LEADERSHIP

1. LEADERSHIP “Character without action has little meaning in this world. But leadership-acting in accordance with your character-can change the world.”

2. Do Presidents need experience? • Does it matter which leaders we choose? • Can we make rational choices? • “Unfiltered leaders" -- those who haven't had much relevant experience -- will likely have a greater impact than “filtered” leaders. Why do you or don’t you believe this statement?

3. Apple • Was Steve Jobs replaceable as a leader? • Many believe that if Steve Jobs had not run Apple, Apple would still be a $600 billion company. Do you believe this statement is true? Why or why not? • Share with the person sitting next to you who you believe is a great leader. Why do you believe her/him to be a great leader?

4. Are high impact leaders always the best choice? • If our definition of leader-impact is that this person does things that other people in the same situation would not do, what do we know about that kind of decision? Think about what happens when you buy a stock that everybody else says is going to tank. Most people will say you're crazy. If you're right, and it shoots through the ceiling, you're a genius. But most of the time when everybody is telling you, 'Gee this is an awful idea,' it is actually an awful idea…

5. … • The peril of high-impact leaders is precisely this: They're the people who do the things that no one else would do. Sometimes they look great, and they're Abraham Lincoln. Sometimes they're awful, and they're Lindsay Lohan.

6. So how do we identify high impact leaders? • That's where the filtered/unfiltered idea comes in. Look at how GE chooses a leader. They don't hire outsiders. They bring in people at low levels and they spend 20, 25 years evaluating them. By the time someone is in contention to be CEO, GE knows everything there is to know about this person. All those years—with their peers, with their superiors, with their subordinates—watching them perform in every conceivable circumstance. At the end of the day, GE's got five finalists for the job, and they pick one. All of the finalists have been through this process. • Discuss with the person next to you: how different could the four who weren't chosen possibly be?

7. Who are you? • Would you consider yourself a filtered or unfiltered leader? • Why or why not? • Think, pair, share.

8. How to be good leaders • Help other students individually or in small groups • • Provide support in a variety of ways for the entire student population • • Improve the spirit and climate of the school for students and staff • • Enhance their own capabilities and self-esteem • What one quality can you add to help our goals above?

9. How will communication make us good leaders?

10. Effective communication… • It is good to communicate with each other. • Eye contact makes people feel that what they are saying is important. • Listening well helps people realize that what they have to say is important. • Communication helps us to get to know each other better. • Stereotypes are roadblocks. • Rumors are roadblocks. We won’t say things that hurt another person. Rumors aren’t good. If you don’t know for sure, then don’t say anything. • To help someone solve a problem, you have to ask the right questions. Your questions have to be open-ended instead of yes-no questions.

11. Conflict Mediation with your Peers • If the problem is too big, don’t try to solve it yourself. Get a teacher to help. • To help someone solve a problem, it’s a good idea to give choices or ideas instead of telling someone what to do. • If someone is fighting with someone or just not getting along with them, you can help them by being a sounding board, acting like a mirror. Just try to reflect their ideas when they talk out loud to you. • Give hints. Don’t go straight out and tell someone what to do. It can backfire if it doesn’t work. They’re not you. Just give them ideas, but don’t tell them what to do.

12. Community Service Projects • It feels good to know you’re helping other people and getting others to join in this helping. • Helping the community revitalizes the community. The Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities • It makes us a team. We get closer and stronger together. It’s motivating when you have an opportunity to make something happen. Even when you leave school, believe now that you can make things happen in the community. • Be proud of what we can do and accomplish. It makes us want to do more. • One school class put together a Penny Drive for the SPCA, the class was really happy that they brought in the largest amount. The person from the SPCA came and talked to them about how much it costs for food for one week for the animals. They were in the newspaper. They made the community realize what a team can do.

13. … • Some other ideas schools have worked on include: • The 30-hour fast to help raise money for Third World countries, gather donations, to help these countries. • If you were to get involved with a community service project, what would you like to do? What are you interested in?

14. What would school be like without extra-curricular sports, clubs and more??

15. What did other students say… • School would be boring. It wouldn’t be as much fun. • The activities we did gave more spirit to the school. • Working in peer support gave me more self-confidence and self-esteem. • When we made special days, it was more relaxed. Everyone knows it’s going to be a fun and exciting day. There are judges and prizes. There’s more excitement. • We get lots of friends at school. • Kids don’t feel so isolated when they have someone they can talk to about their problems. We can help make the school better. • We’re more approachable because of this experience. • All the students feel more comfortable. They feel like they have input in the school. • Kids know that they can talk to you without being afraid that you will put them down. • I feel more involved in the school. • This experience helps us manage our time better. • We make a commitment to the group and to ourselves to do the work. • We’ve become more responsible and committed.