Leadership
This element of the program emphasizes the importance of collaboration and communication skills between students. To gain credit for completion of the leadership element of the program, I enrolled in Industrial Organizational Psychology. This class shows the importance of management, employee satisfaction, and conflict resolution within a company. This class encouraged me to interview a small business owner to ask them about their management skills and their experiences with running a small business. For my leadership experience in this course, I completed a project in which I had to collaborate with a business owner. I interviewed them about their experience starting the business, as well as shadowed them for several days to understand their routine.
While completing this project, I learned to strengthen my verbal skills and become a better interviewer. Shadowing a small-business owner allowed me to view marketing strategies, customer service, and ultimately collaborate with the rest of the employees at the music store. This experience contributed to my leadership abilities because I can now incorporate the stern, yet understanding attitude of Mrs. Hoover into my job and group projects. I also saw how much time and organization skills it takes to plan various events for groups.
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One of the main ideas that I learned from this course was how all jobs require a similar set of qualifications. Having a bright attitude, organization skills, finance education, and an in-depth understanding of store inventory is applicable to nearly every job. I can use these skills to make myself more marketable and seek out information that will further my understanding of these topics. Shadowing this employer taught me the differences between working for a small business and a larger organization. A small business grants employees the opportunity to see their boss everyday. There were many events that created a sense of family among the group, and everyone had a say in the events and activities that the studio hosted and attended.