One of my classmates asked the question “Am I a leader?” The instructor thought this was an extraordinary question to ask. In hindsight I have to agree. I have always seen doctoral students as strong-willed, determined individuals who are working to become leaders in their fields. Why else would anyone put themselves through this process? I feel that I have been a leader my whole life and my tendency to set goals and work to achieve them is one of the traits that makes me a leader.

To answer my classmate’s question for myself, yes, I am a leader! I may not be a manager in the organization I work for or a district officer in Toastmasters, but I am a leader in almost everything I do. At work I have a manager that I report to, but I am a leader to about 500 of my coworkers who have been trained as site administrators. It is my job to teach and guide them in using a communication tool and to become effective, efficient, and proficient in using it. When they need help I provide it. When they are stuck, I make suggestions for making progress. When they don’t remember or understand something, it is my job to rephrase or re-explain something. I love doing it!

That is just one reason why I am pursuing my doctoral degree…

Each level of academia (AA/AS, BA/BS, MA/MS, Ph.D/Practical Doctorate) exposes the students to different ideas, levels of thinking, and an array of different personalities. The higher the level of academia, the more reading that is required. Not just reading on one particular topic, but on a great number of subjects that help take your current thinking and turn it on its head. Then, once the reading is done, the students and professors come together to discuss the topics involved and that turns your thinking in a whole new direction.

I leave each class at the end of eight tumultuous weeks a better person than I entered the class. I have a whole new perspective of the class topic, the organization I work for, current events, and have a better idea of how I want to conduct my research for my dissertation project. The whole idea behind getting a higher degree is to help make the world a better place and solving problems that affect life, business, and society.

Writing a dissertation is a Sisyphean Task.

My parents, brother, sister, aunt and uncle, another uncle, and several friends are all entrepreneurs. None of them have any degrees higher than an associate’s degree. I have great respect for what they do and the knowledge they have accumulated through their experiences. However, each of them has expressed gratitude for my expertise and academic experience. That doesn’t make me better than they are. Nor does it make them better than me. We just have different experiences, knowledge, and expertise.

If you know someone that is working to pursue a higher academic degree, please be supportive of their efforts even if you don’t understand what they or doing or why. The higher the degree, the higher the level of commitment. The higher the degree, the deeper the level of thinking, understanding, and work is being put into solving a problem. It doesn’t matter what the problem is. Someone has taken it on because it matters to them. Don’t belittle their efforts or the hoops they have to jump through or the time it takes them to finish. Be supportive of someone pursuing a degree just like you would be of someone starting a new business. Both types of efforts are important. Just in different ways.

Comments from other sources

Twitter:

• @amy0223: @Catherine_Ford I hate having2explain either of my degrees. I have an mm/hrm &a BM in vocal performance. They hardly go together. & TBC.
• @amy0223: @Catherine_Ford Trying2explain why I chose one or the other&convincing an employer that a music degree is just as demanding as an academic 1
• @amy0223: @Catherine_Ford Not sure if I’ll ever get2use my masters which is irritating but I achieved my goal of getting my degree.Most don’t get it.

• Worked for the Department of Motor Vehicles
• Got married for the 2^nd time
• Graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree
• Got caught up in the excitement of the Dot Com Boom when I got a job with a web design company
• Witnessed the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001 and it’s aftermath with the rest of the world
• Got caught by the Dot Com Bust when I got laid off by the web design company and experienced 18 months of unemployment
• Got a job with my current employer
• Bought a House
• Earned my Masters Degree in Health Administration
• Became the proud parent of two beautiful dogs
• Had Gastric Bypass surgery & lost 100 lbs in a year
• Bought my 1^st brand new car
• Got a promotion in my current company
• Started working on my Doctoral Degree in Management and Organizational Leadership
• Joined two Toastmasters clubs and earned my Competent Communicator and Competent Leader Awards

Whew! That’s quite a decade! So, with all of that behind me, what does the future hold? Naturally I can’t predict the future as precisely as the past, but I do have plans. They include finishing my doctoral degree, becoming a college or university instructor, perhaps starting my own business, and maybe doing some traveling with my husband.

I must say that I am excited by the prospects of my future! Most immediately I’m looking forward to researching and writing my dissertation on corporate use of social media. I really enjoy participating in social media and feel that if large corporations (like the one I work for) were to utilize some of the more versatile social media tools, they would be surprised by the resources and ideas they could tap into once their employees start using them.

At the beginning of February 2010 I begin the first real, solid steps down that path. Everything in my doctoral program so far has been in preparation for this next class which is a one-on-one with my Doctoral Mentor, Dr. Nancy Holley. In that class Dr. Holley and I will be solidifying the plans for my dissertation project and setting the plans for how we will proceed until our 2^nd class together in September.

The plans I’ve laid out so far only cover the next couple of years. I don’t know what will happen after that, but I am looking forward to finding out. I’ve always been someone who enjoys the adventures of life. I don’t see that changing any time in the near future…

Image Credit: This image was retrieved on December 21, 2009 from PhDComics.com.

The Communication Education Program works so well because it starts with the basics and builds on each speech after that. The first speech is called the “Ice Breaker” and the idea is to introduce the new member to the club. What does a speaker know more about than themselves after all?

I’ve heard experienced Toastmasters say that if a new member gets up in front of the group and tells them a bit about themselves, then the Ice Breaker is a complete success! I agree. The first barrier to overcome is the fear of the unknown. The unknowns in an Ice Breaker situation are how the members will react to the new member, and how the new member will make it through the 4-6 minutes. Once they see that green card signal that they have made the minimum 4 minutes they can stop talking and sit down and be considered a success. This does not apply to all speeches given in Toastmasters however…

Every Toastmaster gets an applause for giving a speech!

Each successive speech adds to the member’s experience level, arsenal of speaking techniques, and most importantly, adds to the member’s confidence level and expertise as a speaker. I’ve given 10 speeches at Toastmasters meetings and have seen a vast improvement in my presentation skills. Do I consider myself an expert yet? NO! I still have a long way to go, but Toastmasters provides a good course of action that can help me get to where I want to go.

Here’s an overview of both Toastmasters Education Programs >>>

Tomorrow – Building on the Ice Breaker…

Image Credits:

1. Cartoon found on The Top 10 Ways to Feel Confident About Public Speaking using Google Images.

2. Photo found on Salt Lake Toastmasters using Google Images.