senior Project

Here is a link to my final senior project plan.

Description of senior project:  In my integrative senior project, I will explore the concept of leadership in the working world. As my major (so far) has been heavily focused on the management side, I hope to dedicate my project to the latter half of my major, leadership. I will do this through conducting 45 minute interviews with business leaders across different industries. Before the interview, I will send each interviewee an agenda so they can be fully prepared and a short questionnaire to collect basic information. I will make sure that each interviewee is aware of how their responses will be used and ask for consent when if/when quoting them. After I have complete the interviews, I will take the information I have received and begin the analysis process. I will look for common traits amongst all of the answers and begin to build my portfolio on my website of my findings.

A special thank you to my major advisor, Dr. Anna Erickson, for her continuous support & guidance throughout my project and research.

The Lessons of Experience

This book served as a guiding tool throughout my senior project. It covers topics such as:

  • Early career experience 
  • Learning from hardships
  • Career setbacks
  • Business failures and mistakes
  • Dealing with personal trauma
  • Work life balance
  • Training throughout your career

 

Interview Questions

  1. EXPERIENCE: What experiences have contributed to your success as a leader? Difficult challenges or good experiences? Any obstacles you have had to overcome that have made you the leader you are today?
  2. QUALITIES: What qualities does an exceptional leader possess? What are some of your greatest strengths as a leader and your greatest weaknesses? What intentional efforts have you made to further your leadership skills? How do you identify strong leaders on your own team or those who work for you?
  3. FAILURES & SUCCESSES: Can you point to your single greatest failure in your leadership efforts and your single greatest success? What lessons did you take from it? 
  4. OPPORTUNITY: What are some examples of your earliest leadership opportunities and how did that shape your career? Where did you first get identified as a leader (what age/what role)? How have your leadership skills developed over time?
  5. ADVICE: Looking back on your career, what specific points of advice can you provide regarding leadership development skills? 
  6. CLOSING QUESTION: After the interview, as I am conducting analysis, can I follow up with you later about specific questions that haven’t occurred to me yet?

results & key findings

EXPERIENCE:

  • Mentorship is so important
    • Finding people that can coach you
  • Willingness to try 
  • Keep learning & educating yourself
  • Leading a team of people older/more experienced can be difficult 
  • Leadership experiences at a young age
  • Obstacles to overcome:
    • Lack of self-confidence
    • Fear of failure
  • Risk taking is essential 

QUALITIES:

  • Empathy, self-awareness
  • Letting others speak first, actively listening
  • Entrepreneurial mindset & constantly innovating
  • Be a lifelong learner
  • Strong communication skills
  • The ability to effectively receive feedback
  • Don’t micromanage
  • Emotional intelligence is key
  • Empower your people

FAILURES & SUCCESSES:

  • Don’t chase goals that no longer fit your life
  • Never take a job for the title or money
  • Don’t put limitations on yourself
  • “Fail fast, fail forward”
  • Recognize and learn from what you did wrong, use that to grow 
  • Get comfortable with being uncomfortable
  • Failures:
    • Unintentionally hurting someone’s feelings
    • Having a scarcity mindset
  • Successes:
    • Watching your team succeed

OPPORTUNITY:

  • Only take a job if you love the work & the culture
  • Find a mentor
  • Take risks, even if you fail
  • Once you have established credibility, don’t be afraid to say yes to new opportunities
  • Hire people that are different from you
  • Share your knowledge
  • Continue your education

ADVICE:

  • Take time to build authentic relationships
  • Stay curious & keep learning
  • Put yourself out there & don’t be afraid to fail
  • Learn what you like and what you don’t like 
  • How to give & receive constructive feedback 
  • Knowing how to write effectively is crucial
  • Show gratitude, thank your team
  • Be honest & ask questions 
  • Be directive and clear 
  • Keep learning

LEARNING OUTCOMES

  • Gained a holistic lens of business & leadership
  • Cultivated interview skills
  • Time management
  • My coursework & St. Olaf prepared me well for this project 
  • I feel well equipped for starting my first job out of college
  • Thankful for a liberal arts education