Greg Remesch

ENCE 424
Pearl Diving Assignment 3
3/30/2019
 Significant Quote

“Leadership is influence, nothing more and nothing less.” John C. Maxwell

This quote illustrates the relationship between those who lead and those who follow. A
strong leader possesses qualities like strength, clarity, and decisiveness – lest his followers not
respect him/her. In my opinion, great leaders have the defining characteristic that they are a doer,
and don’t simply delegate tasks. One example that embodies this is in the leadership within a
military hierarchy. Those I read about that are revered and remembered, typically are described
through the actions they completed – not for those they asked of others. In this sense, the most
successful fighting forces are comprised of men and women who are willing to complete any
task asked of them regardless of danger, because they understand their leader would
unquestionably do the same. A leader is able to influence those around him. He/she can inspire,
demonstrate, and problem-solve.
My first recollection of meeting this type of leader is from my restaurant experience at
the age of 18. I had met a chef that was very enthusiastic, had great experience, and had an
amazing work ethic. I wanted to get to know him and learn from his style more, so I began
volunteering my time in his restaurant. After a few months, I was offered a position cooking for
him. As the owner of the restaurant and head chef, he was who I looked to for direction as my
boss. One of his qualities that I respected the most was how he never acted above any task or job
within the whole restaurant. Anything that had to be done or was needed by the staff he would
step up to do, no matter if it was his direct responsibility or not. I was inspired to work hard for
him because of this. I tried to match how hard he would work and wanted to be open and have a
can-do attitude to anything that came up. In hindsight, his work ethic is what made him so
influential, and such a great leader.
For me personally as a leader, there are traits I want to exude going forward
because I know that demonstrating these abilities in your tasks is the best way to inspire those
whom you lead, and to motivate them to work harder for you.

Reading Concepts
The first concept from the reading from the reading is from the book The Essentials of
Business Etiquette: How to Greet, Eat, and Tweet Your Way to Success by Barbara Pachter. This
week’s reading discussed etiquette. It included directions for attending events such as dinners,
employee parties, and how to conduct yourself on social media. A lot of the aspects I learned
from reading over these seem rather obvious. But nonetheless it was good to be refreshed and to
bring attention to the details regarding professional situations. These activities, though they be
common with family or friends (parties, dinners), when participating with colleagues and
superiors there are different nuances of etiquette that can make an impact on your career – for
better or for worse. For example, an employee party can obviously get out of hand, most adults
can relate to a time in which alcohol had drastically shifted the events of a social party. A party
serving alcohol can unfortunately lead to the demise of some, but it can also be a great
opportunity if approached and treated the correct way. The reading did a fantastic job at detailing
the actions that will set your experience up to be successful.
Another reading concept that resonated with me was from my audio book of Five Stars:
The Communication Secrets to Get from Good to Great by Carmine Gallo. Chapter 7 illuminated
a point that I will apply to my communication style going forward to enhance influence. Through
a series of presentation examples, the book described the effectiveness of simplicity when
crafting a pitch or narrative. In many cases, the audience may be distracted or tired, resulting in
diminished attention to what you are proposing. By simplifying your points, you can increase the
impact of your statements and raise the likelihood that it will be remembered and retained. Long
cumbersome points and statements can lead your listeners astray, you and your argument could
fall on deaf ears or be lost to the wind.
The last concept I will apply from the book is described in Chapter 14 of Five Stars: The
Communication Secrets to Get from Good to Great. When you incorporate analogies and
metaphors into your communication like Warren Buffet or Dr. Martin Luther King, your
statements can become more powerful. In my mind, I have regarded these literary techniques as
methods to enhance or diversify the artistic value of a speech or writing. But the book illustrates
that these devices can lead to your points becoming more palatable and standing out among other
words or phrases to become the best-remembered points of your entire speech or statement. I will
incorporate this concept more into all communication opportunities that I have, to find what
works for me, is easily relatable, and to eventually use them in my own rhetoric to strengthen my
persuasion. Overall, I thought this book did a great job at underscoring the value of influential
communication in the professional world, with good examples using various mediums (prepared
speech, PowerPoint presentations, conferences) to make an impact on those around you.

In-Class Debate
In the in-class debate activity, I was on the big-dig team. I was not the leader, my
responsibility was to record the group’s time, and to keep time during the presentation. At least
two gentlemen in our group were recommended to lead per basis of class participation, and that
is how our leader was ultimately selected.
If I was picked to be team leader, I would have led my team to victory by assigning and
holding accountability to all positions, and further monitoring it progress to ensure the
responsibilities assigned are being completed. The best thing that I can do for my team, as a
leader, would be to ensure that all responsibilities are committed to and fulfilled. If tasks are left
unattended to, I would take those upon myself to complete those so that the team as a whole
would be better off.
I am happy with how my team performed. I thought all the members played a significant
role in the preparation of our presenters, and the sharing of information that was essential in our
making a strong case as to why the Big Dig project was not a success. In all our teammates, there
was a sense of urgency, to complete tasks and not waste time, to address the collective questions
arising, and in crafting a narrative in which to present. I did not see any team members shy away
from or deliberately ignore an activity.

DISC Personality Assessment

In the DISC online quiz, my results depicted four characteristics in a pie chart. The
greatest characteristic (43%) was dominance. Influence and compliance were essentially equal
shares (28% and 22% respectively), and a small portion (7%) was steadiness. I will say that these
results were surprising. All four of these traits I believe are key in a great leader, and it is
somewhat upsetting that influence and steadiness are so low. Dominance as a dominant trait I
think doesn’t necessarily have a positive connotation when it comes to leadership.
I will have to disagree with the results because I believe they describe me as an
unyielding, uncompromising leader, which I do not believe is accurate. In my leadership style, I
strive to listen to all others. As we have learned from the reading, empathy can be described as
the fundamental quality in communication. How can you appear to be empathetic if you are
dominating the conversation and dictating the team? You can’t. I think a good leader let’s all the
viable ideas come out onto the table for all to see. This is what is described in class as
contributing to the shared pool of meaning. In team exercises, I believe this is how you get all of
the members onto the same page, to work with the best plan of action that everyone can get
behind since all avenues are weighed, and a democratic decision can be made with the collective
information.
Self-awareness can absolutely make you a more impactful and stronger leader. The
ancient strategist Sun Tzu said: “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear
the result of a hundred battles.” Although from a text regarding ancient warfare, his point rings
true for leadership as well. In my opening quote I described the relationship between military
organization and leadership. This is proven today with how wildly popular his book The Art of
War, is in the eastern business world. Sun Tzu was correct in acknowledging that half of the
danger in war is to know the enemy and their capabilities, but equally as important is to know the
strength and weakness of your own abilities. This connects to leadership and awareness of your
traits that can potentially hinder your success. This online quiz in the least sense was effective in
bringing self-awareness to my own leadership style, and to rethink and evaluate the different
leadership characteristics that could affect how others receive me. An expert leader will be able
to modify and shape his leadership style to best conduct his team towards a goal. Think of a
NASA Flight engineer team versus a Little League baseball coach. Both would require
alternative leadership styles, with one style not necessarily being effective in leading the
opposing task.
 References

1. A Pocket Guide to Public Speaking 5th ed. by Dan O’Hair, Hannah Rubenstein, and Rob
Stewart (2016)
2. Five Stars: The Communication Secrets to Get from Good to Great by Carmine Gallo
(2018)
3. Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High, Second Edition by
Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler (2011)
4. Networking for College Students and Graduates: Nonstop Business Networking that Will
Change Your Lifeby Michael L. Faulkner and Andrea Nierenberg (2017)
5. The Essentials of Business Etiquette: How to Greet, Eat, and Tweet Your Way to
Successby Barbara Pachter (2013)