MBTI My Personality on Paper

"When we put people in boxes where they can only be one or another, we miss the opportunity to see people as diverse as they are"

A lot of times, when I take personality tests I stumble upon the same question. So often I think that we do have innate preferences, but  also think that our preferences our situational and we make different decisions and therefore change everyday. People change all the time with age, experience and sometimes traumatic events, so many times I think that personality tests just test in the moment but it's hard to have one piece of paper "put you in a box." One of the main reasons, I find issue with personality tests is that you are put into that box but see some things on the other side of the spectrum that you relate to, I personally think that it feels like well I'm this thing, so I obviously can't like that. In reality you can, the box is just putting up walls.

I think sometimes also that society puts certain stereotypes on personality traits. Take for example how people view the introversion vs. the extroversion personality traits. Many times extroverts are viewed as the vivacious, popular social butterflies who everyone seems to know. In contrast, introverts can be thought of as those quiet wall-flowers always seemingly deep in thought. Those introverts get a bad rep especially in places like highschool! Especially, with the onslaught of social media, extroverts seem to be the people you want to be. Doing everything and knowing everyone, the figurative "cool kids." In reality we now understand that this is not the case, introversion and extroversion just depend on where you get your energy from. Extroverts also have the reputation of being more successful in the workplace because of their people skills but I am hear to tell you that is not the case! My wonderful dad is a successful executive and loves to meet new people, but it one of the biggest introverts I know. And I mean have you seen Lori... she loves to talk! Don't put baby in a corner or people in a box ;)

My results for the MBTI test were ESTJ, I was on the left of the spectrum on all accounts! Whoo Whoo! I really liked what my strengths were from the test, but I even more so I saw that the weaknesses were spot on which I felt was a good check. "Only notice and comment on the flaws, rather than the positive attributes of projects or people," was the main one where I thought oooh yeah I can see that. I would in no way say I'm a negative person but I like perfection and have a tendency to pick at something when it's not. This might be an add on New Year's resolution to complement more, because as a leader you have to say not only what doesn't work, but what does.

Charisma

Up to this point in my life, I have held a few leadership positions, most of them selected by either my peers or authority figures. I believe to get to that point of being given responsibility one has to display certain qualities and that would enable his/ her peers or high-ups to want to give that reward to them. That is why I believe that the Charismatic Leadership Theory has best described me up to this point because I think to be elected to student government in high school for example I had to write a speech and convince my peers that I would be the best man for the job. man times, in high school it's not based off what you can do, but how you present yourself and what you say you can do. Not that I am trying to state that I gave false promises, but it helps to have people skills and a certain aura I believe to put confidence in your peers as yourself. Charisma is a wonderful thing to have because it will light an audience up when say the rally theme or football game didn't go in the way they had hoped it would.
My greatest leadership challenge in high school was leading a three-night, four-day Kairos retreat with another student. We were in charge of the whole retreat, and in this position even had some authority over the teachers that attended (a great but weird experience). To get the students to listen to what I had to say was more than just giving directions, I needed to convince them that they wanted to do what I was saying no matter how hungry or tired they were. This means I had to tell jokes and call on friends and make the next project seem so appetizing they couldn't possibly go back to their cabin. I really enjoyed being a leader at the retreat, it was a special experience that I won't ever forget, but having been in this class for only two weeks I see that there may have been ways to make my position even more effective.
Now, having said that I believe charisma has most described my leadership form in the past, I would like to modify my leadership skills to be more like The Leadership Challenge. As a slight refresher, the Leadership Challenge has five parts: Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to Act, and Encourage the Heart.
I think that because this form is so through on how to both perform as a leader through Model the Way, and also be charismatic and Enable Others to Act at the same time that it is a great model for leading others. As a leader I would like to be able to have people share my enthusiasm for the project/cause but I know that that can be hard to control. This leadership model I believe would be more effective and hands-on because of how it challenges one to interact with the a team or members of a movement more than charisma, which one can think of as just a big man spiting words behind a podium.


And for Part Two!

 

This is one of my favorite photos and a highly controversial one at that. It is a Chinese man making a non-agressive protest against the Chinese government in Tiananmen Square. The man was later removed by government offcials but his actions and this photo inspired the world. A tribute to that would be that it is mostly censored in China were communism still plays a large role and the government doesn't want it's citizens to see it.



Instead of a photo that is a symbol of the Social Change Model, I think this one represents the Social Change Model in action. The man is becoming a figure-head for the rebellion against the Chinese government in a non-violent way that expresses his individual values. This is how the Social Change Mode should be implemented, in such a way that we change the wrongs through rights and do not stoop to violence.

Elevator Speech

What would you say in just one elevator ride?
Hi! My name is Christine Peters, and I grew up in Central California near the city of Fresno. I say it that way because I didn't acutally grow up in town, but on a vineyard. My family's business is agriculture and so when I was younger I rode horses and played in the mud with my little brother in the mud from the irrigation behind my house. It was a great childhood!
I think my rural lifestyle was contradicted with my parents love of traveling, and I was fortunate enough to go with them to Europe and South America. They have definitely passed this love down to me and one of my goals at Santa Clara is to study abroad my Junior year, possibly in Seville (yay, tapas!). I also love to be active and outdoors, which includes sports like wake boarding, snowboarding, hiking, backpacking, basically I will be up for any sort of adventure.
A few of my general likes are that I love ALL food! All of it. I like happy, vibrant people that live out loud and want to have a good conversation! I also really enjoy reading when I get the time, and on that note I have to insert that I can take anyone on Harry Potter facts. Music wise, I am definitely not as knowledgeable, I like anything from Kenny Chesney to Passion Pit to Macklemore.

I am so happy to be a Santa Clara Bronco! I am actually 3rd generation and also almost didn't pick the school for that reason because my family has always talked about it. However, I am incredibly happy that I did! It's beautiful and the people (like yourselves) are incredibly intelligent and motivated. And the staff is amazing! Especially, I must say, in the Business school (I am a Business major). Whoa, talk about teaching through their expirences, they are inspirational. Also, hoping to grab a Spanish minor to add to my Biz major.
I'm really excited to be in Emerging Leaders. It is a great feeling to be surrounded by people who elected to take a class to learn how to be more active in the communtiy. I want to have a presence on campus and am hoping to score an Ambassadors position at some point to share my love of SC to perspective students!
Ding! This is your floor! See ya on Wednesday Broncos