Sharing Personal Stories That Inspire Educational Pursuits

Module 7: Discussion Forum

Initial Post (200 words)
Tell a story: Inspire a vision. Leaders of organizations often tell stories from their personal journey that inspire employees to adopt the vision the leader has for the future of the organization. During your life journey you may have many fond memories of experiences that helped you develop as an individual. Tell a specific story from your personal journey that inspired you to pursue your degree. This can be as simple as a family activity, a school organization, an individual, a favorite hobby, etc. Relating the concepts studied this week, describe the lessons you learned from this story.
Be sure to post an initial, substantive response by Thursday at 11:59 p.m. MT and respond to 2 or more peers with substantive responses by Sunday at 11:59 p.m. MT. A substantive initial post answers the question presented completely and/or asks a thoughtful question pertaining to the topic. Respond to the original post of at least 2 of your peers. Substantive peer responses ask a thoughtful question pertaining to the topic and/or answers a question (in detail) posted by another student or the instructor.

Respond to the students below in 100 words each:
Lynette P.
Hi Everyone,
I already have a bachelor’s degree so I never saw myself as someone that would go back to school let alone get a second one. I have never been someone that has planned out a career and in most cases, I never saw myself having one. When looking toward my future I figured I would always have a job, I would do it well but never try moving up the corporate ladder or look to take positions that would put me in leadership. For many years, I have been a secretary or the person working at the front desk of a business. These were good jobs but usually didn’t come with many growth opportunities. Over a year ago I had to move and change jobs. I was lucky enough to get a job as a secretary for a government agency. After working there for a year I started having conversations with my supervisor about wanting to make a change and find a position that I could grow in and maybe actually move up in and dare I say, make a career out of. She was so supportive and began talking to others in the agency about me and my desire to move to a new position. Very quickly I was approached by the budget department and was given an opportunity to work in a position for a few months to try it out. Before the three months were up I was offered the job permanently and I accepted. There has been a lot to learn in my new position so I started to look at going for a master’s degree in accounting but there was a long list of prerequisites that I would have to take first. This was very disappointing but I had to let go of expectations and decide what exactly I wanted to get out of going back to school and what would be the most valuable to me considering the cost and time commitment it would take. I decided that getting another bachelor’s degree would give me the skills and knowledge I would need to grow in my current position and that eventually, it could lead to me being in a leadership position.
This was obviously a situation that had a major impact on my life but what I really took away from it was how important it is to communicate, live and work in a way that people see as ethical and be willing to step out and be yourself. For an entire year, I worked as a secretary for my supervisor and she saw how hard I worked, my morals, how well I worked with others, and my willingness to challenge myself to learn new things. All of this made it easy for us to have conversations concerning creating a path for me to grow within the agency. She was willing to speak up for me and used her name and reputation to get me in front of others that could help me reach my goals. I try not to limit how I see myself anymore. I try to see myself as a leader, a learner, and someone that has a lot to offer my department and the agency.
Lynette P.

Heather Y.
My decision to pursue my degree can be summed up by Lyle’s (2023) story about Jane and John, in particular when she said “what got her here, won’t get her there” (Lyle, 2023, 3:22) as she continued to discuss the changing business environment and how the organization’s of tomorrow will continue to operate much differently than they had in the past. This sentiment is ultimately what made me commit to going back to school – to reset my drive, and behaviors, and to become a better leader that will be able to lead tomorrow’s organization. I had always intended to complete my Bachelor’s after first earning an Associates degree. I even started taking night courses (before on-line schools became popular) and got about 75% there; however after I changed careers I started traveling a lot for work and long story short, “life” just happened. In my current field I was always able to work my way up the ranks through hard work, dedication and skill. I learned by reading and through social behaviors modeled by managers; and in doing so this is precisely what contributed to my success. Nobody once questioned my formal education, including me. That changed after my most recent promotion and it dawned on me that if was going to be seen as a leader in title, I needed to take steps to feel and act more like an executive leader. I no longer felt like it was enough to learn on the job as I always had done. In the past few years, organizations and the people in them have changed dramatically. I have worked hard to adapt, however most of my superiors are like Jane in Lyle’s story, in that they are more old-fashioned in their approaches. When I was first promoted I was going to make a real difference, be a different kind of leader; but as I got busier, I found myself taking on more habits of my superiors – due to my old way of learned social behavior. While not all of their traits are bad, it is not what is going to help me be the kind of leader that I set out to be, and it’s not going to help me in the future in other organizations. By enrolling at CSUG and making the commitment to complete my degree I believe I will be a better position to analyze and put to use modern theories that will help me be the kind of leader that organizations need now and in the future, be more confident in my role and decision making, and hopefully be an inspiration to those that I work with.
Reference:
Lyle, E. (2019, January 23).How to break bad management habits before they reach the next generation. Video]. TED.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iu9u5yzUlb0hLinks to an external site.