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100 Ways To Help Student Leaders Succeed [#15]

Get Others Involved

A leader is always on the lookout for people who can get involved in working toward the success of the organization.  A leader understands that he or she cannot do it all alone.  Remember, if you are doing the tasks of your job by yourself, you are not a student leader, but a student worker.  The key to leadership is leading.  That means getting others on board.

There will always be those who are quick to sign up to get involved.  But a leader finds ways to get those on the fringes involved in the game.  A leader looks for strengths and skills in others that they can develop and use toward the success of the organization.  Your leadership style will determine whether or not you are able to get more people involved.  If you have an “I’m in charge.  I’m the boss!” mindset, then very few people will want to get on board with you.  But if your leadership style is inclusive of others, you will be more effective in “leading.”  Here are some styles that are different than a typical “top-down” attitude.

a) Participatory management – This style allows for those who are working with you to give their input and critique the process that the group will invest itself in.  While this style is a lot messier because you are hearing from a variety of viewpoints, it does empower and motivate those that you work with.

b) Facilitator style – This type of leadership moves you into the role of a facilitator who works hard for the success of everyone that you work with.  This style helps others to be more effective in their own areas of responsibility.

c) Democratic leadership – This is similar to a participatory style, except you as a leader work to develop a team of leaders who equally weigh in on decisions and the direction of your area of responsibility.

d) Flat-organizational characteristics – Instead of seeing yourself at the top of some organizational pyramid as the leader, view yourself in more a side-by-side role with those that you work with.  You may be the one leading the charge, but each person plays an equally important role in accomplishing the mission of your organization.
(Taken from The Top Ten Mistakes Leaders Make by Hans Finzel, p 32)

Look around.  Are there pockets of people that need to get involved?  Does everyone feel connected to the organization because they have a role in it?  A leader looks for those who feel unattached and find ways for them to vitally participate according to their strengths and abilities. 

Max Depree said, “We as leaders don’t do a good enough job of explaining to people that the quality of the community cannot be seen in terms of the “best of” part of the community; it’s measured in terms of how the most vulnerable people are doing.”

We need to get people involved, not only because it will benefit the organization, but because it will allow people to have a sense of belonging to the organization.

Think About Uncommon Community Through The Common

Five Things To Think About For Five Minutes on the subject of UNCOMMON COMMUNITY THROUGH THE COMMON

com·mon (kmn) adj. Belonging equally to or shared equally by two or more; joint: common interests.

1. Practice COMMON Courtesy.
We practice common courtesy as a show of respect.  Watch most any parent teaching their young child how to interact with people and you'll hear them instruct them to say "please" and "thank you."  We learn to address people as "sir" or "ma'am" as a show of respect and an understanding of treating others well.  There's an underestimated power in being polite and courteous.  Smile at people.  Hold the door open for someone.  Let others go ahead of you in line.  When we try and force our way through life or demand our own way we chip away at the very community we are seeking to build.

2. Discover COMMON Ground.
Do you notice that we instinctively do this when we meet someone?  Once we move past the "Hello, nice to meet you," we begin to ask questions about where a person is from or what they do.  At that point, we tend to find a point of connection to what they share with us.  We look for ways that life has treated us in similar ways and how we've responded.  Our commonalities help us to make connections to each other.

3. Seek The COMMON Good.
Community is formed when we begin to ask the question: What is best for both of us?  We move past looking out for our own interests and seek out what is best for "we" instead of "me."  The rule of thumb for leaders is if you get someone to do something or follow after you for your own benefit - you will have the tendency to manipulate them.  But on the other hand, if you are leading in something that is for their benefit or the benefit of the community - you will seek to motivate them.

4. Find A COMMON Cause.
We all want our lives to mean something, to spend them on something that is significant and meaningful.  When we discover a cause that will bring about a better future for others and for the world, people begin to rally around that.  It will strengthen your community if you can identify the causes that you are a part of that will make a difference.  Do something that the community believes in.

5. Use COMMON Sense.
Perhaps of all the common issues that are mentioned here, this one may be the most uncommon of them all.  Common sense is the thing that helps us to gauge what is the proper response in any given situation.  It is a sensitivity to the thoughts and feelings of others.  It's being able to see how the actions of the moment fit into the whole scheme of things.  Common sense knows when it's the right time to approach people and when we simply need to walk away.  It is intuition.  It is defined as "good sense."

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Use this material in conjunction with the 5x5s worksheet.
Download the 5x5s Worksheet here.
What is 5x5s?  Read more about it here.

TimeWasters: A Quick List

One of the ways that we can best manage our time is to identify certain things that have the potential of being "time wasters." Whether it's because we didn't plan on them or because they just have a way of taking more time then they should.

Go through the following list to see which of these activities may be robbing you of valuable time.

• Telephone interruptions.
• Visitors dropping in without appointments.
• Meetings, both scheduled and unscheduled.
• Crisis situations for which no plans were possible.
• Lack of objectives, priorities, and deadlines.
• Cluttered desk and personal disorganization.
• Involvement in routine and detail that should be delegated to others.
• Attempting too much at once and underestimating the time it takes to do it.
• Failure to set up clear lines of responsibility and authority.
• Inadequate, inaccurate, or delayed information from others.
• Indecision and procrastination.
• Unclear, or lack of, communication and instruction.
• Inability to say no.
• Trying to accomplish a task with unclear expectations or standards.
• Fatigue.

Paying The Price Of Leadership

As a student leader you have a simple choice to make: you can pay now and play later, or you can play now and pay later.

Either way, you’re going to have to pay. 

By paying, I mean the areas that one must invest, labor, and work at to be effective as a leader.  This could include the time you spend building your team, setting your vision, naming your goals, developing key relationships, etc.  If you wait to pay the price to develop these things, the price will be much higher than if you invest on the front end. 

By playing, I am referring to the blessings and results of having paid the price of leadership.  The truth is, the blessings you enjoy now as a leader in your position are the result of someone having paid the price before you got there.  You are a part of an ongoing leadership process.  The price that you are willing to pay this year, will directly affect how much you are able to play this year.  Plus, it will impact those who come after you.

I sat down with Jason last week.  Jason has graduated from college and moved on to a wonderful career in marketing in the performing arts industry.  As we reminisced about his days as a student leader in school, we talked about the hard work that he put into starting a coffee shop on campus.

The first year the coffee shop opened (his senior year) was difficult.  The coffee shop lost money.  There wasn't a lot of student buy-in.  Jason worked to try and promote new activities, discounts, and perks to do anything to get the coffee shop off the ground.  Some people wondered if it was worth it.  But Jason worked all year to see it grow.  Then Jason graduated and moved on.

The next year, the coffee shop became more popular and actually began to make money.  It was a hit with all of the new students and more and more returning students made use of it.  It became the place to be on campus.  The student leaders during this year were able to provide a lot more programming and received a lot of praise for having such a great coffee shop.  But while they were working hard, they were receiving the benefit, the ease of use, that Jason had provided because he paid the price the year before.

As a student leader, it's important to understand that you may not be the one who is able to play just because you took the time to pay the price.  The leadership price you pay in your chapter of the story may provide the opportunity for those who follow you to play, to stand on the shoulders of the work that you've done.

With every student leader year, there will be some things that you get to enjoy because someone else paid the leadership price.  There will also be certain things that you will pay the leadership price for that someone else who comes behind you will enjoy.

Every chapter has it's share of playing.  In fact, the opposite could be said as well.  If you follow after a student leader who spent more time playing, then you may be the one who has to do the paying (and pay a higher price).

When should you pay the leadership price? 

As often as you can, pay the price on the front end.

Where should you pay the leadership price?

• Taking the time to develop key relationships and alliances.
• Developing organizational systems or improving those that currently exist.
• Investing in your team and developing their leadership skills.
• Doing your best, even when it's difficult.
• In the area of personal discipline and follow-through.
• Accomplishing tasks and projects that will make it easier on those who follow after you.

Chuck Swindoll writes:

“A piano sits in a room, gathering dust.  It is full of the music of the masters, but in order for such strains to flow from it, fingers must strike the keys…trained fingers, representing endless hours of disciplined dedication.  You do not have to practice.  The piano neither requires it nor demands it.  If, however, you want to draw a beautiful music from the piano, that discipline is required…

You do not have to pay the price to grow and expand intellectually.  The mind neither requires it nor demands it.  If, however, you want to experience the joy of discovery and the pleasure of plowing new and fertile soil, effort is required.

Light won’t automatically shine upon you nor will truth silently seep into your head by means of rocking-chair osmosis.  It’s up to you.  It’s your move.” 

It has been said that achievers choose what losers won’t and pay the price that others don’t.

How To Get A Good College Credit Score

How do you handle money?  Are you a spend-a-holic?  Thrifty?  Broke?  Credit card happy?

I know that college students will most likely incur some debt as they face rising tuition costs.  But there are some ways to develop good money habits that will increase your credit scores.

Jason Striegel at BlogCadre offers some helpful, practical tips for college students who not only want to keep away from the bad credit nightmare, but work RIGHT NOW to establish good credit.

He offers such things as:

Open A Savings Account

Get A Credit Card From Your Bank

Set Up Auto-pay With Your Bank

Treat Your Credit Card Like a Check Card

Move Your Checking Account To Savings

Only One Card

With the ever-growing internet marketplace, online spending can sap a student's tight budget quickly.  If you are unable to manage your finances properly, seek out some help from a trusted financial advisor.