New Leadership Opportunities

WHAT?

     My sorority, Alpha Phi, holds elections for executive positions each November.  Each executive position holds office from January to January. There are thirteen members on executive board, this includes one President, six Vice Presidents and six directors. I have always remained very involved in leadership in each extracurricular activity I have been involved in. I have had some uneasy feelings and deep thinking about which position I wanted to run for that would be best for me.

Alpha Phi Spring 2012 Pledge Class

SO WHAT?

     Initially, I was drawn to the Vice President of Chapter Operations position because it directly relates to my major which is accounting and finance. I felt that this position would look best on my resume. I felt that if ever asked in an job interview, I would immediately be able to relate my experience as VP of Chapter Operations. I also was drawn to the position because the person who currently holds this position I am very close with, and I feel she does a great job. She does a great job as a leader and demonstrating the practice of modeling the way as we have been learning about. I feel that I could continue on with the path she has gracefully grown. But, as I kept thinking about the position I felt that I was not interested in the position, it didn't seem to feel right. I was doing the position for the wrong reasons; just to put the title on my resume was not a good enough reason. I knew I needed to be passionate about whichever position I ran for.

NOW WHAT?

     After I submitted my application for Vice President of Chapter Operations, the election committee board contacted me. They told me that I would be a great fit for President. My first response was "they are crazy!" I am not fit for President of Alpha Phi, I cannot run a group of 200 girls and manage the chapter!! So I emailed them back and told them I was not qualified for the position and that I needed to focus on my grades. After, the current President, Audrey, contacted me directly. She told me exactly why they thought I should run for President, she brought up all of my leadership experience up to date which was on my resume, she did convince me. She did not convince me to run for President, she truly inspired a vision. She convinced me that I could do the job, she convinced me that I did have the confidence, courage and experience to run for President of Alpha Phi.

Leadership Through Time

WHAT?

            Last Tuesday in my Leadership Agriculture class we had a guest speaker come and talk to us about her leadership philosophy and she focused on the importance of morals and ethics when it comes to leadership. She passed out a card with a picture on it to every person in our class. Each picture somehow related to leadership. The pictures ranged from scenery grass fields to families to pictures of airplanes. All pictures of random things. She told us to relate our leadership philosophy to the picture we were handed. I was handed a black and white picture of an old man with lots of wrinkles. The man was dressed in an air force uniform. He reminded me of my own grandfather who had served in the Vietnam War. I look up to my grandfather in many ways and he has demonstrated many forms of successful leadership throughout his life.

SO WHAT?

            Throughout my grandfather’s life he has many times demonstrated how leadership is an important aspect of being successful. I have heard so many “when I was young” stories and I never really appreciated the meaning behind them. I have heard his stories from when he was overseas. His stories involve the importance of courage. As we just learned from The Art of Leadership by George Manning and Kent Curtis, values such as honest, respect, service and integrity are all imperative characteristics that a leader must have. He would tell me stories about the other sergeants and how important service leadership was in the war. servant leadership is an approach of leadership that involves access, communication and support. He used this approach a lot overseas in the air force. Along with servant leadership, my grandfather would constantly remind me the importance of character and values. He would tell me stories about while overseas how he became such a better person because he was forced to re-evaluate his life and life choices. Before going overseas he wasn’t focused, he didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life and he had just gotten married to his wife and his wife was now pregnant. He told me how my mom, his daughter, changed his outlook on life. He now preaches to me the importance of character because it is the basis of leadership. Once my grandfather came back to the U.S with a changed outlook on life he then attended college and got a degree. He then owned his own convenience store and gas station and created a great life for my mom and grandmother.

NOW WHAT?

            My Grandfather is now getting older each year and I listen very closely every time he starts a “when I was young” story. I now realize how many amazing lessons he can teach me and all of the experiences he has had. I look up to my grandfather in so many different ways as a veteran, businessman and overall inspirational leader; I hope that one day I will be able to tell my grandchildren all of the wise lessons and experiences I have had in my lifetime and be able to touch their hearts like he has touched mine.