Plan
for Transformation
Model for Transformation
These past three
years of studying leadership, learning, and service have changed my worldview
in a way unlike any experience in my life thus far. As I sit here at my
computer writing this final paper of my doctoral career, I am reflective on the
journey, yet eager to develop a blueprint for another. The
following Participatory Narrative Framework, or model, has evolved since I
wrote my initial doctoral papers in the Fall of 2011. This model was inspired
by my belief that leadership, learning, and service are a composite hero’s
journey that we all experience in life. I have watched this framework evolve in
such a way that it represents leadership, learning, and now service by following
a narrative structure of personal meaning reflection for transformation,
or IT. I plan on utilizing this Participatory Narrative Framework as a
guide in my individual and organizational transformation in the near
future.
Transformation
of a Leader
There are two areas of
transformation that I have experienced in this program – individual and
organizational. Individual Transformation can be defined as the act of committing to leading,
learning, and serving for the purpose of internal transformation. Additionally,
Organizational Transformation is the act of creating a culture that
values living a meaning seeking story of internal transformation. In this
paper, I will address my individual and organizational transformation from the
program as well as develop a plan for continued transformation.
My definition of leadership is the art of helping others
creatively discover their character within the context of a greater story. In
this program I have seen this definition develop from an idea to a major
cornerstone of my leadership philosophy in my dissertation research
and my life. The transformation of a leader is centered on the leader
identifying their strengths, personality shape, leadership style, and personal
growth story to add increased value to their organization. As I reflect on my
transformation as a leader, this model tells my personal story of growth. This
section will outline my personal character, challenge, choice, change, and IT
through the lens of the model.
Character
When I stepped into class for the first time I was a young 23-year-old
doctoral student surrounded by refined and accomplished leaders. My classmates
had 10-15 years of leadership experience on me, which was intimidating to say
the least. I found myself nervous to contribute and worried about being judged
as ‘childish’ with the comments I shared and questions I posed. To keep myself motivated
as a contributor, I had to begin looking at the value I could add to
discussions as the result of my young age. I was able to find my niche in
contributing from the aspect of a millennial leader. I was able to inform my
Generation X/Y and Baby-boomer classmates on current uses of technology, social
media’s role in social change, and various other millennial mediums that are
becoming avenues for positive change. I began to find over these years that my
classmates would turn to me for a ‘millennial spin’ on topics which added value
and perspective to the conversation. By finding my personal strength and
differentiating factor, I was able to transform into a character in the Cohort
22 story that added tremendous value. Age does not limit influence.
Challenge
My biggest challenge as a doctoral student leader was
containing myself to listen more rather than speak. I felt like a firecracker
when I began the program, wanting my opinion to be heard over others, but
quickly learned that the learning culture at Stritch promotes listening and
building consensus. As I began to transform through listening, I started to
realize that listening informed and refined my thoughts more. I was able to
mold my perspective in my mind a bit more before sharing. For my personality
type this was a Eureka moment!
Choice
The most impactful choice I made in my doctoral career was
deciding a dissertation topic. I knew that I wanted my research to make a
significant difference in the world of college student leadership development.
I began looking for the needs of college students and stumbled on the idea of
exploring how leadership development, with a narrative reflection model, helps
students make meaning of life, leadership, and the college experience. I knew
by making this choice I was fulfilling a choice transformation to be a leading
expert in this field and help students across the country discover more about
their self.
Change and IT
The greatest change I experienced as a leader in this
program was the feeling of accomplishment at my defense. The moment I began my
defense, standing in front of the audience, I experienced a change
transformation, or IT, as a leader of me informing others. The greatest part of
it all was I finally earned the respect as a ‘doctor’. I had come full circle
as a leader creating small change in the world, as well as myself.
Transformation
of a Learner
The
development of my dissertation played a vital role in my personal transformation
as a learner. As I think back to my learning habits prior to this program, I
would tend to read one source of information and conclude my perspective. The
dissertation process taught me that a skilled learner seeks multiple sources of
information to exhaust all possible perspectives and then draws a personal
perspective open for debate. As a result I have a massive references section in
my dissertation to support many viewpoints of college student leadership
development and meaning-making. While researching, my strategy was to read an
article and then ‘mine’ the article’s references. With this strategy, I found
that my confidence to talk about multiple perspective of the topic became much
richer by exploring multiple opinions.
Another
aspect of my learning transformation came from increased confidence in myself
to learn at a higher level. When I began this program I felt overwhelmed with
the workload pace, especially in a collaborative environment. I remember
sitting in my first group project working on an infant mortality case study,
where I felt like a mere bystander, adding little value to the project. I was inexperienced in my collaborative skills
(within the research process), research perspective, and the ability to keep up
with all the information being presented. This led me to ponder if a doctoral
program was beyond my ability as a learner. Since then I have transformed as a
learner by taking strides each month to lean on my classmate’s strengths to see
how they organize and digest project based assignments. As a result I have
become much more confident as a learner by figuring out where my learning style
and strengths fit within the group to achieve the best result of the
assignment. I have learned that I am the ideas guy and the go-to for technology
innovation for presentations – which is a great role to have. I’ve become more
authentic and comfortably transparent as a learner by telling group members my
weaknesses as well. These acknowledgements, as the model suggests, serve as my
personal learning IT (internal transformation).
Transformation of a Servant/Transformational Action
When I think about my
transformation as a servant I am immediately reminded of my dissertation
process. The research question is the means towards the end of positive
transformation on society. In other words, since the completion of my dissertation,
I have realized that the research process itself is centered on servanthood
principles – serving a greater purpose in society. I began writing and
listening to the voices of expertise, which led me to write chapter five as a representation
of my expertise and added value to serve society.
My service came in
the form of gaining a better understanding of how leadership development
programs can help college students explore personal meaning making in life, leadership
and their college experience. As a result of my dissertation research I am in
the process of creating a Big Questions program to serve freshmen leaders at a
small liberal arts college in southeastern Wisconsin. The goal is to utilize
the Character Quest (CQ) Leadership Development organization to help create and
train approximately 40-50 student coaches (sophomore and up) to sit in various
freshman success classes and act as mentor/coaches. Additionally the CQ Staff
will be training the coaches and freshman to understand how to explore three
big questions of meaning making: 1) Identity - Who am I?, 2) Purpose
- What's My Purpose?, 3) Difference - How can I make a difference at Carthage?,
and 4) What’s my story. By focusing my dissertation efforts on adding value and
service to the community I am excited for the opportunity to help not only
transform the student experience at Carthage but also the notions of on-campus
service.
Plan for Continued Growth
As I near the
end of my doctoral, and educational career, I have come to the startling
realization that I will no longer receive a constant stream of academic rigor,
doctoral-level analysis, and rich discussion. To be honest, I am a little
nervous that the doctoral mind I have sharpened over these past three years
will dull itself at a rapid pace. Thus, I have decided to utilize this plan for
transformation paper as a way to outline my continued growth transition plan in
myself, Character Quest, and my community.
Continued Growth for Myself
A significant
contributor to my growth in the doctoral program was the notion of taking in a
diverse range of information with a multitude of perspectives. For instance,
reading The Fair Society, is in
complete opposition to my political and social beliefs, yet it challenged me to
see social issues from a fresh perspective. Prior to this program I would have
thought the book to be ‘stupid’ and not worth my time. Now as a doctoral
graduate I have found the value in absorbing information I may disagree with – diverse
perspectives give you a greater scope as a leader, learner, and servant. I find
myself now listening to NPR, reading the Wall Street Journal, and New York
Times to get a range of perspectives on my world. I have learned from the
doctoral program that just because I disagree with something doesn’t diminish
it’s value. While this may seem like a no brainer to the average person, this
was a startlingly valuable lesson for me as a leader, learner, and servant.
Regarding
Continued Growth for Myself, I plan on continuing to explore my newfound
value of diverse information as a plan for transition. Upon graduation I will
have much more time to seek out books, articles, and news sources that challenge
my beliefs, articles that challenge my worldview. I have a tendency to stick to
my guns on my perspective but now is an opportune time to really push myself,
since I won’t have a professors or classmates to push and challenge my thinking.
My concern is however, over the past three years I have grown accustomed to being
surrounded by doctoral level thinking people who are hungry to challenge their
thought process as well as the thought process of others. Thus, I have prepared
a plan for transformational action with a list of 100 Books to challenge me,
three news sources, and various podcasts to listen to regularly to stimulate an
open minded ‘doctoral’ approach.
Books for Open-mindedness (Underlined are complete already)
1. The
Great
Gatsby
by
F.
Scott
Fitzgerald
2. The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
3. Slaughterhouse‐Five by Kurt Vonnegut
4. 1984 by George Orwell
5. The Republic by Plato
6. Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
7. The Catcher and the Rye by J.D. Salinger
8. The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith
9. For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
10. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
11. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
12. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
13. How To Win Friends And Influence People by Dale Carnegie
2. The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
3. Slaughterhouse‐Five by Kurt Vonnegut
4. 1984 by George Orwell
5. The Republic by Plato
6. Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
7. The Catcher and the Rye by J.D. Salinger
8. The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith
9. For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
10. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
11. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
12. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
13. How To Win Friends And Influence People by Dale Carnegie
14. Call
of
the
Wild
by
Jack
London
15. The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris
16. Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss
17. Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac
18. The Iliad and Odyssey of Homer
19. Catch‐22 by Joseph Heller
20. Walden by Henry David Thoreau
21. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
22. The Master and Margarita by by Mikhail Bulgakov
23. Bluebeard by Kurt Vonnegut
24. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
25. The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
26. American Boys’ Handy Book
27. Into Thin Air by John Krakauer
28. King Solomon’s Mines by H. Rider Haggard
29. The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky
30. A River Runs Through It by Norman F. Maclean
31. The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells
32. Malcolm X: The Autobiography
33. Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris
34. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
35. All Quiet on The Western Front by Erich Maria Remarq
36. The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
37. Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans by Plutarch
38. The Strenuous Life by Theodore Roosevelt
39. The Bible
40. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
41. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
15. The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris
16. Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss
17. Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac
18. The Iliad and Odyssey of Homer
19. Catch‐22 by Joseph Heller
20. Walden by Henry David Thoreau
21. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
22. The Master and Margarita by by Mikhail Bulgakov
23. Bluebeard by Kurt Vonnegut
24. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
25. The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
26. American Boys’ Handy Book
27. Into Thin Air by John Krakauer
28. King Solomon’s Mines by H. Rider Haggard
29. The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky
30. A River Runs Through It by Norman F. Maclean
31. The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells
32. Malcolm X: The Autobiography
33. Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris
34. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
35. All Quiet on The Western Front by Erich Maria Remarq
36. The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
37. Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans by Plutarch
38. The Strenuous Life by Theodore Roosevelt
39. The Bible
40. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
41. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
42. The
Long
Goodbye
by
Raymond
Chandler
43. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
44. The Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn and Hal Iggulden
45. The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
46. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
47. The Histories by Herodotus
48. From Here to Eternity by James Jones
49. The Frontier in American History by Frederick Jackson Turner
50. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig
51. Self Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson
52. Another Roadside Attraction by Tom Robbins
53. White Noise by Don Delillo
54. Ulysses by James Joyce
55. The Young Man’s Guide by William Alcott
56. Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West by Cormac McCarthy
43. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
44. The Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn and Hal Iggulden
45. The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
46. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
47. The Histories by Herodotus
48. From Here to Eternity by James Jones
49. The Frontier in American History by Frederick Jackson Turner
50. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig
51. Self Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson
52. Another Roadside Attraction by Tom Robbins
53. White Noise by Don Delillo
54. Ulysses by James Joyce
55. The Young Man’s Guide by William Alcott
56. Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West by Cormac McCarthy
57.
Seek:
Reports
from
the
Edges
of
America
&
Beyond
by
Denis
Johnson
58. Crime And Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
59. Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse
60. The Book of Deeds of Arms and of Chivalry by Christine De Pizan
61. The Art of Warfare by Sun Tzu
62. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
63. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
64. The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri
65. The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien
66. The Rough Riders by Theodore Roosevelt
67. East of Eden by John Steinbeck
68. Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes
69. The Thin Red Line by James Jones
70. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
71. The Politics by Aristotle
72. First Edition of the The Boy Scout Handbook
73. Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand
74. Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller
75. The Crisis by Winston Churchill
76. The Naked and The Dead by Norman Mailer
77. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
78. Animal Farm by George Orwell
79. Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs
80. Beyond Good and Evil by Freidrich Nietzsche
81. The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison
58. Crime And Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
59. Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse
60. The Book of Deeds of Arms and of Chivalry by Christine De Pizan
61. The Art of Warfare by Sun Tzu
62. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
63. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
64. The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri
65. The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien
66. The Rough Riders by Theodore Roosevelt
67. East of Eden by John Steinbeck
68. Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes
69. The Thin Red Line by James Jones
70. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
71. The Politics by Aristotle
72. First Edition of the The Boy Scout Handbook
73. Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand
74. Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller
75. The Crisis by Winston Churchill
76. The Naked and The Dead by Norman Mailer
77. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
78. Animal Farm by George Orwell
79. Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs
80. Beyond Good and Evil by Freidrich Nietzsche
81. The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison
82. Moby
Dick
by
Herman
Melville
83. Essential Manners for Men by Peter Post
84. Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelly
85. Hamlet by Shakespeare
86. The Boys of Summer by Roger Kahn
87. A Separate Peace by John Knowles
83. Essential Manners for Men by Peter Post
84. Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelly
85. Hamlet by Shakespeare
86. The Boys of Summer by Roger Kahn
87. A Separate Peace by John Knowles
88. A
Farewell
To
Arms
by
Ernest
Hemingway
89. The
Stranger
by
Albert
Camus
90. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Dafoe
91. The Pearl by John Steinbeck
90. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Dafoe
91. The Pearl by John Steinbeck
92. On
the
Road
by
Jack
Kerouac
93. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
93. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
94. Confederacy
of
Dunces
‐
John
Kennedy
Toole
95. Foucault’s
Pendulum
‐
Umberto
Eco
96. The Great Railway Bazaar by Paul Theroux
96. The Great Railway Bazaar by Paul Theroux
97. Fear
and
Trembling
by
Soren
Kierkegaard
98. Undaunted
Courage
by
Stephen
Ambrose
99. Paradise Lost by John Milton
100. Cannery Row by John Steinbeck
99. Paradise Lost by John Milton
100. Cannery Row by John Steinbeck
News Sources for Open mindedness
1.
Wall Street Journal
2.
New York Times
3.
NPR
Podcasts for Open-mindedness
1.
TED Radio Lab
2.
NPR All Things Considered
3.
Fresh Air
4.
Radio Lab
5.
Planet Money
Continued Growth for Character Quest
My job
description in the Character Quest organization is to develop new lessons for
our clients, teach the lessons, and coach the clients for success based on the
lesson criteria. For example, in a given month we could talk in our classes
about how to develop and apply a growth mindset as leaders in the organization.
I would present a topic to them, get them into groups to talk about it, and
then they would report back. Then individually I would coach them on their
personal thoughts on the topic and the application of that topic in their
personal growth journey. CQ has found this to be a very effective means to
thought stimulation with individuals and teams.
There is a
direct correlation between my plan for personal growth and my organizational
growth - my information input will
dictate my lesson output. In other words, if I am creating leadership lessons
based on a narrow scope of information that I agree with, then I am ridding my
clients of receiving the full picture of the given learning topic. I have
decided to create all of our lessons with what I call a Strategic Lesson
Choice, which basically takes a leadership concept such at Mindset, and gives
the clients 4-5 strategies to choose and discuss, all from diverse information
sources. This new plan is opposed to my current approach to the lessons – find
one source of information on the topic and send it out to everyone. I want more
of a range for strategic and challenging thought with my clients. I believe
that this tactic will work in the favor of both Character Quest and the growth
of our participants.
Continued Growth for Community
My continued
growth for the community is currently centered on helping others see the value
in exploring a range of perspectives on a given topic. I want to imbue in my
clients a hunger to be, as Dr. Tony Frontier suggested, scientists rather than
judges and to seek more information when making decisions. With the Strategic
Lesson Choice addition I can give my clients a little slice of the
transformation I was exposed to at Stritch with diverse perspectives. The value
in this approach will create community members who are more aware of and more
tolerant of diversity and new ideas.
Conclusion
These
past three years have been an incredible hero’s journey as a leader, learner,
and servant. While, this program serves a common purpose, I find it amazing how
we all have a unique experience. My experience has been one of finding a way to
apply what I am learning to my personal transformation into the Character Quest
organization. I feel like I have accomplished my mission and look forward to
exercising by continued plan for growth as a leader in the community and
beyond.
