Team Work/Leadership

Even if you consider yourself a "number person," you will always need to collaborate with colleagues in order to achieve your organization's goals.

 

The M.P.A. program at SFSU places a strong emphasis on teamwork and communication. Through these exercises, I have developed not only a greater degree of trust in my peers, but also more faith in my own abilities as a leader.

 

Not surprisingly, many team projects have accompanying presentations. When appropriate, humor can go a long way toward conveying your message, because it can assist in keeping your audience engaged.

Tired of the same old Powerpoint presentations? Try this one on for size.

 

What makes someone a leader? Leadership consists of more than possessing formal authority and multiple skill sets. Being in the driver's seat sometimes means having to make very tough choices. The trust that one develops from team-building exercises can minimize the tendency to micromanage, or avoid delegating assignments for lack of faith in the ability of others.

 

Three classmates and I were given the opportunity to prepare a lesson on adaptive leadership. Our focus was on President Lyndon Johnson's handling of social unrest in Selma, Alabama in 1965.

 

Another classmate and I profiled the leadership of Tony Blair, whose popularity in the U.K. suffered immensely as a result of his position on the war in Iraq.