Extra Credit - The Leadership Challenge, Kouzes & Posner, Part 5

     As I preach and preach the idea of community, I keep emphasizing the need for the leader to develop a sense of comfort and safety, but I was never able to go into details on how to go about this. I'm glad I got to Part 5, without it, I might have continued doing my stating without explaining. The most important part of chapter 9, "Foster Collaboration" is the idea that a leader's supporters need not only trust and feel safe with him/her, but also to feel comfortable with their other colleagues. It almost seems that trusting in one's leader but not one's community members is nearly impossible, but a leader needs to be able to notice and be attuned to those relationships. That's why it's so hard to be a leader: you can't pay attention to just yourself and the interactions you're directly involved in; you have to pay attention to everything, because believe it or not, as a leader you are involved in every interaction - however direct it happens to be.
     It would be silly, though, to assume that every single member of a team will get along all the time: some couples just won't mesh. However, there's a difference between disliking someone and not being able to trust them. "To get extraordinary things done, people have to rely on each other. They need to have a sense of mutual dependence - a community of people in which each knows that they need the others to be successful" (233). A leader needs to be able to (in KP's words) "facilitate relationships." Like in a discussion, the facilitator does not act as the mother of the group - making sure everyone gets along - but just acts as the supervisor - making sure everyone in heard and no one is disrespected. That is the important part of a community understanding: if there is distrust or fear in the constituents of other constituents, nothing can be accomplished successfully or completely. KP puts it sharply, "Knowing how other people feel about issues enables you to incorporate aspects of all the relevant viewpoints into a project and demonstrate to others how their ideas have been heard and included" (232).
     I've already spoken once about my grandpa's lesson "you have the power to make your day incredible." In chapter 10, "Strengthen Others," KP claims, "Accountability results in feelings of ownership, that you - not someone else - have the responsibility for what's going on around you" (258). This applies, obviously, to my grandpa's teaching, but I want to apply both of these to the idea of leading people. It should be stating the obvious when I say supporters look up to a true leader and mimic his or her actions. This is what happens with children's role models - they are leaders who, in some cases, may not even know they're leaders. This is what happened with the relationship between myself and my grandpa. I look up to him simply as the human being that he is and so, inadvertently, mimic his actions. I may not even realize it, but I perform and conduct myself in a similar manner to how my grandfather conducts himself simply because I view him as a leader. With children and their role models, the picture is clearer: a young boy dresses like Spiderman because he wants to be Spiderman. He wants to exhibit the same traits that Spiderman does: the same goes with children and firemen, policemen, their parents and guardians. And leaders.
     This is where the leader must be careful, because he or she is always leading whether or not he/she realizes it. Every action and phrase echoes in the ears and hearts of their supporters. This is something I must be especially attuned to as an officer of a women's social club. Every single word and action - or inaction - I display is seen and recorded by the women I lead with.
     On a related note and in congruence with the above passage on accountability, if I can allow these women to understand that this club is not mine, or our President's, but their's: if I can allow these girls the realization that this club exists for and because of them, perhaps they can understand the importance of being an active member and sharing their voices.

Extra Credit - The Leadership Challenge, Kouzes & Posner, Part 4

     A few weeks ago, a co-worker was talking about failure. She claimed that a 3.8 is better than a 4.0 in the business world because a 3.8 shows that you know how to fail. Upon hearing this at first, a lot of people may not understand: why would a 3.8 have a better chance of getting the job over a 4.0? I couldn't adequately explain it at the time, but here in Part 4, KP have helped me, simply with their term "psychological hardiness." Specifically, there are two quotes which emphasize the point I would like to make:

1. "'Success does not breed success. It breeds failure. It is failure which breeds success" (200).
and
2. "If we're not making mistakes then we're only doing what we already know how to do....The only way that people can learn is by doing things they've never done before. This entails resilience and becoming psychologically hardy" (204).

     KP's idea of psychological hardiness in leadership comes from innovation, inspiring change, and creating small wins over large, not achievable goals. From a business standpoint, someone who has failed before will be okay with failing again: this doesn't mean that you'll have a lazy, forever-failing employee. It means you'll have a supporter who can bounce back and be ready to try something different. "It isn't stress that makes you ill but how you perceive and respond to stressful events" (206). Someone who has responded to the stress that comes from failure will be familiar with it, not shocked and hurt. That is why the 3.8 wins over the 4.0. The 4.0, on paper, has never failed.

     On a related tangent, I wanted to dive into the idea of "small wins." When KP first began explaining the small wins idea, I immediately thought of to-do lists. I thought of the action-plan to-do lists made in Leadership Foundations. But I also thought of the often comedic scheme of putting an already completed task on a to-do list just so you can cross it off. This is comedic, sure, but it's also displays an extreme genius. Crossing off an already performed task gives you a small win from the very beginning and boosts morale to carry you through the whole list.
     In Chapter 7, KP relate one leadership story that goes as follows, "When a senior engineer responded with 'it won't work' to a manager's question about a project's feasibility, everyone jumped on this melody and sounded ready to accept defeat. Stephen asked the group to take another tack: 'What is working?'" (170). How could one read this narration and not immediately think of mirror neurons? This leading scientifically thing has really stuck with me throughout this semester; mirror neurons fascinate me. The idea that one smile really can light up a room is the basis of how I live my life - and now it's proven. But anyway, I'm getting slightly off track. When you lead a small win to-do list with an already completed task you give yourself (or your team, depending on the environment) a boost: "We already achieved so much," say the mirror neurons, "We can achieve more!"
     My grandpa always taught me that I have the power to make my day incredible or to ruin it. The above quotations and explanations summarize this perfectly. My mirror neurons, the way I react to failures and stresses, control how my day and how my life plays out. If I can control my emotional communications and interactions then I can control the emotions and motivations of the people around me. From a leadership standpoint, if I am psychologically hardy, if I stand tall and firm in times of failure and stress, I will automatically surround myself with supporters of the same strand.

Service Learning - Chi Alpha Kappa Sunday Meeting Discussion Style

     Every Sunday Chi Alpha Kappa holds our weekly formal meetings. All semester we've been trying to convey the importance of these meetings: all communication cannot be done over the internet; meetings are supposed to be a time when we can straighten out any confusion, address problems, talk about improvements, share ideas, and set dates. We have asked the girls, for our own sake, to let us know 24 hours in advance if they can't make it to meeting and every week we get at least three girls ditch out an hour or two before. We've tried explaining that this is inconsiderate - let alone against our conduct code. It's been frustrating us all year - and we have a President who leads by words, instead of by example. In some cases, this has led to a necessary relegating, allowing the next two highest officer positions to lead subtly.
     With all of these problems in hand, last Sunday my co-president and I decided to conduct meeting as an open-floor discussion. We began by passing around a box with pens and paper for girls to anonymously submit concerns and complaints. Through planning, we also were able to bring up the constant problem of officers leading by words, not actions. Predictably, the first discussion meeting was not as successful as we had hoped. We (my co-pres. and I) addressed a lot of issues that had been nagging at us without having to lecture and we were able to hear a lot of the concerns from the girls. The problem came when we asked these girls how they wanted to see these concerns addressed. In most cases they either didn't want to share or didn't know how to go about finding solutions. I think - especially with the amount of first year college women in our club - that a lot of these girls don't understand that leadership comes from every single individual: that every woman is a leader. They are under the impression that leadership comes with a title. I think a lot of the blame for this idea comes from our officers and the way meetings have been conducted in the past.
     In Kouzes and Posner's The Leadership Challenge, they state, "Questioning the status quo is not only for leaders. Effective leaders create a climate in which others feel comfortable doing the same. If your organization is going to be the best it can be, everyone has to feel comfortable in speaking up and taking initiative" (186). This mantra is one that I think Chi Alpha Kappa has been dramatically lacking in so far. We have - because of the leaders and the titles we have doled out - created a climate where girls don't feel comfortable to share ideas. One of the concerns we had come up last meeting started with a complaint about not having enough sisters attending events and meetings and ended with our Event Coordinators receiving dozens of ideas for events that the majority of our sisters would enjoy. We would have had no idea that the girls weren't crazy about our past events because they never shared with us what they wanted. That is not their fault though, the fault lies with the leaders.
     Our job, as a social club, is to improve our community and to improve the lives of our sisters. My goal, from here on out, with Chi Alpha Kappa is to use my title to teach these girls - especially our Freshmen - that leadership comes from every single corner of an organization. My goal, with Chi Alpha Kappa is to build confident women into confident leaders (by 2016).

Service Learning - Chi Alpha Kappa's Run for Your Life 5k

On Halloween this year, Chi Alpha Kappa (a women's social club at MSU) put on its first ever philanthropic event. We spent months organizing the first annual Run For Your Life 5k to benefit the Bozeman Help Center. The stress that this event caused our leaders was immense, and come race day, we weren't entirely sure that it would be even a little bit successful. But we had 70 participants. SEVENTY PARTICIPANTS. That's huge!

The race started with a short fun run for the kids. Starting at the front of Bobcat Stadium, a huge group of kids ran down 11th, to campus, and up the mall where we had a few clubs, Chi Alpha Kappa girls, and fraternity men stationed handing out candy. They finished after running up 7th and back to the stadium. My favorite costume was definitely the kitten (who was only about four years old), but we also had two Buzz Lightyears who were a close second.

After the fun run, the 5k began. Almost every participant was in full costume; we had a grandpa (who actually shaved a cul-de-sac into his hair) with his trophy wife as well as Paulie Bleeker (from Juno) and a slice of pizza, amongst other awesome costumes. As each runner crossed the finish line, they were handed a raffle ticket which they could enter into the drawing back by the registration tent. The baskets were spectacular; we had donations from Diesel Pros, Sage Spa Living, the MSU Bookstore, the MSU Ticket Office, as well as seven other local businesses. One basket had two free ski passes to Big Sky Resort. There were also two baskets available for silent auction. I was manning the face painting station, and to wrap it all off we gave the five best costumes gift cards to U-Swirl Frozen Yogurt. There was hot cider and hot chocolate provided by Town & Country Foods.

By the end of the day, the first annual Run For Your Life 5k was an incredible success and I know that relieved a huge weight off the shoulders of our event leads. I have some exciting news to reveal later this week which effects the future of Run For Your Life 5k. The plans as of right now are to make Run For Your Life an annual philanthropic event with Chi Alpha Kappa.

For the primary organization of this event, I took a side step, and allowed some of our girls who had never had the experience of organizing an event learn and create. I think I learned more this way than if I had taken the lead. I know a lot about my own leadership style, the way I handle stress, and my own adaptive leadership tricks, but I hadn't really been able to step back and observe other personalities at work. Our two main leads were extremely different, but worked together pretty well. One is oftentimes abrasive, but always made sure the job got done - I would go so far as to call her an Authoritative type. The other is a lot quieter and calmer and prefers communicating one on one with her supporters rather than in a meeting style. It was interesting to learn from both of them and as an officer of XAK, I was able to practice my coaching. Because of my experience, each one came to me on multiple occasions for advice and I practiced an aspect of leadership I don't often get to use. At one point I had to actually teach the idea of adaptive leadership to both, and press the idea that nothing is going to go right come event day - no matter how thoroughly you plan. At the end of the day, I think all of the club girls learned a lot and I know the Bozeman community enjoyed themselves and the Help Center appreciated the help. 

Extra Credit - The Leadership Challenge, Kouzes & Posner, Part 3

     There are far too many passages from Part 3 that hit me like a train. That's how I feel about Kouzes in general: every once in a while he'll have one sentence that just jumps off the page and influences more than the entirety of the chapter. There's one passage on page 119, "They develop a deep understanding of collective yearnings; they seek out the brewing consensus among those they would lead. They listen carefully for quiet whisperings and attend to subtle cues. They get a sense of what people want, what they value, and what they dream about." Normally his train-passages are even shorter than this one, but this is one I wanted to speak on directly. KP brings this idea up while discussing "Listen Deeply to Others" under the subheading "Find a Common Purpose." I know you're probably tired of hearing me preach about this "community" thing, but I can't help but emphasize mine and KP's (underlying) point. Community - being able to develop a sense of belonging, a sense of family - is a necessary aspect of leadership. The above passage is absolutely impossible if you have a low Emotional Intelligence and/or no understanding of your constituents. A leader needs to understand the individual in order to understand his or her wants, values, and dreams - and a leader must understand the differences between each individual so they can work in a team setting. In Finding a Common Purpose, KP states, "Leaders must show others how they, too, will be served by the long-term vision of the future, how their specific needs can be satisfied" (118). This cannot be done if the leader does not know who their individual is and, especially, if they don't know how to communicate socially and emotionally.
     The above idea brings me to what I most wanted to talk about as I finished Part 3: Animate the Vision. This is something I often struggle with: when I feel passionate about something and want to convey that sense of importance to others, the idea often falls apart in the telling. As I was reading KP's suggestions - use symbolic language, make images of the future, practice positive communication, express your emotions, speak from the heart - I couldn't help but thinking it was all too robotic. Express your emotions and speaking from the heart, together, makes sense to me. But as I was reflecting on the Parts 1 and 2, I was thinking about the idea of clarifying your values so you can communicate them to others. This process is intrusive: you clarify your values to yourself first so that you can better grasp them. In your understanding of your own values, you're able to convey them to others: it's exactly like my scenario describing how I can now deliver my most important value immediately. I can do this because I, myself, know it and have defined it.
     Then, I was thinking again on my inability to convey passionate ideas. I often times fall back on the joke that Writers can't talk; we're socially awkward creatures and can communicate better through a piece of paper than through our mouths. However, I then forced myself to take this idea past the joke and into the realm of understanding. When I laugh off my faltering communication skills, I usually claim I need more time than is allowed in regular conversation to formulate words: when writing I have backspace and a nearly infinite amount of time to make my message clear; in conversation, there is no such thing as backspace. Only then did I realize that what I need that time for is to clarify my idea, but if I mimic the same effort I took in defining my values into defining my passions before I communicate them I would be able to relate my ideas in the same immediate way that I can now relate my values. I can convey these to others simply because I understand them so well, myself. If, instead of jumping into a rambling explanation, I pause and reflect internally, I can understand my visions and passions well enough to convey them easily to others. I take that time the writer needs to develop an internal definition so I can successfully make it external.

Service Learning - You've Been Caught Studying

     As well as all of my other clubs, activities, and hobbies, I am a part of Alpha Lambda Delta (sorry about all the confusing Greek letters, Josh). ALD is a national student honor society that I was invited to join after my Freshman year here at MSU. With it, I have the opportunity to meet new students, network with community members as well as people outside of Bozeman, volunteer, and study, celebrate, and hang out with my peers. To make Dead Week a little easier on the MSU library population, our officers have organized "You've Been Caught Studying." This is mostly just a fun and celebratory thing. Friday, we spent a couple hours in the library putting together little gifts: it's a piece of candy with a note attached that reads, "You've been caught studying! Good luck with finals!" Throughout Dead Week and on the Monday of Final's Week, we'll have ALD members going around the library, handing out these gifts to everyone in the hopes that it will brighten up their day and week and finals for them.
     I'm not hugely involved with ALD because I'm so busy with a lot of other, higher priority things, but when I got the email about "You've Been Caught Studying," and saw that I had the times free, I jumped on the idea. As an English Major, during Dead Week I am usually quite literally dead because of the sheer amount of papers and reading I have to do (I don't have that many actual testing finals, just pages and pages of papers and analysis). My roommate is a nursing major and my boyfriend is an engineer, so I understand how cruel finals can be, and I wanted so badly to help ease students' stress - even if it's only slightly. Not only that, but I know that being able to take a break myself to hand out presents to random strangers would certainly ease my stress.
     Anyway, I walked into our study room on Friday ready to help put these gifts together. Not being hugely involved, I don't know a whole lot of other ALDers, so I was a bit nervous. I would be here for two hours, putting candy and notes together and conversation must certainly ensue. As much as I have branched out these past couple years and as much as I have learned and become more comfortable in similar - even more harrowing - situations, I still get a little nervous every time. I used to be cripplingly shy and that's not something easily let go of. Just last night, however, I had read the first three parts of The Leadership Challenge and was inspired by my own responses. I had preached this huge importance of community and here I was going into a room where I probably wouldn't know anyone. Being aware of this, I changed my habit of shutting down (crossing my arms) and went in with the goal of meeting and talking to five new people: it's pretty specific and weird, but trust me when I add that word "cripplingly" to shy; I used to be awful.
     Then, as I went in and said hi to everyone, I remembered also what I had said in my responses and in my values paper about community and shared values and interests. I realized that all of these people were here because they too wanted to help out stressed out students and that they were in ALD because they too were invited based on their academic performance. We already had so much in common. A few of them might even be thinking about how awkward it might potentially be walking up to a studying stranger and handing them candy, but that's beside the point.
     Now, I'm not saying that without Kouzes and UC202 I would have panicked and run in the opposite direction. I've grown a lot in the last year and have leaped out of my tiny, little comfort zone of my past. But without Kouzes and UC202 I wouldn't have been aware of how important all of these minute realizations are. I'm so glad that I have raised my awareness (shoutout to Annie).

Also, I'll be handing out candy to any studiers on Sunday, Dec. 8th from 1-2PM! So be sure to go study :)

Service Learning - MSU Friday

     MSU Fridays are harrowing and exhausting affairs.
     I am an Advocat. As I have explained before, that means that I am a volunteer student tour guide. I give regular tours every Thursday morning at 9AM to any visiting, prospective students and their parents. There are four MSU Fridays every year and Advos are required to work them. MSU Fridays, for those who don't know, are the very organized and structured days (on the organizing side of things) in which visiting families get a presentation of MSU - there are campus tours all day and a big presentation at 9AM. They have the opportunity to go to sample classes, meet with department heads, deans, the Honors College; there are presentations by the Office of Student Success, Study Abroad, and Financial Education. They get a free meal pass so they can eat on campus, in the SUB. And we, as AdvoCats, run the whole show. We don't miss any classes, though, which means that we start the day at 7AM, and work in between classes and other engagements until 4PM.
     At the first MSU Friday of this year, there were upwards of 300 attendees (something like that - it felt like 600 at some points during the day). My day started bright and early at 7AM, at which time I was in the SUB practicing a skit I was to perform with seven others in front of 300 people. The purpose of the skit was to formally introduce the student AdvoCats, relay a variety of majors and years, and discuss an abundance of reasons why to come to MSU. We ran down the isles, through the chairs, from the very back of the SUB Ballrooms, jumped on stage, sang YMSU (to the tune of YMCA), and sent the microphone down the line explaining who we were and why we came to MSU. The problem was, that the Office of Admissions needed more than just the typical reasons (skiing and Bozeman), so I was up there in front of 300 people telling them that I came to MSU because of the variety of student resources and assistance on campus - trying to sound authentic. In the end, I think I did okay. Then we jumped off stage and ran back to the back of the Ballrooms.
     Then, my day continued with the setting up of lunch tables and decorations in the SUB Ballrooms (after the guests had filed out and the previous set-up had been cleared away). I then had to run from there to Linfield to collect a crowd of potential Agriculture students and families so I could escort them safely and quickly back to the SUB for a sample class. This was difficult; I don't know if you have met the dean of Agriculture, but she is potentially the nicest person you've ever met: which means she talks a lot. So at 12:01 (the students were supposed to be on the move by 12), I had to step into the meeting room and relate the her that we needed to move these people out of here. Of course, she's the nicest person in the world, so it wasn't a big deal. BUT THEN, I had to move thirty people from the very top of Linfield, down a narrow staircase, up the mall, and through the SUB without losing them. To be honest, I still don't know if I lost anyone and if I did, I hope they're not still out there. The purpose of the AdvoCats, though, is to make MSU's first impression on these families. If we're rushed, unfriendly, and rude, that's how these families will remember the university. It wasn't hard for me to make conversation with these lovely people, but there was a pressure there and I was constantly worried about those in the very back of the crows whom I couldn't speak to.
     Come lunch time, I was assigned to mingle. I literally had to walk up to random families, who were eating their lunches, and make conversation. This is one of those things that brings flashbacks of my old, shy self back to my mind. I worry a bit about how awkward I could potentially be and how I might find I have nothing to say. But I realized that I was there, representing my school as a leader and that I needed to just jump in. So that's what I did. I didn't give myself any more time to worry, I just picked a girl sitting with her mom and sat down across from them. And (surprise, surprise) it was actually really fun!

     Long ago, in the age of high school, I, myself, attended an MSU Friday. I still remember it; I don't remember the details; I don't remember my AdvoCat's name, or any skits. But I remember it. That's why we do them and that's why I'm an AdvoCat. My Advo friends and I represent our school as leaders, as students, as community members, and we are usually the very first impression for a lot of our visitors. That's the goal, just to help these high school students decide where they want to go to start the rest of their lives. When I remember that, at the end of MSU Friday when I'm on my way home for a well deserved nap, it makes it all worth it.

Extra Credit - The Leadership Challenge, Kouzes & Posner, Part 2

     In Chapter 3 (the first chapter of Part 1), Kouzes and Posner (from here on, referred to as KP) discuss values and the personal and public (community based) clarification of those values. Nearing the end of this chapter, KP suggest writing yourself a memo of your values, but we've done that already in Leadership Foundations (how convenient!). Further than just defining your values, though, they suggest writing a one page, concise "Credo Memo." This is, in essence, your values and what you intend to use those values for. In their model, it is easily used for a specific time frame and goal, but I think this Credo Memo could also easily be used for a more broad sense of how you live your life: because values are not only applied to goals. The values you use in leadership are the values you lead your own life by. 

     Near the beginning of the chapter, KP state, "You can't believe in the messenger if you don't know what the messenger believes," and "You can't be the messenger if you don't know what you believe." The discussion and the struggle of finding one's own voice is one that any college student, or anyone around the age of 18, should be familiar with: after all, we've become adults and we've left home. If you leave home prepared to spout all the beliefs you've grown up with, without branching out, researching them and owning them yourself, you're not going to come off as authentic. It just won't happen, and I can promise you that. 

     Finding your own voice is a battle you'll fight against others, members of your community, our family, and with yourself. Because at some point you will think that what you are saying is something you believe in, and then something will happen or you'll hear something or meet someone who completely changes that belief or value. That is exactly why it is incredibly important to make these values a conscious decision. Now that I know and have written out my own leadership (AKA life) values, I couldn't imagine going through life without having that necessary moral mind struggle that I had while writing that paper. 

     Before writing the Values paper, I was in a place a lot of people, both young and old, are stuck in. Let's imagine I hadn't defined my values at the beginning of the semester, and let's then imagine that someone asks me what my most important value is. I would have no idea; and I would probably just pick the first one that came to mind. Then, when someone else asked me weeks down the road, it would be different. But now, I know what my values are. I know and am conscious of them at all times of the day and night. If someone were to come to me now and ask what my most important value is I would say, "Community," without any hesitation. And that answer would be the same weeks later.

     In the beginning of Chapter 4, KP introduce Juan, the industry solution manager at IBM. Juan introduces a real life leadership problem he once faced and says, "'I found that I could drive myself harder by letting my voice - my clarity about my values - remind me of the importance of my actions. The voice was fundamental in my decisions about getting personally involved in taking action'" (74). This passage immediately brought to me echoes of Deedee's friend Annie and her lesson on wakefulness. In tangent, I am glad I am reading this because I don't know when else I could make this complete connection. In knowing, being aware of, defining, and living by values, one is more able to be awake to the day-to-day occurrences: to change the habitual pathways and automatic spindle cell tendencies. In knowing my own values and practicing them consciously I am more easily and more comfortably - more naturally - aware (as opposed to asleep). 

     This awareness isn't something that just comes naturally though after the definition of values. They must be consciously practiced: that's the key. The following passage is in discussion much later on in the chapter, but it applies well here:
"Critical incidents - chance occurrences, particularly at a time of stress and challenge - offer significant moments of learning for leaders and constituents. Critical incidents present opportunities for leaders to leach important lessons about appropriate norms of behavior" (88). This brings us full circle to the beginning passage, "You can't believe in the messenger if you don't know what the messenger believes." The messenger - the leader - you and I - must have values that are clear, defined, and practiced in our own minds completely enough that we can clearly communicate them to our supporters and our community. In this way, leaders perform one of the functions present in my PLP: teaching. Teaching by example, not by title. By owning my values, I teach them to others. If I don't understand them myself, or if I allow them to falter, I teach false and dangerous lessons. 

Extra Credit - The Leadership Challenge, Kouzes & Posner, Part 1

     Chapter one of The Leadership Challenge served as a quick summary of the first main chapters of The Student Leadership Challenge which we read in class. In one chapter, it briefly described the Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership: Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to Act, and Encourage the Heart. What I realized in reading them all together is that they all work together in such a way that a leader could not use one practice without also using the other four. They all work together in order to build the ultimate ideal of community. It's an idea present and as an outcome of each practice.

     In Model The Way, Kouzes claims, "Leaders must forge agreement around common principles and common ideals," and some important elements are, "the power of spending time with someone, of working side by side with colleagues, of telling stories that made values come alive, of being highly visible during times of uncertainty, and of asking questions to get people to think about values and priorities." All of these elements build a sense of community. By trusting and enjoying the people and leaders that surround you, a common culture, goal, and values can be developed - all of which are necessary in a community setting.

     In Inspire a Shared Vision, Kouzes says, "Their own enthusiasm was catching; it spread from leader to constituents. Their belief in and enthusiasm for the vision were the sparks that ignited the flame of inspiration." The whole idea of inspiring a shared vision is one of the most important tools in building a community: a team must share a goal and the values. A leader is the tool that brings all the members together and communicates and delegates those goals and values. 

     In Challenge the Process, the most important sentence in the entire passage is, "You can't exhort people to take risks if they don't also feel safe." In the paper I wrote, early in the semester, on the necessary values in leadership, I explained that safety is a necessary component and it helps to build community. Kouzes claims that without a sense of safety, your supporters won't listen and follow with what you ask. 

     Enabling Others to Act requires inclusion. "Inclusion...ensures that everyone feels and thinks that they are owners and leaders....when people are trusted and have more discretion, more authority, and more information, they're much more likely to use their energies to produce extraordinary results." It must be becoming quite obvious where all of this is going: every single aspect and practice builds and is a requirement of community. And community is a requirement and a practice of leadership. "Leaders foster collaboration and trust," might as well be saying 'Leaders foster community.'
     In the final practice, Encouraging the Heart, the authors say, "Leaders also know that celebrations and rituals, when done with authenticity and from the heart, build a strong sense of collective identity and community spirit that can carry a group through extraordinary times." The emphasis, here, is put on the team and the group - synonymous with community. And only with community knowledge can a leader be authentic and aware of his/her individuals. 

     I spoke in my last blog post (Combs) of the fact that I seem to have had in me a lot of the ideas we've learned and developed over this semester. This reading, as well as many of the others, have helped to realize that these ideas I had - community, in this case - are actual, conscious elements of leadership and that I must foster them and build upon them. 

Extra Credit - Combs, Pg.164-170

     There is a lot in this short passage of reading that I found very personal connections to. The first that jumped out at me was the passage on 163, "if we 'unlearn' crossing our arms and legs, we both feel and are perceived as more open and approachable." This idea is one that I have heard echo throughout my life. It was only this last summer with my co-ed kickball team that it really stuck. I don't know why this particular moment stays in my mind, but it happened at lunch with my teammates after a game one Sunday. We were sitting at our table, our meals done, just hanging out, and my arms were crossed as they often are. One my teammates, DeWayne, pointed at me, looked at me sister, and said, "Will you please explain to her." Everyone laughed, as it was a joke within their group, but my sister and DeWayne quickly explained to me that as soon as a woman crosses her arms or puts her hands on her hips she becomes unapproachable.
     Now, whenever I find myself with my arms crossed or my hands on my hips I consciously work to put them somewhere else. In a way, I'm trying to reconstruct the mental pathway (spindle cells) that lead me to cross my arms.
     Long ago, in fifth grade as my classmates and I were sitting to take CSAP (Colorado Student Assessment, or something like that), my teacher told us that if our brains were tired or we weren't thinking clearly, we should cross our legs or arms because it would activate and reawaken our minds. As I read about the EMF displayed in our minds and hearts and how crossing the arms blocks the heart's EMF, it all made more sense. Perhaps, if your mind is wandering or unfocused, it is because you're uncrossed - your heart is leading more than your mind. Unfortunately, in a standardized testing arena, the mind must generally be leading, s crossing your arms allows your mind to take control again. This could potentially be used in a very strong argument against standardized testing, but that is for another time.
     The second passage that struck me starts with a quote on 167 from Antoine de Saint-Exupery, "A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral." This brought me immediately to the lesson in my PLP: everyone has the ability and power to create something. In tandem, everything has the ability and possibility to be made into something. In Deedee's words, "We only find what we are looking for." We can create, if we believe we can create.
     The last passage that I want to highlight is one that has been imprinted in my heart ever since I could understand my grandpa. "What would happen if in every conversation we believed that we were speaking with the teacher who holds all the answers in every conflict?" (168). And this brought me immediately to Myron Rolle's comment, "Always talk to the janitors and the lunch ladies." This is a lesson in leadership that many Americans - many people in general - seem to be lacking: occupation does not denote wisdom. It goes along the same lines as what I say in my PLP, "I will be a teacher in the same way I will be a leader; I don't need the title." It's something I spoke of at the Leadership Summit just this week; every person in every part of every team is a leader whether they realize or even whether they want it. Every person has a wisdom to share. And every person should be willing and trying to hear that.

Kouzes Ch. 8

     I have compiled a list of quotes from Chapter 8 of The Student Leadership Challenge which serve to effectively summarize literally everything I have discussed,written, or spoken about on my own in Leadership Foundations this semester.

"Leadership is about relationships, about credibility, and about what you do" (142).
"No matter what your position is in your group, you have to take responsibility for the quality of its leadership" (144).
"If you are to become a better leader, you must first believe that leadership applies to you and that you can be a positive force in the world" (147).

And finally,

"Sometimes we imagine leadership to be something majestic--about grand visions, about world-changing initiatives, about transforming the lives of millions. All these are noble possibilities, but real leadership occurs one moment at a time. Real leadership approaches every interaction and every situation as an opportunity to lead" (153). 

After I have already said these same things in my own words - without reading this chapter - I was astounded to find that these ideas and ideals were already part of my repertoire: already part of my own leader. This realization brought me to the quote on page 157, "Leadership doesn't begin until you believe in yourself so much that you are willing to give voice and take action even if at the beginning the only person following you is yourself." Reflecting on this semester, I had the important, base leadership traits down; I knew what I wanted and what I valued. I knew I couldn't do it alone and that I didn't need a title in order to lead. What I have learned most from this class is to trust all of that knowledge - and so to trust myself. Kouzes says it plainly, "Leadership doesn't begin until you believe in yourself." And I can't allow my belief to jump up on its own in times of dire need. I must harvest it, grow it, and use it consciously: along with all the specific conflict, element, biological, psychological knowledge learned this semester. Leadership is a conscious effort, a conscious drive. Without Kouzes, but most importantly, without this class, I would still be asleep to my knowledge. I would still doubt it.

Kouzes Ch. 6 and 7

     These two chapters pretty seem to be talking about everything I have written or spoken about this semester. It was interesting to finish up practicing my PLP speech on inspiring action, then to open up Kouzes and see "Enable Others to Act."
     It is interesting as well that the two chapters were separate or - more noticeably - that "Enable Others to Act" isn't the very last chapter. What I'm getting at is: encouraging the heart is enabling others to act.

"To get extraordinary things done you must foster collaboration and create conditions whereby people know they can count on one another, by building trust and strong relationships within your group" (Enable Others to Act, 99).

This can only be done by "Acknowledging the community ("common unity"), student leaders create a sense of belonging and team spirit, building and maintaining the necessary social support, especially in stressful times" (Encouraging the Heart, 132).

     My own responses to the chapter questions also surprised me; the first three from Enabling Others to Act were all moments from the same team. It just goes to show that every person is a leader, whether they know or acknowledge that title. One team member can say something that makes you feel small and weak; the coach can say something that makes you feel powerful; the whole team can still - in most moments - click. But what I learned from these responses is that in order to make others always feel powerful - in order to build a team and a community, a leader must "Learn from the many small and often casual acts of appreciation what works for each constituent and how best to personalize recognition." In order to build a community, a leader must encourage the heart. More specifically, a leader must strive to learn as much about the individuals he or she is leading as possible.

Peter Senge and Margaret Wheatley

I want to discuss two specific passages that stuck out to me for their similarities and direction:

"Organizations break down, despite individual brilliance and innovative products, because they are unable to pull their diverse functions and talents into a productive whole" ("A Shift of Mind," Peter Senge, 69).

"When our initial efforts fail to produce lasting improvements, we push harder...all the while blinding ourselves to how we are contributing to the obstacles ourselves" ("The Laws of the Fifth Discipline," Peter Senge, 59-60).

In retrospect, I should have read Senge's Chapter 4 before I read Chapter 5, but for some reason I flip-flopped them. His discussion of thinking of people as individual reactors instead of as parts of a whole is elaborated by the second quote; if, unlike the horse Boxer, we work as a whole or as a team, we are more able to see problems, to view future effects, and to gain new insights on what we are doing. When, like Boxer, we work alone and incessantly at one objective we are blinded by that objective. The step-by-step action plan disintegrates and the objective becomes overwhelming. The "individual brilliance" of the first quote becomes destructive.

This relates directly to Margaret Wheatley's discussion of "self-organization." Working as individuals, we are in the realm that resists change because we are blinded; as a team, we are able to identify the changes and those opportunities that are so created.

Service Learning - Chi Alpha Kappa to Delta Gamma

     Every Sunday night our women's social club Chi Alpha Kappa has a meeting; however, tonight's meeting was different than any other, because at tonight's meeting the three founders (myself, my roommate, and our friend) announced to our girls that we received the okay from the national sorority Delta Gamma (DG) to colonize at Montana State. This past summer, we got a group of girls together in the hopes of bringing DG to MSU, but we were told we couldn't yet, so we made Chi Alpha Kappa instead. Finally bringing DG to campus is extremely exciting for us - probably the most exciting thing to happen to any of us all year. But we had a delicate task at hand: we had to announce to a room full of girls that their club, Chi Alpha Kappa, wouldn't exist anymore, that we would become DG pledges. This involves learning new, strict traditions; knowing and loving new colors, new themes, new mottos and chants. Most importantly, though, it involves offering a lot more commitment to us and to our girls and to DG.
     My co-founders both understood that they were not too adept at making speeches or conveying delicate information, so at 11AM this morning, I was delegated the task of coming up with a way to convey all of this to our girls. I needed simultaneously to offer excitement, caution, and elevate the importance. I needed to explain to these girls why this information mattered, why we need more time from them, and why they need to make this decision only after intense consideration. We have a lot of girls who have been with us since we first started (back when the main goal was to bring DG to MSU), but we also have a lot of girls who have joined along the way and have only ever known Chi Alpha Kappa. I spent hours trying to formulate the right speech. I would soon have an unstructured room full of girls sitting on the floor in front of me. The venue is my living room - it's not at all formal or important - and I had to preach these girls things I could barely comprehend myself; and I had to do it quickly, lest I lose their attention.
     So I just started writing, because that's what I do best. And I came up with this:

Those of you who have been with us since the very beginning will remember that we started this group of girls because we wanted to bring Delta Gamma to the MSU campus. Then we were told that we couldn’t, but we didn’t just drop everything and quit. We became Chi Alpha Kappa. And we have moved through some shit this semester, but we’re still Chi Alpha Kappa. We just had seventy registered participants in our first ever philanthropic event: that’s big. And now we can finally be Delta Gammas, but this means we’re not just a club any more. We are a colony of an actual, national sorority which means we need more commitment from you fabulous people than we have seen so far. Most of the girls here have shown us great passion and we love you for that; unfortunately, it’s a lot of the girls who aren’t here today who I wish would hear this. But I want everyone to know that we’re asking you to help us, to be our sisters, but that means we need your word and your time and your passion. What we’re doing here and what we are working so hard to succeed in is the true definition of sisterhood. We are bringing DG to Montana State. I just want you to understand how important this is. If you don’t feel excited about this, if you don’t want to or don’t think you have the time to give us your full effort, then we are so sorry to see you go, but we need girls who will give this their all. Because this means everything to us: this is why we started and it has happened so much faster and more spontaneously than I had ever hoped it would. We are DG, will you join us? 

     We didn't let anyone make any decisions right away: even those who were just as psyched as we are, because we need them to understand what a big decision this is and how much time and effort it will take.
     It's been a few hours since meeting ended and we've now heard from a few girls - so far only those who do want to join. We expect to lose a few, in some extreme cases, we hope to lose a few, but that's important because we need girls who will be dedicated to this. It isn't a club anymore, it's a sorority: a sorority with an important image to uphold.
    At the end of the day, I feel like I did my job well. I let the girls know that we cared about all of them, even those who don't want to join us. And I let them know in a kind and delicate way. I'm so excited to see where this goes and I can't wait to be DG!