Blog 22: Mentorship

Literal

My mentorship hours have been updated and properly detailed, and can be found on the sidebar of my blog or by visiting the following link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14sU5AIA8UI23SbV8Ku4E95j5MSeMrKp00dYnnbcYhmg/edit?usp=drive_web#gid=0http://

My mentor was Shawn Strand, and he works at I-Poly High School.

Interpretive

While I don’t necessarily plan on pursuing a career in the field of journalism, the most important thing I gained from my senior project was an opportunity to gauge my leadership skills. I had never before been in charge of such a large group of people, and for such a major task, so it was interesting to learn how I would handle certain situations. This was truly a lesson in delegation, and learning to let things go. While I had my direct contributions to the yearbook (as far as design and photos), I couldn’t be “in the trenches” the entire time. I had to learn when to hand off tasks to other staff members, and to trust that they’ll be able to succeed without micromanagement. When the year began, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to keep this up, because I have a tendency to just go in and do the work myself in project groups. However, I didn’t always have the time or the means of doing so, which helped me learn to let go. Not all work will be perfect. Not all content will be in on time. A good leader is aware of these facts, and works with them. In looking back, I feel confident in my performance.

Applied

My essential question deals with the best method of leading a staff, while keeping morale high and ensuring that the yearbook is a success. My mentorship mostly supported my first and second answers. I have to lead by example, which is a portion of my second answer. As a leader, I am the emotional rock for my team. If I’m visibly stressed, it’ll demoralize the staff. I let my stress slip through a few times, and it in turn made the staff even more stressed for the deadline, and the class environment became tense each time. As far as organization goes, this year was the most organized the yearbook staff has been in years. We used Google Docs, texting/calling, and eDesign to their fullest extent, allowing everyone to communicate well and be kept in the loop. Both Strand and Mimi have commented on how much more smoothly this year has run because of our organization.

From the start, I saw how implementing a shared vision improved the staff morale. I noticed how much the staffers improved in their work ethic, because they felt a personal dedication to the ideas of the book (since they contributed to its concept). Each staffer had input on decisions we made as far as coverage, and design. This made them more motivated and put out better quality work, which I believe has resulted in an excellent book. However, I won’t definitely know whether or not this book was a success until they’re distributed on the 29th.