Networking and Business Etiquette

"Networking is the process or practice of building up or maintaining informal relationships, especially with people whose friendship could bring advantages such as job or business opportunities."-  World English Dictionary

Although I am clearly aware of my purpose for networking, crafting my personal 30 second commercial has proven really difficult to do. I plan to remedy this by discussing with close friends who are either students or professionals on how to effectively gain this vital networking skill. Additionally, I plan to use the internet as a resource to eloquently and professionally create my personal pitch.

I just had my mission call to serve in the Illinois Chicago mission. Networking would be an invaluable tool in my role as a missionary. I believe my ability to connect with the members and investigators there would be a strong indicator of how successful I become on the mission field.

I am a religious person. As such the first step I intend taking to overcome my fears is to be worthy of the companionship of the Holy ghost and ask for strength from Heavenly Father. I would then follow this by studying how others have overcome these fears from books as well as from the real life experiences of the leaders I come in contact with. I would then strive to put what I've learnt to practice. I am confident this three step plan would enable me emerge as someone awesome at networking.

Ethical Leadership

MY PERSONAL CODE OF ETHICS

1. To be spiritually mature and receptive to the promptings of the Holy Ghost.
2. To gain as much knowledge and understanding about the meaning of life and success and thus be guided through my life's journey.
3. To make as much money as possible.
4. To gain wisdom.
5. To complete tasks before set deadlines.
6. To be a trustworthy person.
7. To gain mastery over my weaknesses.
8. To explore the wonders of the world through travel.

LEADING CHANGE

How I have implemented change or would implement change in my role as a TA.


Honestly, I have not had much exposure to methods for leading change. After the last lecture  however, I am convinced that if I'm to succeed in leading change, I need to incorporate the DR. GRAC model to my leadership role. DR. GRAC, which is an acronym for
DR.- desired results
G- guidelines
R- resources
A- accountability
C- consequences
is a structured approach to being an effective leader who channels change constructively.

Applying the DR. GRAC model to my role as a teaching assistant,  I intend reviewing the aims and objectives of necessary topics in signals and systems. This would help me know exactly where I'm headed with my students. The next thing to do is to discuss how the professor I'm working with would like events with regards to the course in question be directed. This would serve as a guideline for me. I have tonnes of resources to use to be effective in my role as a TA. These include textbooks, the internet, the course professor and the experience of other TAs. I intend to maximize the use of these resources. Apart from being accountable to the professor I work with, I believe the most important person I'm accountable to is myself. I plan to challenge myself to be the best I can possibly be in my role. I  believe the consequences of all this would be shared by my students and me. In general, as I assess student performance through grading, my efforts would also be evaluated by students through the evaluations they submit each semester. Consistently applying this model to my role is sure to make me a champion of change.

Public Speaking

1.       Where have you implemented public speaking within your role?

2.       What aspect of public speaking are you going to improve on?

3.       What did you like best or was surprised to learn in Diona’s presentation?

 My role as a TA requires that I introduce signals and systems labs each week to a class of approximately 24 students. I often review the theory behind the labs before we begin work in Matlab. Although initially it was nerve racking standing in front  of a class that large, taking the Student Leadership development course has enhanced my presentation skills. 

I need to improve on the use of professional visual aids in my presentations because most students I work with easily pick up the coding procedures in Matlab when the examples I use to illustrate theoretical concepts are clear and meaningful. Good visual aids could enhance this process.

I loved Diona's exuberance. Her enthusiasm filled the class with a vibrant positive energy that gave more power and meaning to her presentation. I guess we have the TAs and the professor to thank for their inspired selection of speakers for this class.

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT

My initial reaction to conflict is either to avoid the issue at hand or to stay and fight or argue my point out. These reactions are often accompanied with my heart racing, sometimes a knot in my stomach and perhaps some muscle contractions. I have learned from sad experience that this approach incapacitates my ability to effectively channel my energies to employ some tried and tested techniques for conflict resolution.

Over the years, I've come to understand the need to momentarily pause and assess assess the root of the conflict and ponder how best I can work with all parties involved to resolve the problem. I normally jump into one of the five modes of conflict resolution depending on the issue at hand. These modes are:

• Competition
• Collaboration
• Negotiation or compromize
• Avoidance
• Accommodating

A recent assessment revealed my tendency to employ 'Collaboration' than the other conflict resolution techniques. Since all these methods of conflict resolution require a person to have control over his or her thoughts and emotions, I often strive to :

• place myself in the shoes of those I have conflict with- trying to think what they may be thinking, feeling and the perceived fears they may be having. This helps me not to focus too much on myself in a way that obscures my ability to evaluate both sides of the issue clearly and coherently.
• accept the possibility that I might be wrong in my assessment of the issue and thus not hold too tenaciously to my point of view and seek the best possible solution to the problem at hand. This often frees me from  any rigid attachments to my viewpoint and thus enables me to have control of my emotions.
•  leave and take a walk to clear my head and free myself from negative emotions when necessary.
• offer a prayer to calm my nerves and also gain assistance from the heavens to solve the problem in question.

HUMAN MOTIVATION

I played the role of Nelson Mandela last Wednesday. After interacting with Winston Churchill (Cameron) for some time, I was truly impressed with his level of honesty and openness. He did not hide the fact that there were certain issues he was ignorant of. Neither was he shy or hesitant for his lack of knowledge but showed a desire to improve himself when necessary. He was extremely confident and firm in his belief of what Great Britain stood for- a country that upheld the values of democracy,peace and true civilization. That form of honesty and complete loyalty to the people he served meant a great deal to me.

Nelson Mandela often motivated his followers through example. He strove to live the ideals of tolerance, justice, equality and unity. He encouraged his followers to seek redress through peaceful means and till the day he died, vehemently denounced violence. I deeply respect him for this.

I think the main element of motivation I'll emphasize in my role is the element of vision and reward. If the students I TA realize the need to keep working hard to perfect their computational skills using MATLAB, enjoy working in the labs and also see the opportunities and satisfaction that such knowledge provides, I'm positive they'll work better and contribute more to the progress of Signals and Systems. 

DECISION MAKING

The six Cs of decision making were applied in my role as follows:

• Construct- I had a clear idea of why I chose to be a TA for the signals and systems class( ECEn 380 class). I knew that signals and systems was key to my research in scheduling algorithms for 4G networks. 
• Compile- I was fully aware at the time of my decision that I had the requisite MATLAB skills to work in the labs. I also reviewed signals and systems the first semester I arrived in the department. I was therefore familiar with the theory of that class. Putting all these down on paper helped me make my decision without  hesitation.
• Collect- I gathered the main tools I needed to succeed as a TA ( signals and systems textbook and lab book) and often discussed with the professor ways I could be more effective in my role. Armed with these tools, I only needed to be committed to succeed.
• Compare- I often interacted with the graduate students who have worked as ECEn 380 TAs . These TAs have  taught me quite a number of approaches to being effective in my role. 
• Consider what might go wrong- From the moment I chose to be work as TA, I was aware of the possibility of not communicating effectively with my students as I come from a totally different country with an entirely different accent and vocabulary. I was also keenly aware that lack of preparation for each lab session could prove problematic for me. I have striven to mitigate these two challenges as much as possible by learning some American vocabulary and preparing ahead of each lab.
• Commit to a decision- I have made a decision to be an ECEn 380 TA without any regrets. Its been fun for me.

The RACE model does indeed help activities or events run faster since its a structured approach to problem solving. RACE, which stands for 'research and training','action','carry out','evaluation and report' ensures that attention is paid to the smallest detail in the planning and execution of events. It truly is an effective model that helps to break activities into clear modules that can be independently analyzed and implemented.