Helping

December 17, 2012

Helping others is a major component of being a leader. I was able to experience this at the last service project that was at the Food Bank. Even though all we did was sort out food and stick them in boxes at least I knew that in the long run it was going to a good cause. It made me realize that I was more fortunate than others, which I’m thankful for; going to the Food Bank is something that I normally would not do but from meeting new people and hanging out with the people on the floor it was really nice. It was really cool how we all worked together and got all the food packed in a very fast amount of time. Everybody contributed in helping to accomplish a common goal. At the end of the day, the director informed us that we had packed nearly three hundred boxes and thousands of boxes of food. To me this was astonishing to be able to service others in that short amount of time. Ultimately I felt so selfless in helping others. Often times I feel that a lot of people look at what they can get out of a situation rather than what they can offer to others. Being a leader requires sacrifice, and that often means providing service to others and the community without getting compensated or a reward out of it. I found a fitting quote about selflessness that I felt directly applied to this post-

“Only those who have learned the power of sincere and selfless contribution experience life’s deepest joy: true fulfillment” -Anthony Robbins

Ultimately as leaders our goal is to make ourselves, our families, our colleagues, our community, and our world a better place. If we all worked to put others before ourselves than I believe the world could be a better place.

-Tediah Grant


Experiences Make Great Leaders

December 12, 2012

In my personal opinion, experiences make great leaders! If you think about it, our experiences help to comprise who we are as individuals. Whether the experience is good or bad, the shape us in ways that sometimes we may be unaware of. For me, my relationships with people in the past help to navigate my relationships with people now. I think a lot of times people let the negative situations they encounter with people affect them in ways that take a toll on their present and future relationships. In life, we are all bound to be disappointed; it’s just an unavoidable factor of life. How we handle these various situations is what transforms us into great leaders. Important qualities of leaders include courage, stability, strength, endurance, and inspiration. Leaders are often role models, and as we have people looking up to us, whether it’s someone younger or a fellow student, it is our responsibility as leaders to teach them and guide them in the right direction. How do we teach them? From personal experiences! Being in a situation and overcoming varying circumstances is much different from an outside perspective. Being able to demonstrate that it is possible to get through a certain situation is a powerful aspect of being a leader. Many times, a situation may be difficult to talk about or share with others, but I feel that these situations are important to express because not only do they encourage someone who may be experiencing a similar situation, but it also encourages oneself by means that it helps to bring home the idea that, “hey, this is what I went through. But more so this is what I overcome!” I think having these moments make us stronger as an overall person. In addition, when going to lead a group of people, it makes it easier to relate to people finding a common ground based on experiences. Being able to inspire people is a profound factor of leadership and by sharing experiences-I feel that many people are inspired and effective leaders are born.


Food Bank

December 12, 2012

When I went to the food bank to volunteer with the class, I honestly had no clue what was in store for me. When I hear the word food bank, I think of one giant pantry in a sense that gives food to the needy. When we arrived in D.C., we were met by a van that drove us to the location. This intrigued me because –

  • The food bank is a non-profit organization so no funds were collected to buy the van.
  • Gas is required in order to make these multiple trips to pick up the volunteers!

Prior to even physically volunteering, this brought home the idea of community engagement for me. When we arrived at the food bank and began to pack the boxes in their different categories (mine was canned vegetables :D) I began to think of all the good that we were doing for the community. Somewhere, some family was going to need these non-perishable items during the cold, winter season. In the moment the boxes felt tiresome, but to think of all the good that was coming of this was an overwhelming feeling. After we finished our shift, the woman who had been guiding us through the day had told us we packed thousands of pounds of food, which literally made my mouth drop. In this moment, I realized leadership is silent. Leadership does not have to be making a speech or leading a group of people or vocalizing oneself in any way. Leadership can be in the form of recognizing there is a need and doing what you feel is necessary in order to meet the need. This “Aha” moment in a sense really resonated with me on the way back to campus. If we all just found a need and worked to combat it, we could all make the world a better place!

 

 


11 Leadership Secrets

December 12, 2012

I found this article, The 11 Leadership Secrets You’ve Never Heard About, on Forbes.com by August Turak. It talks about how there is 11 secrets to leadership. It was a very interesting article. It talks about how followers become great leaders. He says ” We often switch between leader and follower many times in a single day, and success depends just as much on being a great follower as it does on being a great leader.” This quote says it all. To be a great leader, you need to know how your followers are feeling and what they are going through. Turak’s first tip is that you should always bring something new to the table. If you do this, people will start to look at you as a leader. Another great tip that he says is that you should be a great communicator. If you are a great communicator, then you will know what needs to be changed and what is working. HE then talks about how you should  Leaders are busy. The last thing they want to do is supervise. Great followers reason backwards: they use future goals to prioritize today’s activity.” This last one is the best to me. People have to have goals, that is what drives them to do more.


Whats the best??(the video is because your the best)

December 10, 2012

So today I was thinking… Could someone make up their own type of leadership style and could it be superior then other leadership styles. Then I was like no…. saying one style is better than another is basically wrong all leaders change something. Even the leader s that fail help teach their followers how to improve from their failure. This leads to what I personally believe which is that everyone is a leader in their own special way.  What makes you a great leader is that all of your actions are intending to be positive to help a situation then hurt a situation.  It’s always about the effort that you put into whatever you do.


Dungeons, Dragons, & Leadership

December 10, 2012

by Lori Lawson

This past weekend I had the opportunity to play Dungeons and Dragons – the ultimate crown of nerdiness. (Technically it was Pathfinder, which is like an older version of Dungeons and Dragons, but we’re just going to ignore that fact.) After watching 7 hours of Lord of the Rings, the time had come for me to make a character. With the help of Dave, the “game master” who essentially plays god to the game, I began to form a strong archer knowledgable in the ways of the land. As time progressed and the game began I became more and more absorbed with the world we had so delicately crafted.

After defeating the rogue skeletons of the tundra as I let  my scouting party onward, danger once again crossed our path. This danger came in the form of an Ice Dragon – right as all of my allies were incapacitated. I face the dragon alone, using my bow and my sword to slowly whittle away the dragon’s health points…and then I got eaten alive. Whole. One hour making a character, two hours of leading my group forward, and it was all over in one turn. How did this happen? A series of 3 dice rolls by Dave that in total probability would say should only happen 1 in every 8,000 dice rolls.

Read the rest of this entry »


Overlooking Those That Matter

December 9, 2012

So I decided to go to the Capital Food Bank Trip and I was really hoping that it would be a good day. I get nervous to go on activities with this hall because everyone already knows each other and I feel constantly left out. I am having a really hard time getting comfortable at Mason and so I usually avoid confrontation all together. I thought I would give my floor another chance and maybe things would be different, so I went. Well they weren’t! I still felt left out but I actually had a great day. When we finally got to the food back even though it was an hour late, I felt this overwhelming compassion to help. Even though I was not comfortable with those that I was working with, I was so happy that I could help those in need. I was overlooking the importance of the people that were going to get the boxes we were filling and I was thinking about myself. Even though I didn’t not have the best day, I know that I really made someone else’s day even better then I can image. So next time I think about myself and how I am going to feel, I will take a step back and thing about the impact I could have on someone else’s day.

-keilah S


Leaders Never Quit

December 9, 2012

Leaders never get to take a day off or lack even a little because we are always being watched. If you do even the slightest thing wrong people become judgmental and question your leadership abilities. Sometimes when you are a leader and you make comments you do not necessarily mean or you look down on a situation you can lose the respect of those counting on you. I found a little video about a young athlete, that when he said something, he did not know how he was effecting those that followed or looked up to him. In the end, he notices how his actions effect everyone was a whole.

Best part, i think, is the coach! He didn’t put up with any BS from the athlete and by showing him his full potential  he made an example for all the other players on the team. GO COACH!


Give Away

December 5, 2012

ANDY GIVES AWAY WOODY!

This was by far the saddest thing I’ve had to watch. I remember seeing Toy Story 3 when it first came out and I literally walked out of the theater when I saw what was happening haha. Toy Story played a significant role in my childhood and I could not believe the creators chose to end it that way.

Read the rest of this entry »


A Quote on Leadership

December 5, 2012

I recently found a great quote on leadership by John Buchan: “The task of leadership is not to put greatness into people, but to elicit it, for the greatness is there already.”  This quote stresses that leadership is all about helping others reach the “greatness” that is already within, not about creating a “greatness” for them.  The best leaders in my opinion help others reach their full potential for the sole benefit of the other person.  I think prominent leaders, who are so used to being in power think that they are the one’s who cause a person to change, but this quote really shows that a leader is only capable of so much and they sometimes forget the important work that the other person had to put in to create change.  This is a particularly wonderful quote because it shows that everyone has the potential for greatness, but sometimes it takes the presence of others to realize it.  I completely agree with this quote, how about you?