November: Leading By Example

In the month of November, I had various encounters with examples of leadership, but one in particular stood out.  This experience was after the program's trip to Washington D. C. when the groups were working on their projects.  Many of the groups did not have a head start on their project or a goal as to what their final project would be.  This fact made me think about my group and the rest of the students that are in the honors hall in Andrews where I live.

Honestly, I think that our group displayed leadership in the situation because my friends where motivated to get their work done when they saw my group working on our project.  Even the ones that are not prat of the leadership fellows program felt the desire and motivation to start on their assignments and to get involved in campus life.  My group led by example in this situation because by seeing our actions, others were led to follow.

Through this experience last month, I also convinced some of my friends to get involved.  Joining the riding team has allowed me to make more connections and have involvement on campus.  A few of the people that I know have told me that they would like to be more involved and want to join organizations like the riding team.  They have come to this conclusion by watching my actions, not by listening to me preach about leadership.

Leading by example and action builds trust and brotherhood between leaders and those that they lead.  Without this trust, leaders are not as effective when they attempt to accomplish a task.

What Would I Go Back And Tell Myself In August?

When considering this question, I had a hard time thinking about what I really would tell myself if I could go back to August.  Thinking about it though, I came up with one thing that I would honestly tell myself, if I went back to August.  I would tell myself that I should spend more time with the people that mean a lot to me at home then I did before.

I know that this does not seem like an important college revelation or tip, but it means something to me.  The reason I picked this thing is because I do not think that I would do anything different when it comes to actual college experiences.  I have not had a problem with time management or with getting my work done.  I enjoy the riding team, student government, and playing flute in the pep band at games.  I have a job, so that advice was out, and I could  not tell myself to take different classes because I really do like all of my professors and my advisor.

This probably sounds too perfect, right?, well life is not perfect at all.  Being involved at school, has led to less time with my family, and I really miss that time.  I had the entire summer and first few weeks of school before things really got started, and I should have kept in contact more than I did.  Falling off the face of the earth may seem convenient at the time, but in the end is not worth it.  Over the break, I was what I miss when I am gone, and it made me appreciate what my parents and family members provided over the years.

I would tell myself to spend more time with the people that I care about and to not ignore them.  I realized how much that I miss them and how it helps to have advice from someone that you have known and trusted for years because phone conversations are not the same.

Leading By Example

For my leadership experience in October, I attended one of the lectures during Social Entreprenuership week.  The speaker was John O'Neil from the Thinkhaus design company and his partner Jill Wagner.  Their company does normal graphic design, however, they put a different twist on their business strategies.  They are conscious of their clients and will not design for the businesses that are not environmentally concerned.

Behind this basic difference is a reason and a purpose that make sense when stated plainly.  They stated that their goal was to use their business to impact the community around them and improve the society and environment through their designs.  Thinkhaus focused on their customers first and then decided how they would go about filling the need of their clients.
Leading in this way allows other people and members of the community to follow the example that you set.  I really liked the way that Thinkhaus represented leadership because they showed realistic ways to be a leader in the community or society that we live in.  Leaders should focus on what is good for their followers at large, and they should take into account the opinion and needs of their followers.  This thoughtfulness will provide for a true leader that followers can trust and look to for guidance.

Leading in the Classroom

My September leadership experience occurred in my freshman experience course.  Ethics and Capitalism are the subjects that we are studying in the course.  Our professors have given us two opportunities to split into groups and make presentations for the class concerning the various materials that we had been going over.  On both occasions, my group looked to me and one other girl to take charge and lead our team in an organized manner.  Along with my friend, we took the responsibility to prompt discussion within our team.  I encouraged everyone to give at least their opinion or input and to work with everyone else to finish our assignment and get the points on the quiz.  In both instances, my team won the points on the quiz.

In the same course, we have been looking at the various forms of leadership in capitalism and socialism and how the leaders in these government systems led their people.  We are reading Atlas Shrugged, and the portrayals of the two types of leaders are at opposite ends of the spectrum.  As the class discussed the capitalist and socialist sides, we all became leaders of our own viewpoints.  Those that agreed with the socialists led their arguments against those of us that led the arguments for the capitalists.  As a leader of the argument, I needed to conduct my argument in a respectful and informative manner, even though I disagreed with the other side.

Though I have not come across any major leadership roles yet, I was able to lead among my peers in class.

Here I Am Now What?

Ok, this is my first attempt at blogging, so here we go!

    "Here I am what now?"  This question to me is pretty much the question that I ask myself every time I enter into a new situation with people that I do not know.  Ask anyone that has known me for a long time becuase they can tell you, once you get to know me you cannot get me to be quiet.  However, a campus full of strange people, new experiences, and the unknown, add all this together and for the first couple of days I  did not even know what kind of reality that I was in!  The fact that I was actually going to college did not hit me until the first morning before my political science class.  The prompt question is the exact thought that was going through my head throughout that entire first day.  Though I was nervous and unsure about what was happening now, I managed to take it one day at a time.

     Starting college in itself was something major, but it caused me to start seriously thinking and looking into what I wished to actually do with my future.  Suddenly, we where here at college, and we had all the choices in the world laid out before us.  When I thought about what now, I thought that really anything could be now.  One  could change for the better or for the worse, or they could remain exactly as they were before.  Personally, for me, I am choosing to be a more outgoing person.  I was always the quiet one in the corner until my senior year of high school, and there is nothing that will make me want to return to that place.  Spending time with the people that I have met and becoming friends with them over the past few weeks has been some of the best times that I have had in a long while.

     The last, and perhaps the most important, thing that came to my mind when I thought of the "what now?" part of the question was the oppurtunity that I have in Leadership Fellows.  This is a chance that I have never had before in my life.  I came from a small private school, and if you were a girl, than you were lucky that they could  not change your grades to make the boys of the class to look like better students.  Even when the teachers looked for a leader in my school, a guy would be chosen.  No matter who had the most merit or potential, gender was the deciding factor.  Here at Macon, I have not felt that way at all.  Things are given because they are earned, and not because of a gender preference.

     Realizing this, I really do have to ask myself "what now?" because I have never had this oppurtunity before.  It feels as if anything is possible, and I want to make the most of it.  So when someone asks, "Here I am what now?", I am going to respond with I have the chance to lead a make a difference, so I will.