Leadership Certificate Program—What its all about to me . . .

When I started the Leadership Certificate Program I definitely saw it as a resume builder. It was recommended to me by several people, and since I already had a strong background and interest in leadership I was intrigued and thought it would be an easy accomplishment. Little did I know what I would encounter along the way . . .

My two main goals for the program were:

1. I commit to enable others to act more frequently by focusing on delegating more often and being more encouraging.

2. I also commit to encourage the heart more often by putting warmth into my relationships that will instill more trust.

Self-awareness and self-management—Almost immediately after I embarked on my leadership journey I become much more self-aware and learned more about self-management. A couple weeks after I started the program I attended my first Leadership In Action group meeting (see LIA post). There I got my first taste of thinking about my ethics, prejudices, abilities, weaknesses, strengths and privileges. From there I learned how these affected my actions and how to apply this greater knowledge to my life to help me become a better leader and a better human being.

Relationship building and communication skills—As is evident from my main goals, I wanted to work on relationships and communicating with others. Since I am an agricultural communications major one would think I have the communication thing down. However, I found that I only had the part of it down—communicating my ideas and opinions. Communication is a two way street, and with every class and organization I have participated in I have learned to listen more carefully and give others what they need. I am an extremely task oriented person, so it is important for me to consciously think about relationships with those around me—my roommates, my classmates and my co-workers—and listen to what they need in order to further our productiveness and our relationships.

Team development—For me team building has been an on going process. I started team building in high school and never stopped. At first team building was just a fun activity. Then, I really started to understand and become interested in the purpose. Since taking AGED 380: Leadership In Groups and Teams, I have consciously thought about the different stages of group development and how important it is to understand group members on a different level.

Sustaining Leadership—In the future I look forward to leading my family, workplace and community. Growing up my family was continually involved in the 4-H organization. I plan to continue involvement in the group by becoming a leader and being active in helping organize local 4-H events. I also hope to one day see my own children in the organization. I will put my leadership learnings to work in my career by bring my self-awareness, communication skills, team building and relationship building to my workplace.

Finding the Balance

4-H House Leadership

The hardest type of leading is leading your peers. Make that 50 peers that you live with and you have the experience I have had for the last three semester serving on the executive council for my cooperative sorority. For those of you who have never lived with 50 other women (let alone 50 other women), let me tell you, it is an experience in its own!

John Maxwell talks about leading up, across and down in his book “360 Leadership.” When I think about leading across I think of the experience I have had over the last three years. I have come to love the 55 women who live in my cooperative sorority, along with obtaining a new and great respect for the house and its past, present and future members. Because of my respect for the house, desire to better the house and interest in leadership, I quickly became involved in the house government, first serving in junior offices then taking on greater leadership on the house’s executive council. As a second semester sophomore, I soon found myself not only in charge of keeping the women’s stomach’s full (always a dangerous job!) serving as commissary, but also actively dealing with large issues that arose in the house.

That first semester I learned a lot about peer leadership—how to balance relationships with responsibility—from my elders, a lot about myself and a lot about my sisters. I was definitely scared the first time the executive council had a meeting. I was the youngest member and not quite sure how my voice fit into the council. Luckily, the older members made an effort to include me and lead by example. I quickly caught on the style of leadership that the executive council executed—thoughtful and considering of every detail and instance, but also adhering to the rules and standards of the house. The members of the executive council were able to fairly consider actions to be taken in relation to the standards that were set by the house—not just on their need to be a friend, but also not forgetting the fact that life had to go on after these decisions were made. The balance that was struck between relationship and responsibility was a precious one—one that was essential for harmony in the house, but understood by the executive council members and house members alike. I quickly learned to become part of the team.

I also learned about myself. As a loud (sometimes too loud) personality, it is hard for me to hold back my thoughts. However, through my Leadership In Action activities I had previously learned the importance of listening, getting outside opinions and evaluating the best possible route. As I stated above, I learned to first listen to others, and then speak my mind. I became able to hear others out and take away their key points. Many times those that I thought I were in opposition of me, were actually not that far from my own stand point. In my third semester on the executive council, is odd to now be one of the oldest and most experienced members of the executive council and to think that my actions influence others. Now I am the one that is helping other members see the importance of the balance between relationships and responsibility. I consciously try to get those members to speak out and encourage them to be open with their new ideas and opinions.

Half way through my first semester I was worried about my performance as commissary—were the meal plans thorough, were the meals good, was I providing what the girls wanted. I decided to hand out a mid-semester kitchen review to get some feedback. After reading the surveys I was able to evaluate my own performance and make changes accordingly. Because I cared a great deal about my performance, I found it easy to take criticism that I had asked for and was happy to be able to improve.

Each semester that I have been on the executive council at least one problem has arisen. I have learned to use the other members of exec as a sounding board, for how to address the issue, along with considering what is best for the women of the house and the house as a whole. The thing that strikes me the most is that this house has been on campus for 75 years. It is the only one of its kind in the nation and was built on a set of standards. While a lot of things change over the course of 75 years, it is important not to stray from what is really important—academics, sisterhood, honesty and integrity. When making decisions as on exec I constantly think about all these things. Is this honest? Is this inline with my values and those of the house? Does this build sisterhood and does this affect academic performance? Not everyone is always going to agree on every issue, but the process of thinking about the problem and coming up with the best possible solution to solve it has helped me become a smarter, stronger leader.

I don’t always have all the answers, and yes, hindsight is 20/20, there are things I didn’t think of at the time that I wish I had. But I have always done my best to lead the house and to be honest and true to my values. I tried my best and learned a lot along the way! It is a truly unique and once in a life-time experience.