12 Reflection Papers
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Reflection Paper 1 2/15/02 Reflection on last class (2/8) - It was a good start to the class. I met a familiar teacher and some familiar classmates. The syllabus was clear enough. It looks like I'm in for another busy semester! I listened with interest to the leadership illustration of Jesus calling Peter to be his disciple: 1. Change crowd 2. Start listening to God's word 3. Let Christ into your life. 4. Do what Christ's living word says. 5. Stick with Christ. I attended many leadership classes in the army. I will see how Christian leadership compares to military leadership. SHAPE is an acrostic that stands for Spiritual Gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, Experience. This past summer I taught from the book by C. Gene Wilkes "Jesus on Leadership / Becoming A servant Leader". I taught the 18 spiritual gifts. I could only recall about ½ of them. I recognized all 18, but some brain cells were gone. Question: Are we to be "Leaders that Serve" or "Servants that Lead"? Reflection on reading assignment -- I bought the Handbook for $75. (ouch!) I read the introduction (pages 1-25), Chapter 8 (pages 242 - 261), and about the center for creative leadership (441-445). In the introduction I appreciated the remarks about the difficult dynamics of leadership. We are all pretty much stuck with our genetics, our childhood, and our personality. But no matter what clay we may have to work with, each of us can be sculpted into a leader. I think that that is true, as long as we are willing to learn. Chapter 8 was about enhancing the ability to learn from experience. I was reminded of the seven intelligences and the subtleties of self- esteem. Again, we must be willing to improve. We must first recognize that our leadership needs improving, then we need to develop learning skills and strategies to improve our leadership. The last reading was just advertising for the center. |
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Reflection Paper 2 2/22/02 Reflection on last class (2/15) - We began the class with an assignment from Grace to write about a leader that we admired. (I guess Dr. Gainey was running late). For some reason, ken eakins came to mind as a leader. Every week I attend his Bible Study/Agape class. I am constantly impressed at how gentle and generous he is in his leadership. He combines rigor and fairness that is unique in my experience. I was surprised that the name Robert E. Lee surfaced. I am a bit baffled why he is still so venerated. Should I have confronted this student about his choice? There is that old comment about Lee: 'Marse Lee?? Now is he in the New Testament or in the Old Testament?" -- The discussion of cognitive/thinking, affective/feeling, and active/skills was enlightening to me. We walked up the stair steps too fast for me to get to the top of this model (knowledge, comprehension …) . I did like the verse in Eph 4:12 = we should "prepare people for works of service". The seminary in three parts was also good: Bible Content, Relationship, Skill Sets. I wasn't familiar with the "Roman Road", even though I had trod those verses before. I hope Dr. Gainey experienced a pleasant birthday and enjoyed his evening of music. Reflection on reading assignment -- I read chapter 8 of the text Enhancing the Ability to Learn from Experience. I recognized myself in parts of it. I see myself going through the different learning tactics of 1. taking action, 2. thinking, 3. accessing others, and 4. feeling - usually in that order. Each life experience is a learning opportunity. I have believed that for a long time. We must give our subordinates the room to fail. That's how they learn. That's how we all learn. I am now 52 and just getting into my real calling in life. I have learned a lot from experience. I am not afraid to learn new things. |
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Reflection Paper 3 3/1/02 Reflection on last class (2/22) - We experienced a guest instructor. (I think that she was auditioning for a job.) Dr. Karen did a good job, especially since this appeared to be on short notice. There were really two parts of her class. The first part was to describe the characteristics of a youth minister. A few of the more interesting descriptors were: a love for youth, attune to youth culture, stable faith. The second half of the class was spent examining four models of youth ministry: Pied Piper, Big Happy Family, Junior Church, Guerrilla Church, Activities Director, and finally Equipping. I thought the ideas were good and even though "ad hoc", the presentation was great. This is the first female instructor that I have had in 2 years at GGBTS. There needs to be more and maybe Karen is the person [Do I hear an AMEN out there?] Reflection on reading assignment -- I read chapter 12 (Developing Leaders for Global Roles) and 13 (Approaching the future of Leadership Development) of the text. I had some concerns about the content of this class before reading this chapter because "leadership" may mean one thing in mainstream American and something else in a missionary's corner of the world. I thought that this section was outstanding and something that especially missionaries should read as well everybody on staff at the Southern Baptist mission board. The last chapter provided a table with evolving models of leadership (ancient, traditional, modern and future). This is the one we discussed in class earlier. I also read the first few sections of The Making of a Leader by Clinton. The phases of life discussion gives me hope, that at 52 years old, perhaps I can jump past some earlier life steps and aim for "convergence". With God's grace there may be some productive Christian years ahead of me. |
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Reflection Paper 4 3/8/02 Reflection on last class (3/1) - We began with a quick response to Dr. Karen from the previous week. 10 positive comments / 1 negative comment. We also admired little Emily. [Jesus said "allow the little children to come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven] We covered three things really. First was a review of the chapter in the text Developing Leaders for Global Roles. It is true that California is a microcosm of the globe. We discussed behaviors and competencies important for global leadership. Second, we looked at the timeline in the Clinton book. I am thankful for this timeline because I can count my "20 years in the wilderness" as a period of maturation. After I graduate from seminary next year, I hope to move straight to convergence. AMEN. Third, we filled out and evaluated a leadership style inventory. I was a 0-5-6-1. This feels about right. One of the puzzles of my life is that I spent 20 years in the army with a zero in "commander" style. Perhaps this explains why I just squeaked out retirement and that just as a major and not a lieutenant colonel. Reflection on reading assignment -- I read chapter 2 (Feedback-Intensive Programs). FIP offers the gift of "seeing yourself as others see you". I can see where this educational experience can be both flattering and embarrassing. The pages describe how the FIP at CCL uses assessment, challenge, and support to grow a participant's leadership. The key word in this chapter seems to be "insight". Most people are only vaguely aware of how they appear to others. Like James says in his epistle, we look at ourselves in a mirror, go away, and then completely forget what we look like. The FIP is designed to not let that happen. In an FIP we look in a mirror (the eyes and assessments of others) and we are urged to honestly consider what other people are telling us. For many this self-knowledge leads to transformation. For others, it may not. |
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Reflection Paper 5 3/15/02 Reflection on last class (3/8) - We discussed Feedback Intensive Programs (FIP). They are meant to "help a person see more clearly significant patterns of behavior, to understand the attitudes and motivations underlying these patterns. Persons already where you want to be give you feedback to help you assess and reflect on your strengths and weaknesses to do a new job or task". They do not emphasize skills and they need an organization that will allow you to improve. We also learned the acronym S W O T S. I have never been involved in an FIP, although once as a portion of an army leadership class each student's leadership was evaluated by peers and by the group leader. We placed 12 Biblical characters into the leadership style grid. I missed a few of these. We also spent time understanding this grid: 
Reflection on reading assignment -- Chapter 3 in the text was about Skill-based training. When average people talk about "training" this is probably the type of training that they are talking about. I can remember in army time developing lesson plans that always began with "to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to …." This chapter is discussing the same two domains of learning. I liked the discussion of five training methods running from lecture to simulations. I am trying to distinguish in this particular leadership class what methods that Dr. Gainey is using. It seems mostly lecture to this point with a little bit of case study. Will we be going on to role-play and simulations? The chapter mentions in passing what we used to call "OJT", on-the-job training. There is probably no substitute for this in real life. |
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Reflection Paper 6 3/22/02 Reflection on last class (3/15) - This class started out with the rope-a-dope trick. (Actually the rope-a-dope was first given by Mohamed Ali to my distant cousin, George Foreman back in 1974). I knew logically that we could not escape the interlocking pieces of yarn, if the yarn was tied fast to the wrists. But I didn't think beyond that. Maybe that's why I still enjoy "magic shows". I know it's trickery and I leave it at that. We then discussed differences between the 360 degree method, the FIP, and the SBT; filling in loads of boxes with descriptions. After the break we began working on the PERT - Program Evaluation Review Technique. Dr. Gainey lead the class through a whiteboard discussion of the 4 phases of PERT. We did the Goal quickly, then the objectives took a little more time. We also did the budget on the whiteboard. The Flow/Time chart took the most effort with arrows and circles decorating the front of the room. We then broke up into 4-person teams and collaborated on a project of our own. My group did a summer VBS. Class time ran out when we discovered that the 4-person groups were also intended to be 360 degree feedback. Reflection on reading assignment -- Chapter one in the text dealt with 360-degree feedback. The chapter began with an interesting story about the kidnap victim, Terry Anderson. Then there was discussion about how this multirater feedback works. I could see how this type of formal feedback would be personally enlightening to participants. But again like most tools of this nature, the participant must have the WILL to change behavior based on the feedback. This would probably work with people who are conscientious and want to improve. As alluded to in the chapter, the best place for this 360-degree feedback appears to "middle-management". There was some discussion about the uses of 360-degree feedback as both an assessment tool and as an administrative tool. I agree with the book, that rating co-workers would be troublesome business, if advancement or income were based on it. |
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Reflection Paper 7 3/29/02 Reflection on last class (3/22) - In this session we discussed 360-degree leadership assessment. This subject has new relevance to me since just 2 days earlier (on Wednesday) I attended my introductory meeting for the Ministry Practicum. And guess what? The 360° assessment is a big part of that. We discussed how we are to meet the requirement for the 360° assessment in this class. We revisited a topic that touched upon a few sessions earlier: the three domains of knowledge = cognitive, affective, and active. We walked up the 6 stairs in each domain, slowly for cognitive, then quickly for the other two. I am still unsure as how administrative evaluation and leadership evaluation interact. Maybe the one assesses the present and the other assesses the future. However, if a person shows no promise for the future, how valuable can that person be in the present? Reflection on reading assignment -- I read the chapter on "Job Assignments". To tell the truth, I hadn't thought much about job assignments as a means of leadership development. But, I can see that if one takes a lifetime perspective, then job assignments are critical. Some of us never really had a career, but merely a progression of jobs - some related and others unrelated. Perhaps my military life was a career, but with breaks in service and other circumstances even these assignments were haphazard. I would go a step beyond the book. The authors imply that one person progressing through an organization for an entire career. I think that is becoming less likely. Smart leaders in their twenties and thirties should manage their own leadership develop through job assignments. They may stick with one company a while, then move to the next rung of leadership somewhere else, then maybe even return to the first company. Company loyalty is not what it was and smart leaders must manage their own leadership development in one company or in many. |
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Reflection Paper 8 4/12/02 Reflection on last class (3/29) - This was Good Friday and the class was down to about ½ of its normal size. We started class by looking at and discussing PowerPoint slides about "Job Assignment" - Assessment then Challenge, then Support. We looked at writing 360 competencies using learning objectives based on a fictitious fellow named "Leroy". Reviewing the PERT was like pulling teeth: nobody wanted to do the 16 math problems. I felt less than motivated myself because the critical path was in this case obvious. When the answer is intuitive, motivation is difficult. After a break, we looked at a job description for a Youth Pastor, including Administrative, Development, and relationship responsibilities. I think that many people were tired and looking forward to Easter activities. Friday afternoon is a tough time to teach a class. What do you think? Reflection on reading assignment -- I read the two chapters on "Developmental Relationships" and "Leadership Development across Race and Gender". The first chapter described relationship roles that assist in leadership development. These can be informal or formally implemented. I enjoyed reading through the roles: feedback provider, sounding board, comparison points, feedback interpreter, dialogue partner, assignment broker, accountant, role model, counselor cheerleader and cohort. I like to think of myself as filling most of these roles at sometime or another. I also mused about who filled some of these roles in my life. The chapter on race and gender was enlightening to me (being a white male). The discussion of having either integrated or segregated leadership development seminars concluded that seminars segregated by identity group may be better. I see echoes of the W.E.B Dubois vs. B.T. Washington debate. I have always felt that it is permissible to "draw circles" around people, as long as the motive is to include people in and not exclude people out. |
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Reflection Paper 9 4/19/02 Reflection on last class (4/12) - At 5 minutes past the hour I saw no sign of Dr. Gainey, only a smiling Grace talking quietly with the class. I knew something was up. [I hope you benefited from the marriage counseling seminar.] So Grace lead the class through about 1 ½ hours of mentoring. The PowerPoint presentation was good (Mentoring - Mentor - Protégé: How to be one, find one, develop one). I think that Grace did a good job. Kudos to her. I thought that the definitions of Mentor and Protégé were mostly on track. I may take some exception to their technical use in class. A mentor according to my dictionary is a "wise and friendly counselor" and a protégé is "one under the patronage, care, or protection of another". Incidentally, Grace would properly be a "protégée" which is the female term. The one-page handout of mentoring questions was good, as was the breakout into small groups to talk about cross-gender / race mentoring situations. There was some controversy about older men mentoring younger women. At the end of class, Dan demonstrated some PERT shareware. Reflection on reading assignment -- The reading involved chapters 3 & 4 of Clinton's book. Chapter 3 was about the inner life growth process. I thought that the author had much to offer about the building of character. I was convicted about my recent misuse of company time and resources. I am probably a little too loose with printing personal papers on company time. I thought his word check, obedience check and integrity check were all good. Chapter four was about the ministry maturing process. This brings me to some questions about my own personal situation. At 52, I am twice the age of some of my fellow seminarians. Sometimes I look at the past 25 years as wasted, at other times, as a ministry maturing process. I feel myself ready to perform the tasks that God has set before me. My prayer is that He allows me in the next 25 years to be the leader in Christ that I should have been all along. |
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Reflection Paper 10 4/26/02 Reflection on last class (4/19) - Dr. Gainey was dressed to the nines as we began class. Is it my imagination or is this class shrinking in size? We began by discussing the Clinton book an the six steps in a Christian's pilgrimage. Dr. Gainey gave his testimony of his stages of leadership development. We then broke up into small groups to discuss three types of checks: obedience, integrity and word. My small group identified Peter being called by Christ as an obedience check, Christ's temptation in the wilderness as being an integrity check, and the jackass speaking to Balaam as the word check. After the break, Grace talked some more about cross-gender mentoring. We also discussed the key issues of multicultural worship and multicultural leadership. For me professional mentoring OK, but life mentoring is problematic. If I can't visit the person in the middle of the night during a crisis, perhaps it is better to find another life mentor. Reflection on reading assignment -- We had three reading assignments in three different books. WOW! The two chapters in the Clinton book continued with the stages of leadership development, focusing on ministry maturation. There was a good section on mentoring (pages 130-1) that would have worth including in the just completed discussion of the mentor/protégé relationship. This is a slightly different take than the classroom discussion. Part one of the Elmer book was a 22-page introduction to cross-cultural conflict. The practical guidelines to deal with intercultural issues on page 22 (helping…, developing …, and communicating…) are highlighted in my book. I am also reading Chapter 7: Storytelling and Proverbs in preparation for next week. Finally, the McCauley chapter was on Hardship. Can this lead to leadership development? Certainly it can, but the lessons learned from suffering have a religious dimension that is beyond the secular scope of this book. P.S. Is it really wise to read in three books at once, rather than reading them serially? |
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Reflection Paper 11 5/3/02 Reflection on last class (4/26) - We spent the class time in a good combination of lecture, question-answer and small group discussion. We discussed skill sets first - Training Techniques, 360 degree, SWOTS, Skill Based Training, PERT, Job description, mentor-protégé, and followers & leaders. We talked some about Clinton's book. The new thing for me was the 5 ways to resolve conflict. We arrived at these biblical examples in our small group. 
Reflection on reading assignment -- Speaking of cultural issues, the aggravation above is a good segway into the McCauley chapter on "Cross-cultural issues in leadership development". This chapter grouped and compared people by their national origin. The main lesson, I think, is that not all humans in the world think like we Americans do. Part two of the Elmer book continued the theme of cross-cultural conflict. I enjoyed the discussion of Mediator, One-down position, storytelling, inaction, misdirection silence and indefinite persons. Having one foot in the Korean world, I recognize a lot of this, as well as my own oblivious reaction to it. |
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Reflection Paper 12 5/10/02 Reflection on last class (5/3) - This class was 2 hours of skits. All these skits were from Elmer's Book, Part 2, Cultural Diversity and Conflict Resolution. The first was about mediators. Most other cultures use mediators and matchmakers. Our skit was about story telling. I was the narrator, Port was the mother frog, EJ and Rod were the baby frogs. This story was intended to teach Korean how to children behave. There were also skits about the one-down position, the indefinite person and misdirection. I enjoyed the enactment of all these ways of avoiding conflict. Since I am one-half of a bi-cultural marriage, I knew most of these things, but it is illuminating to find out that they have names. I recently had a conflict with a Korean man. I can see how a one-down strategy would have been better than my direct confrontation with him. But when is a person's conduct so reprehensible that it is a good thing to cause him to lose face. He deserves it! Reflection on reading assignment -- I finished up reading Clinton's book: chapters 7, 8, and 9. These were about maturing in the ministry. I think Clinton's point is that we never really "arrive", we must continue to grow and learn or else we slide back. Mature means recognizing the gifts you have received through life and applying them to your ministry. I liked his continuum of suggestion > guideline > absolute. I like what he said about each minister needing to develop his or her own philosophy of ministry AND to have that philosophy in writing. The assigned chapters in the McCauley book concerned a systems approach to Leadership development and Assessing the impact of development experiences. The systems approach was thoughtful. Most deliberate and thorough change must be systematic. I was once an evaluation officer in the Army. I recognized the language of chapter 9. I developed instruments to assess our training. I think "smile sheet" does describe the evaluation form that students fill out on professors. |