Groff. Amanda. Leadership Portfolio

Leadership Portfolio
Amanda Groff
Journalism & Communication Major
Leadership Minor
Wartburg College ‘16
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary…………………………………………………3
Initiative……………………………………………………………………..6
Service…………………………………………………………………….10
Group Work……………………………………………………………14
Diversity…………………………………………………………………..18
Ethics……………………………………………………………………….23
Course in Major…………………………………………………….27
Course Outside Major…………………………………………..31
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Executive Summary
My Leadership Minor: A Time to Grow and Reflect
“The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is
the one that gets the people to do the greatest things” (Ronald Reagan, 1975).
I originally heard about Wartburg from the former youth pastor at my home church.
She told me that the school was very strong in service and community, two things I had
viewed as important when visiting and applying to colleges. The school was brought to
my attention again when I visited my high school’s career center in search of colleges with
good communication programs. During January of my senior year I attended one of the
Wartburg Scholarship Days. That day was the first time I had heard there was such a thing
as the leadership minor. I remember seeing a presentation being given about the different
opportunities that the minor had afforded the students on campus; immediately I knew that
if I attended Wartburg, I would participate in the leadership program. When I started the
process to get my minor I was really excited because I thought it would be a great re-
sume booster, and it would give me the chance to expand on the different leadership
techniques I had learned about in high school. What I did not realize going in was how
much participating in the program was going to change me, both personally and profes-
sionally.
To complete the leadership minor one of the first classes you have to take is LS
115: Exploring Elements of Leadership. In this class we discussed a variety of different
leadership techniques, but what stood out to me the most was a question my professor
prompted on the first day of class. He asked, “Are leaders born, or are they made?” Like
many people, my initial answer was that leaders are made, but the more I began to think
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and process the question in all of its meaning, I realized that all of us must be born with
leadership traits of some sort. What you do to act on and grow those traits is up to the
individual person. I have been made into more of a leader throughout my time at Wart-
burg because I have been actively trying to improve on my skills through different experi-
ences. I have put myself into situations that I would not normally be comfortable with, but
because I have pushed myself outside of my zone, I have learned more about what tech-
niques work for me and which ones do not.
Throughout my time at Wartburg I have had many opportunities, both through my
classes and with extracurricular activities, to grow in my leadership skills. It is also through
both classes and activities that I have learned the biggest lessons in leadership. The main
lesson I have learned through this program is that everyone leads in his or her own way;
there is not one set way of how to be a leader. Because every situation is different, the
way you lead in one may be very different than the way you lead in another. As you will
read about later in my portfolio, my journalism and communication major has prompted
me to work a lot in different class groups. In those groups, one person often ends up be-
ing the “leader” of the group. For me, when I am the leader, I have found that the best
way to work with each individual is to adjust my leadership style in a way that will benefit
them and the group as a whole because everyone learns differently. It is what you do in
that situation that determines if you are able to successfully lead; if you can work effective-
ly with everyone no matter how dramatically different they are.
When writing my portfolio one of the things I kept coming back to was, how can I
apply what I have learned throughout these last four years to my future career. What I re-
alized is, I do not know what skills will be applicable to my future career yet because I
have no idea where I am going to end up. I could be working in a marketing and com-
munications firm, I could be doing volunteer work abroad, or I could be working in a field
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I cannot yet imagine. What I am trying to say is that it does not matter where I go or what
I do, the leadership skills and techniques that I have gained and expanded while I have
been at Wartburg can be applied in any situation. There will always be something I can do
to apply what I know.
As you read the different essays in my portfolio you will be able to see how much I
have evolved in my abilities throughout my four years at Wartburg. If I had not been a part
of the leadership program, my college experience would have been very different. While I
would have been a part of all of the same activities and class groups, I do not think I
would have stepped up in the way that I did. This program showed me that there are
many different ways you can be a leader; you just have to have the initiative and drive to
grasp those opportunities. The skills I have learned are invaluable to me because they
shaped me into the person I am today. I will carry all the skills I have learned with me
everywhere following graduation, and I know that I will be better in the professional world
because of my Wartburg leadership experience.
References
Wallace, M. (Interviewer). (2011, February 13). Reagan: The “60 Minutes” Interviews,
1975-1989 [Television broadcast]. In 60 Minutes. CBS
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Initiative
Coming Into My Own as a Transformational Leader
“Time is neutral and does not change things. With courage and initiative, leaders
change things” (Jesse Jackson, 1984).
Initiative. It is one of the most important and vital components of being a good
leader, but it can also be the most challenging component. One of the reasons it can be
challenging is because every individual has a different level of comfort when it comes to
being a leader and taking the lead. During my four years at Wartburg, and even before I
started college, I have found that showing initiative is one of my favorite challenges to take
on because with every project, there are different goals to be set and different outcomes.
Taking initiative is nothing new for me. Often, I come into the position of leadership
through past experience or by being the one with the most ideas. As a leader, initiative is
one of the most important qualities a person can have. Through coming up with ideas,
putting those ideas into practice, and reflecting once your task is complete, a person is
better able to serve their community and improve as a leader.
To be a good leader a person must first know which kind of leadership style they
follow and learn from best, as well as the way they can most effectively lead themselves.
During my time at Wartburg I have learned that I lead and follow transformational leader-
ship best. According to the article, “Moderators of the Relationship Between Leadership
Style and Employee Creativity: The Role of Task Novelty and Personal Initiative,” transfor-
mational leadership is when the person in the leadership position elevates followers’ val-
ues, needs and competence on a higher level. Through various studies it has also been
determined that those who connect to transformational leadership can be more effective in
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stimulating creativity when a person has high personal initiative. The authors also found
that followers high in personal initiative are more responsive to transformational leaders
than those who have low personal initiative because those leaders show more confidence,
help shape future development, anticipate and react to problems before they happen, and
articulate certain visions (Hermann and Felfe, 2013). The reason I follow and lead through
this style best is because it is people-oriented. I am a person who enjoys raising people
up and motivating people through any kind of task. While I can be a person with high ex-
pectations, I am always there to work alongside others. I often think of my leadership style
as the way James McGregor Burns defines it in his book, Leadership. According to Burns,
it is a process when leaders and their followers lift each other up through high morality
and motivation (Burns, 1978).
As I reflect on it now, I experienced transformational leadership and initiative before I
was even familiar with the concept. One of the biggest acts of transformational leadership
and initiative I have experienced was during my summer internship after my second year
at Wartburg. During that summer I interned part-time with the media team at Arquette and
Associates Modeling Agency in Minneapolis. Throughout the summer my main job was to
call the different talent the agency represented and bring them into the office to for a “Get
to Know” video interview. My other job during the internship was helping with the agency’s
summer Kids Video Campaign. The premise of that video was to show off some of the
more popular child models in a more relaxed setting. To prepare for this video required a
lot of planning on my part. Together with my team, we would spend days coming up with
the storyboard, prop lists, clothing lists, location scouting, and other elements of pre-pro-
duction.
When the day to film the campaign arrived, I realized that I was the only person
who knew how to work the camera we were going to be filming with. Because I wanted
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other people to have the chance to be the camera person, I took the hour we had until
the kids arrived to show the people on my team how to operate it. In the beginning of our
practice time, I could see that my colleagues felt overwhelmed, and I will be the first to
admit that learning a new piece of equipment in a short period of time is overwhelming.
While I was confident in their abilities as camera operators, I ended up being the only
person who filmed that afternoon due to timing and weather. During our filming day I
learned a valuable lesson in being a leader. Initiative needs to take place at the beginning
of a project, or in this case, the day we picked up the rented camera. If I could go back
and do it differently, I would have asked and explained the camera a lot sooner so that
more people would have had the chance to be involved with that aspect of the execution
of the project we had spent so much time planning. Ever since this day, when working on
any type of project, I make sure that everyone is on the same page at the outset so we
are able to be the best collectively that we can be.
One of my favorite Wartburg classroom experiences was during my second se-
mester of my third-year. I was in ID 315: Leadership Theories and Practices, as well as a
part of the Community Builders program. In this program, you have two Wartburg students
teaching a group of sixth grade students from the Waverly-Shell Rock Middle School and
St. Paul’s Lutheran School about different leadership concepts and organizations from
around the world. Being a part of this program was really exciting for me because the kids
were the same age as some of the kids I worked with in Summer Power, a YMCA day
camp program. My fellow Wartburg student, on the other hand, had never worked with
kids at all. During that semester I took it upon myself to show and help him communicate
better with the sixth graders. Kids at that age learn very differently than the way we do in
college and we needed to be on the same wavelength. One of the most effective things I
told my colleague was how when you are working with people so much younger than
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yourself, patience and phrasing sentences differently is key. Unlike people our age, the
sixth graders may not have understood certain big concepts unless thoroughly explained.
It was not until after this class and experience that I realized how this experience demon-
strated transformational leadership. Before then I knew how I wanted to lead and be led,
but now that I know the definitional term, I feel more connected to my own leadership
style.
Everyone handles initiative and leadership differently. One of the way to look at is if
you were climbing a mountain. In my own life, I have been both on the top and the bot-
tom of said mountain. With the Arquette kids campaign, I was more toward the middle, not
acting as quickly as I could have. In relation to Community Builders, I was at the top be-
cause I recognized what needed to be done early and did not waste any time getting to it.
As I have grown as a leader, I have been quicker to act because I know that if I do not,
the end results of a project may be significantly different. The quicker I act, the better
leader I will be.
References
Burns, J. M. G. (1978). Leadership. New York: Harper & Row.
Herrmann, D., & Felfe, J. (2013). Moderators of the Relationship Between Leadership Style
and Employee Creativity: The Role of Task Novelty and Personal Initiative. Creativity
Research Journal, 25(2), 172-181.
Jackson, J. (1984, July 18). American Rhetoric: Jesse Jackson — 1984 Democratic
National Convention Address. Lecture, San Francisco.
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Service
How Concepts Can Change
“Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve. You do not have to have a
college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve.
You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love” (Martin Luther King Jr.,
1968).
In reflecting on what service means to me I realized that service has meant different
things to me at different stages in my life; my thoughts and perceptions have changed as I
have grown up. The same is true about leadership. The leadership a person presents is
different at various stages in life due to experience and opportunities. Service and leader-
ship have always been a part of my life because of the way I was raised. My parents in-
stilled in me at a young age that there is always something you can do to give back and
there is always something you can do to help another person, you just have to have the
initiative to get started. There are opportunities to serve and lead everywhere, in big ways
and in small. It could be organizing a group event such as volunteering at Feed My Starv-
ing Children, a non-profit organization that packages meals to send to third-world coun-
tries, which I did as a teenager in confirmation. Or it can be as simple as gathering people
together to help the elderly rake and bag leaves in the fall, which my church youth club
routinely did. What I have come to realize is that service and leadership evolve as we ma-
ture. They are evolving in the way we think about opportunities and in the way we act on
them.
When I was growing up I was always involved in church mission trips and volunteer
activities through my school. One of my first service experiences was a mission trip to
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Green Bay, Wisconsin, after I finished sixth grade. I distinctly remember the first volunteer
activity of the trip; our group was scheduled to help in a homeless shelter. On the drive
from the church where we were staying to the shelter, I remember feeling a mix of ner-
vousness and excitement. I was nervous because I had never been around homeless
people before, and I was excited because it was a brand new experience for me. When
we arrived I remember feeling so welcomed by all the people there. They were genuinely
excited to have us coming to help with tasks such as cleaning and gardening. I will never
forget the look on the manager’s face when I said I enjoyed washing windows. Through-
out our week helping at the shelter I made the observation that the manager always
shared compassion and patience with everyone, even if they did or said something they
should not have. To me compassion and patience are two of the most important qualities
of a good leader. During group one night we were supposed to write down the name of
one person we met on the trip who inspired us. I wrote down this manager’s name be-
cause he inspired me from both a service and a leadership standpoint. By Robert Green-
leaf’s words in The Servant as Leader, he was a person who exemplified a true servant
leader; he helped the people in the home and acted as a leader in his community
through his work. I have looked up to his example ever since and have tried to mold my
leadership style in a similar fashion, serve first, lead later. (Greenleaf, 1973).
A few years later, in high school, I was a member of the National Honor Society.
Like everyone involved in the organization, in order to be a full member, I had to complete
a certain amount of community service hours and create a senior project. For my senior
project, since I worked at the local YMCA, I decided to help organize and run the Christ-
mas with Santa event at my branch; my main job was attracting volunteers to help. This
was a challenge because not many students wanted to lose a few of their Friday night
hours. I explained to them that there were a variety of different jobs they could do, such
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as supervising cookie decorating, helping with art projects, staffing the winter wonderland
jungle gym, and taking pictures of the different kids with Santa. Through encouragement
and by sharing uplifting stories we received from families at the previous year’s event, I
was able to secure enough volunteers, even with the tight turnaround time we had to or-
ganize the event. When I think back on it, organizing this project reminds me a lot of the
student-run projects completed by students in the summer class of ID 315: Leadership
Theories and Practices. The Christmas with Santa project really tested my leadership and
service skills because it required me to always think ahead and plan for every possible
scenario. Through stepping up and solving problems, such as a possible shortage of vol-
unteers, I helped keep the event flowing smoothly. Helping with this event was the first
time I had felt like the manager from the homeless shelter in my middle school mission
trip experience. I was able to first serve my community by creating a fun event for children
and families, and lead through the actual running of the event.
When I was looking at colleges, two of the key elements I considered were service
and the ability to grow as a leader. Out of all the schools, Wartburg was the only one
where the two elements were an integral part of the school mission statement. Since I
have been at Wartburg I have found a variety of different ways to serve and lead. I have
gone on service trips, participated in MLK day, and volunteered through the different orga-
nizations with which I am involved. One of the most rewarding opportunities of my college
life in relation to service has been participating in Dance Marathon for the last two years.
Because of my busy schedule I find it difficult to schedule ongoing time to volunteer on a
regular basis. With Dance Marathon I am able to attend fundraising events when my
schedule allows. Though I don’t have a formal leadership role within Dance Marathon, I
have found that you don’t need a title to be a source of encouragement; all you need is
to be there for anyone needing a support boost. The way I’ve always viewed a leader is
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as anyone who recognizes when a person needs something. To me Dance Marathon is
the most valuable service and leadership opportunity because we get to help raise money
for sick kids and their families. When I am around the kids on the day of the event I am
bursting with energy; those kids are so similar to the kids I have worked with at the YMCA
for the past five years. Spending the day with the kids and their families is rewarding be-
cause I know I am making a difference with every single smile. I am thankful for the op-
portunities Wartburg provides, such as Dance Marathon, that enable me to serve and lead
within the constraints of a busy college schedule.
I hold the acts of service and leadership very close to me; I would be a different
person without them. Throughout my life, participating in service has taught me about dif-
ferent social issues, various customs and cultures, how to enhance my communication
skills, and how to be a better leader. Through service I have grown as an individual and
as a citizen of the community. By actively serving I have learned that no matter your stage
in life, there is always something you can do to help a person, organization, or community.
While I was able to be hands-on in middle and high school, college obligations have
made setting aside time in recent years more challenging. I have had to accept that I can
only do something when time allows. However, once I graduate and am out in the world,
it will be a priority for me to take time, serve, and lead. Based on what I have discovered
so far I will know that every contribution, even the smallest, can make a big difference.
References
Greenleaf, Robert. K (1973).. The Servant as Leader. Westfield: Robert K. Greenleaf Center.
Luther King Jr., M. (1968). The Drum Major Instinct. The King Center. Retrieved from
http://www.thekingcenter.org/archive/document/drum-major-instinct-ebenezer-
baptist-church.
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Group Work
Growing Through Group Work
“To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we
perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with oth-
ers” (Tony Robbins, 1986, p. 237).
Communication. It is the key to working with any person and in any group at any
time. Often times, the lines of communication can get blurred and things essential to work-
related tasks and projects can be forgotten. Communicating with others is the best way to
ensure things are done correctly. As a journalism and communication major I have found
that effective communication is at the heart of everything I do. While many think that jour-
nalism and communication students have an easier course load than people in other ma-
jors, I do not agree with this premise. My major is different than most because it is almost
all project-based. With many journalism classes, projects are done in teams. Communica-
tion is vital when working with a group, especially when a project has so many different
elements involved. Through my classes I have found that working well in a group is es-
sential to being successful in college, in life, and as a leader.
Every semester students start each new class with a syllabus. Inevitably, there are
always at least one or two group projects listed in the class assignment section. When I
first came to Wartburg I dreaded the thought of having to do a group project because
when I was in high school I always ended up being the one person in the group who did
most of the work. As a journalism and communication major, group work is a large part of
each class. During my third year in the journalism and communication program I took
COM 348: Integrated Marketing Communication. In this class we organized into teams of
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four students to form a public relations agency. Our assignment for the semester was to
work as a group and create custom content with two different clients, a non-profit and a
for-profit. The agency I was a part of was called Rise, and we worked with Hatala Illustra-
tions (for-profit) and Waverly-Shell Rock Softball (non-profit). I was excited to start work
with these clients. I anticipated getting real-world experiences while also getting a class-
room grade. I ended up being the unofficial leader of the agency. I was happy with that in
the beginning because we all knew that, due to my organizational skills exhibited during
the client pitch packet process, I would be the one who would delegate the tasks best.
That excitement faded very fast as I found myself doing more than my portion of the work,
as my colleagues did not complete their work well enough for the grade I wanted.
About half way through the semester, the feeling of being overworked started to hit
me. At that time I sat down with the group to discuss how I was feeling. After explaining to
them that I felt I had taken on more than they had, their behaviors changed. Everyone else
began to step up and take more responsibilities, and I was able to relax more and enjoy
working together. The article “Becoming a Group: Value Convergence and Emergent Work
Group Identities,” talks about how, in order to become a successful group, you have to
talk about goals and aspirations in the beginning of every project. Through allocating time
and effort, the group will be more successful and will be able to focus solely on the client
and not on themselves (Meeussen, Delvaux, Phalet, 2014). Once our group sat down and
had the conversation, we were able to easily delegate who was doing what and the quali-
ty of work each project needed to entail. The second half of the semester flowed smooth-
ly, and we were able to create some really great content for the clients. When I reflect on
the Tony Robbins quote above, I think about this particular group because if we had
communicated more clearly in the beginning, the projects and working in the group would
have been more enjoyable.
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I took the lesson on communication to heart after Integrated Marketing Communica-
tion and took my renewed communication skills, in regards to group work, with me to my
summer internship. Because of my major and the occupation I want to pursue after I
graduate, being a good communicator, especially within group work, is vital. This past
summer I interned at Cenex Harvest States (CHS), a Fortune 100 global agribusiness co-
operative, in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota. My position at CHS was the Enterprise Mar-
keting and Communications intern in the marketing and communications department. While
I got to experience many things and work on multiple projects during the course of the
summer, the biggest and my favorite was putting together a “Welcome to CHS” event at
the CHS Refinery at McPherson (formerly known as NCRA) in McPherson, Kansas. When I
started in May, CHS had just announced that it was taking full ownership of the refinery
starting September 1. As the marketing department, it was up to us to create an event to
teach the refinery workers who CHS is and what they do.
To create the event I worked in a group with four other people, two from my de-
partment and two stationed in McPherson. It was decided early on that we wanted to take
the employees through the history of CHS and show them everything the company does
now. In order to show them all of that, we had to find and determine which roll-up dis-
plays to take. I took on this job. Throughout July and August, I worked with every depart-
ment in the building to track down all displays that had anything to do with our event and
what we wanted to teach. I really enjoyed taking on this leadership role because it gave
me the chance to meet with people from every area of the company. A few weeks before
the event we got together as our group of five, and I presented them with the displays I
found. We took a vote afterward to decide which would be going with us. Without the col-
laboration of my team our event would not have run as seamlessly as it did. Creating this
event was a wonderful opportunity for me as it allowed me to show off a few techniques I
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had learned in the classroom and to work with others in a professional setting. Working
with this group was a highlight of my internship because my co-workers taught me how
to collaborate with people who are not necessarily onsite with you and how to overcome
the obstacles of communication when people do not see eye-to-eye on a project.
Communication is the beating heart of group work and leadership. Without it,
projects flounder and frustration ensues. Throughout my schooling and internship, I have
learned that in order for projects to be successful, you need to have a good team working
together and have a strong lead communicator. I have never minded being the one to
step up into leadership roles when it comes to group work. It is a role I am comfortable in
because it gives me the chance to learn new things and apply what I have learned inside
and outside the classroom. Through my internships and experience in the Integrated Mar-
keting Communication course, I feel stronger as a leader and feel that as long as commu-
nication is prioritized, any group work can be successful.
References
Meeussen, L., Delvaux, E., & Phalet, K. (2014). Becoming a group: Value convergence
and emergent work group identities. British Journal of Social Psychology, 53(2),
235-248.
Robbins, A. (1986). Unlimited power: The new science of personal achievement. New
York: Simon and Schuster.
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Diversity
Seeing Diversity Through A Different Lens
“We are of course a nation of differences. Those differences don’t make us weak.
They’re the source of our strength” (Jimmy Carter, 1976).
Growing up in the suburbs of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, often referred to
as the Twin Cities, I was constantly surrounded by all kinds of diversity. The Twin Cities is
home to the largest Somali population in the United States and in the Northern suburbs
where my family lives, a large number of Hmong immigrants from Laos and Thailand re-
side.
The basic concept of diversity was not anything new for me when I entered Wart-
burg; however the number of ways you can define and characterize diversity was. When
you think of the concept, diversity is not just referring to ethnic backgrounds and gender. It
includes age, religion, language, economic class, geography, education, experience, phys-
ical appearance, sexual orientation, and more (Professional Safety). Through experiences
during my upbringing and through a May Term abroad, my knowledge and self-aware-
ness of diversity have increased and my understanding of how to adapt my leadership
style to help others has improved.
At home in Lino Lakes the YMCA is a very important place to our family. My dad
has been on the board for as long as I can remember and when I was in high school I
worked in Kids Stuff, the daycare where parents can drop their kids off when using the
building facilities. During the summer between my junior and senior year of high school
our YMCA was trying out a new exchange program with their summer day camp, Camp
Heritage. That program included having a girl, Christin, from Germany come over to work
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at Camp Heritage for the month of August. When my parents first approached me to ask if
I would be comfortable hosting Christin, I was hesitant because it was never really some-
thing our family had talked about before. I also was not sure what it would be like having
a complete stranger living with us. As we started preparing for her arrival, the hesitancy
started to fade and I began to feel excited. Her coming was going to be a great opportu-
nity to learn about another culture and her way of life.
Once Christin arrived, we had the best time together. She was able to tell me all
about how the United States and Germany handle different situations, such as school and
education. In the area of the country where she lives, many students attend school for
thirteen years instead of twelve. She explained that when they are young, students have to
take exams to determine if they are on the path to University or the path to trade school
and work. Those who receive high enough scores for University attend school for thirteen
years, and students headed to trade school attend for twelve. On Christin’s first visit with
us, it was so much fun to show and teach her all about the American way of life; it was
especially fun to take her to downtown Minneapolis because in the area she lives the
tallest building is three to five stories high. I relate this experience to leadership because
as a leader, you are always trying to help, teach and guide people in certain areas. It was
an amazing opportunity to learn all about a new culture and in all of the fun we had help-
ing Christin adapt to the country. Having Christin stay with us was one of the best deci-
sions our family could have made; my parents gained another daughter and me another
sister.
Throughout the years we have been able to keep in close contact with Christin. She
has made two return trips to Minnesota, and even visited me at Wartburg, as well as the
trip my parents and I took to visit and meet her family in Germany. When our family ar-
rived in Europe we did not really know what to expect. I had been to Italy in the past, but I
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knew the two countries were going to be very different. On our Germany trip, we were
able to experience everything Christin had described to us. Of the things we exposed her
to when she visited us, she made sure we got to see the German equivalent. This trip was
such an eye-opening experience for me because, even though she would describe how
our cultures were different, I did not fully understand what she meant until I was there my-
self, immersing myself in her world. For instance, in her hometown, it is a quiet and very
peaceful area. It is like time stands still when you are there, whereas in the U.S. it feels as
if you are living life in the fast lane, autobahn in German culture. This trip ended up being
an amazing stepping-stone for me because not even a year later, I had returned to the
country for my second-year May Term trip.
The Germany trip I participated in, CA 320: Advanced Broadcast Production, now
known as COM 320: Digital Production 1, was centered around creating multimedia videos
about the different cities and landmarks we were visiting. My previous visit to the country
with Christin’s family was the perfect introduction for me because I was able to guide and
describe certain areas to the group, as I was one of the few who had previously been to
the country. I had learned enough from my first trip to know what and where certain loca-
tions were and how to handle the German metro.
One of my favorite parts of the trip was when we were in Bonn, North Rhine-West-
phalia, Germany. It was during that part of the trip when we got to meet and work with
college students at Bonn Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences. The students we
worked with were studying film and visual production, an equivalent to part of the Journal-
ism and Communication major we have here at Wartburg. This experience was one of the
most rewarding leadership opportunities I have had. Here at Wartburg, our Journalism and
Communication department prides itself on the ability to gain hands-on experience right
away when we begin college. One of the opportunities our students have is working with
Page | 20

KnightVision and Cedar Valley Today to create live newscasts multiple times a week. In
Bonn, our main project with the students was to come up with original content and teach
them how to run a live newscast. Teaching and showing the students what to do came
with a few challenges. For one, some of the words and phrases we use to describe show
operations are different; we had to change our expressions to a way that was more famil-
iar to them. When it came time to produce the newscast, it was like watching a kid in a
candy store. The students were so excited that they were able to understand the technical
skills so quickly. This trip and class were rewarding for me because it gave me the
chance to immerse and familiarize myself in a culture for the second time, and it gave me
the opportunity to show and teach about one of my interests.
Through my experiences in Germany and with Christin’s family, my understanding of
diversity has improved immensely. I find it fascinating that a country that seems to be so
similar on the outside to the United States, can be so culturally different when you are
physically there. The different experiences I have been fortunate enough to have partici-
pated in have taught me that diversity is all around us. Whether we realize it or not, we
witness diversity every day. We see it on Wartburg campus through the different cultures
represented, I see it at home when I am walking down the street. Without diversity and the
understanding of what makes the concept unique, I would not be as good of a leader.
Having that knowledge and knowing how to adapt your leadership style for your peers is
essential for being successful. “Diversity is the one true thing we all have in common. Cel-
ebrate it every day” (Author Unknown).
References
Adding Diversity Awareness to Your Leadership Skill Set. (2008). Professional Safety,
53(8), 47-52.
Page | 21

Carter, J., Miller Center. (1976, October 26). Debate with President Gerald Ford. Lecture,
Williamsburg.
Page | 22

Ethics
Varying Viewpoints on Ethics
“Without ethics, man has no future. This is to say, mankind without them cannot be
itself. Ethics determine choices and actions and suggest difficult priorities” (John Berger,
2006).
Ethics can be a tricky concept to define because everyone has a slightly different
set of morals. When I reflect on what ethics means to me, I have a harder time determin-
ing an overall definition because I view ethics in two different lights. The general definition I
use is “the study of moral obligations, or of separating right from wrong” (Waldstein, 2014,
p. 36). This definition affects me in regards to my personal and professional life (school
activities in my field of study). I am a person who always strives to do the right thing. If I
do something I know I should not, I feel guilty, and the dialogue in my head does not stop
until I right my wrong. In another part of my life, the career side, my views on ethics are
constantly challenged. As a journalist and as a person who is working toward a future in
the public media and marketing industry, I need to err on the side of caution because
members of the media tend to hold ethics to a higher, more demanding standard than
general ethics. With any type of media I must be careful, especially when writing for The
Trumpet, Wartburg College’s student newspaper. When reporting or writing press releases,
I must remain unbiased because I am giving the readers information that could be new to
them. If I were to not try to be a neutral party, my writing and reporting would not be
credible. Having to consider multiple perspectives in this way makes me a better leader;
leaders must consider situations/choices from varied viewpoints - that informs their deci-
sion-making process. Because of the multiple hats I wear, adhering to a single code of
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ethics can be a challenge. But through my time in student media and in communications
classes, I have gained insight that informs my point of view.
During fall semester of my junior year at Wartburg, I took COM 340: Media Law and
Ethics. In the class we discussed everything media related, such as the differences be-
tween libel and slander, First Amendment rights, and privacy laws. We also discussed
journalistic integrity. In Stephen Carter’s book, Integrity he wrote:
“Integrity, as I use the term, requires three steps: (1) Discerning what is right and
what is wrong; (2) acting on what you have discerned even at personal cost; and (3) say-
ing openly that you are acting on your understanding of right and wrong” (Carter, 1996, p.
7).
When you apply those three steps into your thinking, it can help you examine if in-
tegrity is being used in any kind of situation.
Integrity and values play a large role in journalistic ethics because journalists are of-
ten reporting on touchy subjects that can be hard for an audience to understand or follow.
In media law we would talk about different case studies regarding if the author had a right
to publish. One case we talked about at length was the New York Times Co. vs. United
States (1971). This case had to do with the New York Times releasing the Pentagon Pa-
pers, classified documents discussing the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. The court
ruled in favor of The Times due to freedom of the press. Daniel Ellsberg, the person who
leaked the documents, was seen as a leader because he did what he believed was right
for the people of our country. This case was controversial from an ethics perspective be-
cause it was claimed this was the first time the government had tried to rein a news orga-
nization in. Efforts by government at various levels to censure the press can be found
throughout our history (Ehrlich, 2009). Situations like this can happen at the college level
as well.
Page | 24

I have been on The Trumpet newspaper staff as a reporter since May 2013 and an
editor since March 2014. During my time with the paper I have learned some valuable
lessons in journalistic ethics. Like journalists in the outside news world, college reporters
sometimes have to write about touchy subjects within the Wartburg bubble. Over the last
few years our newspaper has been told that we are not allowed to cover certain topics
because if people outside of Wartburg saw it, the story could have a negative effect on
the school. While looking to interview specific people, I have also been told that I must go
through the Marketing and Communication office. I have found this to be unfair because,
in my mind and in the minds of my peers, it goes against our First Amendment right: free-
dom of the press. Writing lightly on hard topics to appease the administration goes against
one of my core values: honesty. For me, I feel it would be a disservice to the readers if I
did not say exactly what happened. During my time as an editor, the paper has pushed
and reported on things we believe students have the right to know, regardless of how the
administration pushes us to write it. I believe in advocating for open and honest reporting.
Standing up for the freedom of the press is very important to me because people believe
the truth; this is just one way that I live and lead my personal ethics.
Another aspect of journalistic ethics I have faced at The Trumpet is the protection of
sources and the right to an individual’s privacy. In every story that gets published in the
paper there must be two credible sources. Without at least two sources, the story can ap-
pear biased and may not be factual. One problem that sometimes occurs is when you
know there is a person who would be a good source for the story but that person would
like to remain anonymous. Here, my personal and journalistic ethics can collide. I would
love to give a person anonymity who requests it, like Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein
gave to “deep-throat” (FBI insider giving information) during the Watergate Scandal (Orloff,
1976). Here at Wartburg, our paper is not allowed to give anonymity because of our size.
Page | 25

It can be difficult because some people who would be wonderful sources and interview
do not want people to know they are being quoted; they are not comfortable with their
personal life and opinions being within the public view.
Demonstrating ethical leadership can be challenging when you have both a per-
sonal and professional code to adhere to. I never want to compromise what I believe per-
sonally when it comes to work, and I never want to compromise my work beliefs when
things seem personal. It is about finding a balance. When looking at situations from both a
personal and professional ethics viewpoint and by considering multiple perspectives, it
makes me a better leader. It requires me to think about choices from multiple perspec-
tives.
References
Berger, J. (2006, August 20). The denial of true reflection. The Guardian. Retrieved from
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2006/aug/21/comment.second-
worldwar.
Carter, S. 1996. Integrity. New York: Harper Collins.
Ehrlich, J. (Director). (2009). The most dangerous man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the
Pentagon Papers [Motion picture]. First Run Features.
Orloff, K. (Director). (1976). All the president’s men [Motion picture]. Wildwood
Enterprises:.
Waldstein, F. (2014). Leadership, integrity, and ethical systems. Exploring Elements of
Leadership: a Primer. Unpublished manuscript, Institute for Leadership Education,
Wartburg College, Waverly, IA.
Page | 26

Course in Major
What I’ve Learned Through Public Relations – COM 355: Persuasion
“Communication is the real work of leadership” (Nitin Nohria, 1992).
What do you want to be when you grow up? This is the question that every adult
and school teacher asks children. Depending on the child, he or she might say some
bizarre and seemingly unattainable occupation, such as president of the United States, a
princess of a far-off land, or if you are like me, a dolphin/killer whale trainer at Sea World.
When you are older, you are asked again. The answers given this time seem to be more
reasonable; in high school I went from wanting to be an interior decorator to a writer. My
time in high school was when I really started thinking that communications and journalism
was the field in which I ultimately wanted to have a future. Because of this, Wartburg and
the journalism and communications department was the best place I could be for the fu-
ture that I wanted. Throughout my time here I have pushed myself through academics and
extracurricular activities. At the end of my sophomore year I decided to add a public rela-
tions (PR) concentration to my major. It was hands-down the best decision I have made
academically and personally throughout my college career. With my PR focus I have had
the opportunity to learn so much from my professors not only about different PR tech-
niques, but also various skills needed in leadership.
As a journalism and communication student there are many skills we learn that re-
late to leadership. One of the first things, and one of the most important, is how to have
effective and strong communication, specifically interpersonal communication. “Having ef-
fective communication is essential to professional success whether it is at the interperson-
al, inter-group, intra-group, organizational, or external level” (Myatt, 2012, p. 1). Without
Page | 27

strong communication, it is less likely that you are going to be successful. In his article,
“10 Communication Secrets of Great Leaders,” Myatt describes that when you form a
close relationship with those you are working with it is easier to have a more personal and
engaging conversation. Having this kind of conversation will be beneficial to both you and
the client as you will be on the same page. If you are distant with those you are working
with, you will not know what they are looking for until it is too late to do anything about it
(Myatt, 2012, p. 1). Nitin Nohria, author of Beyond the Hype: Rediscovering the Essence
of Management agrees. He writes that leaders must be able to communicate their mes-
sages in a way so that everyone, even if not involved in a project, can understand. You
must keep things simple, yet effective (Eccles & Nohria, 1992).
In order to complete my public relations focus, one of the classes I was required to
take was COM 355: Persuasion. For this class, as with my Integrated Marketing Communi-
cations class mentioned in my group work essay, pages 14-17, we were to form teams.
Unlike my other PR focus classes, however, each group does the same projects for the
exact same client. On the day the projects are due, one member from each group makes
a pitch to the client to show them why our pieces will better represent St. Paul’s Lutheran
School (the client) than the opposing groups’ pitches. This class is a perfect way to bring
experiential learning into the classroom; we are presenting our work to a client in a real-
life business setting. Not many other schools can offer an experience in that way. Because
of the nature of this class, effective communication within the group and with the client is
key. In my group, we are all working toward the same goal: create content and pitch the
best product to the client.
What I have found in my Persuasion group is that leading through example works
best. This semester is one of the more demanding of Public Relations majors because of
the amount of work and time that goes into the Persuasion class. Due to the intensity of
Page | 28

the course, having a good leader within the group is imperative. The group leader needs
to be able to communicate with the people in the group, the instructor, and the client.
Whoever is the leader of the group also needs to be able to motivate and energize the
group. At times, especially before pitch days, people can get a bit on edge because the
concept of having to face off against another group really starts to hit home. We never
know what the other group’s materials are going to look like. We know everyone is bring-
ing his or her A-game and we need to be on top of our work. If we do not put in our
best effort, the client will go in another direction. It is the group leader’s job to keep every
member of the group in good spirits. Good communication is important because it can
help move the group forward toward a positive outcome.
In Persuasion, once we have a pitch day, we do not find out who will represent St.
Paul’s until the next class period. The anticipation is one of the most challenging things;
you want to know the results immediately after you finish presenting. Once the class finds
out the winner, disappointment can ensue for the groups who were not chosen. It is the
job of the group leader to find out what we can do better for next time. Being able to
have an open mind and take criticism is a strong quality of a leader in any field, particu-
larly in public relations, where pleasing a client is a critical part of the job. They are not
one who tries to change the mind of the one who made the original decision; they are the
one who wants to learn how to be better (Myatt, 2012, p. 2).
In the field of public relations, and communications in general, having a strong
leader is key, especially since many projects you work on are group-oriented. Without a
strong leader, it can be harder to succeed. As I have learned in Persuasion, and through
other public relations classes, leaders need to be strong communicators and go-getters
because of all the different elements that can go into a project. Also, a strong leader in the
communications field is relationship oriented and open to feedback of any kind. They work
Page | 29

toward improving and being the best they can be. The do not trying to change a mind
that is already made up. Because of the leadership skills I have gained at Wartburg and
through my communications classes, I feel more confident going into my future career.
References
Eccles, R., & Nohria, N. (1992). Beyond the hype: Rediscovering the essence of
management. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
Myatt, M. (2012, April 4). 10 Communication Secrets of Great Leaders. Retrieved from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikemyatt/2012/04/04/10-communication-secrets-
of-great-leaders/3/
Page | 30

Course Outside Major
An Experience Like No Other – RE 350: Christian Ethics
“Leadership is lifting a person’s vision to high sights, the raising of a person’s per-
formance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal
limitations” (Peter Drucker, 1974).
Like many high school seniors, visiting and selecting which college I would attend
after graduation was one of the most exciting moments of my life. I genuinely loved visiting
many different college campuses and seeing the different options available to me. In order
to determine which type of school would best fit me, I visited both public and private
schools. When I was in the beginning stages of my college search I was immediately
drawn to private colleges because of their size, teacher-to-student ratio, and the different
amount of classes that were offered in a variety of departments. Aside from the size of the
school and the comfortable feelings I had when I was on campus, Wartburg was the best
choice for me because of the Journalism and Communication department and the student
media programs in which I would eventually participate. The other schools I had been in-
terested in were not going to provide me the same opportunities that Wartburg was at the
pace Wartburg offered. If I had gone to another school, there is a good chance that I
would not have been able to participate and become so actively involved in student media
until my upperclassman years. In addition to my major, one of the big reasons Wartburg
was the right choice for me was because of the variety of classes I have been able to
take outside of my main focus of study.
Until I began my college search, I didn’t know that many of the schools I was ap-
plying to were considered liberal arts. A liberal arts education can be defined as a pro-
Page | 31

gram that is interdisciplinary and covers topics within the arts, humanities, social sciences,
mathematics, and natural sciences. It is also a learning approach that provides students
with a broader knowledge of the wider world and will help the student become more di-
verse, informed, and ready for life after graduation (Haidar, 2014). As a part of our liberal
arts education, Wartburg’s leadership program is one of the most unique programs of-
fered. Our program is one of only 95 undergraduate institutions that offer it as a minor op-
tion. In the leadership introductory course LS 115: Exploring the Elements of Leadership,
we are asked if we believe leaders are born or if leaders are made over time. It is through
the classes I have taken outside of my major, as a part of my liberal arts education, that
have helped me to grow the most and come to the conclusion that leaders are made
over time through experience.
During my junior year of college I had the opportunity to take RE 350: Christian
Ethics. Going into the class I was a bit nervous because it was a heavily discussion-based
course. While I have never had a problem participating in class discussions, I was appre-
hensive because I knew that people would have different viewpoints than mine and I did
not want to feel as if I was not entitled to my own opinion. Growing up, my mom and dad
taught my sister and me to respect what everyone has to say, even if their views are on
the opposite end of the spectrum from our own. As a discussion-based class, we talked
about many different controversial topics, such as abortion, same-sex marriage, the death
penalty, poverty, and torture. Because of the heaviness of the conversations and the differ-
ing viewpoints involved in discussion, keeping an open mind and approaching the topics
from all sides was important. In order for everyone to keep an open mind regarding the
topics, my professor had us read articles on the topics from all sides in order to supply us
with every possible argument. At the end of every unit, we did a class debate; one half of
the class would argue in favor of one side, the other half argued the opposite viewpoint.
Page | 32

By supplying us with the various different resources and the opportunity to present our
cases, I was able to connect to the topics on a deeper level.
I look up to my Christian Ethics professor as a role model in leadership because of
the way she encouraged us to think about such controversial topics on a deeper level. It
took me a few weeks in the beginning of the semester to realize that my professor wanted
me to completely question my own beliefs. She said that this class was a great opportunity
for students to realize how solid or weak their beliefs actually are. We were told that often,
especially with controversial issues, people hold many of the same values and ideas that
their parents do; people may not internalize that they hold different opinions. While my
views did not drastically change from the beginning of the course to the end, my profes-
sor did make me question why I viewed subjects the way that I did. This class and my
professor taught me that in order to be a successful leader you must be willing to listen
and take other people’s opinions into consideration. If you do not listen to their thoughts,
but clearly express your own, you are not going to be able to have a strong relationship.
Leadership and respect is a two-way street; you have to work together in order for any
value to come of it.
If I had not attended Wartburg, I would not have had all the different opportunities
that a liberal arts education has provided me. More than likely I would not have had the
chance to take so many different classes outside of my major; I would not have been as
well-rounded a student. Attending a liberal arts institution has also opened more doors for
me to continue being a life-long learner. The classes I have taken outside of my major
have been some of the most beneficial in regards to growing my leadership skills. I have
learned more about people and the various ways they approach different issues. I have
deepened my understanding and respect in regards to accepting how people have opin-
ions that may differ from my own. I have learned that when you think deeper and question
Page | 33

your opinions regarding intense issues, as well as the opposite opinions other people
have, you will be able to work towards your common goal. Without expanding my knowl-
edge in the liberal arts, I would not be as prepared for life and the world after graduation.
References
Drucker, P. (1974). Management: Tasks, responsibilities, practices. New York: Harper &
Row.
Haidar, H. (2014, January 28). What is Liberal Arts Education? Retrieved from
http://topuniversities.com/blog/what-liberal-arts-education
Page | 34

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