I
think it is very important to identify how I work with others and understand
the various ways others people work with one another. Acknowledging other
learning styles is critical because not everyone thinks the same way and it is important
to identify the learning styles of the people I am working with so that we can
communicate more easily and be more efficient with the task at hand. Supervisors
or other people in leadership roles should also be aware of their employees
learning styles so they can work accordingly.
After
taking the learning styles quiz from week 11 lecture notes, the test confirmed
that I am a visual learner. This doesn’t surprise me because I’ve always
thought of myself as a visual learner. However, being an engineer I would think
a little part of me is a kinesthetic learner, depending on the subject. I like
touching the material I am working with because I think this is how I learn
most effectively. For example, when I am assembling a piece of equipment, I am
definitely a visual learner because I like to read the instructions. However,
in my leisure time I like playing sports and doing DIY projects. I think this
kinesthetic side of me is the creative side that does not want to follow
word-for-word instructions.
At
25 years old, I prefer reading instructions when I am assembling a piece of
equipment, however I did not have this kind of attention span at a young age. The
same applied for me while in grade school. I was interested in the topics we
were learning about, but reading a few chapters in a text book was not the way
I wanted to learn about them. This is why in addition to my coursework, my Mom
took my brother and I to museums and other educational attractions that related
to our current studies. This allowed my brother and me a more “hands on”
experience than just flipping each page in a reading assignment. We were so
much more interested and enthusiastic about touching old dinosaur bones than
just reading about them. It made everything seem real and not just a virtual
subject. I think this experience allowed me to understand at a young age that
there are various learning styles. These days, I am quick to understand what types
of learners my co-workers are so that we can bring out the best work in each other.
I
become a leader through leading by example. I am very diligent, enthusiastic,
easy to approach, and like to help everyone on a team. In one of my first
leadership roles as the captain of my NCAA ice hockey team, I found it rather
easy to motivate others and designate work (which included designating work to me
as well). I never put myself on a pedestal and promised the team from the start
that they are not working for me, I am working with them. This allowed two-way
communication for completing tasks and also to resolve any issues. In addition
to the business side of things, I also made certain “unattractive” tasks fun.
For example, most of our games were in upstate New York in January, which
required long bus trips with varying weather every weekend. To try to make the ride a little more enjoyable,
I made “themed” bus trips that included an 80’s trip where everyone could wear
the best (and worst) 80’s clothes and we could vote on the 80’s movies to bring
on the trip. Another way I tried to make bus trips more enjoyable was deciding
where we could stop along the way. As silly as this sounds, why stop at Denny’s
when there is a Dave&Buster’s at the next exit? Or let’s see if we can
break up the ride by using another school’s rink and getting on the ice for an hour.
When we played SUNY-Cortland in Corning, NY, l organized a time for our team to
check out the Corning Museum of Glass. Why? Because we we’re stuck there for 2
days in between games, so why not? All of these ideas took a lot of
coordination and work with our team’s budget, but with fundraising during the
off-season, this was possible, and made for a little more fun on the long bus
trips. I think this really enhanced the team spirit because it wasn’t just “working
hard”, we had fun and this really helped with the team bonding as well. This
allowed me to gain a lot of respect from my teammates because they could see
all of the effort I was putting in to make this happen.
One
of the difficulties that I had in this position was the ability for me to
listen to a situation fully without interrupting. Sometimes I found myself so
eager to help and would blurt out suggestions before the person was finished
explaining a situation. If I had just listened a little longer without interrupting,
I would find out why that person could not use my suggestion. Fortunately, I
found this out because I had an anonymous box that players could put
comments/suggestions in throughout this season. This allowed me to recognize this
weakness and improve on it. I welcome constructive criticism because it will
only help me to become in the end. At the same time, it is important to note
that I cannot please everyone. This is a lesson that unfortunately, many of us
have to learn the hard way.
At
a young age I was able to understand that there are various learning styles. In
order to communicate with others, whether it was on the ice or at work, I had
to recognize my teammates’ learning style and adjust the way I was
communicating to work with them and become an effective leader.
