Leadership Safari for Leadership Development

I have been involved in the Leadership Safari program heavily throughout my time at CMU. It has given the the opportunity to develop into the leader I am today, and it has opened my eyes into new experiences and involvements I would not have had without it. This year, after my second Fall Leadership Safari and my experience as a Spring Leadership Safari last year, I was able to be the Spring Leadership Safari Staff Assistant. In this role, I was able to plan the conference for incoming transfer students and second semester freshman. I did this through programming elements of the conference, working with campus partners to build a service project, and utilizing campus partnerships in different offices to recruit students for the program. This was only the second year of Spring Leadership Safari, and my GA, Haley Anderson, and I were determined to make it a great experience for the students.

 I have grew through this experience in ways that I did not imagine the role as a Staff Assistant would bring me.  I developed my own sense of authentic leadership, and furthered my discovery of what being a leader means to me. One of the best things being a Staff Assistant for Safari gave me was working with Haley. Through my relationship with Haley, I have truly learned what mentorship looks and feels like. Haley was always there for me as a human, a student, and a leader on the campus. She sought my opinion and insight on elements of the program, and she guided me on things I had no previous knowledge of. I was able to receive incredible amounts of professional development, and I gained a resource to help as I anticipate through the journey of post-grad life as well. She has given me incredible support in things that have occurred in my life this past year, and she helped me learn how to use my values and heart in my leadership. Now that my role in Safari is done, I no longer consider Haley my GA, but a good friend. I could not replace my relationship with Haley and the support and guidance she has given me for anything.

Through the development of my leadership, I learned how important it is to be critical of the programs and institutions you are a part of in order to make change. Through my high leadership role, I saw not only the incredible parts of the program, but also the parts that I thought could improve for the well being of the student leaders involved. I was able to see things through a lens, and use my voice to try and make change for the future in this program and campus. This position brought me a lot of stress, but I am grateful for the experience because I would not be the leader I am today without it.

As I enter my senior year, my journey will the Leadership Safari program is done. I look back on my safari memories with joy, but I have realized that sometimes things help you grow to a limit. Once you have experienced the growth you can in a program, it is time to move on to things that can further your growth beyond what staying with where you are comfortable can. I look forward to the growth I will experience, and I look forward to using the skills that the Leadership Safari program has given me.

Talk the Leadership Talk

Another class I took this year with my LAS cohort was Communication in Leadership.  A lot of the topics covered in this class are similar to the topics covered in my LDR 200 class I took freshman year.  However, being a year older I believe helped me understand and takeaway the material a little differently than before

The first assignment in this class is telling a story about a time you failed as a leader.  I was shocked when I heard this was our first assignment.  This is not something we are asked, and I was genuinely curious to hear all of these people who I consider strong leaders around me talk about a time they failed.  Most people told stories of times they were in high school.  This contrasted with our last assignment which was to tell a story of a time we implemented a topic from the course and were successful as a leader.  Most people told these stories from a time that was extremely recent.  I loved hearing this because it showed the growth in the each person because they were growing so much as leaders in as short of a time as from high school to college.

My favorite lesson from this class was talking about the types of ethical challenges in leadership.  I felt it was extremely applicable to the leadership roles I have now, and that I will have in the future, including my future career.  I think it is also arguably one of the most important because in order to be a strong leader, you have to be ethical. This is definitely one of my biggest lessons learned from this class.

Morality

One of the classes we are required to take for LAS protocol is a philosophy class taught by the one and only Gary Fuller.  I can honestly say this is one of my favorite classes I have taken so far at CMU.  Gary Fuller walks into the classroom with an unmatched personality and energy that creates an atmosphere that I do not think anyone in my cohort was prepared for.  Gary also has a deep amount of appreciation and respect for his students.  I still see Gary on campus outside of the classroom, and we have a full conversation every time.  He is a professor who genuinely cares about his students, and he even throws us a Christmas party at the end of the semester.

Aside from the professor, I loved this class because of the way it made me think.  This class added not only the question of if something was morally okay or not, but also why something was moral or not.  I have always been a person who was very strong in beliefs, and I am willing to vocalize them.  I was constantly being challenged in this class to be able to defend my beliefs and whether or not they are moral.  This class touched on a lot of topics that made people angry.  The topics paired with the 8ams caused for a large chunk of the class to often become disengaged.  This added even more to my overall takeaway from the class.

You cannot make people care.  I may believe something is or is not morally okay.  Someone else may believe differently.  We may have our reasons and that is where debate begins and change happens.  However, if people don’t have an opinion, no one is challenged.  There is a lack of growth, and there is a lack of change.  Discovering how actions and ideas line up with your values is essential to being a leader because it allows you to have the important conversations and to make a difference.

Learning to Lead

As an LAS cohort (plus one leader who is not a part of LAS) we take a class together called LDR 200L.  This class is a leadership class where we learn important skills needed to improve our leadership abilities. Throughout the class we had to facilitate different activities and learn about the different leadership theories.  Though there were multiple leadership theories that were applicable to my life, the one I found the most applicable was the Behavioral Approach to leadership.

A lot of time in leadership people focus a lot on the relationship between the leader and the followers.  Don’t be me wrong this is an EXTREMELY vital part of leadership, however I like how this theory focus a lot on how leaders can be a mixture of being very task-oriented and relationship oriented.  I consider myself to be a very personable person, however, when things are not getting finished or are left until the last minute I get pretty anxious, which will affect the people around me to become anxious as well.  I think knowing how to balance task and relationships is one of the most important parts of being a great leader.

I am going to be a guide for Leadership Safari this fall, so when I was learning the theories in LDR I would try to put them into context of how I can use my knowledge while leading a small group.  Behavioral approach was one of the most easily applicable in this scenario too because of the amount of activities that are fit in to such a short amount of time during Leadership Safari.  However, in order to make Leadership Safari an amazing experience for the participants, I will need to form fun and trusting relationships with them.  LDR 200 has made me feel much more comfortable with my leading abilities, and it also taught me that I have A LOT more room for growth; that’s a good thing!

I also learned a lot about how to debrief.  Going through LDR has taught me that debriefing is the most important part of leading an activity.  It is the part that connects all the dots and allows participants to see the bigger picture of what they are doing.  Debriefing allows the leader of the activity to learn as well and see a new a view point on things that could have not seen before.

A lot of people didn’t like going to LDR because it was three hour long evening class, but I can honestly say that I always looked forward to it because learning about things that were so applicable to our lives was SO FUN!

How Detroit Helped Make a Difference to us

LAS in the D was filled with all sorts of activities you can read about here.  However, I did not anticipate the amount of emotion I would feel on and after this trip.  In such a short amount of time I had my eyes opened tremendously to new experiences and amazing leaders.

Being around so many leaders, it is hard to pick one that I would say had the largest influence on me.  One of the qualities that we have talked about a lot in my leadership class and that I noticed in all of the leaders I encountered in Detroit was they all had a why.  Everyone had such drive and passion for what they were doing, even if it was what seemed like an almost impossible task.  I’m sure it was once considered ridiculous to believe that one company could have such a large impact on rebuilding Detroit, but Quicken Loans is doing just that.  I want to use my love for learning and others to help use my passions to make a change.  I want to make someone’s life better.  As cliche as it may seem, this trip kind of made me really realize that anything is possible if you really care.  You can say all you want what kind of place you want the world to be, but it isn’t gonna change until you do something about it.

This whole outlook isn’t a new one.  You hear all the time that nothing is impossible, and you should be the change you wanna see in the world, but sometimes you need a reminder to inspire you to live your life through those mottos or cliches.  I am going to start by taking a chance and doing something I would never think of doing.  This trip has changed my whole outlook on Detroit, and I wanna live there for a summer and help be a part of the change.  Next summer I plan on applying for an internship with Quicken Loans to help with their Non-profit organizations and really get a taste of what it is like in Detroit.

The leaders on this trip will not all people who were Vice President’s of large companies or people who created a new company out of an idea.  Some of the most influential leaders on this trip were students from the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy and my fellow LASers.  As I mentioned in a previous post, the students at Jalen Rose were so positive the whole time.  The same can be said about my LAS cohort.  It was a very busy half a weekend, and my cohort did not complain at all.  Everyone was so willing to learn and to experience.  We all wanted to do more.

This trip really nailed down for me something that I already felt fairly passionate about.  It showed me how important learning is.  Learning about Detroit opened up a whole new view point on the city for me.  I think this is something so valuable that can be related to any part of life.  Any cruelty comes from ignorance.  By informing myself of other places and cultures I will easily become a more inclusive and open person.

All in all, this trip has inspired me to learn, and always have a fire for what I am doing. As Ma always say “If something is worth doing, it is worth doing right.”

Besides learning about what kind of leader I want to be, this trip made me fall in love with Detroit.  It is so underrated.  I think the media has such a large role in this.  Going to the city made me realize how media and marketing can play such a large role in the perception of a place or a person.  When you think of the things that are paired with an extremely popular city, such as New York City, you think of the tourist shirts that say “I

Also, there was a post on twitter the other day that after this trip made me very happy because it showed how the world is starting to see how great Detroit is too.

The Muggle World of Emma Watson

Emma Watson is seen as a beautiful and graceful actress who starred in one of the best film series of all time.  However, she is one of my biggest role models for many more reasons than that.  Here are a few:

1. She pours her life into her passions.                                                                               Emma took the opportunity after finishing Harry Potter to go to college to get an Education because it was something she was passionate about.  She started a campaign about feminism because it is something she was passionate about.  She devotes her life to charities because it is something she is passionate about.  Emma Watson lives her life through what she feels is important to her in the world.
2. She stands up for what she believes in.                                                                                         Emma Watson saw a change she wanted to make, so she launched a campaign to raise awareness for women’s rights around the world.  At such a young age she has made a large impact by making her voice heard and helping others all over the world.  She also has worked with the United Nations to help make her voice heard.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
3. She inspires others.                                                                                                              
   Through her He for She campaign she has   inspired others to learn and educate themselves about the inequalities around the world today.  Through her speaking her mind and standing up for what she believes in, she has inspired (such as me) to do the same.  She inspires by proving that standing up for what you believe in and being passionate is something we should all strive to do.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
4. She preaches and practices self-love.  Emma Watson prides herself on being her own person an loving that is different.  In fact, she wants everyone else to love themselves too.  She focuses her opinion on herself based solely on her own view of herself and not on what others may think.  She lives by the motto that she isn’t giving others or society the control to determine what she thinks of herself. This is a goal that I want to one day achieve and I think it is one of the most admirable traits of Emma Watson.

So, how does this make her an exemplary leader?  Well if it doesn’t go without saying,  Emma Watson has had a positive impact on tons of people, and continues to everyday.  Through her action she is creating more leaders to help make their own voices heard. Since she is an advocate for individuality she is inspiring others who do not necessarily have the same views as her, but is still wanting everyone to let their voice be heard.

How does she impact my life?  One day I hope to have inspired someone as much as Emma Watson as inspired me.  One of her passions, feminism, is something that I feel very passionate about as well, and through her actions and words I have learned a lot about what feminism is and how it can be interpreted to others.  She is a refreshing in terms of feminist role models in the country who are not necessarily political leaders.  The United States has many political leaders who are feminists, and lots of celebrities who claim to be.  However, Emma Watson is celebrity feminist who is practicing what she preaches and making a difference.  She isn’t saying she is a feminist for fame, she is doing it because she is passionate.

Another passion of Emma Watson’s is self-love.  This is something I have become extremely passionate about within the past year and moving to CMU.  I think a large part of being happy, having a healthy lifestyle, and helping others is having a healthy relationship with yourself.  Emma Watson gives great inspiration to others to allow them to love themselves.

I hope to continue my life and develop the leadership qualities that Emma Watson has.  She is a great role model for men, women, and young children.  I hope one day I can become a great role model too.  I can do this by improving on the qualities listed above.

Just because Emma Watson is amazing, here are some more of my fav quotes by her:

The Spark that Started the Fire

The Spark Leadership Conference is a conference that Central’s Leadership Institute puts on every year. The conference is open to anybody on Central’s campus that would like to expand their knowledge about leadership. You can find more information about the Spark Leadership conference here.

When I first got there we were split into groups, and asked to fill out this questionnaire sheet about leadership.  After we all were finished with the questions we were told to right down how many answers were written in squares, circles, triangles, and diamonds.  After we calculated where our answers were, we were told that each of the different shapes represented different leadership styles.  The four different styles were spirited, direct, systematic, and considerate.  My two highest scores were very close with only one point difference.  My highest score was spirited, and my my second highest score was considerate.  This means that typically my leadership styles is spirited. Honestly, this did not shock me at all because when I am in a leadership role I feel like my goal is to make everybody enthusiastic about what we are doing and to enjoy the task.

The rest of the day we did teamwork and group activities with the group we were split up into, and it really showed how the different leadership styles, though they are all very different, are just as needed in a group.  It also highlighted how leaders lead in a diverse number of ways, and no way of leading is better than the other.  Though I was not shocked about what my specific leadership style was, I had never thought about it too much, and I had enjoyed getting to learn about what the different leadership styles were and their importance.  Because of this, I will now be able to improve my leadership by improving the other forms of leadership, so I can become a well-rounded leader.