What went well

• I was able to make sustainable impact by creating tutorial guides on managing the database and using the code to make data entires.
• I reached out to my support network on referencing their work for the qualitative analysis tutorial guides, which I found really helpful to connect the language between the academic world and the general public who are involved in academic research (i.e., research volunteers who aren’t academics). I will also learn further from them on the analytic approach that they’ve adapted for the project we were working on together, for the approach I proposed to the charity (which got approved).
• I managed to complete an example qualitative analysis as a sample for the research volunteers to refer to when reading my tutorial on how to conduct a qualitative analysis.
• I was particularly proud of figuring out how to present quantitative data with R coding. I managed to solve 2 questions which the team leader was concerned about: 1) If so much data, that I proposed to split into different sections, can be put back together into one spreadsheet, 2) If data can be presented visually just with the original database, without having to handpick each data point out and do it manually (like they did previously)

What could have been done differently

• At the beginning of the week, I also made an attempt to make a tracker on a category of data as there were still a lot members’ data missing from the database. I originally thought this would be easy and wouldn’t take long – but I stand corrected. This task was really challenging to complete with the resources and knowledge I had on this category of data. This week was also Development and Training week for the staff, so I had no one to answer my questions straight away. Hence, I prioritised the more important tasks that were originally in my SMART goals and focussed on completing those instead.

• I feel like if I’d realise this sooner I would’ve had more time to focus on my SMART goals better and reduce stress in completing the goals I wanted to this week.

Leadership Values that were visible this week + tension

Determined, Brave and Fast: These were quite evident in my leadership this week. As every staff member was in training, I did not have anyone in the charity’s expertise to turn to to ask questions, and completely relied on my own accord to organise the data and complete my tasks. I experienced tension between Fast and Ambitious because I wanted to complete the data tracker task as soon as possible, however, I must be patient until the staff are available to continue with the task, and prioritise what I needed to get done first. 

Character dimensions that were tested

Collaboration and Drive: Due to the limited staff capacity I had to mostly focus on tasks that I could only get done on my own. I had an ambition to get the tracker done, but Judgement mattered very significantly to prioritise my SMART goals and complete the tasks that contributed to the wider purpose first.

Capacities that I relied on most

I relied on process and performance the most this week, due to limited staff capacity. I found it valuable to be in my own mindspace, and prioritise the tasks I could do non-collaboratively this week. I feel like I’ve made significant progress. However, there are limitations to the limited collaboration this week, as I was not able to verify or complete the feedback collection process for the tutorials and refine any remaining touches this week; which is what I would’ve done if I could complete this week.

Ethical engagement

I felt the decisions and actions I made this week were very much leading and facilitating the data entry and processing process. I ran by my own initiative this week due to being in my own accord and mindspace. The tutorials I made and developed this week have longer-term implications in terms of educating future people in a position to interact with the research data, and also the team members in presenting them too. 

Adjustment & Development; next steps

As it is my last week next week, I must set as many time-realistic goals as possible to ensure my work will have a meaningful and suitable impact. I must ensure that there is a smooth handover of information to the team so the counterpart can understand what the code can do. I will engage in collaborative leadership next week to ensure research volunteers understand my tutorials, and have a end-of-placement meeting with the team leader to ensure my research and impact has sustainable implications.