Program Learning Outcome #1: Demonstrate Leadership Skills in their Field
One of the reasons I enrolled in the BTAS Applied Administration program was to develop leadership skills that I could apply in the field of digital media production so that I can earn a role as project manager. A couple classes from the program stand out in my mind for gifting me insights into how I might demonstrate effective leadership practices.
Interpersonal Connections in the Workplace
One key skill required of individuals in leadership roles was referred to by the Interpersonal Connections in the Workplace course material as style-flexing. Every individual has their own biases and preferences pertaining to communication styles. Styles were charted an intersecting continuum with low dominance to high dominance on one axis and low sociability to high sociability on the other. The four main categories of styles were described as emotive, directive, reflective, and supportive. Style flexing requires awareness of one’s own style and recognition of indications of another person’s style in order to adjust your style to resonate with that person more successfully. This is essential for managers given the diversity of styles that will be represented within your team. Knowing how to style flex also means better positioning oneself as a trustworthy leader capable of motivating diverse teams.
Persuasive Applications
Being able to properly read someone, or, more simply, to aptly assess their needs and objectives, was a focus of the Persuasive Applications course because it is a skill necessary for salespeople to exhibit in order to develop successful business partnerships. However, these sales practices can be applied in the work of individuals serving in team leadership roles. For example, team leads often have to pitch their ideas well and convince upper management that the team is enacting the most ideal strategy for meeting organizational goals. Furthermore, I found the section about responding to objections to be the most interesting and potentially useful for managers. Some characteristics of great management include an ability to advocate for and motivate your team, abilities that can be strengthened by practicing some of the recommendations for responding to objections: being an active listener, validating concerns, asking follow-up questions, referring to past outcomes that resulted from similar problems, and highlighting key features that mitigate risks.
For this course, our team project presented us with an opportunity to evaluate persuasive techniques in the context of business partnerships. Project objectives involved selecting a real company to focus on and developing a strategic plan for partnership with another business from the perspective of the company we selected. Deliverables were a topic paper summarizing key details of our plan, a final paper that describes the conditions of the proposed partnership more extensively, and a slide presentation of our final results that functioned much like a pitch for an internal audience.
My strength in generating ideas was valuable to the team when it was time to create a business partnership scenario. Because I love music and entertainment, I pitched the idea of selecting a music venue. The team agreed that this idea was viable and interesting, and my team refined the idea to specific businesses that would potentially establish a vendor-venue relationship. We selected Rhinegeist Brewery as the company we would be representing and the Bogart’s live music venue as the company with which we are wishing to establish a partnership.