HDF 190:

FIRST YEAR LEADERS INSPIRED TO EXCELLENCE

LEADERSHIP PORTFOLIO

Meaghan Fournier
SPRING 2018

mfournier17@my.uri.edu
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Strengths SLIDE 3
Opening Statement SLIDE 4
Section 1: Self Leadership SLIDE 5
Section 2: Leadership Theories SLIDE 6
Section 3: Inclusive Leadership SLIDE 7
Section 4: Critical Thinking SLIDE 8
Section 5: Interpersonal/Organizational Leadership SLIDE 9
 Signature Strengths
Discipline
Harmony
Restorative
Achiever
Responsibility

Values in Action Strengths

Prudence
Honesty
Fairness
Kindness
Judgement
 OPENING STATEMENT
I’m Meaghan Fournier, a first year student at the University of Rhode Island. I am
currently majoring in Pharmaceutical Sciences with a minor in Leadership Studies. After
graduating I plan to work within a lab so that I can research and possibly advance
medicine that can benefit others. After working a few years, I hope to come back to
school to gain even more knowledge and receive my Doctorate of Pharmacy so I can then
progress more within my field of study. During HDF190, I have learned about how my
strengths and values play into the kind of leader I am today. I hope to take this knowledge
and apply it to my future endeavors.
I am also a part of many organizations on campus including Rotaract, Student Alumni
Association, Love Your Melon Campus Crew, and the Club Women’s Rugby team. Each
organization have taught me the benefits of working in groups. Whether that be through
collaborating, compromising, or simplify having each others backs’.
 SECTION 1: Self Leadership
17- Student will describe StrengthsQuest Signature Themes, shadow side of Strengths and/or
weaknesses, and examples of application (Source = Gallup)

In HDF190 we took a strengths finder test and we received our top 5 strengths. My top 5 strengths are discipline,
harmony, restorative, achiever, and responsibility. I find I use my top strength, discipline, on a daily basis, whether
that be in school, work, or on the field. For example I like a set schedule and guidelines which I usually never stray
away from. My second strength, harmony, comes into play usually in group settings. For example if a group is
having a hard time agreeing I normally can come up with a solution that will make everyone happy and feel
included. My third strength, restorative, allows for me to be able to analyze all sides of a problem and to gather all
necessary information before making an informed decision. This helps me to be a better problem solver whether
that be in a group setting or one on one setting. My fourth strength, achiever, allows for me to stay motivated to
reach my goal even when situations become harder to handle. And my last strength, responsibility, is always being
used. I’m constantly holding myself accountable for any situation and am a reliable person. With strengths also
come weaknesses. I find the biggest weakness I have is not being confident in myself. For example, I may know the
solution to a problem, whether that be in class or socially, but I over think and lose confidence in my answer before
I am able to share my opinion.
 SECTION 2: Leadership Theory and Models
27- Student will show knowledge of the “Servant Leadership” theory of leadership by Greenleaf
In HDF190 we learned about the Servant Leadership model and how being a servant to others comes first. This model has 10
characteristics that fall into two categories which are servant and leader. The characteristics that fall under servant are listening, empathy,
and healing. The characteristics that fall under leader are awareness, persuasion, conceptualization and foresight. The characteristics that
fall under both categories are stewardship, commitment to the growth of people, and building community. Listening is the act of paying
attention to the said and unsaid of those around them. Empathy is the act of being able to place yourself in someone’s shoes and
understand how they feel and why. Healing is the act of being able to help yourself and others when suffering emotionally. Awareness is
the act of of being able to understand all points of view of a situation. Persuasion is the act of making decisions within an organization
and convincing others rather than forcing your beliefs onto another person. Conceptualization is the act of thinking beyond each day and
to have a broader scope of thinking. Foresight is closely related to conceptualization but is the act of identifying likely outcomes of
situations. Stewardship is the act of openness to others because you are trusting someone else with something. Commitment to the
growth of people is the act of wanting those around them to grow to the best of their ability and helping them in any way to do so. And
lastly, building community is the act of creating a sense of belonging within an organization or group of people. At the end of the activity
it was clear that each community was given different amounts of money and materials. We realized that the first community had a better
advantage because they were given more materials and money to start with so they could buy more infrastructures and didn’t have much
of an issue with the police. The second community still got a decent amount of money and materials and had some trouble with the
police but was still able to create a decent community. And the last community got little to no money and materials and the police kept
sending their people to jail so no work was able to get done in order to create the community. After debriefing as a whole class we came
to the conclusion that this related to real world situations in the sense that we did not get to pick what community we were born into and
that upper class citizens normally don't see the issue that go on with lower class citizens. This raised awareness to what servant
leadership is all about and how each characteristic is tied into these types of situations.
 SECTION 3: Inclusive Leadership / Diversity and its application to leadership
91- Student will demonstrate knowledge of the ally Action Continuum by Griffin & Harro

After doing research on this theory I learned that its goal is going from supporting oppression to confronting
oppression. Oppression is the act of using ones authority in a cruel and demeaning way. There are 8 steps to
reaching the goal of confronting oppression. These 8 steps include actively participating, denying, recognizing with
no action, recognizing with action, educating self, educating others, supporting, and preventing, The first step,
actively participating is the act of putting people down and discriminating against targeted group members. Denying
is the act of not believing that oppression exists. Recognizing with no action is the act of being aware of oppressive
actions but not doing anything to stop the behavior of yourself or others. Recognizing with action is the act of being
aware of oppression and taking action to stop those around you from continuing with these acts. Educating self is
the act of learning more about target groups and making yourself aware of the pain you may be causing others.
Educating others is the act of taking your newly gained knowledge and sharing it with those around you willing to
listen. Supporting is the act of speaking out against oppression and forming allies with target groups. And lastly,
preventing is the act of working to change individual policies that discriminate against target groups.
 SECTION 4: Critical Thinking
102- Student will show knowledge of at least five decision making methods
Decision making is the act of picking options that would best benefit you or a group of people at that moment.
According to Decision Innovation, some decision making methods include multiple criteria decision analysis, paired
comparison analysis, pros and cons, multi-voting, and cost/benefit analysis. Multiple criteria decision analysis
evaluates options against criteria you may have set for a successful outcome. This method is used mainly used with
business decisions. Paired comparison analysis is when options are compared against one another in order to
establish importance. Pros and cons is an older method which uses a list made by yourself listing the pros and cons
about a certain situation. Normally seeing the pros and cons side by side, it is easier to weigh out the decision.
Multi-voting is used during group decisions so that the outcome is chosen fairly. This technique is used to eliminate
lower priority options. And lastly, cost/benefit analysis is closely related to a pros and cons list but this technique
comes into play when money is involved in the decision. Personally, I have always struggled when it comes to
making decisions. I plan to use a few of these methods in the future to hopefully lessen my indecisiveness.
 SECTION 5: Interpersonal and Organizational Concepts and Skills
132- Student will show knowledge of the stages of group development (Tuckman/Tuckman &
Jensen, Bennis or others)

In HDF190 we learned about Tuckman’s stages of group development. We learned that in every new group, 5 stages
of development are gone through. Throughout the stages of development, a group will start not really knowing
where they stand with one another and end up becoming a well rounded team. The stages include forming,
storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. The forming stage is where the group is new to one another. They
don’t trust each other, there is most likely no history between individuals and no one knows where they stand in the
group. The storming stage is where the group starts to realize whether they work well together or not. Members tend
to either step up or step back when a challenge or conflict is presented, which is where roles and responsibility are
taken. The norming stage is where success occurs and the group begins to build trust between one another. There is
also individual motivation and commitment to succeed as a group. The performing stage is where the group
becomes motivated and there is a high sense of pride which leads to superior team performance as a whole. And
lastly, the adjourning stage is the final assessment of the group, did we get to where we thought we would be? This
stage also includes discussion for reforming and redoing anything that wasn’t done correctly or to the groups
standards.