03/25/09 Class

How effective are peer and leadership reviews? Can they truly change the trajectory of an organization if necessary? What does a leader and her constituents have to do in order to make sure the right changes are implemented?

I was left with all of these questions after class today, and that makes me extremely nervous for the last two weeks of CSR 309. Each group met today in class, and the group leaders passed out two exercises to obtain feedback on our group's progress thus far in the semester. Although our leader listened to everyone's feedback and took notes, is it too late in the semester to effectively make changes? I feel that with only two weeks left in this class, the only people who will benefit will be students who take this class in future semesters rather than us. I have learned so much in this class about leadership, yet I feel that our group did not successfully demonstrate all of the principles we learned.

I have actually tried a number of leadership strategies I have learned in this class with a student organization I am an officer in, and the strategies have worked brilliantly. So why can't we make them work in our group within CSR 309? I am curious to see how the next two weeks develop our group and if we can all pull together in a way that Dr. Feinberg would be proud to recognize. If we don't, if we just stay in a place of mediocrity, then we have failed. Failed ourselves, our class, Dr. Feinberg, and Purdue. And I think we are capable of being extraordinary.