Going into the last two weeks of my independent study, I know I had to really put some work in and make sure I can give an effective presentation. I was really busy last week. I spoke with Mrs. Fulton and we both agreed that I should do a couple more interviews to get a lot of different backgrounds. I had two interviews, one with Mandy Murphy who started the program “Girls on the Run” in this area and an interview with Matthew Good who is a pediatric specialist. Dr. Good is the first doctor I interviewed and we had a fascinating conversation. I asked Dr. Good, “How do you measure success as a leader?” He replied saying that when everyone is collaborating and does their part, the job becomes more successful. A lot of his job is teamwork and he emphasized how important it is for everyone to be valued – sharing that he as a leader needs to listen to other perspectives. Both Mrs. Murphy and Dr. Good mentioned that hard conversations are weaknesses of theirs. You can’t avoid conflict – you need to have the courage to show up, which is a real skill. I have already made a rough draft of my presentation and going into this final week, I plan to finalize my presentation and practice presenting. The picture below is of Mandy Murphy, founder of Girls on the Run, and an entrepreneur. 

This final month, I want to complete a couple more interviews along with watching one more Ted Talk and then I will start to lock in on my final presentation. I have gotten a lot of emails back from teachers saying that they will be able to attend, so I will be able to share my findings with a lot of faculty at our school. My goal is for the teachers to benefit from my presentation, and share with students how students at DA can find ways to lead in the community. I recently watched a Ted Talk called “Ubuntu in sports, leadership and life”. I related with the video through my athletics. Elias Daryani (the speaker) focused on the word “Ubuntu” which means I am because we are. This relates to a common theme I have come across the last couple months, which is to put the team before yourself. Teams start to fall apart when ego and selfishness gets in the way of the team. Similar to this idea, one quote I really liked was, “Teams are not built up of individuals trying to outshine one another, but rather a collective unit striving towards their goal, pushing their limits to seek success.” Here at DA, we should be pushing each other towards success whether that is as a person, in the classroom, or as an athletic team. Another quote I really liked that Elias said was, “If you want to go quickly, go alone, if you want to go far, go together.” This is a quote that I think should be hung in locker rooms that everyone can appreciate.

Last week, I had a productive interview with Parker Brannon, the captain of my soccer team. Parker is going to play professionally next year in Germany. Parker thinks leadership is important and practices it daily which I have noticed in practice and games. He reads books, listens to podcasts and focuses on being the best leader he can be which is something I admire. When I was talking to Parker, he explained that in sports, the best players aren’t always the leaders and they can’t act like they’re better than everyone. He measures his success if the team is doing well – if the team is winning, he knows he is doing a good job leading the team. You can tell if a team is successful by the team atmosphere, attitude, work rate and desire. One quote that I really liked is when he said, “Leaders fail when they worry about themselves instead of trying to help everyone around them.” While this is basic, it’s so easy to let your ego get in the way of the team. Athletes will put the success of themselves before the team success and that’s when the team starts to fall apart. The teams that are most successful are the ones that put the team’s success first and don’t care what individual gets the credit. Next week, I am interviewing another athlete, Diego Walsh. Diego is now the assistant coach for my soccer team and is a former MLS player. He was picked 7th in the MLS draft and has been in many leadership roles. I am excited for the week ahead and have enjoyed interviewing these people that I look up to. The picture below is of Diego Walsh. 

This past week, I had the opportunity to speak with Matthew Pearsall, who teaches at the Kenan-Flagler Business School. Dr. Pearsall was an officer in the U.S Navy for four years and now researchers leadership and team performance at UNC. I had a great interview and received lots of helpful new information. One main point I took away from the interview: “You can’t just have an approach, you have to tell your people the approach and use the tools necessary to share it.” This is something that I have heard a lot and I think is really important. I think your success is dependent on those around you, and leaders need to share with others what the goal is so they can help get there. After meeting with Mrs. Fulton, I started to think about my final project which is becoming closer and closer. I have made a date for the presentation and a list of people, including a number of teachers, as well as some students that I will invite to be in attendance. I am going to send an email out next week so people can get the date on their calendar and those attending can benefit from what I have to say. Moving forward, I aim to interview a couple more women, people of color, and some leaders within my community that are closer to my age. I am really looking forward to the next couple of weeks. The picture below is of Dr. Pearsall.

After another productive week working on my independent study, I am more eager to put all the pieces together and share my findings at the end of the semester. This week, I lined up emails with Mike Smith, President of Kane Realty in Raleigh, and Professor Matthew Pearsal, Associate of Organizational Behavior at UNC, for next week. I also arranged an interview with Parker Brannon, captain of my soccer team who is now playing in Germany. He has always been one of the best on the team and others look up to him. I think he is a very knowledgeable leader and knows how to get his peers involved which is why I would love to learn from him. Last week I watched the Ted Talk: Are you a giver or a taker? I took away a lot from what Adam Grant had to say. Some of the highlights of what I learned were, “You have to find small ways to add large value to other people’s lives.” I completely agree and I think it is so easy to make a positive impact on others. For example, when he talked about trying to recognize someone’s work that has gone unnoticed. I think a lot of the time, people work extremely hard on a team and they don’t get the “well done” or “great work” that they know they deserve. It is a great feeling when your work is appreciated, and it motivates you to do more. Also, I really like when he said, “The most meaningful way to succeed is to help other people succeed.” There is such an impact when a leader can recognize a person’s strengths and give them the opportunities to use them. I want to be able to see my peers or teammates succeed for their own good and the good of the group with my help.  The picture below is of Adam Grant.

After an enjoyable spring break, I am ready to jump back into learning more about leadership. For the next quarter, as I prepare more for my final presentation, I plan on adjusting some of my interview strategies and questions. I am going to adjust some of the questions I ask in interviews and make them more specific. I am also adding the questions, “How do you respond to criticism?” and “How do you measure success for you as a leader?” Next week I plan to email more people asking to meet with them. I plan on interviewing Courtney Banghart, the women’s basketball head coach at UNC. She previously coached at Princeton where she won NCAA women’s basketball coach of the year. She has been coaching for many years and has lots of experience in leadership so I am very excited to talk to her. I plan on interviewing more students that are my age in leadership roles, along with more female leaders and people who hold leadership roles in different professions. Lastly, I am also going to watch the Ted Talk, Are you a giver or a taker. I think it will be very beneficial to watch because I will learn more about myself and how I feed off others. I feel very prepared and ready for a great last quarter for my independent study. The picture below is of Courtney Banghart.

In the past week of 2/22/23 to 2/28/23, I have spoken with some impressive leaders that taught me a lot. I learned that you need to care about people or nobody is going to follow you. You need to have a commitment to the objective. I liked when Trevor Smith, owner of Maupin Travel, emphasized how important it is to lead where you are strong. He said you should pick the departments that you are great at and lead there, instead of trying to be good at things you’re not good at. Last week I also interviewed Bill Keyes (shown in the picture), founder of the Institute for Responsible Citizenship. During the summer, Dr. Keyes works with college guys and as he says he, “prepares extraordinary men to do extraordinary things.” This next week I plan to interview Jesma Reynolds who is a chair of the board of Now Serving. After my first couple of the interviews, I have decided to add the question, “How do you respond to criticism?” I think this would be interesting to ask especially because every leader has received criticism. 

The past week of 2/14/23 to 2/21/23 has been a great first week of interviews. I had an incredible first interview with Mr. Welborn, the president of Welborn & Associates in Chattanooga. Through lots of hard work, he created his company, leading many workers and is very successful. I found it interesting when he said, “Let them know how much you care before you let them know how much you know.” I really agree with what he said, and I can apply this quote as a leader on the soccer team. I need to show my teammates that I care about the team and respect them as a player before I give them pointers or tell them to improve. I also had an interview with Mr. Ingraham who is the director of the Chattanooga Fellows Program. He helps men coming right out of college navigate what they want to do as they enter the work force. He gave lots of great pointers. Last week I wrote thank you notes to the people who I have interviewed and thanked them for their time and thoughtful responses. For the coming week, I am interviewing Trevor Smith, who went to Harvard Business School and now owns a travel management company called Maupin Travel. I am excited to learn more from the upcoming interviews, along with the Ted Talk “What it Takes To Be a Great Leader.” I am wondering if I should adjust some of the questions I ask after completing the first two interviews? After the third interview with Mr. Smith, I will adjust the questions I ask if I need to.  The image is of Trevor Smith.

The past week of 2/6/22 to 2/13/22 has been really exciting. I have started to email some of the people I want to interview. I have heard back from lots who sound very excited in their responses, and have written them in a schedule so I know when to meet with them. This week I first met with Mr. Welborn (in the picture above) on Tuesday, who I have known since I was little. Mr. Welborn is the president of Welborn & Associates in Chattanooga where I used to live. He leads his peers every day and has lots of experience so I am looking forward to hearing his thoughts tomorrow. To get ready, I have talked with both of my parents about interview skills because they both have to do interviews all the time for their jobs. The two most important things I have learned are to keep eye contact, and to be aware of their background so it isn’t like I am first meeting them. I want to be familiar with what they do, be very appreciative of their time, and then ask them some questions while taking notes. I have continued to read Dare to Lead by Brené Brown this past week and am going to finish up the book this week. I am frustrated that my blog will not work, but I plan on meeting with the tech office and Ms. Bessias to fix it this week. I am eager and also wondering how my first interview will go? I know I will learn a lot from the first interview that will help me for the upcoming ones, including Jonathan Ingraham on Wednesday.

In the past week of 1/30/23 to 2/5/23, I have been reading Dare to Lead by Brené Brown. I have read most of the book and am approaching the end. So far, I have really enjoyed hearing all of the stories and experiments Brené Brown has done. I have learned that daring is knowing that you are going to risk failure, but you’re still all in. I also read how important it is to know that you can’t strive for perfection; it is self destructive and an unattainable goal. We can’t worry about being perfect because that shields us from being seen and heard. To be a leader, you can’t be afraid of messing up or what others may think of you. For me, sometimes I hold back because I am scared I will be made fun of or someone will think differently about me. In reality, this is hiding my potential and what I have to offer. As a leader, I can’t be scared to voice my opinion and have to be confident in what I am saying to my peers. At this point in my independent study, I am about to start setting up interviews and am looking forward to talking and learning from the people I interview. I am wondering how the interviews are going to go, and hoping to get something new and thoughtful from each person, or something that I can really take away.