NSHMHighSchoolConferenceFashionShow

 

 

This process was good for me. I am a firm believer in that to learn fully you have to practice what you are learning. To this affect, I need to be constantly utilizing the theories and practices I am taught in our courses. The leadership shadow was helpful because I was able to observe someone else put leadership practices into the work place but doing the leadership experience is really where I learned.

 I was thrown into this event with little guidance, which was good and bad. As a 1/8 Print, I really like structure and rules. Nevertheless, since I didn’t have that here it was a lesson in using my strengths in a different way than I am used to. I had to be more “go with the flow.” It was not at all an easy task but I think in the end it worked out. I need to keep in mind that not everyone is as structured and rigid in his or her thinking and actions as I am. Being flexible is important as a leader, especially if I end up going into event planning.  Another lesson I learned through this process was to be open minded. When I first saw “close-minded” listed on my shadow traits I was convinced that it was wrong. I am completely open minded. If you want to legalize marijuana, go ahead. If a gay couple wants to get married, I have no issue. But I now realize that it has less to do with the view on society and more on my openness to others ideas.  While going over the plan on where to walk during the show, one of the models had a different idea and pre-HTM Christine would have shot her down. But post-HTM Christine wasn’t so quick to judge because it wasn’t my idea. It ended up turning into a better event because of this idea and I just confirmed my realization that although its really surprising, I’m not always right. 

Another lesson I kind of learned but is still a work in progress is to find the middle ground between strict and authoritative and a pushover. One of the models was not keeping in contact a few weeks before the event and my first instinct was to be rude and bossy and really show them that it wasn’t acceptable. However, I kept my cool and decided to come at the situation a different way that would hopefully be more effective in not only changing their behavior but also not loosing the respect of the model.  I asked them to meet up in person up for coffee and it ended up they were having personal issues. I struggle with being too firm but at the same time I don't want to be seen as a weak leader for letting stuff go. It is a fine line and I think that the more practice I have in leadership the easier it will be able to navigate.  

Another lesson I learned was for time management. Of course everyone has a hectic schedule since most of the volunteers, including me, work and go to school full time. So some parts of the process were rushed and could have gone much smoother. The event definitely snuck up on me and I believe the people under me could tell that. Overall that just lessened the quality of my leadership and is definitely something I still need to approve upon.

My leadership philosophy has changed a little bit during this course. Before I believed that just telling and giving proper explanation to the people I’m leading was the proper way to lead and get things done. With the introduction of using vision and mission statements during the course, I now realize how important it is to have people understand why you are doing what you are doing and believe in the work. I used this theory while working on my leadership experience and I think it helped get everyone on board and take the whole event more seriously. 

Creating a Shared Vision

My next step was to start talking to people to recruit them to be models for the fashion show. I started by just talking to people in the HTM office and seeing if they were interested and/or available. I also made a point of recruiting my mentee from the 301 class since one of his goals for the semester was to be more involved with the program and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity for him. Also while talking to people about the event I asked for their inputs and suggestions. Once I had a good idea of who wanted to help out I sent out a Facebook message to all the potential models to get a final count of who was and was not available.  Julian Velez, Jeff Gonzalez, Ruben Jara, David Ortiz, Wayne Rheim, Melissa Valverde, Jerika Sousa, Katie Klimuszko, Allie Clegg, and Kylie Corwin confirmed they were going to help with the event.  In my next contact with the group I outlined what I thought the purpose and goals for the fashion show should be and asked their input again. 

 

Together we found a solid vision for the rest of the experience that would guide us in completing our goals.

 

Develop Service Climate and Expectations

In the next few weeks before the event I kept in contact with the models to keep them on track for the event. This mainly involved making sure they kept that day free and also had an acceptable outfit lined up for the event. The fashion show was showing off business attire in accordance with our A, B, and C day standards. I also asked for their input on music to make them feel. I gave them an outline of what I expected for their outfits and overall look but since they are use to the dress code at school I trusted them to know what would be acceptable. Closer to event I gave them a deadline to send me a photo of them in their intended outfit for final approval. Two male and female models were showing A day. Two male and female models were showing B day. One male and female model was showing A/B day done wrong.

 

Develop Relationships

Throughout the process of leading this event, I was able to get closer to the other volunteers. I showed them respect and kept my professed issues in mind the whole time to avoid falling into those bad behaviors. By asking their input and involving them in the decisions so they took ownership in the project and therefore wanted it to work out well. I showed them support throughout the process also. 

Teach and Train for Service Quality

A lot of the preparation and training was done for the event before but the actual in person training was done the morning of. This was because we didn’t have the setup of the room until arriving to the venue that morning. I had everyone come an hour early and during that time we walked the room, practiced with the music, and had a final check of the outfits.

Motivate and Inspire for Service Quality

I think a lot of what I did to motivate and inspire happened during the first few weeks of contact. I made sure everyone involved what this would mean to the students attending and how we could be a part of an event that could change their lives. This all came together the day of when they saw the excitement of the students and also a dire need to teach them how to dress professionally.

 

Assess Performance & Provide Feedback

All of the volunteers did an excellent job in the fashion show and I made sure to thank them immediately after the event as well with thank you cards later the next week. I provided each with feedback on working with them with positive and suggestions for improvement.

 I volunteered to be the coordinator for the National Society for Minorities in Hospitality High School Conference Fashion Show in hopes for it to better prepare me to take over coordinating the whole event next year. Through my time in the Hospitality and Tourism Management major at San Diego State University, I have learned a lot about myself and my leadership philosophy and style. I have also learned that there are areas I need to work on before I truly can become a great leader in the hospitality field.  Through the PRINT assessment I have learned that I am overly critical, have unrealistic expectations of others and just overall too controlling.  Through my personal experiences with leadership, I know that I can also not delegate enough, have time management issues, become too authoritative, and just be very bossy.  These are all things that I wanted to work on throughout this leadership experience.

Before contacting my intended volunteers, I wanted to have an idea of what I wanted the high school attendees, the volunteers, and myself to get out of the fashion show. I have been involved with the mentoring programs for Mount Miguel High School and Hilltop High School the past few years so I felt like I would know the students well enough to know what they would and would not want to see. The fashion show was part of the entertainment during lunch and was really to wake the kids up before some very important and interesting speakers came on. In addition, I really wanted to show kids what and what not to where in a professional setting because lord knows I had no idea when I was their age. These goals also went along with the purpose of the whole event, which was to really expose and teach the students about the hospitality field.