I was a leader before I knew what leadership was. As I kid I would be the one to gather the kids in the neighborhood, propose a game to play, and we would play the game. In Church, I was asked to teach Sunday School at the age of 12. I had the ability to read the material, decipher, paraphrase, and teach other kids about the bible. In college, I was the only one with a computer. I would type papers for other students for $25 per paper. I started my first information technology company also while in college. I have also started multiple companies that we mentioned in previous blogs. What is the common denominator? Leadership skills!
Typically when I walk into a room, I command the room. I do not do it on purpose, it’s something that has been with me all of my life. I carry myself with high confidence. If I do not know something, I will find out and disseminate the information. If I know something, I confidently disseminate the information. This in my opinion is a great leadership trait. I also have a genuine concern for educating others which is why I chose the profession of being an information technology and cybersecurity professor. A professor is a leader and has an influence on many students.
One leadership characteristic that I possess that will also benefit being in a doctoral program is active listening. To be a great leader as a professor I have to listen to my students, understand their concerns, then address their concerns. As a doctoral student, I must be able to listen to my professors and ask questions to ensure I am on the right path in this program. I want to gain as much knowledge as I can to become a better leader within the information technology industry.
My attitude and behavior exhibit leadership characteristics. People will naturally follow others with a good attitude and have stellar behavior. That is not a golden rule, but a general rule. I can enter my classroom and sit in the back of the classroom. I do not have to identify myself as the professor as students will naturally self identify as students. As they look around the room, there are suttle things that show that I am the professor. I am dressed differently from the students. I address each person as they walk in the room and have small conversations. I ask questions to get to know my students better. The questions that I ask as well as the follow up questions identify me as the professor. Once I walk to the front of the classroom and start the class, my students immediatly give me their undivided attention.
Do I need to change any of my leadership skills? I think change is a good thing. There are things that I can learn to make me a better professor and leader. One of the things I do to strenghthen my leadership skills is review my course evaluations. My goal is identify what went well, what went wrong, and what I can do better in future courses. This has made me a better professor term after term. There is one thing I plan to change when my doctorate is complete.
I plan to broaden my leadership identity through books and speaking engangements. Currently, very few people know the full bredth of my knowledge and leadership skills. Once I hace obtained my doctorate I would like to speak to middle school students to get them focused on their future careers. This allows them to focus more on certain subjects to ensure they are not missing any critical information. I plan to speak at graduations to motivate students. I would like to speak at conferences as I have a unique ability to think of things that others do not. I also challenge converstations with others to ensure that the information is being presented accurately. In short, the world will know who Dr. Foster A. Scotland is and what he stands for.
