As I continue to work on my goal to create more opportunities for members of the Spokane community to play sports in a Covid-19 friendly environment I can't help but notice how applicable my coursework is to my Organizational Leadership  journey. My eagerness to take initiative in a leadership role within my workplace stemmed from ORGL 600 that taught me to be vulnerable, to turn feedback into growth, and to stay positive along the way. Covid had brought many ups and downs for everyone but staying true to myself and my values helped me step up as a leader in the workplace. 

 

In the planning and implementing stage of my project my team and I had to take a step back and look at the bigger picture like I did in ORGL 516 course. We had to ask ourselves how can we make this work to benefit the majority and run as seamless as possible with Covid-19 regulations? We also got to incorporate our creativity and fun by bouncing off ideas and even playing games with our team to see if we could make leagues fun and still abide by WA State regulations. With members of my team and the public having varying opinions about Covid-19 my ethics were tested as we looked to do what was right for the majority. I was challenged to listen more to the concerns and standpoint of others around me just as I learned in ORGL 610. By listening upfront and being open with my teammates we were able to combat conflict within our group to create a plan. 

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When starting our leagues we had to implement the rules to all of the players and refs. Since we planned everything out in our committee it was easier to implement rules. On the fields it has been hard to monitor mask wearing as some players don't want to wear them. Using conflict negotiation skills and psychology practices from ORGL 523 and ORGL 520 we were able to listen intently to players' concerns, address them, and come to a mutual level of agreement and respect. I now am more able to see the different gaps missing from past leagues in my organization. Prior to this project we didn't have close communication so things were missed and people were misinformed. This project has helped show me the bigger picture of how my organization is run and internally intertwined across departments, as I learned to seek out in ORGL 615 through concept mapping. It shows us what we can do in the future to strengthen our communication for better outcomes and higher player satisfaction in our leagues. 

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Throughout this program my views on leadership have been challenged. I have grown not only in my relationship with my inner self but also with those around me. Leading is a lifelong journey- I hope to continue applying concepts from these courses to my every day life and expanding my knowledge even further.