A500.3.4.RB_MatsonAlan

            The Hunt Library has a feature called EAGLEsearch that allows for a Basic Search and for an Advanced Search. The Basic Search area has selector tabs allowing the user to search for books, articles, videos, and for research help. This feature allows for a fairly quick search for material that is related to the key words entered in a search box.

            Clicking on the Advanced Search link takes the user to a screen that allows for searching for material with key words, but also for far more refined searching by designating an author, a title, the ISBN or ISSN for a book, the name of a publication, and even the volume and issue of a publication. Even further it allows for material based on publication dates.  There are also numerous content types to select that further narrows a search. You can also designate such things as whether the full text on the material is online and whether the material has been peer reviewed.

            Conducting a Basic Search for leadership material using EAGLEsearch results in a large number of links to all sorts of material related to leadership, and a magnifier button allows the user to preview each of the links. Conducting an Advanced Search using the advanced refinement tools allows the user to find more pertinent material much faster.

            By contrast, Google searches for leadership material brings the user to a screen filled with links to any number of sources of material. A quick scan of the links shows that a user could select from some respected sources, such as Psychology Today and the U.S. Air Force, but there are also some unknown and perhaps dubious sources of information. Digging through these links would most likely prove frustrating and may provide less than scholarly information.

            For scholarly research I would find the Hunt Library a far more useful source of information that would very likely speed up my efforts at conducting research.

A500.2.3.RB_MatsonAlan

Important Standards

            The standards that are most important in my life are integrity and reason.    I define integrity as doing the right thing at all times, even when it may have adverse personal consequences. If a person does not do this it is my belief that they cannot be trusted with important matters. They may act in their own self-interest at the expense of others or of the organization.

            In order to do the right thing a person has to have the ability to reason well, or in other words to use critical-thinking skills well. Decisions as to the right thing should only be made after gathering all of the available information and then thinking things out to a degree that allows for reasonable answer or solution to a problem.

            An example of why integrity and reason is so important can be seen in the functioning of our national lawmakers. While there are no doubt a number of senators and representatives who have integrity and reason, the gridlock that we see happening today is the result of a significant lack of integrity and use of reason. Self-interest is apparent in party affiliations, project funding and in compensation plans that these lawmakers create for themselves. If these people had integrity they would use their ability to reason to identify the right thing to do for all Americans, rather than identifying the things that serve themselves the best.

            Integrity and reason does not mean that we should always tell the truth. If a crazed killer shows up on our doorstep looking for one of our loved ones and he asks where that person is, the right thing to do would be to not provide that information. It would be best to lie and say that that person is not in right now (but thanks for stopping by). So in other words, not telling the truth for the right reason is doing the right thing and shows the use of reason.

How did you acquire those standards?

I think that I began to acquire my standards of integrity and reason when I was in the military. Those standards were taught to us as ideals that we should seek to exercise, and that we would be held to those standards. At first I believed that most people would act accordingly, but was soon disillusioned by the many people who acted entirely in their own self-interest. I further developed my thinking through self-study and through participation in leadership instructing in the Civil Air Patrol.

How have they changed over the years? 

Over the years I have held onto my belief that if people acted according to the principles of integrity and reason that we would have a much better world. I have come to accept the fact that many people will never find their way to act according to these principles, but I teach them to Civil Air Patrol cadets all the time. I am very proud to say that a number of my cadets have gone on to considerable success in their chosen fields as a result of the standards to which they held themselves.

A500.1.6.RB_MatsonAlan

Intellectual Perseverance and Leadership

            Intellectual perseverance, the relentless pursuit of insights and deep understanding regardless of the obstacles placed in our way, is critical to anyone who is attempting to develop a true understanding about anything in life. There is much misleading information out there that can lead a person astray, and there is much resistance to truly rational thinking. While it would be far easier to simply take someone else’s word for the truth without question, or accept what is considered as common wisdom, doing so would be a failure in our pursuit of true understanding and knowledge. As we pursue our understanding of leadership, and attempt to exercise our new skills, we will certainly need intellectual perseverance.

            At first glance the subject of leadership may seem simple, but one only needs to look at the large number of leadership failures that have been displayed in the world, both in history and today, to understand the complexities involved in truly effective leadership. I have been a casual student of leadership for many years, and have received awards for providing leadership to others, but I still face numerous challenges when trying to lead others.

            Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower was once quoted as defining leadership as "…the art of getting someone else to do something you want done—because he wants to do it." (Butt, Jr., 2008). How we go about learning this art is very important. Intellectual perseverance will be important in developing a further understanding of leadership, and putting that new knowledge to work to influence others to achieve the goals of our organization.

            When reading the definition of intellectual perseverance I am reminded of the number of times that I have faced challenges to ideas that I have presented to organizations. While I always take considerable time to think things through before presenting ideas, and try to anticipate any resistance that may come up, I am sometimes astounded at the reasons people come up with for why they think my ideas will not work. Many of these reasons are nothing more than fallacies of reasoning due to the egocentrism of the person resisting change. When reading through a list of fallacies I recognize many that have been used against my ideas, and I also recognize some that I have employed myself.

            Overcoming irrational resistance to new ideas can be very daunting, and requires considerable perseverance in many cases. I take heart in the fact that even the greatest minds have seen irrational resistance. Albert Einstein (n.d.) once stated “"Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocre minds. The latter cannot understand it when a [person] does not thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices but honestly and courageously uses their intelligence." Obviously, Einstein saw the need to demonstrate his intellectual perseverance in the face of difficulties, obstacles, and frustrations. We need to be aware of the fact that irrational resistance to new ideas will always be an obstacle, so we must always be willing to exercise our intellectual perseverance.

            In closing, I leave you with another quote from Einstein that should provide inspiration to those who may be intimidated by all of this critical thinking material. He once said “It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer.” In that statement we see the essence of intellectual perseverance.

References

Butt, Jr., H. (September 28, 2008). Eisenhower on leadership. The High Calling.  Retrieved October, 18, 2012, from http://www.thehighcalling.org/audio/leadership/eisenhower-leadership

Einstein, A. (n.d). Albert Einstein quotes. Albert Einstein Site Online. Retrieved October, 18, 2012, from http://www.alberteinsteinsite.com/quotes/einsteinquotes.html