James Stewart OCCT 650 March 24, 2014 Professional Leadership Plan Mission Statement I will be a person who

has good character, integrity, serves others, loves his family, and makes a difference in the lives of others. I will ensure personalized, quality health care by making sure that individuals with disabilities have a good quality of life. I will find opportunities to use my natural talents and gifts such as listening, learning, teaching, patience, and providing quality work. I am at my best when I have goals and aspirations. I find enjoyment when I can use creative thinking. I will strive to incorporate the attributes of loving all people, seeing the potential in others, and putting the needs of others before my own. Strengths According to the Strengths Finder 2.0 assessment tool, my top 5 strengths are (1) Achiever, (2) Responsibility, (3) Relator, (4) Learner, and (5) Significance (Rath, 2007). I am an Achiever because I focus on reaching my goals, being proactive and productive, and love to work on projects. I have Responsibility because I complete any task that I am assigned or committed to complete. I will always follow through and perform the task with good quality. I am a Relator because I like to spend my quality time with those that I care most about, such as my family. After gaining initial trust of a person, I develop close relationships with others. I am a Learner because I have great aspirations to learn new things. I am not afraid to complete projects that are new to me because I know that I can learn something in the process. I have Significance because value working with freedom and independence in order to achieve my goals. I also like to stand out. I have always stood out as one of the only male figures in both my undergraduate degree of Special Education and graduate degree of Occupational Therapy.

James Stewart OCCT 650 March 24, 2014 These strengths can be utilized when assuming the role of leader. As Achiever, I will help others use their time effectively during meetings in order to reach our desired objectives. With Responsibility, I will provide quality work and help inspire others to do the same. As Relator, I will help build trustful relationships with those I lead so people can be trusted to complete delegated tasks. As Learner, I will take be looking for opportunities to learn how to become a better leader. With Significance, I will not be afraid to stand out as a leader or lead in ways that may be unfamiliar to others, but are effective. Growth Needs One area of growth relates to my practices of fulfilling leadership roles. First, I have difficulties creating a vision for others to follow. This is usually a key characteristic of leadership that I lack. I understand that vision is important for united groups of people together. Similarly, I am also lacking in my ability to see potential in others or the ability to see what others may become with the necessary help and support. I know that I can begin to grow in this area by creating vision statements and finding ways to implement those vision statements throughout the day. Part of those vision statements will include the way in which others should be viewed. Second, I am lacking in the area of encouraging others and fostering a sense of determination. I generally follow a pattern of listening to and providing solutions to others without providing positive encouragement to help support them. This area will start to grow as I seek for opportunities to encourage others to be better and find the determination to follow through with the mission statement of the organization we belong to. Another area of growth for me relates directly to my view of leadership within occupational therapy. First, I lack leadership experience within the field of occupational therapy. I have not been involved in any student organizations or become involved in any student

James Stewart OCCT 650 March 24, 2014 activities. Most of this has been due to the busy schedule as a student while also having a family to take care of. I have started to realize that I can begin to involve my family within any leadership role that I may acquire in the future. Second, I am still developing my vision of seeing myself as a leader in the field of occupational therapy. I do not actively seek for leadership opportunities in the field of occupational therapy and consider leadership in the field as something in the distant future. Growth has already begun in this area by completing the Leadership course and reading the literature on leadership in occupational therapy. I have begun to realize the urgent need for leaders in the field and that all practitioners can become leaders in some way. Leadership Model The leadership model that I most aspire to is authentic leadership. Gardner, Cogliser, Davis and Dickens (2011) provide a review of the literature on authentic leadership, presenting multiple definitions from various research studies. Of those definitions, two best describe my current leadership practices. Ilies et al. (2005) states that authentic leaders are deeply aware of their values and beliefs, they are self-confident, genuine, reliable and trustworthy, and they focus on building followers' strengths, broadening their thinking and creating a positive and engaging organizational context (as cited in Gardner, Cogliser, Davis, & Dickens, 2011, p. 1122). George and Simms (2007) further describe authentic leaders as genuine people who are true to themselvesThey engender trust and develop genuine connections with others. Because people trust them, they are able to motivate others to high levels of performancethey are prepared to be their own person and go their own way (as cited in Gardner, Cogliser, Davis, & Dickens, 2011, p. 1122). These two statements best describe my authentic leadership model because I like to portray the person that I am rather than someone that I am not. I know that trust can be created

James Stewart OCCT 650 March 24, 2014 with others simply by being who I am and being genuine in my actions. As trust is built, I know that I can positively influence others and they have a greater desire to follow through with what I, as a leader, may ask them to do. The Leadership Practices Inventory by Kouzes and Pozner (2003) provides evidence that I follow the authentic leadership model. According to this assessment, I scored equally high in the areas of Model the Way, Challenge the Process, and Enable Others to Act. I seek to model the way by performing the tasks that I ask others to perform. For instance, after I commit others to perform a task by a certain deadline, I also seek to complete the task at the same deadline. I seek to challenge the process by trying something new in an environment that is consistently the same. An example of this is implementing a teaching style utilizing groups as opposed to the lecture format that is usually used. I seek to enable others by seeking ways for all members of the group to become involved. For example, I involved parents, leaders, teachers, and classmates when I worked with a child with autism and his church class. Year 1 Goal I will become a leader by volunteering in the Utah Occupational Therapy Association (UOTA) Conference by 1 year after graduation. Actions Become a member of the UOTA Communicate with members of the UOTA to determine what levels of volunteers are needed at the state conference Be willing to volunteer in whatever positions are necessary even if that means to become a presenter Sign-up to attend the state conference and sign-up to become a volunteer

James Stewart OCCT 650 March 24, 2014 Utilize this opportunity to make connections with other occupational therapists in the state Resources Utilize my fieldwork educator and other occupational therapists at my fieldwork site to learn about the UOTA and members of the association in the St. George area Begin to make connections with occupational therapists at my fieldwork site and my first job(s) after graduation Year 3 Goal I will become a leader by becoming a Level II Fieldwork Educator for at least 2 students from Touro University Nevada by 3 years after graduation. Actions Communicate with corresponding student coordinator at facility that I will be working about becoming a fieldwork educator Communicate with Dr. Fecht about becoming a Level I fieldwork educator for Touro University Nevada students Complete a continuing education unit (CEU) course for fieldwork educators Communicate with Dr. Fecht about becoming a Level II fieldwork educator for Touro University Nevada students Complete an additional CEU course for fieldwork educators

Resources Utilize Dr. Fecht as a resource about becoming a fieldwork educator Talk with previous fieldwork educators about ways to become a good fieldwork educator

James Stewart OCCT 650 March 24, 2014 Utilize CEU course to develop necessary skills to become a fieldwork educator

Year 5 Goal I will become a leader by becoming a mentor for a new OT graduate by 5 years after graduation. Actions Become competent in my area of practice (i.e. pediatrics) by completing at least 10 credits of CEUs each year (even though not required by the state of Utah) Communicate with the rehabilitation manager about becoming a mentor for a new OT graduate Seek for job opportunities that allow for growth and potential mentorship of other therapists Complete CEUs in the area of mentoring new graduates

Resources Communicate with faculty at Touro University Nevada about job opportunities for new graduates in St. George Utilize UOTA as a resource for providing mentorship to new graduates

Year 10 Goal I will become a leader by completing the OT Board Certification in Pediatrics by 10 years of practice. Actions Learn the requirements for the board certification Obtain jobs in the field of pediatrics Collect the necessary artifacts through CEU courses, volunteering, etc.

James Stewart OCCT 650 March 24, 2014 Write up reflections and the portfolio upon receiving artifacts Complete all necessary requirements and submit application Re-submit application if denied, making necessary changes as required

Resources Utilize aota.org to learn the requirements for the board certification Communicate with Dr. Lau on completing the board certification requirements Communicate with other OTs who have completed the board certification through networking Participation in UOTA and AOTA I plan on participating in the state occupational therapy association (UOTA) and the national occupational therapy association (AOTA). I will become a member of the UOTA and continue to renew my membership with the AOTA. I will attend state conferences offered by the UOTA on a yearly basis. I will attend national conferences offered by AOTA when feasible; however, I plan on attending one national conference within 5 years after graduation. Attending state and national conferences allows for networking with other therapists and knowledge of volunteer opportunities. I plan on volunteering in both the UOTA and AOTA. I will volunteer for state conferences and plan to ultimately become a presenter at one of the state conferences. I plan to become involved in the AOTA by using the COOL database on the AOTA website to seek and complete volunteer opportunities. I plan to utilize the resources provided by the AOTA such as fact sheets, tip sheets, evidence-based practice resources, magazines, and emails. I plan to participate in political action as informed and provided by the UOTA and AOTA.

James Stewart OCCT 650 March 24, 2014 References Gardner, W. L., Cogliser, C. C., Davis, K. M., & Dickens, M. P. (2011). Authentic leadership: A review of the literature and research agenda. The Leadership Quarterly, 22, 11201145. doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2011.09.007 Kouzes, J., & Posner, B. (2003). Leadership practices inventory: Leadership development planner, San Francisco: Pfeiffer. Rath, T. (2007). Strengths finder 2.0. New York: Gallup Press.