Monthly Blog - September

September has been a time where my skill of professional communications are being put to the test. Throughout this month, six days to be punctual, I have been volunteering and working at the fair for the organization of where I perform my mentorship hours. Without a doubt, this has been one of the greatest and most meaningful actions I've performed during my entire mentorship and possibly this entire year. I had the opportunity of communicating and telling people all about what our organization did and what we stood for. Many people hailing from both local and distant cities in California came to our booth. Relating to these people on a personal level was not only fulfilling, but also an excellent learning experience.

What does communicating with people have to do with "store management," my senior topic? Well, it's all quite simple. Easily, as a manager, you talk to a wide range of people on a daily basis, and each one of those people have traits, characteristics, way of speaking, etc. Point is, everyone is different and you need to be able to be an effective communicator should you wish to be a high-quality manager. Knowing how to talk and present yourself is very important. An example at the fair would be the elderly. The elderly fair-goers, have just a distinctive way of speaking and softer tone of voice as compared to someone who's middle-aged or an average adult. They would ask questions, I would answer sincerely and clearly. They would walk towards the booth kind of nervously, and I would approach them cordially, hoping to reel them in and tell them all about our organization.

Reading people effectively can also tie under communication. Example, we've had teenagers just like myself who are just interested in learning about work opportunities and how they could help us out in order to earn hours. Without a doubt, I have the confidence to say I can communicate effectively with both the elderly and people who are my age. I've been in their shoes, looking for volunteer work. By reading what they wanted judging by the way they approached the booth or answering the questions they asked, I could easily steer them towards the right direction and make them comfortable in knowing that I was here to be a resource. It helped to let them know that I was under control. I knew what I was talking about and doing, and in turn they trusted me, thanked me, and walked off. Easy. It's all about being as helpful as possible.

Below is a picture of the booth I worked during my volunteer time at the fair. Very good learning grounds indeed.

Blog 6: Second Interview Preparation

1. Who is your mentor and where do they work? 

I have two mentors, and both of them work at Pomona Valley Habitat for Humanity ReStore. One of my mentors, Andrew Johnson, is the main manager and works mainly in the office doing all of the administrative work behind the scenes. My other mentor, Sara Timberlake, is the assistant manager of the store, and mostly works on the store floor, helping customers with finding certain items and answering phone calls at the front desk when they happen to come in.

2. What five questions will you ask them about their background?

These questions will be asked for my mentor, Andrew Johnson.

1. At what point in your life did you decide to go into store management?
2. When the Pomona Valley Habitat for Humanity ReStore was handed down for you to manage, how was the transition?
3. What major did you take at your college? Briefly, can you tell me a little bit about it?
4. Where was your hometown? If it was previously far from Pomona, what made you want to manage a store out here?
5. Did you have anyone in particular who was an inspiration for you? Did they play a part in where you are today?  

Blog 5 - Mentorship Reflection

1. Mentorship question: Describe your experience in how you found your mentorship?  If you haven't found one yet, describe your experience so far in the search of a mentor.

I found my mentorship at the volunteer place Pomona Valley Habitat for Humanity ReStore. Previously, I wanted to do something along the lines of logistics and supply planning, but no one was willing to mentor a high school student who wasn't eighteen, so I just shrugged that off. Going back to the finding of my mentorship, I found myself in a good, friendly, supportive environment where I learned lots of things such as basics on customer service, how to tie certain knots, how to properly lift heavy furniture and appliances with minimal effort, and how to respect other co-workers in a productive environment. Learning life skills at the ReStore is one of the main reasons why I was reeled into considering the managers as future mentors. The two of them other other co-workers taught me so much and I learned, which is why I only thought it would make more sense to do a project involving them and the things they personally taught me how to do.

2. Research question: What has been your most important article you have read so far and why?

"The Power of Conversational Leadership" by Carmen Nobel from Harvard Business School is hands down my most important article read. This article is just extremely insightful on how to talk to people on lower ranking. The quote written in this article, "having communication that goes bottom-up is just as important as having communication that goes top-down" stands out to me because it's basically saying employees should be able to converse smoothly with their managers and vice versa. It's perfect when you have a synergy of lower employees opening up to their bosses sincerely and expressing their views without repercussions. The article further goes into four key points: intimacy, interactivity, inclusion, and intentionality. Intimacy, in a nutshell, is all about trust and in the manager viewpoint, instilling trust in your workers and having them trust you is just powerful. It shows an investment of emotion. Interactivity is about being able to speak to multiple people through multiple outlets effectively. Networking is one term for this. The more you network, the more knowledge and resources you have access to. Inclusion outlines that you are giving your workers the freedom to give their opinions and go from there. Intentionality explains that it's all about telling your workers the vision you have and keeping everyone focused on the goals ahead. Power in unity is truly an amazing thing in the world of management.