Ashley Moyer’s Leadership Journey (The Concordia MBA part 13)

As I have mentioned in previous posts, The Concordia MBA program emphasizes teamwork. In most classes, the semester ends with a large group project. Last semester in Operations Management was a strategic plan, in other classes it was putting together proposals or an analysis of accounting frauds.

The teams change from semester to semester. At the beginning of each semester, I find myself taking a back seat while figuring out group dynamics. Even though we all know each other well, each team seems to work differently from the one before. In some semesters I have been the team leader, in others I supported another leader.

In the spring, I will take a capstone course that is designed for us to act as consultants to an Austin area business or non-profit. Businesses coordinate with our program director, Elise Brazier, PhD to submit their projects for MBA students to work on. When Dr. Brazier sent us the proposals, I did not find myself particular drawn to a project. Like I had in previous semesters, I sat back and listened to what my classmates thought of these projects.

As the fall semester was coming to an end, I decided to step up. I sought out my own business to work with (shout out to the folks at Student Loan Benefits!), recruited my classmates for interest in the project, and facilitated an introduction meeting last week. My team is already putting together an action plan for our semester as consultants with SLB.

As a leader, it is important to know when to lead and when to be led. However, if you have a clear vision, you must be proactive in making the vision come to fruition. As Paul J Meyer said, “Whatever you vividly imagine, ardently desire, sincerely believe, and enthusiastically act upon, must inevitably come to pass.”