Discipline Sounds A Lot Like Consistency

One of the first things I encourage others to reflect on in their leadership journey is the ability to lead themselves first. This flows out of the belief that the best leaders lead by example. The expectations a leader places on others should be reflected in the expectations a leader has of him or herself. Leaders lead themselves first. The …

Living The Standard

We all have standards we live by. Some of them are based on the expectations of others. Some are self-imposed. I recently unveiled a “standard” on our campus. This came about through various conversations and initiatives centered around the goal of creating a better student experience on our campus. We wanted to emphasize the potential in each person, as well …

How To Make An Impact Series #5

This is the last post in the “How To Make An Impact” series. The purpose of walking students through the Impact Graph is to help them see where they are and challenge them to go further in their ability to make a difference in their environment. One of the caveats to this kind of conversation is the desire of the …

How To Make An Impact Series #4

Blake Mycoskie made a discovery. While in Argentina, he noticed that a lot of kids didn’t have shoes. So he returned to the United States and started a shoe company. For every pair of shoes that someone buys here, he gives away a pair of shoes to someone who needs them. You’ve probably heard of Blake’s company – Tom’s Shoes. …

How To Make An Impact Series #3

Imagine you are watching the start of a race. The runners are at the starting blocks. Their feet are set and their fingers spread just behind the white line in their lane. The starter raises his hand and says these words: On your mark. Get set. Go! Imagine that all the runners take off…except for one. This runner remains in …

How To Make An Impact Series #2

I recently posted a comment to an online discussion. The question was, When did you first realize you were a leader? In my response, I stated that my first leadership role was eraser monitor. “The job of the eraser monitor was to take the erasers from the chalkboard (do we still use chalkboards?) outside and bang them together to get …

How To Make An Impact Series #1

I work with student leaders. Let me state that another way: I work with students who are in the process of developing their leadership knowledge, leadership skills, and leadership perspective. In the course of this type of work, I find it helpful to provide students with various pictures and tools that help them identify where they are and where they’re …

Leading From Who You Are

Sometimes, students will ask me, “What do I have to DO to be a leader?” As we talk about the different types of activities and skills and situational responses a person may have that demonstrates their leadership ability, I’ll say there’s probably another question that they should answer first: What kind of person do I have to BE in order …