On Spotting a bad mentee:

The short story “El Muetro” could serve as an example of a character portraying poor mentee and leadership qualities. Like we have discussed in class over several weeks the qualities that have made someone a leader include Knowledge, Behavior, relationship, decisions, and reputation. We have studied several characters that can be seen as leaders along with mentees who are also leaders in the way they guide these characters. Characters like Binit, Odysseus, Athen, and Philoctetes. From this class, I can recognize that the qualities a leader and mentee may have whether they realize their position or not. They are not always praised at the beginning of the story and they often have to overcome demise from other characters. This week it is interesting to read a story that took a different approach to leadership and mentorship. This week in class we broke out into groups to discuss the similarities between the characters of “El Muerto ‘’ and other characters we have studied so far this semester. My group compared Benjamin Otalara and Odysseus as being master manipulators. Benjamin manipulates the bodyguard into helping him, while Odysseus manipulates Neoptolemus and Philoctetes. Otalora is also envious of another character Azevedo, he plans to take everything that belongs to Azevedo out of Jealousy. This is similar to Odysseus wanting to take Philoctetes bow and arrow and manipulate him in doing so. As we discussed this is class it raises the question if manipulation is necessary when being a leader or mentor sometimes. There are certain situations in which a leader may manipulate if it serves a greater good for the majority. A manipulation is still a form of lying because it either neglects or bends the truth in some way which in most cases does not do good for most people. On the contrary, manipulation can also be used by a leader to protect the greater good. I do think manipulation is necessary for a leader or mentee at times, as long as it had good intentions behind it. A leader should not want to manipulate to harm people. As long as the manipulation is doing good by people and not meant to harm others or cause chaos. An example of bad manipulation would be from the president. He deliberately manipulated people into believing that the pandemic we are going through is not bad and that everything will be ok soon. He lied to hundreds and thousands of people and endangered the lives of many by telling them it is ok to not wear a mask and that the virus is a hoax. He knows that this is not true but he says he did this to not scare people. He thought his manipulation would spare fear but instead, it caused harm to so many. This is a form of manipulation in leadership that I think is not useful in protecting or helping the majority.

Plotting Your Leadership Development:

There are multiple motivations that I detect in myself, but one is “in order be in control or have power.” This is defined as a person showing leadership and has a sense that they are best at fixing the problems facing the community. These problems can be faced by myself as well. I would say this is one of my motivations. I would consider a community to be my friends and family in my life. They often come to me with problems because I am good at giving advice that will essentially fix their problems. This includes my family as well as my friends. For example, my mom and dad may come to me with ways to help my brother if he is going through a rough patch because more often than not I have already experienced the troubles of going through high school. My friends always come to me with problems they face or if we are in a problem together I am usually the one to solve it. I very rarely trust anyone with my problems. I Would rather fix them myself because I do get uneasy at the thought of others being in charge. This does not come from a place of insecurity, I am just an over-thinker and I often overthink my problems as well as the problems of others. I do like to see things in order and organized, but I am not the type of person to know “the right way” to do things better than others or to micromanage. Being someone who does not take anyone’s advice is not someone I want to be. while I do solve problems I still take others opinions about problems into consideration. I talk to my mom about a lot fo my problems mostly just to get them off my chest. But she constantly gives me advice and her opinions because more often than not she had been through a similar situation. Although I pride myself on figuring things out on my own I still appreciate and take into consideration my mom’s advice and guidances on my problems. Sometimes though I still feel as though if I do not follow what I think is best then I will not be happy with the outcome.

I detect some of these motivations in others as well. My friend is someone who exhibits motivation number six which is a love of design. She is a very creative person and is into various activities like drawing, sewing, and painting. Because of this she enjoys drawing up plans and enjoys working with others to gain ideas. She almost reminds me of Binit because she is a harmonizer like Binit is. She is someone that always moderates a problem and wants everyone to get along and work together. Also, many people feel comfortable around her and feel safe telling her their problems because of how calm and zen she is. My friend can also be seen as a peacemaker she is the friend that always took the lead if me and my other friends had a falling out. She was always to one to listen and respected each of our feelings than came up with a plan that still considered everyones feelings. This motivation is described as someone who might enjoy games or explaining the rules of games to others. Leading, under this motivation, might be akin to architecture, gardening, or perhaps weaving, any craft that involves long-range planning. My friend happens to be an architecture major which is funny because I didn’t even notice that was a quality of this motivation until I read it all the way through. She also enjoys sewing and many other crafts. People who exhibit this motivation tend to plan and enjoy planning in general.I think planning is a good leader quality because it shows that, that person sat and thought about what to do how to do it and how it will effect the majority. Not everyone can be a planner problem solver. Some people jump into things blind with not plan and come up with a solution as they go. Being who is creative may be way my friend is such a planner. Before she works on a project like making or designing something she tends to plan out in her head or no paper what direction and approach she will take to the project. This allows her to get it done not only faster but give her the results and vision she was going for.

Such a person might find it difficult to listen to or entertain the ideas and visions of others because they have dedicated a lot of time and thought to their vision and thus remain stubbornly committed to it. I think this is also true of my friend yet she is still open to the ideas of others. She is very creative so she needs other ideas to help her planning but she does appreciate others’ efforts to provide a different approach to planning, design, and creativity.

I don’t think others partake in their motivation to lead as much as they should. A lot of people including myself may not see themselves as leaders or good enough leaders unless someone brings them to their attention. Even people who are in a leadership position like a manager, team organizer, and even a teacher may not reflect on their qualities and motivations that contribute to their leadership, whether they are good or bad. I think it is important to reflect on your motivations to improve your leadership qualities which can make you a better leader. I think it is important for people to think about their motivations to lead and to ponder on whether or not those motivations are selfish, egotistic, or if they truly want to help others.Every leader may need some improvement whether they want to be a leader or mot of they are in that position it is still important for them to know their motivations to lead. For example a teachers motivation is clearly to teach others and help which can bee seen as nurturing and concern. The person showing leadership takes pleasure in working closely and intimately with others to address their needs.

One of my motivations is to be in control or have power. Although I am a good problem solver because of this motivation I can see how I may come off as bossy or as a no it all to others. I never recognized myself to do this but reflecting on this motivation it allowed me to see how I may improve. For someone to be aware of their motivations to lead it is important to constantly reflect on the type of person you are and the things you do for others. Indeed, a leader may not always be aware of their behaviors and how they may affect others.