In order to get to the top of my field, I’ll need a constant drive to keep learning and keep trying new ways, new programs, new ideas in my field in order to be better and help every person that passes through my classroom or communicates with me. (Not, too lofty of a goal, is it???

In addition to these, I need a great work ethic. I’ll also need to improve my focus on continuing to look forward and reassess my goals periodically. This will allow me to see if I’m on the right path or if the course needs to be altered.

I discussed with a mentor a possible career change into the Foreign Service, a move I’ve toyed with for the past decade but never truly taken any action on. This mentorship and networking have helped me set a date to take the Foreign service exam, which is the action that I needed. For far too long indecision and inaction have unknowingly been my decisions and actions.

I had been trying to do research and come up with the perfect career path before making sure that this path was the perfect path that would take me to the promised land and set me up for life. However, in doing all of my research I didn’t realize I hadn’t been moving on any path and had just stayed still. So, one other thing that is needed now is action – and taking the Foreign Service Exam will be the third step, as having the mentor and taking this class were the first two.

In my field, a leader is a creative, knowledgable, has great emotional intelligence, and enjoys changing their means and method of communication in order to get through to a larger content.

Trainers are social, creative, and always yearning for a better way to transmit knowleadge and find ways for better retention. We also have to be able to diffuse difficult situations, understand there are always better ways to pass on knowledge, and that it takes a team and buy-in from others to continue to practice and apply the knowledge once they leave the classroom (virtual or physical).

I already posess a good Emotional Intelligence. My background as a child of a diplomat, being exposed to different cultures, different countries, differtent traditions has helped me open my eyes and has certainly improved my social awareness and relationship management. I have also recently been working on my personal awareness through meditaiton and mindfulness.

I have been overcoming my ingraned flight response and the fact that I have enjoyed taking the easy path in life and resting on my laurels. I have been looking forward to the future in the past year, which has made me get off of my laurels and work towards a better future, making me a better leader. I’ve been using knowledge from OSU leadershp classes to improve our leadership program at work.

I still have a lot of work, but that is the great thing about life, no matter how good or bad you are at something, there is always room for improvement – as long as you take action. Recently, with material learned from LEAD 542, 442, 440, I’ve been focusing much more on my leadership skills in the now and going forward.