Journal 6: Chapter 7

Class dates 10/01 and 10/06

10/01: 7–8pm

Nine general motivations of possible leaders:

***Note: can adapt or change depending on the circumstance, can have a combination of motivations at different levels of influence, it is at times the projection of a leader’s vision

• Sense of duty/obligation
• Control or power
• Domination
• Honor, praise, or recognition
• Prestige
• Love of design
• Love of humanity
• Nurturing concern
• Profit

1. Which (if any) of these motivations do you detect in yourself? Try as much as possible to be honest with yourself in acknowledging even the motivations that you consider not that praiseworthy. I think that I most notice a combination of motivations to lead by the love of humanity and prestige. The love of/for humanity corresponds to what I have chosen to study (International Affairs) because it directly corresponds to the way that humans interact with each other through different countries, world leaders, histories, and policies. Although it can be detrimental to be motivated to lead by prestige, I think that if it is limited or moderated, it is entirely mutually beneficial. I view prestige as a positive activator/motivator that encourages one to continue their pursuit of leadership because of how it promotes an idea of individual success sprouting from the admiration of others. To me, prestige means you have succeeded as a leader because you have learned about the needs or goals of your people and have found the way(s) to help them attain and achieve them.
2. Which of these motivations do you detect in others? Do you have a friend, coworker, classmate, or family member who exhibits these motivations? (You might also reflect on the motivations of other characters we have read about, e.g., Athena, Binti, Lysistrata, Neoptolemus, Acevedo Bandeira.) What do these people do to reveal their motivations? During class, we discussed how humans have the tendency to overlook their own flaws and immediately recognize and criticize the flaws in other people. I think that this especially the case with motivations of leadership concerning issues of greed or selfishness. In other people, I most notice the motivation of power/control and profit. I think I tend to see these the most because of the highly competitive nature of the community I was raised in. This community is predominantly white and middle-class and encompasses nuances of these motivations surrounding individualism and personal gain reflecting the overarching capitalist society. From elementary school, there were stereotypes and both literal and figurative ranks of students, one academic and one social. The social and academic hierarchy in not only primary education but all of academia creates the perfect environment for rugged individualism and motivations of power over others to thrive. On the one hand, competition is positive because it forces people to perform and push past their limits, but on the other hand, it cultivates greed, control/power, and selfishness. I for one have been highly motivated by competition and especially intrinsically. Sports taught me how direct competition forces the advancement of my performance but at the same time, I would not have continued to perform well against others under pressure if I was not mentally tough and intrinsically motivated to lead and succeed. Overall, these emotions are revealed in circumstances that demand individual success. For example an individual test/assessment or in athletics, personal performance (goals, points, assists, etc.). These instances also serve as a culmination of past events that have revealed other aspects of these emotions. For example, did they tend to not collaborate well with their peers and instead remained focused on their own learning experience? Or, did they not take practices seriously or possibly did not show up? These could be signs that someone is motivated by power and control and also profit because they understand their ability to manipulate their situations for their individual gain.
3. How well do you think others are at diagnosing their own motivations to lead? What might you do to make them more aware? I think that due to the bias of recognizing the inherently good motivations that we have in ourselves versus the inherently bad in others that there is a lot of space to learn and grow. As one matures and gains more experience as a leader and a human being, they can learn more about themselves. By reflecting or having this time of introspection, they can become more aware of their true self and recognize all of their motivations whether they are good or bad. I think that someone cannot perceive how others view them until they know who they are so it is imperative that people, and especially those who hold positions of leadership, can diagnose their own motivations.

10/03: 4–5pm

Reflect on times in your life you’ve chosen to take a chance by speak up about a problem that you feel is a problem with your organization, your community, or the world more generally. How did it go? Were you well-received? Did your speech change anything? To what extent was your speech timely, relevant, clearly, and compelling? Was there any discrepancy between how you felt the speech went and how it was received? Saving the IB Programme at my high school (diploma programme and individual courses) because of competition with AP Capstone, talked to school board, administrators, parents, underclassmen both informally and formally (meetings and back to school night). Ultimately, we were able to keep the IB Programme for the next few years but enrollment had to increase and more interest needed to be shown. Every year had random influxes of students: for example, the class of 2019 had 12, my class had 7, class of 2021 has 25. There was always a discrepancy because the school board and administrators tended to view us, students, as uneducated and immature despite our extensive hours of researching, writing, reading, calling, and creating which was all done outside of school hours.

Ned Weeks’, strengths and weaknesses as someone who speaks up about the AIDS epidemic (passage discussion/commentary) #1–7

1. Dr. Brookner as the Athena figure/mentor who activates Ned’s potential; however, later in class we mentioned that Felix also activates Ned too. She shows Ned that his flaw, anger, can actually be used as an asset.
2. Ned complains about and denies the agency of the gay community. Ned is shown in this passage as both an insider and an outsider like Binti.
3. Mickey explains the tragedy of promiscuity and is trying to get Ned to realize his faults. Mickey discusses the marginalization of the gay community and how gay sex is liberating although viewed by the outside world as impure or immoral.
4. Ned is kicked out of the organization that he began without any consideration of his thoughts on the subject. Prompts Ned to need to find out who he truly is and how others perceive him (self-awareness).
5. Ned refutes his removal by identifying as a highly distinguished gay man and mentions Alan Turing among several others.
6. Felix is on his death bed and continues to activate Ned’s potential and Ned’s need to find himself.
7. Ned’s introspective scene where he reflects on his experience with Felix and how his self-critical nature actually made him critical of everyone.

• Ned does not always seem to care about the feelings of others especially when he feels that he is right.
• Ned thinks less of others who don’t fight for causes as strongly as he does.
• Ned expects too much of himself.
• Ned is afraid of being–or seeming–weak. Or, to put it another way, Ned does not seem comfortable with his status as an outsider/gay man.
• Ned cannot work with those he does not respect.
• Ned does not seem to be very aware of how he comes across to other people.

10/06: 8–9pm

During class today we discussed different aspects of The Normal Heart and also its comparisons and contrasts to past works that we have studied. The Normal Heart is both a comedy and a tragedy and so it encompasses dynamics of the past comedies or tragedies which we have read. I discussed how the different types of leaders corresponded to different reactions to their challenges or rather how they treated their opposition. For example, Binti was able to harmonize opposing groups while Ned seemed to polarize himself from being a leader for the HIV/AIDS epidemic in New York. Also, Kramer utilizes words and phrases that have double meanings or double entendres. These double entendres are used throughout the play and I think an especially important one is Ned’s last name, Weeks. In this way, it communicates the idea of Ned being weak and unable to realize himself and how others perceive him. Kramer also chooses to make Ned’s actual first name Alexander. Someone in class mentioned the allusion to Alexander the Great which is ironic due to Ned’s lack of greatness.

Additionally, Alan Turing was brought up and commented on. Someone mentioned the Turing Test which ultimately raises the question if a piece of technology can convince someone that it is a human being then is it a human?

Lastly, Dr. Sandridge elaborated on the idea of self-awareness and the multi aspects of self-awareness in leadership. One must be able to recognize who they are but also how others perceive them. As mentioned previously, Ned is unable to realize or actualize who he truly is and therefore cannot recognize or perceive how others view him. This issue culminates when he is kicked out of the HIV/AIDS activist organization which he actually started. In opposition to Ned’s lack of self-awareness in both respects, both T’Challa from Ryan Coogler’s The Black Panther (2018) and Moana from Disney’s Moana exemplify leaders who are self-aware. These characters both have scenes where they profess their true selves and are cognizant of how others perceive them.