leadership portfolio

1. Sean Rigney
Sports Administration
Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania
 Abstract
 Mission and goals
 Education and skills
 Experience and Achievements
 Autobiography
 Philosophy of Leadership
Address: 247  Leadership Motivation
Gardenia Court  Leadership Role Profile
Lititz, PA. 17543  Persuasion skill
Phone: (717)569-6742  Professional Code
Cell: (717) 587-7470  Service Project
E-mail:srigney@lhup.edu  Relationship Development
Web: Sean Rigney  Empathy Skill
Linkdin Page  Conflict Manager
 References
3/21/2008

2. Abstract
The purpose of this portfolio is to display some of the information and
tasks that I have completed in my Interpersonal Leadership Skills course
which have made me into a better, more well rounded leader. All of the
essays have been written to exemplify my qualifications to become a
collegiate baseball coach. For example, my mission statement conveys
my motivation for coaching baseball, and what my goals are for my
players once I begin coaching. In my autobiography, I explain how
difficult times in my life have lead me to become a better person and have
helped me to understand how to become a better coach. Finally, by
having completed tasks such as empathic listening exercises and conflict
managing a situation, I understand now what flaws I have as a leader, and
the ways in which I can improve myself as a coach and as a man.
ePortfolio 3/21/2008

3. Mission and Goals
Coaching Out the Best in People
In this essay I will discuss what drives me to succeed and better
myself in both the professional world and life in general. Upon
the conclusion of my time at Lock Haven University, I wish to
have a bachelor’s degree in Sports Administration, which I hope
will allow me to pursue a successful career in coaching
Collegiate Baseball. My hard work, dedication to excellence,
compassion for others, decision making skills, and personal
experiences playing collegiate baseball allow me to have a
unique edge in effective coaching.
Full Mission Statement

4. Education and Skills
B.A. Sports Administration
Expected Graduation Date: May 2011
Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania
401 North Fairview St.
Lock Haven, PA 17745
Competencies
Leadership skills
Technology enhanced reporting
Corporate video production
Sports broadcasting
Persuasive speaking
Negotiation skills
Project management
Coaching and athletic development skills
Conflict management skills
Empathic listening skills
Community Service Project manager skills
ePortfolio 3/21/2008

5. Experience and Achievements
High School Band: From 2003-2005 I participated in the Manheim Township High School Band, earning the
honors of District band first chair tenor saxophone all three years, one of which also being named first chair District
Jazz band.
High School Baseball: For the 2006 High School baseball season, I was named a Pre-Season All- American pitcher for
Manheim Township High School. In addition, I received All-Section, All-District, and All-State honors as both a
pitcher and a first baseman.
Collegiate Athlete: Beginning in September 2006, I began participating in the collegiate sport of baseball at Marshall
University. From Marshall I then transferred to Georgia College and State University, where I was a member of their
baseball team from September of 2007 until September of 2008, whereupon I transferred to play baseball at Lock
Haven University of Pennsylvania in the Spring of 2009-present.
Dean’s List: I was awarded Dean’s List honors for my GPA while attending Marshall University in my second
semester.
ePortfolio 3/21/2008

6. Autobiography
Overcoming the Odds
The following essay describes how type 1 diabetes,
suffering a severe shoulder injury, and being released from
two collegiate baseball programs due to coaching changes
have helped shape me into the responsible, compassionate,
and extremely persistent person that I am today.
Full Autobiography
Essay
ePortfolio 3/21/2008

7. Philosophy of Leadership
Integrity, Transparency, Dedication
The purpose of the following essay is to explain the importance of
formulating a personal philosophy for leadership in my chosen
career of coaching collegiate baseball. I consider a pertinent
coaching philosophy to contain elements which embody the game
of baseball; these being integrity, transparency and dedication.
An effective coach is one who teaches his players to instill these
qualities within themselves while at the same time as their coach
abiding by them in everyday life.
Full Leadership Philosophy Essay
ePortfolio 3/21/2008

8. Leadership Motivation
After taking the motivation for leadership quiz in Bean (2009) I was not
shocked at the results which according to the information provided mean that I
gravitate towards positions that have a great deal of importance and
responsibility. I feel that these results accurately define my leadership
motivation. All my life I have always been attracted to challenges, because I
feel that if I do not challenge myself that I will not reach my full potential, and
the work that I am tasked with will therefore suffer. I feel that it is this
predisposition to seeking out challenges that will make me an excellent leader,
especially in my chosen field of coaching college baseball. I have found that
coaches and teams that shy away from challenges on and off the field usually
do not succeed, and I think that as a coach my drive towards completing
difficult challenges will be immensely beneficial and will help my team
succeed.
ePortfolio 3/21/2008

9. Leadership Role Profile
After taking the leadership role profile assessment in Bean (2009), I have
determined myself to be a leader who excels in conflict management,
motivation, crisis management, and being a mentor and coach. I feel that
these results fully embody the type of leader that I attempt to be, and all of
the skills that encapsulate these leadership roles can be directly correlated
to important aspects of coaching. As a baseball coach, being able to
manage both conflicts within your team and crisis outside your team while
motivating your team to succeed can allow you to help your players
succeed not only on the field but off the field as well. Finally, it is
impossible to consider yourself a successful coach if you do not have the
ability to be a mentor to your players. This might be the most important
leadership role for me, because I not only want to help my athletes perform
well on the field, I also want to make them better men off the field.
ePortfolio 3/21/2008

10. Persuasion Skill
Understand the Needs of Your Audience
The purpose of the following essay is to evaluate my persuasive skills as a
leader. I received feedback on the effective or ineffective nature of my
methods as well as constructive criticism on how to improve my methods.
Upon studying the persuasive tactics and theories of several professionals, I
constructed what I thought would be an extremely effective means of
persuasion. In order to practice my methods, I presented a speech to my
leadership classmates in an attempt to persuade them to join my cause.
While my argumentation and persuasion methods were indeed effective,
there were still some areas in which I could improve, such as limiting my
use of ad hominem attacks and need for an increase in supporting
arguments.
Full Persuasion Essay
ePortfolio 3/21/2008

11. Professional Code
Coaching and Personal Ethics
The purpose of this essay is to discuss how my basic moral values have
shaped my ethical stances in life. Furthermore, I will shine a light on the
importance of morality in my chosen profession of coaching collegiate
baseball. For example, Major League baseball players in recent years
have lost their moral centers, but had they adhered to principles such as
integrity and congruence, the ethical issues that they have faced could
have been completely avoided. For this reason the principles of integrity,
growth, and congruence will allow for me to better prepare my athletes to
succeed on and off of the baseball field.
Full Ethics Essay
ePortfolio 3/21/2008

12. Service Project
No Child Left Behind
The purpose of this essay is to discuss a plan for the Lock Haven
University baseball program to give something back to the community. As
leaders and role models, players have the unique ability to influence the
lives of children. We will use this influence to help steer today’s youth in
the right direction; towards achievements in school and away from lives
devoid of intelligent meaning. For this project, we as a baseball program
have gone into local elementary schools and read to the students there; not
only did we read to them, but we also allowed them to ask questions and
use the remaining time to convey the importance of school.
Full Service Proposal Essay
ePortfolio 3/21/2008

13. Relationship Development
Two-way Feedback
Leadership authors agree that without the foundation of a strong relationship
between a leader and his constituents that it would be impossible for any
meaningful work to be completed. I performed the activity of “Ten Questions”
with a close friend. This exercise consists of both people engaging in a
conversation on what aspects of their relationship are solid and which need
work. I chose to do this exercise with a good friend. What I found was that the
whole of our relationship was extremely strong, and that no real work was
needed to mend it. I have learned from this exercise that as a leader, I will have
the ability to keep the relationships that I have with my workers fresh and
current.
Full Relationship Essay
ePortfolio 3/21/2008

14. Empathy Skill
Leading through Emotions
The purpose of this essay is to discuss the importance of empathic
listening skills to a leader. In order to practice these skills, I teamed
up with other leadership students as well as received feedback from
my instructor. I was told that I performed extremely well in
identifying the problem that the speaker was dealing with and was
very good at reading the speaker’s body language and discerning
complex messages. Empathic listening is a critical skill that every
leader should continually hone, and I will continue to work on mine.
Full Empathy Essay
ePortfolio 3/21/2008

15. 1
Conflict Manager
5
Winning in a No Win Situation
The purpose of this essay is to define my philosophy of conflict management. In
the field of coaching, there are always going to be conflicts to manage, whether
they between teammates, between a coach and his athletic department, or
teams themselves. According to Moore (1996), “Conflicts may be avoided,
talked out, negotiated, arbitrated, adjudicated, resolved by legislation, by
political action, or by violent force.” While there are numerous avenues for
diffusing conflicts, after completing simulated conflict between two parties and
acting as the mediator I have come to realize that as a prospective coach some
of the conflict principles that I stress include the Win-Win rule, the Need
Fulfillment Rule, and the Workable Agreement Rule. The use of these principles
will allow me to effectively neutralize confrontations between aggressors, while
at the same time helping each side build a stronger more resilient relationship.
Full Conflict Manager Essay
ePortfolio
3/21/2008

16. 1
References
6
Bean, J. (2009). Lessons in leadership. Deer Park, NY: Linus Publications, Inc.
Berman, J. L. (1996). Avoiding Workplace Litigation: Los Angeles Business Journal. Los Angeles
Cialdini, R. (2001). The science of persuasion. Scientific American, 284, 76-81.
Hogan, R. Kaiser, R. B. (2005) What We Know About Leadership. Review of General Psychology, 9, 169-
180.
Moore, C. (1996). The mediation process: Practical Strategies for resolving conflict, 2nd ed. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Yukl, G., & Tracey, J. B. (1992). Consequences of influence tactics used with subordinates, peers, and the
boss. Journal of Applied Psychology, 77 (4), 525-535.
ePortfolio
3/21/2008