Thread: Pride
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Unread 02-02-2010, 00:35
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Rion Atkinson Rion Atkinson is offline
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Re: Pride

Quote:
Originally Posted by JaneYoung View Post
I've read your entire post several times. What I'm thinking is that the experience that you've had, encouraged a lot of thinking on your part, and you have shared some of your thinking with us here in ChiefDelphi. I'd like to comment on a few of your statements without criticizing your thoughts, but hoping that you continue to explore them and expand them as you continue to develop as a leader.

The quote from your post that I've included in mine, seems to focus on pride as a source of many of our society's troubles and woes. I'm not so sure that it is pride. I think greed, narrow-minded thinking, avarice, selfishness, short-sightedness, and ignorance all play very strong roles in why we are where we are. I think that pride, if not kept in perspective - in check, so to speak - can lead to arrogance and arrogance can lead to a feeling of superiority which can lead to a sense of elitism.

Regarding what happened during the bad weather that affected your team and the conclusion that you came to. What I would add is that you can take a great deal of pride in the fact that members of your team found a way to make the day productive, knowing full well that the leadership could not make it, but that work needed to be done.

Part of the wisdom that goes with leadership is learning to count on and trust your teammates and those you work with. It takes time to build that trust, and it take moments such as the one you've described, to help build it. There are many quotes and sayings that we can think of in times like those. One of my favorites is - when the going gets tough, the tough get going. It takes nothing away from the leadership - it helps define it and strengthen it by revealing the strength, courage, tenacity, and flexibility of the team. I think there is a place for pride in ourselves and in our teams. There is a place for pride in our lives and in our society. It just needs to be kept in perspective and in check, in order to be beneficial and stay healthy.

.02
Thank you for starting this thread, Rion,
Jane
It has indeed made me think a lot, and I am seeing it from all view points at the moment. Mentors, students, and my own.

Thank you for this incite. I agree with many of the things that you have said. Pride does have it's place, this is entirely true. And the list of things that also cause grief. I agree 100%, but I feel (in my own mind) that pride is behind almost everyone of those.

I do apologize for this short response, I don't know much what to say. But I can say this. I will be thinking very deep about everything you have said, and see how I can use it to better myself, and those around me.

Thank you,
Rion

Quote:
Originally Posted by viper110110 View Post
Over the past little while, I have begun to exercise my leadership side. Now, instead of wanting to do everything myself, I want to teach others how to do it. I feel that I shouldn't do much work at all on the robot, and that my job is only to teach others how to build the robot. I then feel proud and happy when the team builds the robot and it works.
I know exactly what you mean. I go to a pre-engineering academy. And while I know that everyone there is just as smart as me. I also know that not all of them have been raised in a house like mine. Not every one there will know how to use a band-saw, or how to build something on the fly. It's for this reason that I typically sit back during the group projects and let the others work. I tend to sit back and help with the design of things. (Such as a marble sorter.) When I am needed, I step forward, get the job done, then back off again.

I advise you to continue practicing your leadership skills. They come in handy a lot, I have learned this sense I joined robotics. I also advise you to learn politics. Not congress style, classroom style. When to say something, when not to. Is the fight worth fighting? Do you need to pull someone aside and talk to them? (I did this with a mentor who never did anything but yell at the students. It was completely rude in every way. I simply told him how I saw it and asked him what I was doing to deserve it. His reasons was "I'm sorry, I don't mean to. It's who I am, and I will try and be kinder." Ever sense then he has treated people with a lot more respect. ) These are things that I am beginning to learn.

Good luck with honing your leadership skills!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Phoenix Spud View Post
I think that there are two main types of pride. The (bad) pride that comes before a fall, and the (good) pride a mother feels when her child takes his first steps. The "good" type of pride is just that-good. It will always be good. While the bad type can never be good and leads to local and global disasters. Bad Pride for one's nation causes war, while the good type causes its' citizens to represent their nation every day in thought, word, and deed.

PS thanks for starting this thread, I think that it is a good conversation to have on CD.
I agree, and I really like the way the you stated that.... Ever sense I have joined this robotics team, my Good pride has been growing a lot. I had never completely realized how smart I am. I am able to look at something and understand how it works. I can look at a chassis and know where the possible breaking points would be. (No, not as good as the CAD program can, but decently. ) I can design quick fixes on the fly. And having just joined this team last year, meaning Lunacy was my first year. And to be assigned Electrical team captain due to how well I did on BEST that season. And this being my second year on the team, I am already Team Captain. I am very prideful have done all of this. But I am still humble, and very grateful, seeing as it was a team election that placed me here.

I say all of that for one reason. All of that pride can quickly, with one bad thought, be turned into Bad pride. I keep it in check as much as possible. I will say that it is never an easy thing to do. And I have learned that it is easier to do the more you depend on others. The more you ask others for help, the easier it is to understand that you alone are not the sole member. You still rely on others. This helps me the remember that I am not the only smart person on this team. In fact. Compared to the others. I am not even all that smart.

-Rion
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Last edited by Rion Atkinson : 02-02-2010 at 01:53.
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