So much about my experience to date at Darden has been somewhat serendipitous. Today was yet another example of such.
About a week ago, I scheduled an appointment to meet with my LO (Leading Organizations) professor. The last day of class for the quarter was last week. I really enjoyed that final discussion and had wanted to pick his brain about a few things…
Flashback: A few weeks ago, I had a one-on-one with him and it was an amazing conversation. What originally started as a discussion about class, quickly transformed into an in-depth talk about my personal experiences at Darden overall. At the time, I was still trying to get my hands around all of the things coming my way; he provided tremendous insight and helped me shift my perspective. We spent an hour talking—and I never felt pressed for time.
Today’s conversation was very similar—we discussed various leadership topics. I sought his feedback on everything from “entering the fundamental state of leadership” (the topic of our last class—awesome by the way!) to how to manage conflict (that dirty eight-letter word and the thing I try to avoid at all costs). He allowed me to share my thoughts, ask questions, and even flesh out ideas that weren’t fully articulated in my mind. It was another rich conversation and an amazing display of how unselfish Darden faculty members are with their time. I walked away not only with a plan to tackle my conflict-avoidance issue (*smile*), but also with a renewed sense of my purpose here at Darden. In preparation for one of my long-term goals (to build a leadership development institute for women), I had hoped to explore leadership issues beyond our basic curriculum. Talking to him reminded me of this goal (easy to forget when your main goal is to just get through cases). He gave me suggestions on ways I can accomplish this during my time here—from independent study to Darden Business Projects to assisting a faculty member with related research. Sweet! And again, he was completely generous with his time.
So, here I am, feeling good about this awesome conversation with my professor and my renewed sense of direction. I spent the rest of the afternoon re-charged and excited about all of the opportunities and resources here. Fast forward…I’m sitting in my learning team meeting tonight and, during one of our various commercial breaks for web surfing, et al (I really do think most b-school students have the attention span of a gnat) one of my learning team members says:
“hey, check this out: Darden’s professors are ranked number 1 by the Princeton Review” (http://www.darden.virginia.edu/html/news_article.aspx?id=15986).
All I could do was smile.
(and this is why I like the Cheshire Cat…see Alice In Wonderland post).
Hey Jackie,
I really liked the Alice in Wonderland quote. Niiiiice. besides that though, hmmm. I also like your blog “voice”. It’s very like “New Yorker” with its hair down.
“eight letter word that I avoid at all costs”… still ringing in my ears. Good post