Jacob SL2

• Chapter 4: When is the last time you participated in pairing rather than bringing issues back to the whole group?  What conditions and decisions led you to do it?

The most recent time I participated in pairing was actually at my job.  One lifeguard who used to work there would always show up late to shifts and, when she was there, would do the bare minimum she could.   Whenever there were extra guards on shift and she was out in the chair we would complain about how she never did anything.  No one ever talked to her about this and I'm still not sure she even realized there was a problem. 

• Chapter 4: Four communication styles are aggressive, passive, passive-aggressive, and assertive.  What is the ideal form that we should use?  What have we primarily used in the past?

The ideal style of communication is assertive since it gets to the point without causing any discomfort or harm to the person on the receiving end.  We have primarily used the passive communication style in the past since it is a lot easier to just let things slide and not step on anyone's toes rather than deal with the problems when someone is angered or offended.

• Chapter 5: This chapter talks a lot about "empathetic listening".  Explain in your own words what the means and why it is so important.

According to Dictionary.com Empathy means "the psychological identification with or vicarious experiencing of the feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of another.  Put Simply to empathize is to try to understand what someone else is feeling; therefore empathetic listening is listening where you are actively trying to understand what they are seeing and where they are coming from based on their point of view.  This is extremely important because it is impossible to truly understand why someone is doing or saying something if you have no idea where they are coming form.

• Chapter 7: What is the difference between character and personality?  Why is it relevant to leadership?

Someones character is the way they deal with things automatically.  It is the part of them that doesn't always show when things are going easy, but when a challenge arises it becomes quite clear.  Personality on the other hand is just how people behave towards other on an everyday basis.  Personality can be influenced by ones character, but people can pretend to have any type of personality.  This is relevant to leadership since hard situations often lead to quick and difficult choices and one's character is what determines the choices one makes in those situations.

• Chapter 7: Elizabeth said "My older friends are like they were 30 years ago, only more so".  As a high school student, what implications does this have for you?

As a high school student who is probably only approaching the 1/4 point on my lifespan (based on the national average being around 80) the overall meaning is that what I do now will have a resounding affect on my future.  The choices that I or other students make now will become habits and will eventually develop our character and strength rather good or bad.

• Summary

I've learned about the different styles of communication, how leadership is influenced by character, the difference between character and personality, the definition of love(the verb), and a bunch of other things useful to being a servant leader.