Alright. So today I went to a leadership conference at Mount Aloysius College, which isn't too far from Saint Francis. You never know how those types of things can be, but I was looking forward to the opportunity to meet students from other schools and see what kind of fresh ideas they have. I especially was hoping to hear about what they do to get their group members motivated and help with various projects and events throughout the year, since this is something the group I lead, Hugs United, has historically struggled with. Well, much to my surprise, there was a common story of frustration being told by all of the leaders about how it's difficult to get full participation, and it's often the club/organization officers who do the majority of the work. Wow. I couldn't believe it. This type of situation wasn't unique to just Saint Francis, but is rather a common woe held by all the groups who were represented today. I honestly was very shocked to hear this, but honestly a little relieved to know that we are not alone in this battle.
So now the question becomes... what do we do about this? How is it that we get people motivated to pull their full load and become leaders as well? We need to develop leaders starting from a younger age. Show people that they are appreciated and that what they're doing really is making a difference. As leaders ourselves, we cannot be afraid to delegate tasks and pass our duties onto others and have a fear of failure in doing so. Yes, we may hit some speed bumps and trip a little bit, but if we can develop strong leaders from the time that they enter the campus community, our organizations and campus as a whole will be a lot better because of it.
I know that I'm personally becoming kind of exciting of passing my duties onto someone else, and letting them take over the necessary work that is needed to organize an international missions trip. I have been really nervous about having to do this, but now I realize that being able to EMPOWER someone else, and trust them with this duty, I'll be allowing another individual the opportunity to develop into a stronger leader who can continue to empower others through our group's mission. There is not a cookie cutter handout for what makes a good leader, and it will be interesting to see in which direction our organization will go in the future. We made a lot of progress this year, and as we continue to embrace new and diverse ideas and people, we'll continue to grow, and be better through it.
While today helped generate a lot of new ideas of what to do on our campus, it actually helped to calm some of my fears for the future as well. And I think that that, my friends, is a successful day.
So now the question becomes... what do we do about this? How is it that we get people motivated to pull their full load and become leaders as well? We need to develop leaders starting from a younger age. Show people that they are appreciated and that what they're doing really is making a difference. As leaders ourselves, we cannot be afraid to delegate tasks and pass our duties onto others and have a fear of failure in doing so. Yes, we may hit some speed bumps and trip a little bit, but if we can develop strong leaders from the time that they enter the campus community, our organizations and campus as a whole will be a lot better because of it.
I know that I'm personally becoming kind of exciting of passing my duties onto someone else, and letting them take over the necessary work that is needed to organize an international missions trip. I have been really nervous about having to do this, but now I realize that being able to EMPOWER someone else, and trust them with this duty, I'll be allowing another individual the opportunity to develop into a stronger leader who can continue to empower others through our group's mission. There is not a cookie cutter handout for what makes a good leader, and it will be interesting to see in which direction our organization will go in the future. We made a lot of progress this year, and as we continue to embrace new and diverse ideas and people, we'll continue to grow, and be better through it.
While today helped generate a lot of new ideas of what to do on our campus, it actually helped to calm some of my fears for the future as well. And I think that that, my friends, is a successful day.
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