leadership portfolio

BUS 270

Alex Lee California Polytechnic San Luis Obispo Class ‘15

Major: Business Administration

Concentration: Financial Management

Leadership Portfolio

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Table of Contents:

Introductory Letter 3

My Leadership Story 4

Resume 5

Code of Ethics 6

AQ Profile 7

Strengths Quest 8

The Real Deal 9

Weekly Ascent Plan 10

Bucket List 11

Speaker Evaluations 12-13

Accenture Consulting 14

Vision Statement 15

Conclusion 16

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This is me:

It’s hard to spot me in some of the photos, but trust me, I’m there.

This was one of the hardest things to do in this entire portfolio, and it’s the first page! It’s hard to

find so few photos that wrap you up as a person. I continually looked for photos of just me, or

ones where I was easy to spot, but couldn’t find any ones that I felt were me.

The reason there are so many group photos, is because I’m not the important one. That’s not to

say I’m not important at all-- because I am. What’s more important is them: my teammates, my

support system, my best friends, my family. They are why I’m here. They are who give me

motivation to succeed. They are the people that I know will always be there for me, through good

times and bad times. They are the people who know I can succeed, even when I don’t think that I

can.

I will succeed, because I’m not going to let them down. I will work with them, and laugh with

them, and do what I can to build them up. When I’m bettering them, I’m bettering myself. If

anything about me comes through this portfolio, I ultimately hope that it’s obvious that I’m doing

everything for others, and not for myself.

I can be a leader to all of these people. Not necessarily all at once- but any task with any amount of

people, I can lead them. I can lead by being a servant. To be a leader is to harness the ability to

inspire others to be the best that they can be. Leadership is built upon trust, respect, and love. To

be a leader, you must be willing to sacrifice your own pride if it means doing what is best, especially

when what is best is not the easiest thing to do.

At that, please enjoy my Leadership Portfolio. I appreciate you taking the time to read this, and

hope you enjoy it.

Alexander Irwin Lee

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My Leadership Story

As a young adult, I have always been driven toward leadership. The track that I was on

almost seemed predetermined, given my upbringing. I am the oldest child in my family, as well as

the oldest child in my very close-knit neighborhood, and my parents always placed a high value on

me being a leader and taking responsibility for myself and others. My younger peers have always

looked up to me, and I try to always set a good example and be a good role model and strong

leader.

My most valuable leadership experience definitely comes from my church. I was raised

going to church, and by the time I was a teenager, I was attending church with friends, then helping

with younger kids afterwards. I started working with kindergarteners because my neighbor said that

I would enjoy it, but once I started high school, my mom convinced me to try working with

children with special needs. I was extremely hesitant at first, but by the end of my first day, I had

found one of my callings.

Working with children with special needs has taught me a lot about myself, and has also

sharpened the skills that I already had as a leader. I learned the value of patience, and that even

small steps toward a goal can feel like giant bounds. When one of the most nonverbal children

would use words or even just on word to ask for something, it was a HUGE accomplishment, and

a feeling of pride swept across the room. In addition, I learned the value of compassion. Some of

those kids seemed hard to love, because by society’s standards they were different. However, I saw

the value in each and every one of them. They each had their own quirks and their own sense of

humor that kept me on my toes. Ultimately, the things I learned the most, is that dedication pays

off. One of my proudest moments came during the week I was leaving for my freshman year of

college. I was going to be gone for a few months, and had to give the news to one of my favorite

kids, Riley. Riley was very big for his age; at 8 years old he was as tall as a middle schooler and was

built like a linebacker and could be very aggressive sometimes. He needed an adult male to be with

him all times, because if he got out of control he could definitely hurt some of the smaller

children. However, most days he was a lovable and playful kid who loved Disneyland and Mario,

and over the many months we spent together we became very close. When his mother found out

that I was leaving, she asked my supervisor for my last name, and proceeded to write me a check

for my new journey. I was extremely thankful, although I didn’t think that I deserved a dime for

spending time with Riley. Riley’s mom told me that she was so thankful for me, and that I had

made a huge impact on her entire family, specifically her son, and that she wished she had more to

offer me on my journey to adulthood. To this day I remain thankful to the Ward family.

I strive to be the kind of leader that makes an impact. When I grow up, and I’m a fancy

business man, I hope to make a positive impact on the people with whom I work, and my

customers. I want to be remembered for my compassion, my willingness to do what is right, my

hard work, and my determination.

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Alexander I. Lee [email protected] (949) 462- 4391

1674 Canyon Circle 9 Odessa

San Luis Obispo, CA, 93410-1710 Foothill Ranch, CA, 92610

OBJECTIVE: To secure a position that utilizes my past work experience and further develop my skills

and as a business student and as a leader.

EDUCATION: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

Bachelor of Science: Business Administration, June 2015

Concentration: Undeclared

GPA: 2.83

Relative Coursework:

Financial Accounting Microeconomics Product Evaluation Calculus I, II, III

Managerial Accounting Macroeconomics Public Speaking Principles of Marketing

RELATIVE WORK EXPERIENCE: Warehouse Assistant/ Sales Manager Geoff’s Garage/DeNovo Inc. 2007- Fall 2012

As warehouse assistant- found items that needed to be shipped, printed shipping labels and invoices, and

shipped the items (primarily bathroom and kitchen accessories) to the correct destination. I also updated

inventory of the products.

As Sales Manager, in summer of 2012, I created listings on Amazon and eBay to sell the products I had

originally been packaging. Additionally, I replenished inventory via orders through domestic distributors. I

had two employees working for me, one operating domestic online sales of bullion through another website

uBid; the other, a warehouse assistant who maintained my previous position.

Sales Team Representative AIESEC US Jan 2012- January 2013

Set up meetings with local companies (via cold calls and warm leads) in the efforts to attain domestic

internships for international students coming to the San Luis Obispo area and facilitated housing

arrangements for the international interns

Underwent training in leadership and sales via the National Sales team

Orientation Leader/Orientation Team Cal Poly Spring 2012- Present

As an Orientation Leader- planned detailed itinerary, on a limited budget, to help a group of 12 incoming

students transition to Cal Poly community

As an Orientation Team Member- part of Campus Life and Training committees. In Campus Life, I help

train incoming Orientation Leaders on campus knowledge (resources, history, layout, etc.) and teach how to

give a proper tour of the Cal Poly campus. As a Training leader, I supervise and select Orientation leaders

to lead a group of their own in the fall of 2013.

Super Kids Volunteer Saddleback Church Summer 2007- Present

Supervised children with special needs, including Autism, Asperger’s, Down Syndrome, etc. every Sunday

while their parents attended church

ADDITIONAL SKILLS

Proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel Powerpoint

Proficient in Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, iMovie

Proficient with eBay, Amazon

*References available upon request.

mailto:[email protected]

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Code of Ethics

ncourage respect- Whether or not I actually agree with an individual, I believe that

it is extremely important to remain respectful about their opinions. Admittedly, I

stole this ethical component from Orientation Programs, which may defeat the

purpose of this ethics assignment, but I think that this ideal is extremely important,

especially in an environment where you will be interacting with a diverse group of

people.

reat other the way you want to be treated- This one sort of ties in with the previous,

because obviously I want to be respected, so I should encourage that attitude

towards others. This is a fairly fundamental concept that I try my best to follow

daily.

elp others in need- This particular one resonates a lot with me. I consider myself a

very fortunate individual, and try to donate my time to help others in need, whether

it be as a leader for children with special needs, or a giving my time to a helpful

organization on campus.

nvestigate what you don’t know- Whether you believe that we were created by an

intelligent being or we evolved from the simplest of protozoa, the human race has

the amazing capacity to acquire and retain copious amount of information, and I

believe that we should try to better ourselves as people to know as much as we can

about our surroundings, about other people, and about other cultures and

environments.

reate a place where people want to be- A safe atmosphere should be on where

people feel comfortable to be themselves, where they feel their ideas are valued and

understood, and where they feel able to share whatever they want to. I strive to put

my best foot forward and be welcoming to everyone that I approach.

eek to improve yourself- I think that I am a good person; however I know that I can

be better. It’s the little things that matter, like checking on someone who seems

down, or put in that extra half hour of studying instead of watching that one show

I’ve been dying to watch. It’s a constant struggle, but as long as you seek to improve

yourself, those things will start to fall into place.

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In accordance with Paul Stoltz’s in class lecture, and paging through

his book Put Your Mindset to Work, I took the Adversity Quotient

(AQ) Test. When taking the test, I will admit to having trouble

answering questions correctly. Upon viewing my results, I felt that my

results were a little lower than they should have been, however that

just leaves me more room to improve. Whether my score was lower

than it should have, because I messed up on the test, or I am just not

as adept at leading as I thought, I plan to take the knowledge and

awareness I have received from this test, and capitalize upon it to make myself a better leader.

I scored particularly lower in CONTROL and OWNERSHIP, scored near average in

ENDURANCE, and scored slightly above average in REACH. Regarding CONTROL, I am a

generally go-with-the-flow individual. I feel that what I do can cause ripples, but

it won’t necessarily make a tidal wave. I can understand how my Type B

personality can effect my influence on different situations, especially because I

am very rarely a competitive person. I am somewhat shocked at my score for

OWNERSHIP to be honest. I place a high value on doing your work and

getting done what you need to do. I also feel that when things go wrong, I need

to take up responsibility and fix it, and not let others do things for me. I know that as a child, I

always sought a scapegoat, and always tried to avert blame from myself, but as I matured, I realized

that I need to take responsibility for my actions, and own up to my mistakes and fix them rather

than let them be fixed. I can’t say that I am perfect at doing that, but I can genuinely say that I

actively try to take ownership for my actions on a daily basis. I am excited to see that I scored

highest in REACH, because I scored slightly higher than average, in what tends to be the lowest

scoring attribute for the population. As I previously mentioned, I am Type B, and tend to go with

the flow, so adversity doesn’t cripple me too much. Finally my ENDURANCE score was near

average. I can deal with stress and adversity in a healthy way, especially when I know that I have

friends and family around to support me through those struggles.

Ultimately, I won’t let this score define me. I will be aware of what the score dictates, but I

will continue to better myself through all four aspects. By no means am I saying that Stoltz’s

research is wrong, but I’m not going to let a below average score let me be below average.

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Strengths Quest As a member of Cal Poly 2013 Orientation Team, we partook in a test called Strengths

Quest. It is similar to Adversity Quotient; however it is more individualized with its output. You

receive a list of your 5 best strengths, which gives you the ability to capitalize upon those strengths

and better yourself as well. You receive 5 strengths from a list of 34 strengths. There is no perfect

combination of strengths. Each on compliments the other in a different way. My top five strengths

(from highest to lowest) are:

Adaptability- I have the ability to take things as they come. I don’t need a plan in order to

accomplish tasks (though the plans help) and when things don’t go according to those plans I can

cope and manage with what is next to come.

Input- When working in groups, I am willing to voice my opinion and am willing to critique,

confirm or correct any information. In addition, I crave to know more. I love cataloging data and

learning new things.

Arranger- I work well as a leader in gathering ideas and thoughts and provide a concise and

logical plan (that doesn’t need to be followed to the t- see adaptability).

Positivity- I try to keep a positive outlook on life. There is always something to be thankful for,

and there’s always something good happening and something to look forward to. When things are

going well, it’s obvious that I am happy and I try to spread that joy around.

Developer- I like to see improvement in others. Any signs of improvement is extremely

satisfying, like when I am tutoring or when I am helping with the special needs children on

Sundays.

One in every 33.4 million people has the same top 5 strengths as me in the same order. But even

with that, the ratio to which the associate to my five strengths is probably different. By recognizing

and understanding my five strengths I can improve my communication, my motivation, and my

decision making.

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Dr. Jeff Thompson spoke to our class on a deck of cards. These cards, labeled The Real Deal, are

a compilation of values that would almost all be on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. These needs

differ from person to person, and they differ for each person day to day. Currently, the five that I

feel are most important are listed below. Four of my values are Relational, and one of them is

Intrinsic.

Brightening others’ day (R) - I always try to make others happy- whether it is making them

laugh when they are feeling down, or listening to them if they are having trouble. It’s important to

keep a positive outlook on life, and try to make other people feel the same way

Knowledge (I) - As I previously stated, it is important to seek knowledge. We are capable of so

many great things, and having knowledge and critical thinking is so pivotal to holding conversations

with friends and strangers alike.

Good friends/ Great people (R) - Nobody can go through this life alone. It’s important to

associate yourself with good friends and great people, so they can take care of you or brighten your

day or just have fun.

Taking care of others (R) - There are lots of people who are not as lucky as I am, so it is

important to help them out. It’s selfish and greedy for me to hoard my time and money, and even

though it is sometimes extremely hard to volunteer or help others, it is something that I feel

obligated to do.

Fun (R) - We only get one life, and being boring is not good. You have to enjoy your life- have

fun, tell a crazy story, win a contest, complete something on a list of things that you want to do!

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Leadership Summit Weekly Ascent Plan

Goal:

To read more books, both for school

work and for leisure.

Motivation: I haven’t read a book just

because for almost two years, and I

don’t have an acceptable level of

motivation when it comes to reading for

classes. Also, reading can make you

smarter and keep you sharp.

Action Steps:

1. Find a book worth reading

(perhaps refer to the bucket list)

2. Find a time of day to slow down

and separate myself from

distractions.

Timing:

M/W: During my break between 1:00

and 4:00

T/Th/F: You only have one hour of

class. You have enough free time

Sat/ Sun: It’s the weekend, you have

nothing but time!

All you need to do is clear half an hour

of your day!

Obstacles:

Distractions (cell phone, television,

laptop, friends, Orientation Team)

Resources:

Quiet study room, roommates who

continually recommend books to me,

the ease of turning of technology to

separate myself from it

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Penultimate Endeavors to Graduation

In Spring of 2012, my best friends and I from Tenaya made a list of tasks that we wanted to do

before we graduated college. To construct the shortened lists, I pulled twelve undertakings that I

specifically wanted to get done. We have completed a few of them as a group: Win a food

challenge, Go offroading, Double at least $100 in a casino, and Pay for a stranger’s groceries. The

one that we have completed that I enjoyed the most was Become a WoW Leader. Because of our

dedication, we became known throughout the program as “those crazy guys who dress up every

week”. We have also failed at some- Get on the Jumbotron at a sporting event- but we will go back

for more. In making this list, we grew as friends and we are growing as individuals. The endeavors

were for all sorts of reasons: to better ourselves, to better our community, and to have an excuse to

do something that I never plan on doing again! There’s plenty more tasks for us to complete as a

group, but these are ones that I plan on finishing within the next year.

1. Donate Blood

2. Go Skydiving

3. Attend a crazy concert with my best friends Although this technically hasn’t been officially crossed off yet, five friends and I

have purchased tickets to see the Paid Dues Hip Hop Festival over spring break. We all like the same music, and look forward to the opportunity for us to have this experience as a group.

4. Read Outliers & The Fault in Our Stars

5. Leave the country

6. Start Learning a Musical Instrument

7. Technology free weekend camping

8. Do a Back Flip

9. Hike the 7 Sisters in one day

10. Solve a Rubik’s Cube

11. Start Learning Sign Language

12. Fast for a weekend and donate my food

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BUS 270 The Leadership Summit Lead by Doing

Name: Alex Lee

Speaker Name: Dr. Paul Stoltz

Tonight’s Topic: Adversity Quotient

Date: 2/5/13

LISTEN

How did the speaker discover his/her leadership potential?

Dr. Stoltz discovered his leadership potential throughout his years of working for and starting the

Global Resilience Institute. He has dealt with hundreds of surveys and thousands of clients, and is

obviously passionate about all of the work that he has done. I hope to find my purpose in work,

because it is obvious that Dr. Stoltz has found his.

What inspires him/her?

As previously mentioned, Paul is inspired by his thousands of clients. He is very passionate about

all of his research and his adversity quotient test. As he polled the class about leadership potential

and capabilities, you could really see how much he loved working with us and speaking in front of

the class.

What information they shared inspires you? Why?

My favorite thing that I heard from Dr. Stoltz was when he relayed the idea of being “responsible”

and being “response able”. I felt that was a very clever concept that I hope I can exemplify. One

part of being responsible is knowing how to respond to situations, and how to respond ethically

and morally.

LEARN

What mistakes did you make that you can learn from the speaker?

One mistake that I am currently making is that I am merely doing the job is not enough. I can’t be

a camper; who makes his way up the mountain but then levels out. I need to be a climber, and

always continue upwards- even if the pace is slow. I cannot let myself camp and stay average.

LIVE

After tonight’s class, what do you plan to change or develop within yourself to become a

better leader? How will you do this?

Name: Alex Lee



Date: 2/5/13

LISTEN










the class.





and morally.

LEARN





LIVE



After going over CORE (Control, Ownership, Reach, and Endurance) I know that I need to take

more ownership for my actions and expand my reach. I want to extend beyond just my immediate

colleagues, and impact as many people as I can, and if things aren’t going my way, I need to do the

work to get them the way that I want them to be.

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BUS 270 The Leadership Summit Lead by Doing

Name: Alex Lee



Date: 2/5/13

LISTEN










the class.





and morally.

LEARN





LIVE



After going over CORE (Control, Ownership, Reach, and Endurance) I know that I need to take

more ownership for my actions and expand my reach. I want to extend beyond just my immediate

colleagues, and impact as many people as I can, and if things aren’t going my way, I need to do the

work to get them the way that I want them to be.

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Leadership Consulting- Accenture

As a class, we were tasked to help Sam Aborne, an employee of Accenture consulting and a

former Cal Poly grad who was in Ronda’s class. Sam was concerned for the future of his company,

because after some restructuring by new management, there was a significant and obvious loss in

sales. Sam wanted us to provide answers for these three

questions:

1. What should be done to reestablish his

leadership?

2. What should be done to reestablish his

role/value to the clients?

3. Should he do something about declining

business?

As a team, the Branding committee, of which I am a member, provided a solution that we

believe will help Sam solve his problem. Our first suggestion was that Sam should meet with his

superiors to clarify his role as a Business Architect. He was given the title, which seemed like a

pseudo-promotion, however its vague description- “to focus on future estate and encourage

broader thinking”- made Sam feel limited in the actions that he could take. Until Sam was able to

meet with a superior, we proposed that Sam use this broad description as an opportunity to take

initiative, and focus on regaining the revenues lost over the past few months and to broaden the

thinking of the whole company by redefining his title to suit the job that he hopes to actually work,

instead of the job that has been thrust upon him.

Our next suggestion that we had for Sam was to get into contact with clients that had been

lost over the past few months. If Sam focuses on showing the clients that had dropped Accenture

that they were valued and that their success was important to him and to Accenture that the motion

will be reciprocated and the clients would see the value they had already vested in Accenture. As

previously stated, we believe that this motion will display Sam’s initiative and establish role and

value in the company, and will aid in reversing the declining business. The number one priority

needs to be finding the reason contracts are being shortened. The best way to repair any cut ties is

to show the clients that they are important and valued.

After presenting the idea to Sam, we were delighted to hear that he was integrating our plan

with a few of the other suggestions presented by the other teams. Sam personally replied to every

group, and told us specifically:

“Hello Branding Team,

I enjoyed the feedback and coaching.

In particular I liked how you called out the need to connect with the current client under

the auspices of the role.

I also like how you tried to have me clarify responsibilities first before moving on to more

tactical items.”

We wish Sam the best in his position, and hopes that the course of action he takes provides

him with a position in which he feels valued and one where he feels he can provide leadership in a

productive and profitable way.

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By the time I graduate, I want to have a job that I am

happy with- not one that Mom or Dad wants me to

do. I want to hold a position where I am valued and

respected and can live up to my full potential.

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Lessons Learned

This class. How do I sum up this class? Similar to how I couldn’t figure out in so few

photos who I am, it’s hard to describe in so few words this class. Every class was different- similar

in structure, but vastly different in content.

Overall, the goal of this class was to better yourself, and better those around you. I like to

think that I have always done that, but this class gave me the opportunity to continue that style of

leadership. This class allowed us to serve our fellow classmate, graduates of our amazing college,

and ourselves. We were given opportunities to share in class presentations to improve etiquette or

blogging, we could share a book we enjoyed, or we could share opportunities to exercise

leadership. We were given the opportunity to help Sam work through his dilemmas. We were

given the opportunity to go to Ronda’s morning workout and create a leadership portfolio that

exhibits your leadership potential. For the Branding committee, we also had the opportunity to

serve our community (found at http://vimeo.com/61510843) and to serve our campus (found at

http://vimeo.com/61237190).

The important word that I’ve been using is opportunity. We were given the opportunity to

all of these things. Classes like these are few and far between- one’s where we are handed so many

chances to challenge ourselves. If there’s anything that I’ve learned from this class, it’s that

opportunity is out there. You need to seize that opportunity, and truly

http://vimeo.com/61510843

http://vimeo.com/61237190

leadership portfolio

Documents

leadership story

valuable leadership

strong leader

best friends

good times

entire portfolio

group photos

g e table of contents