Lauren Grella

MNGT 5560

#8 Retrospective

17 April 2024

#8 Retrospective

In assignment #0, at the beginning of the semester, I wrote that a leader is someone that is

people-oriented and one that has a positive influence on those around them. That a leader is one

that can take on challenges and put their own desires behind them. Although my version of

leadership hasn’t changed much from the beginning of the semester to the end, I now realize that

there is no one definition for leadership—that leadership can be defined in so many ways.

Leaders are necessary because without a leader there is never going to be any direction.

There is a point in time when someone must make decisions and not everyone is going to have a

say. Even though it may seem harsh, it is generally easier to have one capable individual make

decisions rather than try to please everybody. The head of a household at the end of the day is

going to make decisions related to the house. The president of the United States must step up and

make decisions that they believe are best for the country. These are a few examples of how

leaders are necessary, and there are countless more.

A leader can do several different things and can be in control of many different

operations. I would say that the main purpose of a leader is to oversee a group of people or

organization and to make decisions based on what they believe is best for those people. It is

natural to say that a good leader is one that is running a good operation and is good with working

around others. If someone is good working with other people, those working will enjoy their
environment more and take more pride in their work. A good leader is one that can work

efficiently and climb closer to their goals, as well as being able to create an image that is positive

for whatever they are leading.

In the second week of class, we read “0118 Five leadership lessons from Martin Luther

King Jr” and “0118 Four leadership lessons from Martin Luther King Jr and other greats”. In the

first article, one of the five leadership lessons from Martin Luther King Jr. that stood out to me

was “Get Comfortable with Discomfort”—I truly think that to make changes, grow, develop, etc.

you need to be OK with being uncomfortable. When you’re comfortable, you won’t be as

accepting of change or ways that you can grow and develop as a person whether that is in your

career or person lives as well. Another leadership lesson that stood out to me was “Lead with

Character”—Personally, even if you’re not in a leadership position, people are always watching

you, so it is crucial to carry yourself in a way that best portrays your character. I believe that

character and integrity go hand in hand. Doing what is right behind the scenes sets you up to do

what’s right when you’re in the spotlight--“Observed behavior will always outweigh

spoke/written guidance”. In the second article, one of the four leadership lessons that stood out to

me is “Find the Opportunity in Every Situation”—So many people nowadays are negative and

complain about where they are, jobs they have, situations they’re in, etc. I think it is so important

to see the light and opportunity within every situation. Nobody is perfect so there will always be

room to grow and develop yourself, so it is crucial to appreciate where you are and focus on

what is ahead.

In the third week of class, we had our first guest speaker, Blake Butcher. Blake Butcher is

the coordinator for employee wellness at Auburn as well as an instructor in the School of

Kinesiology. As someone who is also involved in health and wellness, I enjoyed hearing his
prospective on leadership within the wellness industry. Blake’s message was extremely eye

opening and one that will continue to resonate with me throughout my career. His journey and

path he took to get to where he is today and the lessons he has learned on leadership, happiness,

courage, and more, made me question things that I currently do and all the ways I can grow and

develop myself to get closer to the ultimate pursuit of happiness. Four major points about

leadership that Blake discussed during his message was 1. Know yourself, 2. Question your

intentions, 3. Acknowledge your worth, 4. Don’t measure yourself worth by your net worth. One

of the key takeaways is that you must have leadership within to be a leader. When Blake was

working through his points around happiness, he shared a quote from Jonah Berger that said

“Connecting with others is rewarding, because it makes us feel like we’re not alone in this

world”—I tend to feel my happiest when I am surrounded by others and feel connected with

them. That same week we got into the discussion around values, ethics, and morals. We had an

assignment where we got to choose six of our heroes and we compared them in class. It was a

real eye-opening assignment, and I gained a lot of insight around that fact that most of my

heroes’ characteristics aligned with one other—which then aligned with my own personal values.

Commonalities between my six heroes and myself are: Grit, Passion, and Integrity. A quote from

this week that stuck with me is “Never be satisfied”—It is so important to always be trying to

develop yourself and gain more knowledge to be able to change and grow. In the slide deck for

this week, I noticed on the morals slide the quote, “Do what’s right, respect others, and perform

with excellence”—I am very passionate about being a kind person and always doing what’s

right, so these three points really stuck out to me and meant something as it was such a testimony

to my own life and values. I also believe this quote is a perfect description of a leader.
 In the fourth week of class, we had another guest speaker, Patrick George. As a senior

about to graduation, his message really stood out to me. He gave really good advice for those

about to graduate and move into their career paths. When he discussed happiness, he introduced

an equation; 50% Set Point (of your individual makeup), 10% Circumstances, and 40%

Voluntary Activities. After we discussed his points around this equation, it made me think back

on my life and apply it—and it is so true! When we were talking about goals, he said something

that truly stuck out to me— “Water and fertilize your goals, you may not see the fruit right away,

but it takes time and maturing”. As a leader, I believe this quote is so important to see the end

goal or bigger picture. It is crucial to keep pushing and having tenacity to achieve your goals in

the long run. As I get older, the more I understand that mistakes are absolutely necessary for

growth and success—It is important to make mistakes, learn, and try again. Most people view

failure in a negative way, a good leader is one that finds opportunity in failure.

In the fifth week of class, we started to move the discussion around mission, vision, and

values. I really like that different companies/brands share their mission, vision, and values up

front to the public. From a company standpoint, it is important to be transparent, open, and

honest to gain trust. During this week of class we played the simulation game, “The change

game”, where there was a CEO, x number of managers, and the rest were employees. I was a

manager in this game and although it was fun to get involved as a whole class and play the game

—I truly saw the importance of this activity and how it was a great display of what leadership is

and the challenges around it. As a leader, it is important to be trustworthy and have a clear, open

communication with all employees to build a connection in the workplace. When you’re a leader,

you may potentially hold a higher title than those around you, so it is crucial to build trust so you

can have influence on the people around you.

 In the sixth week of class, we got the chance to hear from two more guest speakers,

CAPT Michael Witherspoon (Naval ROTC) and Lt Col Michael Quinn (Air Force ROTC). I

thought these guest speakers were wonderful. I have three siblings that are all serving in the

military, so it was very interesting to hear what leadership means in the military and from each of

their views. During our discussion, it was mentioned to keep a leadership toolbox and continue

to fill it and get rid of the stuff you don’t need as you continue to grow and develop. As you go

through your career, you experience working for both good and bad leaders. It is important to

take mental notes and add to your toolbox when you find good qualities and leave out the bad

qualities. As one navigating my own leadership journey, I found this super beneficial because as

you grow and change, you learn more about yourself and those around you. I believe that your

experiences truly shape you into what it takes to be a leader. Leadership is a mindset.

In the seventh week of class, we listened to an audio from Bruce Pearl. Personally, I find

his leadership style fascinating. He is proud of his faith and puts that before everything else that

he does. In the beginning of the video, he said that good leadership also means you have good

followers— “More Indians than Chiefs”. Servant leadership is my favorite leadership style

because I think leading by example is so important. When you’re a leader, the people around you

will copy and follow you no matter what you do so it is important to have integrity with yourself

and do everything as if someone is always watching. Personally, I believe Bruce Pearl is a great

leader and he made it a point to say that no matter his position, he is always helping those under

his title rather than act like he is on a throne. This type of leader is one that is always very

personable and wants their team to be successful. “Put your energy into areas that you’re good at

and watch yourself be great”. This week we also discussed the importance of setting goals and
making SMART goals. Goal setting is crucial for success and will keep you on track to be the

best version of yourself you want to be!

In the eighth week of class, we heard from two guest speakers, Patrick George and Karen

Hoppa. Patrick George set a good example to always remain open minded. His experiences and

what shaped his career journey was a very interesting story and very motivating to someone like

me who is about to graduate and start their career. He accepted any opportunity that came his

way even if it wasn’t what he wanted to do long term. Without this, he wouldn’t be where he was

today in the high leadership role he holds, doing what he loves. This is a great quality that a

leader must have! Karen Hoppa shared what leadership looked like within athletics. Her message

was very eye opening for someone like me who has never been involved in women’s sports. She

did an amazing job describing where the industry is on female leaders in athletics and shared

insight on where it is still lacking. Her story and compassion for her athletes shows through her

message. She discussed the five qualities that she believes makes a great leader; 1. High Work

Rate/Self-Motivated, 2. Quality Communication Skills, 3. Goal Oriented, 4. Compassionate (for

others), 5. Humility (for yourself). I absolutely agree with these five qualities and are most, if not

all, the same qualities I look for within my role models/leaders. I truly enjoyed that she wasn’t

scared to talk about certain topics and was transparent about where the industry still is. She is a

perfect example of a leader who is doing what she loves and cares about the people around her.

In the ninth/tenth week of class, I was able to experience a leadership opportunity outside

of the classroom. I work for Club Pilates and happen to be the top sales representative in this

studio. Having this role has given me many leadership opportunities within the studio and I have

been able to help lead the other sales representatives to success within their roles. This week, I

was able to lead our monthly staff meeting. I found it important to keep the meeting on track, as
well as allow for feedback to make sure I was best helping my co-workers. I also got tasked with

training a new sales representative that was coming onboard. I was able to take everything I have

learned about leadership thus far and apply it to how I wanted to portray myself in these

important meetings/conversations to set a good example. I was able to take action and help

others, so it was cool to have this kind of responsibility and practice to develop and grow my

leadership skills even more.

In the eleventh week of class, we heard from two guest speakers, Gary Chesson and Lady

Cox. Gary Chesson has an entrepreneurial take on leadership which I found fascinating. As a

leader, he took action and made the change when he didn’t like what he was doing. He stressed

the importance that grades are not everything and there is always someone more knowledgeable.

He shared that hard work and passion are the key to happiness and success. His career journey

and path were very interesting—He is a great example of making a change when you’re

unhappy. He though entrepreneurially and grew a business from the bottom up with the culture

he wanted in a workplace. Lady Cox shared that always showing up and asking a lot of questions

are the best things you can do. Nobody knows everything, everyone is always trying to know

more and figure it out too, so it was a great reminder to not get discouraged.

In the twelfth week of class, we talked about organizational culture. When looking for

jobs, clubs, organizations to join, etc. it is important to fully understand the culture within so that

you can see whether you align yourself with it. If you don’t feel aligned, you may become

unhappy and burnt out over time. This summer I interned for a company that completely changed

my outlook on company culture. Before my internship began, everyone from the company talked

about how amazing the culture was and their exper4inces they have had being a part of the

company. I was able to see for myself over the course of the summer and it was what made me
fall in love with the company and accept a full-time position with them following my graduation

this May. The feeling I received was one that I have never experiences before elsewhere. I felt so

welcome, taken care of, and appreciated. I felt like I was treated equally as important as a full-

time employee even as an intern. I enjoy learning about culture and find it so important to

understand it. A leader must understand culture to have happy followers and be more

collaborative.

In the thirteenth week of class, we heard from yet another amazing guest speaker, Dr.

Corey Spurlin. I really enjoyed his insights around leadership, he did a great job illustrating what

leadership means to him as well as within the band organization. Although he mentioned that he

didn’t know much about leadership in business, he mentioned how leadership is found in every

profession and will always follow you everywhere you go. This week we also talked about

motivation. Personally, I am intrinsically motivated. I am motivated by my own personal

development and always try to be my best possible self, for myself and those around me. I am a

very type A person. I am organized and have most things planned out with an end goal. The

reason I set so many goals for myself and try to be involved with as much as possible is because

I don’t want to be average, I want to be my best self. When I feel good internally, I can best set

an example for those around me. I think that leaders must think intrinsically as well.

Throughout the course, we heard from many guest speakers, completed many

assignments, read different articles around leadership, and had a lot of discussion/reflection

about qualities of leadership and how to develop ourselves as leaders in this world--both

professionally and internally. My favorite assignments that stuck with me throughout this

semester was the #3 Vision & Mission, #5 The Last Lecture, and both the #4 Book Analysis and

#7 Movie Analysis. Leadership has grown and developed in so many ways throughout the course
of our lives. At the end of the day, I think leaders are extremely necessary and beneficial. I truly

believe with the right knowledge and practice; anyone can put in the work and be a leader.

Three ways that I would like to further develop myself as a leader are becoming an expert

at building relationships, focusing on my own personal development, and making sure everyone

on my team feels appreciated. Building relationships/networking is crucial—you never know

when someone you met x number of years ago is going to come back into your life and offer you

help, opportunities, etc. Learning to not burn bridges and focus on building AND maintaining

those relationships is an area that I would love to focus on more to become a more effective

leader. To best lead others, I want to always try to develop myself professionally by finding

opportunities to gain more knowledge, complete further trainings, expanding my vocabulary, etc.

Lastly, I think it is human nature to want to feel appreciated. This is something I want to truly

focus on because sometimes as life gets so busy, and I forget to pause and make sure everyone

who has helped me along the way or someone that is on my team to say how much I appreciate

them and everything they do.