the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. How grateful I am that the Lord repeats the basic truths so often! 

An Outline for "Divine-Centered Leadership"

I read this article for leadership class and really loved it. Here is a simple outline of it. Good stuff!

Divine-Centered Leadership

        I.            Motive: “What Would the Lord Have Me Do?”

a.       Motive, not skill sets leaders apart

b.      God’s will

c.       Find answers through prayer

d.      Process:

                                                               i.      Desire

                                                             ii.      Seek

                                                            iii.      Know

                                                           iv.      Do

e.      Roadblocks:

                                                               i.      The natural man-hearts set upon the things of the world

                                                             ii.      Pride

f.        Evaluate yourself and counsel with the Lord

      II.            Sharing An Inspired Vision

a.       Seek for, listen for, and follow divine guidance

b.      Obtain a personal testimony of the vision

c.       Integrate eternal truths into the vision

d.      Point beyond self toward God and Christ

    III.            Challenging Unrighteousness

a.       Challenge the unrighteousness within

                                                               i.      Turn to the scriptures for clearer understanding

                                                             ii.      Exercise faith in God and in the diving calling given

                                                            iii.      Use past righteous behavior and the priesthood to eliminate unrighteousness

b.      Engage in the repentance process

c.       Continually learn of spiritual things

d.      Preserver and endure opposition

e.      Challenge wrong appropriately:

                                                               i.      “[show] ‘forth afterward an increase of love’”

                                                             ii.      Stopping those who would damage the testimony of others

    IV.            Modeling the Way, the Truth, and the Life

a.       Live a life based on correct principles

b.      Be accountable before others, self , and God

c.       Accept personal responsibility for doing the Lord’s will

d.      Prepare spiritually through prayer, fasting, and scripture study

e.      Lead and manage self wisely-time, body, and resources

      V.            Knowing Each Heart

a.       Seek after and spend time to know the “lost sheep”

b.      Place people higher than projects, products, and profits

c.       Treat each person as a divine being with divine potential

d.      Demonstrate friendship, love, and compassion for each individual

e.      Know personally each individual

Changing Perspective and Vision

Yesterday in lab we discussed historical leaders, like President Hinckley, Adolf Hitler, and Mahatma Gandhi, and what made them leaders with lasting influence. One thing stuck out to me-leaders somehow change people's perspective of something. Now, applying this to my calling as a Gospel Doctrine teacher, I am trying to change people's perspective of the scriptures and doctrines of the Gospel as I teach. I am supposed to help them understand the scriptures better than before, with more clarity and meaning in their own personal lives. When the class members leave my class, they should have a more clear understanding of the Gospel and this means that their perspective has changed.

Something else that I learned-leaders have a vision AND the ability to convey that vision to others. As a Gospel Doctrine teacher I not only have to have a vision about how to teach the lesson, but also know it and have studied it so well that I am able to convey that vision in clear way. Sometimes a principle will make so much sense to me, but I have a hard time explaining it. I think that this is why the lesson manual instructs the teacher to prepare lessons a week in advance so as to have enough time to really prepare and think about the material and thus be able to share the vision effectively.

Gospel Doctrine Teacher!

My leadership role will be my calling as a Gospel Doctrine teacher. This is a position that I have influence over others as I lead the discussion about the doctrines and lessons of the New Testament.

Communication

Right now I am the Gospel Doctrine teacher in my ward. I taught last semester from the Old Testaments and am now in the New Testament for this semester. So far it's been a great experience. I've learned a lot about effective teaching and The Spirit. Of course there are times when I feel completely inadequate, but I think that every teacher does at some point. This week in Leadership class we learned about the individual "Lego pieces" that make a leader. The one leadership skill that particularly stood out to me was communication. As a teacher I have to be able to communicate the doctrines and principles effectively so that the class members understand me. It's not always easy to do. I've learned that in order to communicate clearly as I teach I first need to know the material. This means that I have to study and plan during the week. Also, I literally need to project my voice so that everyone can actually hear me since our Sunday school is a lot bigger than regular classes. Thirdly, I don't have to use fancy language, but simple understandable words. It helps to give examples and analogies. I am definitely not perfect at communicating effectively, but it's a skill that I practice each lesson.