The other day in my Leadership Development class we talked about being a leader in you community.
Dean Kau started by defining community and leadership in order to help us see how we can engage in these roles.
He first talked about how a community means much more than your hometown. He defined it as "a sense of place or capital, and people who work together for a common cause." He said that it implies "uniting, sharing a common interest and well-being, and having a network of social relations and emotional bonds."
He then shared a quote about leadership that I really liked. It was by John Quincy Adams who stated, "If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader."
I love that definition because I think that it can really apply to whatever community that we choose to participate in.
He also talked about taking action as leaders by quoting someone (I forgot who) that said "imperfect action always beats perfect inaction." So true though. A lot of the time people are afraid that they will mess up or that they don't have anything to contribute, but in reality there is so much that each of us can do to be a leader in the many communities in which we dwell.
Along the same lines, Edmund Burke said, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." I think that especially now in the world it is important to stand up for the things that we believe in by trying to initiate change and let our voice be heard.
Anyways...
1. What are some communities that you can be a leader in?
I can be a leader in my hall in the dorms by being on Floor Council. I can also be a leader in the BYU community by getting involved with service projects and another club on campus. I can be a leader in the Provo community by continuing to work with ACCESS. I can be a leader in my hometown, Brentwood, CA, by continuing to vote for policies and city officials. I can be a leader in my old high school, Heritage, by continuing to stay in touch with the leadership program there and feed them ideas of things that I am learning here or just cool stuff that BYU does that could help them out.
2. How can you become involved in a way that is reasonable considering your time?
I can make more of an effort participate in Floor Council by being friends with all my neighbors, looking out for their needs, and helping to plan programs for them. I can also be a better example by going to all the Floor Activities and participating in the Helaman Halls activities. I can also continue to be a part of the Y-Serve program ACCESS, which is like a big brother/sister program where I mentor an at-risk kid in the Provo/Orem area. My 'brother's' name is Christian and he is really fun to hangout with so I plan to continue that service for the rest of the school year at least. I think that it is cool to be able to make a difference even if it seems small because it is effecting one person, but hanging out with Christian has taught me so much and I really hope that he will take something from being friends with my friend Jeff and me. I think that I can definitely keep this up because it is only like 2 hours of my week, which really isn't that much.
3. You don’t need a title to lead. Great leaders are already doing so. Where else can you be a leader?
I can be a leader in small ways in classes, at church, on campus, in my friend groups, and more. I can give answers and participate in class. I can volunteer to say the prayer or read scriptures in church. I can smile at people in the halls and look for ways to serve the people around me at school. I can build up my friends and try to brighten their days instead of joking around too much and wasting time. I can also encourage them to do service and go to Floor Meetings and other Helaman Halls activities even if they seem kinda lame. I can do many little things like that to try to inspire others to do the right thing too and be better, which is a good example of a leader.
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