The LPI program is something that interests my in the coursework described for this class. While we learn how to do many things in college, there are very few applications in which we assess how we currently do a task or our current skillset in any field. Being able to address how strong my leadership skills are now and where there are fields I can build onto is a great ability to both determine how I should utilize my leadership skills in the future, and what I need to personally work on that I may find I am strong in where others may disagree. I am excited for this course and what I will take from it!

The 'Management vs. Leadership Analysis' was interesting to me. Reading how an article written in 1969 about leadership and the implied roles of managers still held true and relevant 6 decades later. I found it especially interesting when I had compared that article to one written in 2023 about a similar concept. The standard in which we expect leaders to uphold has been virtually stagnant when the world and the work environment has changed so much. We now have mass-access to the internet, remote and hybrid work environments, and now have a larger-than-ever focus on the mental health and work-life balance of employees, yet these standards remain high!

This week was truly enlightening and served as a great foundation for the discussions and learnings that will come through the rest of the semester.

As for the analysis assignment for this week, I enjoyed it very much. Over the course of my bachelor's degree, I have written countless papers analyzing a specific company and all aspects of their management, including their vision and mission statements. However, this analysis was different, in a good way! In this differing assignment, I was forced to compare different vision and mission statements from different companies side-by-side, allowing for the analysis of how the goals of a company are not the only contributor to these statements, but their corporate voice and who they wish to work for shine through. By this, I am referring to the audience that the company is appealing to when writing these statements. This differed from company to company, as some were writing these statements with their customers and their experience was the true audience, while others were writing to other producers or people who are interested in the field, simply stating that they wish to be the best or most innovated producers in their field.

I enjoyed this week's assignments because while I was familiar with the topics discussed, the specific assignments shined a different light than I have been previously exposed to when speaking about these topics.

I also would like to touch on what I did not expect out of this course, but was pleasantly surprised by. I had assumed this course would be generically oriented, speaking about what leaders should do or how to address different situations at face value. The LPI assessment, and more specifically the threaded discussion proved me very wrong in this thought. The threaded discussions allowed me to write out situations and reflect on how I would personally approach a situation while being able to compare my thought process with others. I found this immensely insightful and very helpful throughout this course. From a student's perspective, this was ultimately one of the greatest aspects of this course, as it forced me to put myself into the shoes of a leader and think about exactly how I would take on a situation, while being able to reflect on it and receive feedback from others who may have been in this scenario themselves. I was always given a safe-space to share my vulnerabilities and lacking skills in a leadership setting, including my fears and setbacks I may face. By reading others and understanding that I am not the only person who feels this way, I am able to confidently face these problems or hurtles later in my career. I truly enjoyed this class and find I will take the teachings with me far into my academic and professional careers!