HDF 190:

FIRST YEAR LEADERS INSPIRED TO EXCELLENCE

LEADERSHIP PORTFOLIO

Sam Levy
SPRING 2018

[email protected]
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Strengths
Opening Statement SLIDE #4
Section 1: Self Leadership SLIDE #5-6
Section 2: Leadership Theories SLIDE #7-8
Section 3: Inclusive Leadership SLIDE #9-10
Section 4: Critical Thinking SLIDE #11-12
Section 5: Interpersonal/Organizational Leadership SLIDE #12-14
 Signature Strengths
Achiever
Restorative
Responsibility
Competition
Includer

Values in Action Strengths

Honesty
Perseverance
Zest
Hope
Leadership

M
 OPENING STATEMENT
I have learned an immense amount of information about myself while
taking HDF 190. After learning about my strengths and values, I
realized how much I implement them into my everyday life. In addition,
we learned about many leadership theories and models in class.
Outside of class, I utilized these leadership styles in all aspects of my
life. For example, with teams I have been on, in organizations
promoting positive changes, and when communicating with friends,
family and people I work with. HDF190 has been a learning experience
that has had an affect on my life, academically and socially. In the past
year, I have seen and felt myself grow as an individual and as an asset
to the community. These outcomes highlight just a fraction of my
growth in the past semester.
 SECTION 1
SELF LEADERSHIP
Student will express a personal values statement (Sources = VIA,
values clarification exercises, etc.)

Target Class: HDF 190

Additional Experiences: VIA Character Assessment

 In my HDF 190 class, I took a VIA Assessment of my personal values. By answering questions and
learning about my personal values, I have seen the incorporation of them in my everyday life. My
top 5 values are honesty, perseverance, zest, hope, and leadership. Honesty is my top value and at
first, I wasn’t sure how this fit with me but reading the description, I learned this value was about
being genuine, which I think is one of the most important characteristics one can have. As a value,
honesty is all about speaking the truth by presenting oneself in a genuine way. Acting sincere, living
without pretense, and taking responsibility for one’s feelings and actions all play a part in the value
of honesty. Perseverance is my next value and it helps me push through day to day obstacles, no
matter the struggle. This value helps me finish what I start and find the pleasure in completing these
tasks. Having zest as one of my values is one of my favorite qualities. I enjoy making the most out
of every day, approaching every aspect of life with excitement and energy. Living with zest is like
living life as an adventure. I always put my all into what I do and look for the best, which falls into
my next value of hope; having faith in the future. The value of hope means expecting the best and
working to achieve it, while believing that a good future is something that can be brought. Finally,
my last value is leadership which can be described as encouraging others to get things done, while
simultaneously maintaining good relations within the group. A good leader will organize group
activities and see that they happen.
 SECTION 2
Leadership Theory and Models

Student will describe personal application of the above theory

(Greenleaf)

Target Class: HDF 190

Additional Experiences: Internships and Future Career

Robert K. Greenleaf, who coined the term Servant Leadership, explains how this revolution of leadership begins with the natural
desire within oneself to help others and serve the better good. His theory continues to explain how once an individual feels this
motive, they then make conscious choices in their aspiration to lead. With servant leadership, as you help yourself, you help others.
For example, strengthening your individual commitment in an organization, helps you advocate more for the overall cause. By living
your life to serve others, you can empower people various ways each day. You can even do this by small things like smiling at
someone else or holding the door open for the next person. As a communications major, hoping to work for a professional sports
team one day, I can see how the ten characteristics of servant leadership will be beneficial. Personally, I can relate to the awareness
characteristic which is all about general and self-awareness. Greenleaf observes awareness as, “...a disturber and an awakener.”
This is someone who knows what is going on at all times and knowing how to handle it best. I can use one of my top strengths,
restorative, and one of my top values, honesty, along with the characteristic of awareness in my career. Working on a
communications team for a professional sports organization, will need me to be aware of the media needs and what is best for the
sports team, as well as solving problems and figuring out the best way to handle conversations. Combining my strength of restorative
with the characteristic awareness, will allow me to fix problems in the most effective way. Being aware allows me to view situations
from a more integrated position, with the ability to offer my best solution. My value of honesty pushes me to say and do what I truly
mean. Awareness skills will help me remain truthful and genuine with myself, as well as with others I am working with to be present,
helpful, and honest in the best way. By using my strengths, values, and characteristics of the Servant Leadership Model, I can
become a stronger leader. One who is a servant first, then a leader. With my natural desire to serve others I can use this theory even
before I begin my career. I do little things each day to help others around me. In addition, I am also working as a URI 101 Mentor
next year. By doing this, I hope to serve the new freshmen. I will help students adjust and adapt to their new surroundings on a
college campus. This program allows me to inform and advise new students about the academic and social challenges they may face
as first year college students, as well as involvement opportunities on campus. Through this experience, I will become a more
effective communicator and cohesive leader at URI, especially if I use the ten characteristics noted in the Servant Leadership Model.
 SECTION 3
Inclusive Leadership / Diversity and its application to
leadership

Student will create a personal code of inclusive leadership

Target Class: HDF 190

Additional Experiences: Day of Discovery Retreat, dining halls, sports

teams, group assignments in classes
My HDF 190 FLITE class held a Day of Discovery Retreat and one of the most memorable aspects of the day was when
we studied inclusive leadership. Being an includer is one of my strengths, and I didn’t realize until I knew it was one of my
strengths how much it shows in my personality. I am a very accepting person who strays away from judgements. Social
status, race, sex, or any other dividing factor, does not have an effect on my perception of others, and because of this I
feel the importance to include everyone. No one should be ignored. The strength of inclusion is described as wanting to
include people and make them feel a part of the group, so that as many people as possible can benefit from the support. I
would never want someone to feel as though they are an outsider looking in on others who seem to mesh so well together.
Instead, I want others to feel the warmth of the group. It only takes one leader to take a step and reach out to include
others. I strive to be this leader. If I am in the dining halls and I see a friend eating alone, I always ask them if they want
company and invite them to sit with me. If I am involved in a group activity, I always make sure to listen to others and
include all ideas or perspectives to any decisions being made. In high school, I was captain of three sports teams and it
was my personal goal to make sure everyone on these teams felt like they had a reason and purpose to be on the team.
At the retreat, all small groups made their own contract for inclusive leadership. I agree with every aspect of my group’s
code: Don’t make assumptions, everyone is their own person, active listening, always use your voice, be aware of the
audience, and say what you mean. All of these factors help foster a welcoming community and by incorporating them into
my personal life, I have been able to be a more inclusive leader. From the retreat, I remember a quote made by one of the
other smaller groups and it has really stayed with me since I heard it. It was, “Don’t just invite them to the party, invite them
to dance.” By taking this extra step to not only include others on the surface, but to truly welcome them and make a
comfortable place for them to be who they are, I can be an even more inclusive leader. Taking this extra step will foster
tighter relationships and put into play the personal code of inclusive leadership I learned about and aspire to fulfill.
 SECTION 4
Critical Thinking

Student will show knowledge of at least five decision making methods

Target Class: Real life

Additional Experiences: Any decisions

There are many helpful ways to make decisions. It may be very difficult to make decisions while
working in groups. Working with others makes it hard to choose and implement an idea or choose
that makes everyone involved happy. However, there are various decision-making methods that
can help with this. One for example is voting. By having participants raise their hands, you can take
the majority opinion. A good way to resist conformity among the participants is to do this voting
anonymously. Another decision-making option to do is to rank the options in comparison to each
other. This strategy gives insight into where and to what degree the group preference is. The next
decision-making method is scoring. This is when people making the decision create several
elements to score each option on. Evaluating options on multiple characteristics can help compare
and eliminate options. Then, there is a decision-making process called multiple votes and voting
rounds. Voters will be given the option to cast more than one vote. Then, all the votes will be
counted up and the highest scoring option move on to the next round, where the next level of voting
is done. Finally, the last method of decision making is called iterative convergence. In this option,
group members make suggestions and are given anonymous feedback from other group members.
In this method, ideas can be improved and made better in order to provide the best option.
Source: http://meetingsift.com/5-useful-methods-for-group-decision-making/
 SECTION 5
Interpersonal and Organizational Concepts and Skills
Student will describe personal examples of group development in use
(Tuckman/Tuckman & Jensen, Bennis or others).

Target Class: HDF 190

Additional Experiences: Group Projects

I enjoy doing group work because I love sharing ideas and hearing what others have to say. This comes in handy because in HDF
190, we do a lot of work in smaller groups. In a group, I first like to listen to what other have to say. I think about my own thoughts
and then decide to share with others. When we have to make group decisions I think it is best to do so after listening to everyone’s
input and then choosing the best option for our group. I find it important to stay on task and get the work done on time, but I would
hate to be in a group with people who don’t get to know each other at all. I think good communication before starting the project will
help build chemistry and foster a welcoming community to share ideas. In the beginning, I think groups should get to know each other
to figure out the most successful way to work together. I like to begin this interaction by asking casual questions to each other to start
conversation. Then, having the strengths of achiever and responsibility, and the value of leadership, I would suggest creating a
schedule for our group to get work done to break up the workload in a timely fashion. I like group work to not bring out lots of stress. I
think by first getting to know each other and eventually communicating well to plan our project out creates the best way to be
successful in group work. On one of the first few days of HDF 190, we were organized into small groups. We were instructed that we
would be a part of these small groups throughout the rest of the year to work on group projects. At first, no one in our group knew
each other. This was the Forming stage where we weren’t sure what to do. Then, as we got to know each other and assignments
were instructed, our individual roles within our group began to come out. This is the “Storming” stage. I did not feel a push for power,
but it was evident who the achievers of the group were. My small group members share a variety of top strengths and I really think
this helps balance us. As we began to work on our project assigned, the “Norming” stage occurred. This is when we were on a
successful path and felt appreciative and trust for our other group members. I knew if one of them had a responsibility for our group,
they would be sure to get it done. We all wanted the best for our group. Right now, my small group is in the fourth stage of group
development. This is called “Performing,” and is when we are working directly on our project and are motivated to get it done. We
have not completed the project yet, so stage five has not occurred yet, but I imagine at that time we will look back at our final project
and reflect on it. Knowing my group members, we will work hard through all the stages to acquire a final project that we are all proud
of. At this time, we will also recognize the individual group members for the work they did to contribute to the assignment.