Leadership Assessment
Tyra Owens
Community Organization and Program Management
HPE 7015
Dr. Amy Bernard
Spring Semester 2013
Part 1
– Analysis of Leadership Style/Strengths

After completing the Leadership Style Test (option 1) and the Leadership
Motivation Assessment, the results portrayed a strong leadership potential and motivation to lead. The Leadership Style Test found multiple strengths including a good leadership poten tial overall. The results also noted, “You possess the skills and traits needed to be an effective motivator to those you lead.” This strength was concurrent with the results of the Leadership Motivation Assessment as well. Furthermore, the
Leadership Style Test found that I am skilled at planning the long-term success of a company, do not have a tendency toward micromanagement, and that I am capable of communicating my vision for success. A potential strength that was identified through the test is “relatively good emotional control.” The test also found no limitations, which was surprising since almost every leader I have come in contact with surely holds a few weaknesses even if they are successful and well-liked. The Leadership Style Test did not explain the results further or provide any additional information without purchasing them, and the Leadership Motivation Assessment only provided the information that I have a strong motivation to lead as I stated above.
Upon completion of the assessments, I honestly did not learn a whole lot about my leadership style or potential because I recently took a personality/leadership assessment for my last job. The results were fairly similar between the assessment I took for my job and these tests. However, the assessment I took for my job found that I was not very assertive and had trouble communicating my vision to others, while the
Leadership Style Test found I was capable of this. I would agree with the Leadership
Style Test since I feel that I have no trouble communicating what I want to others in dayto-day activities, especially when in a group setting. The test also found that I have relatively good emotional control, which was probably the most surprising result of all the tests. Not that I am a basket case of emotions all the time, but in my opinion I let stress overwhelm me at times. I’m not complaining though, since the results found me in a better light! I thought the Leadership Style test would have been more helpful if I were able to see the detailed results and other information the test is able to produce.
Since there were 56 items on the test, I think it paints a fairly clear picture of my leadership style, but as I said before, it doesn’t point out any of the negatives. The
Leadership Motivation Asses sment was rather short and didn’t provide any more results than the one sentence stating if you had strong motivation or not. I thought this assessment had potential to produce better results and explain why I have a strong motivation to lead rather than j ust telling me. With both of the assessments, I think it’s easy for people to portray themselves better than they actually are in reality. By this I mean choosing answers that are not honestly how you feel about the situation being presented. I tried to be as honest as possible, however there are times, for all of us I’m sure, that I would not act in the manner in which I chose to represent me on the instruments. This is not a weakness just of these two assessments but of any assessment where you self-select based on leadership scenarios. In my case, I don’t think this affected my results too much in comparison to those of the assessment I took for work. The assessment from work did not ask questions implicitly on certain scenarios but more out-of-the-box type questions that could imply the leadership qualities. I think most leadership assessments in general would find individuals to have higher potential and better leadership styles than they truly hold in reality.

Based on the class as a whole, I would say I most favor the collaborative leadership style and all that it encompasses. In leading others, I find myself truly wanting to motivate others to be involved. I think a lot of young people don’t value the experience of working at the bottom of the food chain and remember how they felt during that experience. I know that working as a receptionist, there were plenty of times that I felt l ike my opinion meant nothing and I wasn’t making a difference in the organization. However looking back, I know that I was a great employee and if the leadership directly above me would have better portrayed that, I may have been more empowered and motivated. It wasn’t until the vice president of the company called me into his office to thank me for the hard work I put in that I realized this valuable lesson.
Although I have always been more of a leader than a follower, being the worker at the bottom allowed me to see the significance of incorporating everyone in your leadership.
I think this is a huge strength when it comes to leadership, and for those who lack this quality, a huge weakness. Any great leader that comes to mind is collaborative in nature and highly involves those below them. I think another strength of mine would be setting an example. I always try to set an example when leading any type of group. I am not the type of person who expects others to work for me. In any type of group setting I always work my hardest since that’s generally what I expect of others. Of course, no one wants to be the reason for the gro up’s potential failure, so I always set the example of a strong work ethic and hope it rubs off on others. I would say my biggest weakness would be controlling my emotions, regardless if the assessment says I am good at this! While I have no problem involv ing everyone in a group, I tend to get stressed when things don’t go as planned. For example if we are writing a group paper and everyone does their portion but it doesn’t flow and sounds choppy. I always volunteer to comb through the final paper and tweak it so it flows as one, but there are usually some group members who get sensitive over the edits when it’s all said and done. It’s not that I keep my section the way it is and change everyone else’s, but it’s sometimes difficult to communicate to other group members that it could flow better if a few things were rearranged. Recently, I overcame this weakness by then passing a group project to another group member after I edited it. This way, I wasn’t the one solely responsible for the rearranging and editing. I think this was a step in the right direction and aided in overcoming this weakness.
Part 2 – Crafting Your Path as a Leader
Choosing Three Core Values
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Step 1
– The terms I added to the list were: Perseverance, Adventure, Ambition,
Challenge, Confidence, Determination, Enthusiasm, Flexibility, Gratitude,
Humor, Optimism, Simplicity, Sincerity, Strength, Wittiness
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Step 2
– 10 Values: wisdom, integrity, family, simplicity, perseverance, ambition, sincerity, adventure, challenge, determination
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Step 3 – 5 Values: wisdom, integrity, family, simplicity, perseverance
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Step 4 – 3 Core Values: family, simplicity, perseverance
Reflection Questions:

1. My three core values are family, simplicity, and perseverance.
2. Three principle-centered leaders I admire are Coach Kerry Coombs, Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr., and Henry David Thoreau.
3.
I think all three of these leaders’ values provided them with stability, direction, and clarity of purpose most importantly in their daily activities, but also in the way they portrayed their values upon others. Martin Luther King
Jr. lived his life around the value of equality for all Americans. The direction he aimed to toward was very implicit in all his actions and is most significantly noted in his “I have a dream” speech. He calls for equality among blacks and whites, and even in a time of such turmoil and anger, can see a future of just that. Coach Kerry Coombs begins every game by telling his players to fearlessly be themselves. I think this provides him with clarity of purpose because he understands the importance of being yourself and putting your all into everything you do. Lastly Henry David Thoreau lived his life simply and on his own regard. While naysayers thought he was nuts for living in the woods in a cabin for an entire year, he valued simplicity and all that it encompassed. Ralph Waldo Emerson was his famous mentor during this time period, and the now famous authors of nature and simplicity had strong values that led them toward their vision in life.
4. My personal values might help me to connect with the values of an organization I’m affiliated with by encouraging others to persevere and continue their education. As a graduate assistant I teach two one-credit hour courses for undergraduates and try to encourage them to try their hardest and utilize the many resources available on campus. Sometimes it is difficult for people to cope with the many stresses and hardships that go along with college life so I create assignments that relate to the subject matter I teach, but also encourage them to seek resources like the wellness center and campus recreation center to make them aware of these sources and all they offer. I think by explaining why I have the students use these resources as part of their assignment, I can help encourage them to persevere through thick and thin with their college experience.
Taking Inventory of Your Experiences on the Margins
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Not to sound arrogant or ungrateful, but I would consider myself as an individual of privilege. I have been privileged with a great family, friends, and experiences through out my life thus far. Although I didn’t grow up spoiled rotten with tons of money and things, we lived comfortably. I have always been naturally smart when it comes to school and didn’t have to try extremely hard to earn good marks. I think having a mom who truly cared about my future and me enhanced my life as an individual of privilege. I’ve had her behind me every step of the way to encourage me and push me to work harder. Some of the individuals that I grew up with and thought they had the “cool” parents, are now college drop outs who have a less than stellar drive to accomplish anything more with their lives.
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I have explored the margins in my own social settings partially by being on the edge of privilege and marginalization and partially by interacting with those in the margins. My boyfriend did not attend college and has worked for his family

business since we graduated. I can see the different challenges he faces because he doesn’t have a degree.
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A few things that I can do to have a more direct experience on the margins are discussing the challenges the marginalized individuals face within a group that I lead (i.e. my classes that I instruct), and informing myself of challenges and current issues that people are facing who are less fortunate.
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These things will help me to discover that not all individuals are as privileged as me. As a leader it is important to understand this because not everyone that you lead will be privileged and you want to be able to connect with them and not seem like you are better than them. The best leaders are able to put themselves in their followers’ shoes.
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I have felt marginalized because we live in a super tiny town in the country, and I am the “different” one. Not many people have graduate degrees (or are pursuing them) around here, and therefore I feel like they look at me like I think I’m better than them when I clearly don’t think that at all! I also sometimes feel marginalized because of my age. I think young people are usually seen in a more negative and immature light than they deserve.
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These experiences of feeling marginalized will add value to my leadership capacity because they allow me to understand that things aren’t always what they seem on the outside.
Reflection Questions:
1. My approach to leadership is informed by street smarts, vital company, and existential freedom by understanding the viewpoints of others who may not be like me and being culturally competent. I think cultural competence is an important lesson for any individual, not only leaders.
2. I can take a refresher course on the margins by putting myself in new and challenging situations. By challenging myself in a new situation, I am out of my element and uncomfortable (in a good way) which leads to learning. I could do this by volunteering somewhere and connecting with those involved in the organization in which I am volunteering.
Making a Mural to Craft a Vision
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The symbols I used to portray my 3 core values are a two stick figures (family), an arrow pointing up (perseverance), and a tree (simplicity).
Reflection Questions:
1. A social concern that causes me anguish is seeing children hungry. While any hungry person is one too many, I feel especially disheartened by children who are h ungry because they are innocent and can’t do anything for themselves! I drew a kid sitting at the dinner table crying in my first picture, then a kid smiling with a plate full of food in the second picture.
2. A vision that emerges when I think of this social issue is children who are happy, healthy, and full. Although there are plenty of social issues with
SNAP/food stamps and welfare types of support, I envision a world that no child is hungry. I envision a simpler world where individuals persevere through the tough times to better their families’ well being.

3. My vision keeps with the common good worldview because it would better lives all around. This isn’t something that is going to better one organization, one community, or even one state, but betters the nation as a whole.
4. I think by stating my vision as I did above, it will resonate with a large audiences’ heart, mind, and dreams. “I envision a simpler world where individuals persevere through the tough times to better their families’ well being and feed our hungry children.
”
5. My allies in support of this vision will range from individuals to large organizations and I would think even government agencies. I think most people agree that feeding hungry children is a vision worth working toward, but the issues will arise around the process of SNAP assignments and how to go about feeding the children.
6. A practical consideration to focus on would be the opposition of SNAP and welfare programs citywide, statewide, and nation-wide. This vision is rather lofty, but smaller steps can be taken to address the issue locally and then branch out from there.
7. I think a good starting point would be working with non-profit organizations and food pantries to organize a weekly dinner in a certain neighborhood.
Once that program takes off and is successfully feeding families in the community, it will keep the spirit alive as we move along to the next neighborhood. Since fighting the government systems and changing policy are time consuming and don’t produce immediate results, this type of program would keep people’s heads up and looking toward a positive outcome.
8. This vision has the potential to become a social invention only because the current systems in place to prevent hunger aren’t working as planned. As I stated above, this is a lofty goal but smaller steps can help bring to light the positives in starting small and reaching out to families in need.
Gracious Space/Self-Assessment
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Behaviors in which I feel competent: interjecting humor/fun, affirming others, accepting of different perspectives and ideas, innovating new approaches, being present, assuming others’ best intentions, being intentional, being reliable, detaching from outcomes, being collaborative, being trustworthy, actively seeking others’ opinions, being curious, asking open-ended questions, discerning patterns emerging from group discussions, agreeing to be influenced, being capable of stopping, reassessing, and redirecting
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Behaviors in which I need to develop further: being open to feedback, being aware of my impact on others, trusting others, being comfortable not knowing, being willing to slow down, being willing to change my mind, reflecting on assumptions, learning and sharing rather than just advocating (I couldn’t decide which category this went into!), listening deeply, being comfortable receiving lots of questions
Reflection Questions:
1. The environment I am using to answer this set of questions is my position as a graduate assistant instructing courses here at UC. The environment is laid

back and a “work at your own pace” type of setting. I feel like most of the individuals above me are looking out for my best interest and willing to help with anything needed. As a leader of the courses I teach, I feel the students are either eager to learn the subject matter or completely nonchalant and uncaring about their schoolwork.
2. In order to advance my values and vision in this setting, I need to create a motivated and willing environment among the students.
3. I attempt to create gracious space each day by interacting with the students on a more one-on-one level via email or within their assignments since it is a large, online class. I do my best to treat them with respect and understand their viewpoints and hardships they may be facing. I attempt to create assignments geared toward educating them on campus resources that I find helpful and do so in a nonthreatening way. Instead of saying “you should go to the counseling center,” I create a journal assignment with a prompt saying,
“Did you know UC has a counseling center?” and allowing the students to explore the resources on their own. This empowers them to some extent, but also makes them feel like I am like one of them instead of just a “bossy” instructor. (I hope anyway!!)
4. I tend to distance myself from negative people and/or those who are disrespectful to me. For example, if someone of an equal position as me seems to talk down to me on a regular basis, I will most likely avoid him or her rather than engage in conversation with him or her. I understand negativity or talking down to individuals can show envy at times, so I can change my behavior to welcome them by “killing them with kindness.” The lessons we learn in kindergarten are truly useful for the rest of our lives.
Discovering your Voice
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Letter to the creators of Sensa (the stuff you sprinkle on your food that magically makes you lose weight and become fit!):
To Whom It May Concern:
I am a graduate student studying health education at a well-known university in Cincinnati. When I was assigned to teach an undergraduate course titled “Weight Control,” I had a huge task ahead of me. Naturally blessed with a petite frame and high metabolism, I never really had to worry about weight control or dieting and therefore had to research and educate myself prior to teaching. Although eating healthy and engaging in regular physical activity are the cornerstones of weight control, I was saddened to find the deceitful and emotionally detrimental products being advertised to those in search of better hea lth. While I certainly believe your product doesn’t harm individuals’ physical health further, I am also a firm believer that it is not promoting better health.
Products such as this only work in conjunction with a proper diet and regular physical activity. I encourage you to change the commercials and advertisements claiming there are no other steps needed in order to achieve weight loss with your product. This letter is not meant to be negative, however I do hold a deep concern for the individuals you may entice to try your product. By listening to the advertisements and only using your product without any other behavior changes,

individuals are likely to suffer backsliding and further plunge into the never ending cycle of dieting, guilt, shame, and unhappiness with their bodies. If you simply adjust your current publications to include the other foundations needed for successful weight loss, I feel your company will be seen in a much more reputable light.
Sincerely,
Tyra Owens
Reflection Questions:
1. The passion that I wrote about for this assignment is stopping health fraud and scams. Taking health education courses and becoming better read in health-related topics has disheartened me in regard to the negativity associated with health fraud and diet scams. I want people to be able to have access to trustworthy information and understand the process of behavior change.
2.
There hasn’t been anyone individually asking me to play it safe, however the mainstream media doesn’t help matters. They repeatedly discuss these new health “breakthroughs” because they are newsworthy and create buzz.
3. Seeing people engage in health behavior change and achieve outcomes that they thought were so far off will inspire me to move past the media buzz over this fraudulent and negative health/diet advice.
4. Three steps I can take would be to mail the letter I wrote above (with obvious revisions and editing of course!), continue to educate people correctly in my courses, and help spread the word about proper nutrition and regular physical activity.
5. Of these three steps, I can spread the word today and everyday through the use of social media! I like to tweet and re-tweet positive and trustworthy information and health advice so that any follower of mine sees that I care about this topic and possibly learns something new.
6. I can ensure my voice remains nonviolent by not threatening or shooting down the false and/or fraudulent advice. By calling out specific news channels or brands publically, it can seem as if I am attacking them.
Instead I can discuss proper ways to engage in behavior change and tactfully describe methods that do not work.
Opening Ourselves to Hope
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I prefer scenario #2 mostly because it produced steps toward the vision. I think by being too nice and relaxed in the first scenario, the pattern of nothing changing will simply continue. In order to work toward your vision or goal, I think you have to be somewhat assertive and show people you are serious. This doesn’t mean being mean or nasty to those who are initially opposed to your ideas, but simply showing them the importance and possible effects of this type of change. Life is not always going to be an easy process, nor is reaching your vision; therefore perseverance will be a key factor in achieving successful outcomes.
Reflection Questions:

1. Pursing the vision I chose in Chapter 6 will require difficult questions and opposition politically. Not everyone agrees that individuals who are less fortunate should be given assistance, even if there are children involved.
2. I will prepare myself to leave the safe place and work toward the vision by reassuring myself of the end result and the milestones achieved along the way. No change as large as tackling child hunger is going to be simple, however small achievements and targets that are reached during the process will keep the spirit alive and moving in the right direction. If darkness finds me,
I will have to dive deeper into reaching the vision and aim at educating others.
3. I think hope will eventually find me because, in the end, no one wants to see a hungry child. The hardships will lie in the process of how to feed the children, but the goal is attainable in the long run.
4. A time when things looked dark yet hope arrived was after I graduated with my bachelor’s degree. I went to school for communication and public relations, but didn’t have a job lined up upon graduation or know exactly what field within that realm I wanted to pursue. I had a job offer with the company I worked for all through college as a sales representative, but I knew I definitely didn’t want to make a career of that. I had been accepted into the HPE masters program, but didn’t want to dig myself further into debt. I found hope when I received news that I was awarded a scholarship as a graduate assistant. Not only did I receive free tuition for the academic year, but also get paid to teach undergraduate courses. The attitude of optimism and honesty may have invited this opportunity since I wasn’t 100% sure of what I wanted my future to hold. I think this was an opportunity meant for me since I found success in the program thus far and a direction for my future.
5. I can help others find hope by reminding them to keep their heads up.
Perseverance is the value I hold closest to my heart, because without it you can only make it to your first hardship. You have to keep going and push for what you want if you’re going to make it. I try to encourage others to keep going, which is a far cry from the college freshman who wanted to quit school and work as a receptionist forever!
Practicing Courage
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A challenging situation I recently faced that required attention according to my core values was moving to my current home. This is a situation that required courage initially and continues to require attention as time progresses. The main reason it was challenging to move here was because it is an hour away from where my boyfriend and I grew up. I know an hour doesn’t seem far, but we are both close to our families. In addition to being far away from our families, it is in the middle of nowhere and the drive to get to civilization is quite far compared to what I am used to. I chose to move out to Fayetteville with my boyfriend because family and simplicity are important to me. While our current families may be sort of far away, we will be able to start our own family in the house we bought in this town. This is where we have chosen to ground ourselves and start a life together.
It is a small town where everyone knows everyone and you wave to every car you pass. My boyfriend and I are sort of “old souls” and this town allows us to go

back to a simpler time where people truly cared for one another and their surroundings. It took courage to move out here, but we love it so far.
Reflection Questions:
1.
I honestly can’t think of anything more important than fear. I mentioned cultural competence above, which is an idea I learned about in an intercultural communication course. Being mindful of your surroundings and learning from uncomfortable situations is the best way to learn in my opinion. You can learn more than you would ever imagine if you are out of your element and “fear” is among you.
2. I can practice acting with courage by speaking up when I normally wouldn’t, taking opportunities to engage in activities or discussions related to topics of importance to me, and advocating on behalf of underserved/marginalized populations.
3. I would say policy change and politics are the topics related to the good leadership model that cause the most anxiety for me. I am usually not one to stir up controversy or issues related to politics, partially because of my own confusion over who to vote for in certain instances!
4. I think to gain courage in this area I can read up on the current legislation and the viewpoints of the current legislatures, participate in advocacy activities to further the policies I agree with, and help campaign for issues that would further my vision.
Reflection
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I think the exercise I found most worthwhile was the first one: Choosing Three
Core Values. While I always knew I had values, it was extremely difficult to narrow them down to three specific ones. I would say that was the exercise that took me the longest and required the most reflection by far. I have taken a few leadership courses throughout my education career and found some of the exercises to be repetitive. I would definitely rather read a book such as Sharing the Rock and complete activities such as these over a boring and traditional textbook, however some of them seemed forced. I think if I were a leader of an organization or an advocacy group, the assignments would have been much easier to complete.
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Maybe I should have chosen a single situation where I am a leader to complete the entire assignment, but some of the exercises seemed to overlap. I think the
“Making a Mural to Craft a Vision” exercise was cool, but I don’t think it relates to what I will do with my career. For example, I chose child hunger as the issue I focused on, however I will probably not work in this field as a career even if it is something I feel strongly about.
 The “Discovering Your Voice” exercise and lesson was among my favorite, but
“Gracious Space” was the winner. It was very telling of my personality and tendencies to choose behaviors in which I felt competent and those in which I need further development. I think this exercise and the one where I chose the core values were the most worthwhile and valuable out of the bunch.