A520.9.5.RB_StevensEric

• Are you comfortable developing sources of personal influence to gain power?

I feel comfortable using personal influence to gain power is okay in some instances. I think this gives a degree of automatic respect of knowledge and respect in some situations. I do however feel that it is very important not to over use this influence in the decision making process of people’s future without gaining the advice or suggestions of the people as a whole. The employees or subordinates should have some say in the decision making process and a balance in respecting their suggestions should be taken into consideration but this should not be the deciding factor. What this is saying if the subordinates see that all they have to do is speak out against your decision and the environment of the leader/manager can be influenced can be undermined by not respecting the leaders decision.

• Do you embody the characteristics of likeable people depicted in Table 5.4 (p. 290)?

I would say that I do employ some of these characteristics of the likeable person. I have always been the type of leader to take into account the feelings of the subordinates but I have been careful not to allow this to totally rule my decision making. I feel that I like to have the advice of my subordinates and show them that they do have a say in some of the decisions that I have made. I am very careful not to allow this to dictate my response to certain situations when the decision should be made alone. I have always been open to explaining the reason I have made the decision and not come back with the simple response “because I said so”. I have learned this can damage the open lines of communication that I have worked on to have with my subordinates.

• Are you able to use influence both up and down your organization considering the information in Table 5.5 (p. 293)

I have been able to use these examples in my decision making by first gaining the respect of my subordinates by showing them that I am reliable and competent in my knowledge of the work asked of the employees. I have shown my subordinates that I have an approachable attitude and if there are issues that arise then I can help these employees and show them that I believe they can approach me if a problem is found. I feel that being dependable and not going back on my word to my subordinates is very important and gives the leader legitimacy to the decision made by me.

MSLD520.7.3.RB_StevensEric

I think that it is very important in your career to have both a coach and a mentor in your professional career. The reason for having a coach first and then a mentor second is very important to me. The coach status at first is important because this is the stage where the new employee needs someone to help with their confidence. Once this confidence is instilled in the employee the new employee can then focus on the skills necessary to become a productive employee.

I can say that I have been in my career for over 10 years now but I still remember my first day on the job. When I entered my profession I thought I had a basic understanding on how to do my job. My job required me to attend months of training to even get the chance to practice what I have learned.

I entered the profession and joined a field training program known as FTO in the law enforcement. during this phase of my career I quickly learned that I had more than one coach, I had several coaches during this phase showing me the basics of the profession. These coaches were able to help me focus on the basics and I learned to take a little from each of these coaches. I found something that one coach did and I took this and put it in what I like to call my tool shed so I can use it later. I did this from each of the other coaches and used this at a later time.

I then learned that once I achieved a basic understanding of the job I found a senior officer or employee who took the time to walk me through problems that I have may not have faced before and they showed me how to handle the issue. The mentor helped me become confident in the decisions that I have made on calls. The mentor helped develop me into the confident and productive employee that I am today. I can credit my mentor with helping me become a better supervisor I am today by showing me patience that is needed to be a successful supervisor. I can say that I have learned ti slow my thinking down and analyze all different options in a situation that I am facing, so in closing having a coach and mentor in your profession is very important to a successful career.