A511.1.3.RB_TAYLORHEATHER

When thinking of the leader that has had the greatest influence on me during my life, I think of someone that consistently acts unselfishly for the good of others. This leader is my husband, Randall Taylor.  He is the leader that has changed my life forever for the better.  Often my mind tries to go directly to a workplace as an organizational structure that has a leader.  Sometimes I think of a military unit.  However, my family is an organization.  We together can achieve great things and we are a team.
My husband wakes up each morning and sets out on his day as the Executive Director of our family.  He is both a manager and a leader.  He knows when he gets dressed and puts on his epaulets that he is not just going to work, but paving the way for a brighter future.  Just as the Wright Brothers, Randall does not attempt to achieve his dreams based off of a posh educationally driven life, but through hard work, sweat and humble means of achievement.  He is helping our family achieve our goals from the ground up, and through his determination, he is taking us to heights far above the clouds.
In Mintzberg's Taxonomy of Roles, Randall is the information processor, the  decision maker, the liaison, figurehead and leader.  He deals with role conflict as being a member of the family and the head of the household.  He is responsible for disseminating communication, monitoring the success of the family, being the spokesperson for the family unit in all areas of connection in our organizational structure.
Even though these roles are not his favorite, he is a great disturbance handler with an incredible amount of patience for all of us in the home.  He facilitates communication to decrease negative and unproductive conflict and serves as negotiator.  He budgets our money, he finds innovative ways for us to continue to operate on a daily basis.
I did not know he was all of these when I said, "I do."  All I knew was that he was an incredible man that inspired me to be a better woman.  He continues to be an incredible man.  He is a passionate man.  He is a man that chooses to do the right thing despite the personal pain or immediate consequence he may suffer.  These are not easy choices to make, but he chooses them anyway.
All of these aspects make him that man that I willingly will follow.  He has a heart that yearns for God and yearns for goodwill toward others.  Though he is quick to admit that he falls short everyday, he gets up each new day and tries again.  A man, a leader, like that is one that you want to follow and support for more than a lifetime. 

Yukl, G. (2012). Leadership in organizations (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

A500.9.4.RB_TAYLORHEATHER

As the MSLD 500 course draws near the end of the semester, it is with great fondness that I reflect upon the last nine weeks.  From the months of August-October 2015, I was able to grow in many ways and that is credited to the intellectual perseverance reinforced through this class.
In what began as an attempt to advance my career and take advantage of an opportunity to obtain another Masters degree with paid tuition, I did not take a significant amount of thought in selecting my courses.  Thankfully, my academic advisor was able to map out my coursework, starting me off exactly where I needed to begin.  I needed to not look at this as a means to an end, but a chance to improve as a professional, as a mother, as a wife, as a Christian, as a lifelong learner and as a member of my community.
Through this course, I have learned not to take things as fact, but to evaluate them fully.  I have realized that by thinking things through I am not necessarily being critical or over-analyzing, but am completing action research.  Now micromanaging my honey-do list at home may slightly be some over-analyzing, thought I may try to tell my husband that I am using my leadership skills and have arrived at this list after conducting action research.  My husband knows me way too well to buy that, but he will surely get a laugh out of it.
I have also learned the value of being aware of perceptions and preconceived notions prior to coming to a conclusion about any topic.  While I would love to think that I am free of any and all prejudice, I would be naive to think that true.  My life experiences have molded me and shaped me.  They do not define me, but by them I have a unique perspective.  To think that others would have the same view or understanding that I have would require them to go through the same life experiences, in the same sequences having the same genetic makeup and honestly, it is simply unrealistic.  That is the beauty of being in a world filled with unique and diverse populations.
Being a leader in this world means that with the opportunity to lead, it is a requirement that consideration be given to others and time be spent understanding alternative perspectives.  While there are leaders that do not take these steps, it is those that lead with greatness that show great respect to others and to themselves.  They are not rash thinkers.  They do not act without careful thought.  They ensure what is decided is providing the greatest good for the greatest amount of those influenced by the decision, including thinking of future generations.
When thinking through what elements of this course were more beneficial than others, I honestly would say I wouldn't change a thing.  Being able to learn the material in a self-directed manner as we went through modules together allowed for personal reflection and personal accountability.  Reading through the course material allowed for us to glean the necessary information to build upon as the course continued.  Completing action research papers and projects allowed us to take the material we learned and turn it into something that was pertinent in our own lives.
While I would say that coming to the end of this course saddens me, it is not so.  I know that by advancing to the next course in the MSLD program of study, I am taking this course with me into my next class.  I am taking the thought processes, the lessons learned and the habits formed into each assignment, each course reading and each project.  So it is with great pleasure that I reflect on MSLD 500 journey and smile thinking of those I was able to walk alongside in our shared learning experiences.

A500.8.3.RB_TAYLORHEATHER

At the beginning of this week, I was preparing for a conference in Portland, Maine.  Bringing my daughter, Grace, with me to a hotel over 1,000 miles away was not the high stress portion of the trip.  Knowing I would be in front of co-workers and customers delivering two presentations, both with a proportionately high volume of attendees was high stress.

One presentation was delivered via PowerPoint slides and live demonstration.  The other, with electronic media and an interactive game where attendees could use their smart phone or tablet to answer questions, similar to a game show environment.  In addition to the visual and audio content displayed, one presentation included the use of group think.  The room was arranged where chairs were set out in a circle and attendees were a little apprehensive to join in on the circle, making statements of "Kumbaya?" or "Do we have to?"

Once the presentation was well into gear, and the participants were actively engaged, it was very easy to notice they were enjoying being part of a group process and learning from one another.  Those that were least excited about joining into the group were also the ones that wanted to stay in the group and continue asking questions, even after the presentation was over and it was time for the session to end.

While participants did enjoy the content and learned from the presentations, there was still room for growth.  This week, I learned the value of allowing for white space.  Slides do not need to be filled with facts, but rather, with something that will hold value and meaning to the audience long after the presentation is over.  Something that will allow for long-term memory formation to occur and promote memory recall in the future.

The action research presentation project was not an easy one, to say the least.  In addition to delivering a presentation, it required the use of software to record the delivery of the presentation, editing of the presentation and then transcription of audio included in the presentation.  However, all of those requirements provided an opportunity to understand how much goes into the creation of a good presentation, or at least what I hope to be a good presentation.

In alignment with what was provided in our module resources and e-learning content, I tried to add humor to the presentation.  Knowing that most learners are audio and visual learners, I attempted to integrate a funny clip from an I Love Lucy episode.   I also tried to incorporate well known individuals and stock photos as suggested in the readings.

While I am sure this presentation was better than what it would have been without my increased knowledge of presentation skills, there is undoubtedly room for growth.  The final version had some glitches in the editing that could have been done with more proficiency.  The images that were displayed may have been displayed for too long and the audience may grow bored looking at the image for over :15 seconds.  These are all areas of potential growth that I am now aware of after reviewing the presentation several times.  However, I am sure there is more room for growth- there is always room for growth!