Leadership

Dan's post and a recent conversation in a course I teach inspired me to write a little somethin' somethin' about leadership. When recently conducting my Star Class, a first-year student leadership symposium, I asked the question, what is leadership? Interestingly, the students focused most of their descriptions on positional leadership. That is, the formal leader, the head of a group, the chief of a tribe. When asked if they were leaders now, many of them stated, "no, we're just freshmen" or, "I haven't been that involved in any organizations yet."

These responses frustrated me a bit. When will we begin to think of leadership as being internal rather than external. Instead of thinking about 'who is the leader' when will we begin to reframe our focus to be 'how am I leading?' I believe leadership is simply, conviction in action. It is understanding our deepest passions and connecting them to our communities greatest need. It is about the work that we do, not the title that we're granted….In response to Dan true leaders will hear the ring and pick up the phone….

-JK