A641.9.3.RB_SiegmundWayne

 Becoming a Resonant Leader

          I have developed a Personal Vision where I am living and working in southern New Hampshire with my family in a log home of our design.  I will be an established Executive Leadership Coach as well as a sought-after Life Coach in support of our family business, Full Circle, LLC.  In addition, I have maintained relatively excellent physical and mental health, while continuing to improve my emotional and spiritual growth.

Learning Goal #1: Complete My Master's Degree and Life Coach Certification.

The milestones required to meet this Learning Goal are to complete two elective business classes and my Capstone class by the end of 2022, and my Life Coach certification through the International Coaching Federation (ICF).

The Action Steps necessary to meet these milestones include save enough funds to pay the difference between the course fee and the applied Tuition Assistance, submit for Tuition Assistance approval before each course deadline, enroll and register for each class by no later than (NLT) October 11, 2022, and pass all required course work NLT December 31, 2022, and complete a minimum of 125 hours of virtual coach-specific training for the ICF accreditation.

Those individuals that I will seek support from in completing these Action Steps include my spouse, my Academic Advisor, my supervisor, my course instructors, and my classmates.

Learning Goal #2: Complete the Skills Bridge Course.

The milestones required to meet this Learning Goal are to determine the best time to take this three-month training course, enroll and register for this course before the deadline for that specific period, and complete the course prior to retirement on September 25th, 2023.

The Action Steps necessary to meet this milestone includes selecting the appropriate period to take the course and be granted a seat and complete the training satisfactorily by the end of the three months.

Those individuals that I will seek support from to complete these Action Steps include my spouse, my United States Special Operations Care Coalition Representative, my instructors, classmates, and my supervisor.

Learning Goal #3: Find and Purchase Land in Southern New Hampshire.

The milestones required to meet this Learning Goal are meeting with a prospective seller and securing the loan for the property.

The Actions Steps necessary to meet these milestones include researching and locating acceptable property parcels that meet my specifications, visit the top five properties, meet with the selling agents of the top two considerations and get an approved loan on one of those two properties.

Those individuals that I will seek support from to complete these Action Steps include my spouse, my best friend, the property sellers, and the loan officer.

Learning Gol #4: Establish a Job as an Organizational Leader in Southern New Hampshire.

The milestones required to meet this Learning Goal are to complete a fellowship with The Honor Foundation, accept an internship if offered, accept a start date, and find a temporary place to live in southern New Hampshire in order to start working upon retirement from the military.

The Action Steps necessary to meet these milestones include signing up for the three-month fellowship course with The Honor Foundation, complete the fellowship with a completely updated resume, successfully interview for a job in southern New Hampshire, identify and secure a temporary place to live, and receive a start date to work as an Organizational Leader consultant.

Those individuals that I will seek support from in order to accomplish these Action Steps include my spouse, my supervisor, my United States Special Operations Care Coalition Representative, The Honor Foundation instructors, classmates, company hiring reps, and the owner of a rental property.

Learning Goal #5: Build and Live in a Log Home of My Design.

The milestones required to meet this Learning Goal are finding a turn-key Log Home company in southern New Hampshire, provide the builder with engineer-approved design plans, secure the building materials and construction loans, and close on the home within ten months.

The Action Steps necessary to meet these milestones include choosing an established, reputable, trustworthy, and personable Log Home company in southern New Hampshire, meet with their design engineers, material specialists, builders, and finance office, secure a materials loan and building loan, oversee as co-General Contractor the construction process to ensure appropriate materials and change decisions are made in a timely manner, manage the overall budget, furnish each room as they are being completed, understand the maintenance program and ensure the builders are meeting their internal timeline milestones to support the ten-month build window.

Those individuals that I will leverage in support of this building project include my spouse, my best friend (construction), my father-in-law (building inspector), the Log Home company's design engineers, material specialists, company project manager, finance officer, and the closing agent.

          This break-out of Learning Goals in support of my Personal Vision has offered me a clear picture of precisely what is required of me in the process of obtaining this vision. It is a step-by-step guide instructing me on how to realize my Personal Vision. I am thankful for this opportunity and will use this guide as the first step in my journey of 1,000 miles.

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 Personal Balance Sheet

          Over the past eight weeks, I have been somewhat forced to identify specific traits and characteristics about myself that support my resonant behaviors as well as hinder those same behaviors. Knowing that I am not the resonant leader that I want to be yet, I must continue to search for a balance of strengths that support these behaviors and strengthen those weaknesses that have been an impedance. It has been a challenging unraveling of myself to seek both the desired and undesired within me. In this search, I have discovered what I will refer to as assets and liabilities, much like developing a financial account of one's material assets and debts on a balance sheet.

My Distinctive Strengths

          The strengths that I have been able to identify through my experiences of developing relationships, reflection, and what others have appreciated in me include communication, organization, reading others, attention to detail, commitment, compassion, being authentic or genuine, and being always reliable. These traits and behaviors have been developed over the past 25 years, and I continue to improve as I reflect and become more aware of my behaviors with others.

My Potential Strengths

          These strengths could best be described as underdeveloped strengths. While they may not be actual weaknesses per see, they have been identified as needing improvement by either doing them better or more often. These behaviors include sharing of ideas, offering help to others in need, meditating, volunteering, and efficient time management. I practice these behaviors now and then except for time management of which I practice every day. However, some of my liabilities tend to get in the way of improving my management of time.

My Enduring Dispositions That Supports Me

          Behaviors that I have always enjoyed for as long as I can remember and that I know are genuinely strengths. Others include thoughtfulness, being considerate, self-aware, kind, personable, approachable, and self-centered. With most of these probably being self-evident of positive traits and behaviors, I feel I need to explain the benefit of self-centered vice selfish. I have come to understand and believe that the most loving person is a self-centered person because they focus on the development of self to be a better person for others. In contrast, a selfish person is not considering at all and only himself. These behaviors are a part of who I am, support my efforts of becoming a resonant leader, and a disposition I would never want to change.

My Weaknesses

          One of my significant weaknesses is letting go of feelings associated with the hurt from someone I trusted. I literally would feel betrayed. I am not very good at just letting go the event, or moment when I experienced the hurt. However, I think of a few of those moments and constantly look for a way to forgive and let go. I have yet to find that way. In addition, I also have a difficult time handling frustration. I want to move through it more gracefully with patience for myself and whatever I may be frustrated with at the moment. Upon reflecting, I have discovered that I am more emotional than I had initially thought and that the common thread here is emotion. If I can move beyond the ego's fears, I will find myself in a healthier disposition to support myself emotionally.

Weaknesses I Want to Change

           I do not do all that wellwith a couple of things and would like to change them to help minimize stress and improve relationships.  The first is getting tasks completed early, so I do not feel pressured to complete them at the 11th hour. This procrastination occurs because I tend to perform well under pressure and set myself up to maximizes my time for other things I enjoy doing. However, I would prefer not to procrastinate and feel the stress I do. I know I feel good when the tasks are completed early. Another weakness is making my priorities in taskings the only priorities when working with others. I do not do this selfishly. I do this more unconsciously. I tend to approach and prioritize based I what I think is essential instead of considering others' priorities and aligning mine with theirs through a compromise. This misalignment has been most apparent within my marriage. We are sharing our priorities more often now.

My Enduring Weaknesses That Sometimes Get in My Way

          When it comes to things that I have always done and still do that can sometimes get in the way of my time management is making time for my entertainment and relaxation in perhaps a not so efficient manner. In other words, I tend to fit it in when it is most convenient for myself and not necessarily for others. Because I place everyone else's needs before mine most of the time, I usually find myself taking time for myself more-less on the fly. I need to reflect more on how to fit myself into my schedule better so I can manage others' expectations as to what is important to me. Perhaps simply communicating with them what I need for myself within reason.

          In addition to discovering these weaknesses and determining what I can do to turn them into strengths, I would like to offer another perspective. As humans, we are flawed. The ego brings fear and its many derivatives such as insecurity, anxiety, stress, jealousy, frustration, lack, selfishness, and many more. While these feelings may be what we consciously would prefer not to experience, perhaps they offer us the opportunity to feel empathy and express compassion for each other. can you think of a better reason to connect?

References:

McKee, A., Boyatzis, R., & Johnston, F. (2008). Becoming a resonant leader: Develop your emotional intelligence, renew your relationships, sustain your effectiveness. Harvard Business Review Press.

          

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 Appreciating Your Real Self

          This period of self-discovery through exercises and self-awareness has left me feeling a bit unsurprisingly chagrined.  I suppose it is because I often think about what I think about, what I am and am not so aware of, reading people individually and within group dynamics, how my mindfulness translates to others, and what type of progress I am making.  I have done these things so often, and for so long, they are second nature, allowing me even to foresee events based on behavioral patterns that others never see coming.  Nonetheless, the journey through these continued internal dialogues, the sharing of perspectives with fellow students, and the readings of related articles have been nothing short of value-added.

          Reflecting on my life and work, I was able to articulate specifically what things I hold dear and valuable in both areas of my life and what items may be holding me back.  In recalling what I value the most in my life includes playing with my children, connecting emotionally and intellectually with my wife, taking walks in meditation gardens, caring for my body's health, and taking time to converse with old, dear, and close friends.  Those things at work that I value the most include collaboration, brainstorming, taking the initiative on new, grassroots projects, and integrating multiple disciplines.  Looking back at these things I like the most has reminded me to take a moment and engage more mindfully with the awareness that I enjoy these aspects of my life and work.  I should think about that while engaging in these areas; doing so will help me enjoy the process at the moment rather than realizing I enjoyed them after the fact.

          Looking a bit deeper at myself more holistically, I tend to think about the gaps in life and not the bridges.  I suppose I feel that since I can walk over and enjoy the bridges I encounter, I ought to focus on the gaps in life that require attention so that I may one day enjoy the bridges that have spanned the gaps. The issue with this thinking is that I refocus on the next gap after building a new bridge, never truly enjoying the fruits of my labor.  I need to take stock in the things I know I could thoroughly enjoy in life if I would only choose at the moment to be mindful of the fact.  In addition, I have allowed myself to grow more emotionally by letting myself share my emotions with those closest to me instead of being overly concerned about what others may judge if I chose to express myself authentically.  As a former gymnast and Navy SEAL, I am regularly in tune with the conditions of my body and work diligently to find and maintain balance with its health.  While spiritually, I contemplate my true self's relationship with God (which is to say, everything; people, nature, and the cosmos) regularly to continue unraveling the higher versions of myself over time.

          One of the best things I can do for myself is to focus on decluttering my life and work and take time to enjoy those bridges I had built.  I want to enjoy my life while simply being, not only for those things I enjoy doing.  I often feel that I never have enough time or money to do the things I want to do. However, I find it is that actual thinking that has kept these things from me.  When I decide that there is more than enough time and money, I will encounter the resources that provide opportunities to discover these things.  Taking time to sit mindfully to appreciate all that we have and will receive is a blessing in and of itself outside of our ability to develop and master relationships. In the holistic approach, we will see what remarkable aspects of self we can bring to other's lives.  

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 ICT at the Team Level

          It is often difficult to look at athletic teams from an outside perspective and be sure what factors, directly and indirectly, impact their performances and results. As a career gymnast, I was impacted by numerous factors that directly affected my performance, including underlying motivational drivers, lack of access to the proper training facilities, support from friends and family, getting injured, having an experienced, trustworthy coach, intra-team rivalries, feelings of lethargy, and soreness, doubting myself and how I felt with respect to others' perspective on my performances. I could never be aware of what such factors came into play for even my own teammates without them sharing them with me.

          In the case of the 2000 U.S. Women's Olympic Soccer Team, their development included exposure to varying degrees to one another for years coming into contact and playing together on the same teams and training together at the same summer camps. In addition, there was a rise in awareness on sports gender and greater acceptance of women on the world stage. There is a lot to say about women fighting to be seen, appreciated, and valued...equivocally with men. "And when it comes to paying elite professional players what they're worth, US Soccer has demonstrated an inability - or unwillingness - to offer compensation for women's national team players on par with men" (Gordon, 2019). There is also the drive to show that the team gold medal in Atlanta was not a fluke in light of the silver medal in Sydney. Having the same coach and using a sound, in-depth decision-making process for the compilation of the 2004 Olympic Team also helped continue Coach Heinrich's team's performance in 2004, winning the gold medal in Athens. Jones stated, "In the end, she came up with a squad of nine former Olympians that includes two goalkeepers, six defenders, and four forwards" (2004).

          In 1999, after winning the World Cup, a turning point for Women's Soccer, a huge influx of interest flooded the minds of girls around the world. They were inspired. It is amazing the effect one performance can have globally. Under the right conditions at the right time, a discontinuous event can occur spawning a wave of emotion-carrying Positive Emotional Attractors (PEA). "Although the positive emotions, a central element in the Positive Emotional Attractor (PEA) ... becomes the pull towards development, in ICT negative emotion has a functional role" (Akrivou et al., 2006, p. 17). The silver medal-winning team in Sydney may have been disappointed at the time for not taking the gold, it was obvious that the team performed admirably, still remaining a global force to be reckoned with. 

          Heinrichs continued to face criticism as (Brandi) Chastain approached then U.S. Soccer president Dr. Bob Contiguglia in an attempt to get Heinrichs fired. Nonetheless, Heinrichs stayed on as coach and led the team to Olympic gold in 2004 (Holloran, 2013). After finishing third at the 2003 World Cup, a much tougher competition (greater number of participants), the selection of the 2004 Olympic Team was anything but easy. The gold medal team of Athens surely shared an Ideal Self, knowing they wanted to become the best women's soccer team in the world in Athens. In order for this to happen, they needed to train after the World Cup from a current Real Self (post-Athens), identifying the shortfalls that required attention as a team and developing a Learning Agenda, or training plan, that would ultimately help them Experiment and Practice together what they would need to resonate as a team and maintain superior performance in support of Intentional Change Theory (ICT) (Akrivou et al., 2006, p. 16).

          The 2000 Men's U.S Olympic Basketball Team took home the gold medal, but whose performance was questioned after numerous close-calls against Lithuania and an unspectacular showing compared to the previous Olympic Games. As for their performance at the 2004 Games in Athens, the new Dream Team was anything but dreamy. The team was selected not long after 9/11, was selected of All-Star players with talent, but were young with little to no international team experience, adopted a new coach, Larry Brown, whom of which built some animosity with some of the players over his coaching style, and had little to no time training together to develop a resonating, cohesive and effective team. Maisonet (2017) stated, "The stark reality of Team USA was that throwing a random assortment of basketball players with a 'name' head coach into a situation they were wholly unprepared for didn't work."

          The Dream Team's Olympic performance in Athens clearly showed a lack of teamwork with a questionable selection of the best talent. Simply put; they were not prepared, but why? The selection process included a committee using multiple political reasons as to why one player over another should be selected resulting in a non-resonant team of individual All-Stars and a coach whose style was not altogether trusted.

          When developing a team, it is necessary to understand what the objective is, influencing the team to become a single-minded resonant unit and to develop and execute a plan to attain the said objective that begins with the truth of where they currently stand as a team, their Real Self. Without reflection, coaches move forward blindly with a great potential of not learning from past experiences or feelings of confusion when up against unfamiliar obstacles.

References:

Akrivou, K, Boyatzis, R. E., & McLeod, P. L. (2006). The evolving group: towards a prescriptive theory of intentional group development. Journal of Management Development, 25(7). pp. 689-706. https://doi.org/10.1108/02621710610678490

Gordon, B. (2019, June 7). The uswnt's equal pay lawsuit is a fight for all of women's sports: It shouldn't take unequal greatness to get equal pay. SBNation. https://www.sbnation.com/2019/6/7/18653950/uswnt-pay-equality-lawsuit-gender-discrimination-us-soccer

Halloran, J. D. (2013, April 23). The rise and rise of the united states women's national team. Bleacher Report. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1614739-the-rise-and-rise-of-the-united-states-womens-national-team

Jones, G. L. (2004, July 2). U.s. women’s olympic soccer team set. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-jul-02-sp-olysoccer2-story.html

Maisonet, E. (2017, September 5). The miseducation of the 2004 u.s. men's Olympic basketball team. Bleacher Report. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2731575-the-miseducation-of-the-2004-us-mens-olympic-basketball-team

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 Tipping Points of Emotional Intelligence

          The tipping point with most things often relates to a threshold of something that has accumulated to a point of maximum effectiveness and at the point of diminishing returns or ineffectiveness. The four pillars of Emotional Intelligence; Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, and Social Skills, in conjunction with cognitive competencies, provide data contributing to the efficacy or the limiting determinants that make sufficient effectiveness in performance (Boyatzis, 2006, p. 125). Petrides (2017) stated, "McClellan and his students showed that there tend to be  'tipping points' in the relationship between emotional competencies and performance" (p.4). 

          Understanding and managing one's own emotional intelligence and being able to offer empathy and compassion in the right way at the right time under the right circumstances can lead to outstanding performance. Mind you, the term 'right' is in relation to what it is you are trying to accomplish. Lacking understanding and, or management of one's own emotional intelligence, or not applying empathy and compassion to a social situation when needed for outstanding leadership can render one's performance less than outstanding. Managing your social skills with Positive and Negative Emotional Attractors (PEA/NEA), helps a leader either "...trigger constructive and physiological responses that enhances an individual's motivation, effort, optimism, flexibiity, creative thinking, resilience and other adaptive behaviors," or calls "attention to current social and environmental stressors that may compromise an individual's effectiveness" (Howard, 2006, p. 657).

          In 2019, I led a reconnaissance team of five Special Operators into a training scenario that would ultimately teach me that leading others effectively required a good working knowledge of my subordinates' emotional state, as well as a sense of their personalities. It was not long into our patrol that I gave our Leading Petty Officer (LPO) the opportunity to take charge and navigate the team to the Lay-up Point (LP) through the dark in the middle of the woods. My LPO was eager to lead and perhaps a bit over-confident. I realized 30 minutes into the patrol that the LPO was taking us in the wrong direction. I knew I needed to replace him without him losing the respect of his men. When I asked the men to 'circle up,' I made it clear that the upcoming terrain should be getting easier and that I would need my most experienced navigator in the rear of the patrol in case we encountered a threat and needed to depart the area. I asked for a volunteer to become the lead navigator. Out of the three that raised their hand, I chose the one I thought would be most competent. I thanked my LPO in front of the rest of the guys for getting us as far as he did safely. My LPO walked back to the trail position of the patrol, looking like he was being punished. 

          The decision I made left my LPO feeling insecure about looking incompetent to navigate despite my attempt to make him look good in front of his peers. I did not understand how my LPO perceived the situation, and I did not manage his emotional disposition well afterward. In hindsight, it would have made more sense to halt the patrol and quietly speak with him to help him navigate the terrain in the dark. Doing so would have looked like I was getting an update from him and passing vital information to him. If I had done this instead, we would have eventually made it to the LP, keeping his peers' respect and his dignity.

          The other Petty Officer I chose to take the lead felt inspired by the vote of confidence I lent him in choosing him to navigate over the other two volunteers. His successful navigation to the LP built up his confidence and showed his peers competence to lead the team. I also took the time to thank him in front of his peers for doing a great job navigating the team in the dark for the first time.

          In both situations, I had triggered PEAs as well as NEAs. The conditions I exercised my decisions in were more complex than I was aware of and therefore did not appropriately prepare and manage all the decisions I had made that day. Being aware of such potential attractors while considering all the courses of action to take can help mitigate the risk of reaching a tipping point rendering performance less than outstanding.

References:

Boyatzis, R. E. (2006). Using tipping points of emotional intelligence and cognitive competencies to predict financial performance of leaders. Psicothema. Retrieved from http://www.psicothema.com/pdf/3287.pdf

Howard, A. (2006). Positive and negative emotional attractors and intentional change. Journal of Management Development, 25(7), 657-670. https://doi.org/10.1108/02621710610678472

Petrides, K. V. (2017). Inteligence, emotional. Module in Neuroscience and Behavioral Psychology.1-6. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-809324-5.05601-7

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 Emotional Intelligence: Getting Results!

          I do not think about what Emotional Intelligence (EI) is or what it consists of in my day-to-day life. Still, I regularly engage in the four sub-categories or dimensions of EI: Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, and Social Skills without explicitly referring to them. I wake up in the morning and immediately consider how I feel, physically, mentally, and emotionally, which helps me determine what I need to do for myself in deciding how I choose to engage my day and those I encounter. I make adjustments throughout the day on how I desire to feel and how I would like others to receive me.

          Most of the time, I do a pretty good job of managing emotions that would not necessarily benefit me in terms of others' reactions to these emotions. At other times, especially with those closest to me, such as family, I express my feelings to teach my children that all emotions are healthy to share and safe to do so with those whom you are closest. There are accepted emotional behaviors in my work environment, and there are behaviors not welcomed. I discipline myself to make such adjustments to get on the same 'wavelength' and remain resonant with my subordinates and peers. I work to relate more readily with each other, quickly reacting to tasks that need our attention without getting caught up with each other on a personal level. 

          I have been developing for quite some time now the ability to read others. Accurately reading others takes a lot of 'people watching' time. I have spent countless hours paying attention to people's behaviors, dispositions, and reactions. The variety of expressions come in many forms and takes a long time to categorize emotions correctly. Social awareness helps us connect with others and relate to their feelings by paying attention to people's behaviors, associating with them, and supporting them. The subtle differences in how we choose to react between our work and personal environments dictate what values we prioritize in said environment. I may ask another at work if everything is okay when they express being upset and listen and support how I can professionally. In contrast, my reaction to the same situation with a close friend at home will receive a more personalized approach and support.

          Engaging with others in a one-on-one or group setting tells a lot about my approach and reactions to others. In a one-on-one setting, I tend to let my guard down and become more vulnerable in hopes of connecting with the other's authentic self genuinely. N a one-on-one setting, I feel most relaxed and apt just to be me, while in a group setting, I tend to be a bit more on guard ever vigilant of being perceived as something I'm not or being judged negatively for who I am. Nonetheless, this position seems to work for me as I am typically the type who prefers observing and learning the group's disposition and behavioral atmosphere before engaging. This way, I can contribute myself to the subject at hand better informed. However, I cannot yet explain why I choose to observe, listen and assess before engaging while others dive right in!

          These four domains are necessary to pay close attention to anyone looking to improve their relationships with others. In my case, both Self-Management and Social Skills can use more work. When I'm not in a place to discuss certain emotions, I can wear my feelings on my sleeve, attracting other well-meaning, concerned individuals. Understanding the right time and place to have these discussions also requires discernment. My uncomfortableness with engaging a group of people I don't know comes from an insecurity of being judged negatively. I know that I care about how others see me, particularly those with a vested social and emotional interest. In these situations, I am very deliberate about how I behave amongst the group, working to preserve a perception from the group that supports the relationship.

          Looking at the four dimensions holistically they have only helped me become even more aware of what I lack in relationship building. There are those at work that are a bit more guarded and difficult to reach. There are also those groups that have a unique personality and resonance. I need to be more intuitive in these types of environments. Developing my Social Skills at the group level will be paramount in my leadership roles in the future. Tending to Self-Management and Social Awareness will undoubtedly benefit my future relationships.

References;

Goleman, D. [Daniel Goleman]. (2012, April 23). Daniel goleman introduces emotional intelligence [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7m9eNoB3NU

Goleman, D. (2007, March). Why aren't we more compassionate? [Video]. TED. https://www.ted.com/talks/daniel_goleman_why_aren_t_we_more_compassionate

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 Am I a Resonant Leader?

          The first time I heard of the term, 'resonant leader,' I was in my last course and chose to look at what my next class would be about. I immediately understood based on my physics background that it had to do with resonating with others. I felt I was going to really enjoy this course. For as long as I can remember, I have been a highly self-aware individual. One of my favorite past-times (and still is) was going to a bookstore, heading to the Personal Development section, and pulling books to learn more about me and how to become the next best version of me. 

          Up until the beginning of this course (MSLD 641), I felt I was a resonant leader of sorts; always reading people, self-aware of my emotional disposition, and managing it around others to develop a relationship. The development of a relationship was, in part, reflective of the environment I interacted with them albeit at work, home, the grocery store, the neighborhood, etc. Each environment gave meaning to those individual relationships. Each environment told me what boundaries to have and what boundaries were not required. Of course, this had to do directly with what vulnerabilities I was willing to share which were dependent on the type of relationship I felt I should have with each individual. Was it someone I met in passing at a gas station, or someone I sat down within a coffee shop discussing our families with? At other times, rare as they may be, it had nothing to do with the environment and everything to do with the connection and conversation.

          I do not feel I am the resonant leader that I thought I was. While I am a good reader of people, and very self-aware of my own emotional state and manage it well, I am discovering there is much more I can do to become the leader whose primary job is to connect emotionally with others and direct their strengths and weaknesses to support and positively impact the overall mission or organization; to inspire them to work together for the sake of a personal or united vision. Nath (n.d.) states, "Organizations everywhere need now to realize the benefits of primal leadership by cultivating leaders who generate the emotional resonance that lets people flourish." My mindfulness should be centered around reflecting on these things. I have been naturally reading, empathizing, and connecting with people all my life without really being conscientious about the process. Now I feel I need to wake up. I need to pay close attention with a sense of purpose; to develop my intent of becoming the resonant leader and not just someone who works in a leadership position that can simply connect with people. "When leadership is resonant, followers become upbeat and enthusiastic and vibrate with the leaders. Resonance amplifies the emotional impact of leadership" (Goleman et al., 2002).

          The truth is that I do not know if I inspire people. I have never asked anyone. There has been a few in my life that I recall coming up to me to let me know that my gymnastics career has inspired their child in the gym, or how my discipline and focus to make it through Navy SEAL training has inspired them to try as well, but I have yet to discover or learn that my leadership behavior has inspired anyone. I do not try to inspire anyone. I feel if my passion for what I do comes through my language and, or performance, it will inspire others, with or without my awareness. In truth, I am surprised I never thought of becoming this type of leader on my own without having to first read about it. What is nice about reading about it and connecting aspects of resonant leadership I am already practicing and been doing so for years is that I now have a much greater, broader, more meaningful concept as to how to be the resonant leader I desire. I now have a map to navigate and discover with.

References:

Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R. & McKee, A. (2002). The new leaders: Transforming the art of leadership into the science of results. Retrieved from https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/51222222/The_New_Leaders.pdf?1483720144=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DThe_New_Leaders_Transforming_the_art_of.pdf&Expires=1623570215&Signature=N1OhRsUh3X~Ku7rML6xuvX2vRP2M0dRKxncMC5dNqMO8EgNZPH9RPBZgRouiHiQzAMjFgVa5HIVtPBRF3CgGjVdyotx8k~Ngy7PYIP4RODcG43Val-lPRTy7W658YZp5rjRk7jdHANxRTuFvCeLvHojdq-vK2JP0gqxopLUE0LSV~uylFsgKnEUHKj-U1kE1BZJvgTLH57zYyE0JZiUo8MltL~s3NpETIvwMw-fLbFnww25lvMXe1fR7ejW1XyzdwEkmLCAFQ5qcgf93RMRDl6VGLlEYuF3CVshyvL5PCE7ncHEr3nTedTk9451iZ5MUvj2~LPyDLG0P~T60SJWojw__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA

McKee, A, Boyatzis, R., & Johnston, F. (2008). Becoming a resonant leader: Develop your emotional intelligence, renew your relationships, sustain your effectiveness. Harvard Business School Publishing

Nath, B. (n.d). An examination of the relationship between emotional intelligence, leadership styles, and leadership effectiveness [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Jaypee Institute of Information Technology.