7 Chapter 7

Greetings!

Welcome aboard to Change Leadership! Please keep in mind that the title of this course is deceiving, it really should be called Intro to Leadership. Be prepared to learn a variety of leadership styles and how to collaborate and work with your peers.

First of all, let me start by introducing myself. My name is Erin, and I live in Rochester. I’ve attended all of my graduate courses from the WSU-Rochester campus or online and this semester was my second semester of graduate school. The first semester I took nine credits and the second (this one) I took 10. In addition to going to school full-time, I work as a Graduate Assistant with the Adult and Continuing Education department, and I’m a self-employed grant writer for two nonprofit organizations. To top it off, my partner and I are in the process of many home renovation projects. I’m just glad I don’t have any kids at this point; I don’t think I could handle much more! What I am trying to say is that you will get through this class regardless of how busy you are.

Alright, now that you know a bit about my life, on to the main event. Here are the three main tips I have for surviving this class: do the work and do it well, get to know your classmates, and take care of yourself! Ahh… there is my wisdom. Pretty simple, huh? I know you are probably saying to yourself, “Erin, that’s easy. Give me the real tricks on surviving!” Well, I guess I’ll elaborate a bit further.

Do the work and do it well. True, this could be applied to any class. What I want to tell you specifically is that the weekly work of reading the chapters, taking quizzes, and doing a case study isn’t that hard. Read. Think. Do. I found  going through the different leadership styles quite interesting. I spent time pondering when someone may have used a particular style or when I used one in current or past position. There are a few papers throughout the course (obviously, because writing papers constantly is how you know you’re in graduate school). Most of these papers need to be academically written and follow APA format. My recommendation, buy the APA Manual because you will need it for this class and the rest of your time in this graduate program. There are some collaborative projects. For these, I want to stress that you, as one person, could hold the whole class back if you don’t do your part – so, just do it! (Thanks, Nike). They are collaborative for a multitude of reasons, one being that you form relationships with your classmates leading me to my second tip.

Get to know your classmates. I’m assuming that you may have heard the saying, “It’s not what you know; it’s who you know.” While I could launch into a debate about this saying, I’m going to spare you, but I do think it has some merit. Build your network which includes establishing relationships with your classmates. This will be helpful in those collaborative assignments that I mentioned above. The relationships will help you get through the semester; you’ll have someone to contact when you need clarification on an assignment or if you miss a class (I recommend not missing any classes, so much can happen in one class period). Learn to maintain these relationships and check in with your new connections regularly. You never know when you will cross paths with a classmate in the future, and that relationship may give you a leg up on any competition. You could also take this one step further – get to know your professor. Dr. Holmes may seem intimidating, but I guarantee that if you pay her a visit or give her a call, she will appreciate it. Remember, she is new to WSU and Minnesota as well! Finally, relationships are also great for your health. See my next tip.

Take care of yourself. It is easy to get caught up in your responsibilities of the daily grind and your long list of assignments due. If you want to not only survive the semester but do it well, take care of you. Do the basics – exercise, eat right, spend time with friends and family, call your grandma, get into nature and away from a computer/TV/phone/tablet screen. I failed at this during this semester. I let my work and school life take over, and completing each task consumed me. I did not take care of me which ultimate affected relationships, my mental and physical health, and most likely affected the quality of my work. Think about what makes you happy and do that regularly throughout the semester.

Let’s recap – do the work and do it well, build relationships with your classmates, and take care of you! They sound simple but staying on top of them will be challenging. I know this doesn’t give you the nitty gritty details that you might have been looking for but it is the best advice I can give you. If you follow these three suggestions, the rest will come, and you will get through it.

Enjoy the course!