I believe that I already have a good start on being a whole leader but there will always be
ways to advance and improve. I am already learning new things from this course that I
never knew. I am very good at leading with my heart to work with others to understand,
support, and help develop them. I am a people person which is why I am good at dealing
with the public. It is why I have devoted my entire life to retail and customer service. I am
good at running a business, office, and am very organized. I am at my best under pressure
and on deadlines. I love having goals and schedules but I am not as good without them or
when things go off schedule, which is something I need to work on. I am also good at
simple accounting, but when it comes to complete business accounting I need help. I do
not like accounting and have no interest in doing my own, so that will be an area where I
seek assistance. Rapid change is not a problem, as I have dealt with it in every business I
have worked for or owned. You have to be able to change with the needs of the business
and the world, people change and so do their needs. You have to be able to connect with
them, understand them, and figure out what they need even when they don’t know. (I do
every day in the jewelry business.)
My mental model is basically that I do not want to control people, I only want to control
situations through helping and teaching others. I don’t want them to be afraid to make
mistakes but to learn from them and move on. I assume that everyone is trustable and will
continue to trust someone unless they do something to break that trust. I am a very
open-minded person and try not to make many assumptions, I prefer fact and evidence. I
will practice keeping my assumptions temporary, expect change, and question any
assumptions that have become long-held, if any occur. Being sure to self-check my mental
model often to be sure that it is still valid and does not become obsolete will be a very
important habit for me to gain.
I am an independent thinker and will continue to be so. I feel that independent thinking is
an important quality to have as a leader. Having the ability to question assumptions and
