studentlinc

The Studentlinc Core Leadership Training BOOK Available

It's ready and available for student leaders!

The Studentlinc Core Leadership Training Book is completed.

This has been a slow learning process for me as these lessons have evolved from material that I use to teach and train student leaders into a book that I can put into their hands.

Here's some of the highlights of this release:

1. The lessons were previously written to those who work with and advise student leaders. In the process of creating this book, I've changed the audience and written it directly TO student leaders.

2. The lessons were previously sold as a pdf download on studentlinc for $49.99. The book is actually cheaper (by $20 or almost 50%) and is being sold through Lulu for the price of $29.79. The reason? I want you to be able to put this resource into the hands of your student leaders. I didn't write this material to fund my retirement and I don't want money to get in the way of your students having this. In fact, with Lulu, if you start buying the book in bulk the price goes down!

3. I went with a spiral-bound book. It's 252 pages and I want students to write in it, refer back to it, and work through the questions and action items in each chapter. A spiral-bound book allows you to lay the book flat on the table and is much easier to write in.

Again, I'm pretty excited to get this resource into book form. It's something that your student leaders can work through over an entire student leader year. For a little more information visit the Studentlinc Core Leadership Training page on this site.

Studentlinc Core Leadership Training - New Book Form

Soon! Soon! Soon!

Great news for those of you looking to put practical, easy-to-use student leadership training in the hands of your students. I've recently re-written and re-formatted the Studentlinc Core Leadership Training into an actual book!

The lessons are currently available as a PDF download. But this new format will make it easier for you to work through the lessons with your students. The lessons have also been edited to speak directly to student leaders instead of those who work with student leaders.

The other exciting news is that these books will be made available at a lower cost than the current PDF download. I want to make it easier for you to get as many copies as you need for each of your student leaders. Imagine putting a resource in their hand that you can work through with them for an entire student leadership year.

Stay tuned for more information within the next week about how you can order this resource for your own student leadership development program.

The Separation Season

Some have asked me what I meant in my last post by the Separation Season.

This idea flows out of my model entitled, The Six Seasons of the Student Leader Year. You can see an overview of this model here.

Like I mentioned yesterday, the Separation season is when student leaders say goodbye and leave their position. It can be a bittersweet time. Typically, outgoing and incoming student leaders are working hand in hand. It is the time to pass the baton and transition to your next commitment.

The Separation season has some key characteristics that distinguish it:

* A time of tying up last minute, loose ends.
* A bit nostalgic - there is reminiscing and celebrating.
* You are feeling ready for the next thing.
* You share what you know about the position with the incoming student leader.
* What frustrates you about the position is seen as a welcome challenge to the incoming student leader.
* You feel some combination of relief, regret, and rejoicing over your year.
* You focus on your friends, teammates.

In my last post, I encouraged you to do a few things to get the most out of this season in your student leadership year. There's a number of action steps you can take. Here's a brief list with some of those ideas repeated:

* Prepare the next person well.
* Celebrate with your team.
* Include some of your passion and excitement for the next thing on your final to do's for this position.
* Finish with integrity.
* Thank those who helped you.
* Make right anything that went wrong.
* Leave the position better than you found it. This means making one thing easier for the next person because of the work you did.

The obvious thing about the Separation season is that it comes at the end of your student leadership year. Yet some students don't last the entire year. Some student leaders find that they must step down or step away from a student leadership position before it's officially over. For whatever reason, the Separation season comes before it's supposed to.

The Separation season can occur at any point during a student leader year. Here's my own observations on the type of student leader a person may be based on when the Separation season occurs in a student's situation. While it may seem a little harsh, I believe that we must continually raise the bar on what constitutes a true student leader.

You lost if you separate during the Anticipation season. This happens because you choose not to run, you didn't win your election, or you didn't even try for the position.

You're lame if you separate during the Implementation season. This happens because you ran for the position for all of the wrong reasons. When it came time to actually do something, you hadn't really bought in.

You're lazy if you separate during the Fluctuation season. This happens because you lack stamina and dedication. Things got difficult and you couldn't handle it so you bailed out.

You lag behind if you separate during the Evaluation season. This happens because you realize that you weren't doing a good job or you couldn't make this position a priority. You fell behind and have no intention of catching back up.

You let down if you separate during the Determination season. This happens even though you almost made it to the end. But you moved on to the next thing too quickly and left your position before it was over.

But...here it is...wait for it...You LEAD if you separate during the Separation season. This happens because you are leaving when you are supposed to. You see your position through to the end and have helped establish the leadership of the person who is following you. You finish strong and serve as an example to others.

My hope for you is that this final season of the student leader year will be the culmination of all of the time, effort, and dedication you put into your position. The Separation season should be one of the most enjoyable times for a student leader if it occurs when it's supposed to.

More Leadership Lessons Available NOW

You've gathered your student leaders and they're excited about leading all the activities and events for the upcoming year. But are they ready to lead...people? Are they ready to lead themselves?

The Studentlinc Core Leadership Training series is designed to be easy to use, practical, and adaptable to your situation. Whether you have 10 minutes or 10 hours to train your leaders, this 30 lesson curriculum will meet your needs.

The Dedication Season is the next-to-last season of the Six Seasons of the Student Leader Year. This can be the most difficult of all the seasons that a student leader will face. Don't allow them to simply get through it, help prepare them to rise above during this time and take their leadership journey to the next level.

This set contains student leadership lessons that cover the five core leadership capacities (listed here) and how they can be practically implemented during the Determination Season:

Self-Discipline (Leading Yourself)
Excellence (Influencing Others)
Paying The Price (Making A Difference Mindset)
Motivation (Communicating Clearly)
Teamwork (Getting Others Involved)

Each lesson has an overview of the topic, a teaching outline that you can adapt to your own situation, a real life case study, practical application tips, journal questions, and powerful quotations on the lesson topic.

Visit the Studentlinc Core Leadership Training page for this and other exiting lessons.

Download the SCLT Overview.

Purchase the Determination Season - Five Lesson Set.
Upon purchase, you will immediately be sent an email with a download link. You can have quality student leadership training material in your hands in as little as 10 minutes.

New Leadership Lessons Published

The newest set of student leadership lessons in the Studentlinc Core Leadership Training series has just been released. The Evaluation Season is the fourth season in the Six Seasons of the Student Leader Year.

This set contains student leadership lessons that cover the five core leadership capacities (listed here) and how they can be practically implemented during the Evaluation Season:

Priorities (Leading Yourself)
Momentum (Influencing Others)
Leading Change (Making A Difference Mindset)
Listening (Communicating Clearly)
Focus On Strengths (Getting Others Involved)

Each lesson has an overview of the topic, a teaching outline that you can adapt to your own situation, a real life case study, practical application tips, journal questions, and powerful quotations on the lesson topic.

Visit the Studentlinc Core Leadership Training page for this and other exiting lessons.

Download the SCLT Overview.

Purchase the Evaluation Season - Five Lesson Set.
Upon purchase, you will immediately be sent an email with a download link. You can have quality student leadership training material in your hands in as little as 10 minutes.

New Downloadable Student Leadership Training Materials

STUDENTLINC'S NEWEST TRAINING MATERIALS JUST ADDED TO THE RESOURCE PAGE!

The STUDENTLINC CORE LEADERSHIP TRAINING MODULES are concise and practical lessons designed to prepare students for leadership. Each module, 30 in all, focuses on a different leadership theme. These themes are based on the Six Seasons of the Student Leader Year Training Model. They incorporate the five leadership capacities in the Student Leader Backpack to create a comprehensive student leadership development program.

Interested? Want to know more and see a sample?
Download the SLCT Overview

Pricing:
$3.99 - Individual Lesson
$16.99 - Seasonal Set (5 lessons)

I'll be adding more and more of the modules listed below in the coming weeks. As the sets become available, I will be offering them at the discounted price listed above.

SEASON: IMPLEMENTATION (Available February 2008)
Personal Management | Equipping | Preparation | Effective Communication | Delegation

SEASON: FLUCTUATION (Available February 2008)
Balance | Values | Problem Solving | Relational Communication | Accountability

SEASON: EVALUATION (Available February 2008)
Priorities | Momentum | Leading Change | Listening | Focus On Strengths

SEASON: DEDICATION (Available March 2008)
Self-Discipline | Excellence | Paying The Price | Motivation | Teamwork

SEASON: SEPARATION (Available April 2008)
Finish Strong | Legacy | Celebration | Experience | Potential Leaders

These lessons are perfect for those who are involved as student government and club advisors, teachers, mentors, and parents. They are suitable for students ranging from high school through college.

Download the Studentlinc Core Leadership Training Overview

Start Your Student Leadership Semester On F.I.R.E.!

No one has ever won a race that never started. This is especially true in the sport of competitive swimming.

Not only is it crucial to start a race, but how one starts is even more important than how one finishes. In his research entitled, "Start Right? A Biomechanical Review of Dive Start Performance," Dr. Andrew Lyttle and Nat Benjanuvatra demonstrate just how crucial a good start is to finishing well.

In current competitive swimming, the dive start is a critical component of swimming performance. This is especially true for the shorter distances where the start has been estimated to contribute up to 30% of the total race in the 50m sprints. Numerous examples can be cited to highlight the importance of starts. In the men’s 50 m freestyle final in the Sydney Olympic Games, there was only 0.05s separating 1st and 3rd places and in the same event at the 2003 World Championships, 0.52s separated 1st and 8th place. At the 1996 Olympics, Scott Miller lost the 100m butterfly final to Dennis Pankratov by 0.28s although he was already 0.40s behind at the initial 15m mark. Therefore, a small improvement in starting performance can potentially lead to substantial improvements in the event placing.

Since a student leader only has one year, it is crucial to have a good start. With only one semester left in the student leader year, it's important to start the second semester on F.I.R.E. Here's what I mean:

F - Figure out the future. - You will be more successful if you can begin with how you want the end of your student year to look like and work backwards. What do you want to accomplish? You only have a little bit of time left so you can't simply live from event to event. You must be proactive. What's your vision? Choose two or three things that are achievable and focus on those things.

I - Immediate success. - Jump start your semester by giving your people a way to succeed immediately. Figure out a small task that needs to be accomplished right out of the gate. Give your team everything they need to be successful. It will increase excitement and buy-in for your vision of the rest of the year.

R - Relationships. Relationships. Relationships. - When you look back at your year, you'll remember the relationships you had more than anything else. Take the time to get to know the people you need to know. The quality of your relationships will carry you through the difficult times.

E - Expect greatness. - The beginning of the year is when you set expectations. Set them high, but not out of reach. The start of the second semester is the perfect time to reconnect your team to those expectations. As time is winding down, it's more important than ever to encourage people's best effort.

Remember, it's harder to get momentum then it is to keep it. The start of a semester, whether it's the beginning of the year or the middle of one, is the best time to get the momentum you need. Start on F.I.R.E. and you'll have a better chance of staying hot for the rest of the year.

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT: What can you do to start on F.I.R.E. during the first couple of weeks of your semester?

SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT: Tell us one of your goals for the upcoming semester.

: : : :

Tim Milburn
Student Leadership Speaker & Consultant

Implementation - The Second Season Of A Student Leader Year

Ready.  Set.  Go!

You've been looking forward to this moment for some time.  You finally get the chance to step into your student leadership position and begin to get to work on the tasks, projects, goals, dreams, ideas - everything that you've been planning in the Anticipation season.  The Implementation season has arrived and you start putting everything into motion.  This is a highly productive time in your leadership.  Everyone else is excited about their responsibilities and there's a high level of camaraderie amongst your fellow student leaders. 

The energy level is through the roof.  You are staying up late and putting a lot of effort into making sure everything is successful.  Your teammates are equally enthusiastic and you find that you can easily work through most any difficulty with relative ease.  You will find that your leadership is very hands-on.  You will devote a great deal of time to make sure that everything is going smoothly.

This can be a very rewarding time in the life of a student leader year.  But there are some things that you must be cautious of. 

• Be careful not to attempt to do too much.
If you come into your position and try to accomplish too many things and get too many programs up and running, you may find that you don’t have the energy nor the people-power to continue those programs throughout the remaining seasons of your leadership.  One thing to remember is that you can’t do it all, nor are you expected to.  Part of the success of your leadership experience will be in finding out what is most important early on and focusing on those few things.  That way, you will leave a legacy of excellence and not the scattered debris of unfinished business.

• Don't spend all of your time on your position.
Because of the high energy level, your excitement over implementing programs and ideas, and the newness of the whole experience, you may find yourself spending more time in this area than in other areas of your life.  This can be both good and bad.  If you don't pay the necessary attention to your other responsibilities, they'll find a way to get your attention.  School, work, and other relationships are important.  If they are neglected for too long, there will be consequences.  Balance is important in the life of any leader. 

Key Characteristics of the Implementation Season

• There continues to be a lot of excitement, enthusiasm, and energy for your student leadership position.  This carries over from the Anticipation Season.  You are still in the Honeymoon phase of your student leadership year.  There is a strong sense of optimism.
  
• You put a lot of time into accomplishing the tasks/projects you are responsible for.
• Your position and responsibilities allow you the opportunity to meet new people.
• You begin to work within current systems and structures, as well as, develop creative ways to organize your various responsibilities.
• You delegate tasks/responsibilities to key people on your team and look for others to get involved with you.  It is important that you begin to delegate immediately.  The more quickly you get people involved, the more it will help them to feel like a part of the team and develop ownership in what the team is working toward.  Oftentimes, student leaders will tackle a lot of the work at the beginning by themselves.  This only causes questions and doubts about other team member's involvement and begins to lessen their commitment levels.
• You define expectations for both yourself and those who work with you and communicate the big picture for the entire year.  As a student leader, it is always important to communicate how each event/activity/task is part of the big picture.  Set standards high at the beginning and it will be easier than trying to raise the bar halfway through the year.

During the Implementation Season, a student leader should focus on:

• Prioritizing projects and goals for the year.
  You can't do it all.  Now is the time for you to take a look at what lies ahead and plan out your year.  What are the three biggest things that you want to accomplish this year?  What will you put your greatest energies toward?  Pretty soon, you will begin to live day-to-day through the deadlines and obligations and if you don't have a sense of the big picture, you'll miss out on what's important.
  
• Creating appropriate steps, deadlines, systems, and follow-up to help the group function well.
  As a student leader, it is not your responsibility to do everything yourself, but it may very well be your responsibility to see that things get done.  Do your best to help those whom you lead succeed by giving them as much information as possible.  This includes any systems or policies that are in place, important people that they should work with, when they're tasks are due, and how to best communicate with both yourself and other members of the team.  Let them know ahead of time that you will be checking in along the way to find out they're progress (not to micro-manage, but to stay on top of things and to see how you can best assist them).
• Communicate.
  While communication is important in every season, it is especially important as you begin to get the ball rolling.  While everyone will be fairly positive and upbeat at the beginning of the year, there will be questions of expectations, protocols, and developing a sense of team.  Student leaders should take every opportunity to communicate with their team members and be approachable.  When teams stop talking, trouble is right around the corner.
• Developing habits of excellence – raising the bar for everyone to do their best.
  It will be easier to start with excellence and maintain it then to try and regain it later in the year.  As the leader, you will set the example.  Don't ask things of your people and team that you won't be willing to model and work toward yourself.

The beginning of most every leadership position carries a type of momentum with it.  Run with that momentum for as long as you can.  Because each student leadership year has some bumps in the road along the way.  No endeavor worth accomplishing happens without overcoming some barriers and obstacles.  If everything came easy, we wouldn’t need leaders to stand up and guide the way.  And it is just during those times of difficulty that a leader is needed the most.  That's why a student leader must be prepared for the next season...the season of fluctuation.

 

Anticipation - The First Season Of A Student Leader Year

It starts as an idea, an impulse, a well-placed suggestion. 

There is a leadership position that you begin to consider.  Someone may have approached you and recognized that you’d be good at it.  Maybe you have had your eye on it for some time.  Whatever the situation, the opportunity is before you and you have made a decision to go for it.  Inherent in that decision are two key "anticipation" questions:

Can I do it? – this addresses your abilities.  Are you capable of accomplishing the tasks of the position?  Can you maintain balance in the midst of your other commitments?

Will I do it? – this addresses your attitudes.  How do you feel about being in this position for the next year?  How will you approach this position?

Most students fill leadership positions in one of two ways, they are either selected or elected.  Whichever way you were placed into yours, it speaks highly of your capabilities and the kind of person that you are.

Prior to being placed in a position, you begin the process of envisioning what it will be like, what kinds of things you will be responsible for, what changes you would make, what kinds of things you will do to improve.

Key Characteristics of the Anticipation Season

• A high level of energy and optimism for the student leader position.  It is very affirming when one is elected/selected to serve in a student leader position.  Excitement for the following year grabs hold.  This energy and excitement exist alongside those who currently hold the student leadership position and are moving closer to the separation season.  It is a bittersweet balance.  What has frustrated the outgoing student leader is seen as a welcome challenge to the incoming student leader.
• A sense of vision for the possibilities that the student leader posiiton holds.  It is important to get some sense of the Big Picture for the year.  Once the year begins and you move into the implementation season, you will begin to live day-to-day.  It is easy to lose sight of one's overarching vision.  This season is the best time to form a vision that can carry you through all the other seasons.
• An excitement to work with the other student leaders during the upcoming year.
• A realigning of priorities to include time and resource for the student leader position.
• A varying level of wariness over one's ability to fulfill the duties of the student leadership position.  In the midst of the excitement, one may be a bit apprehensive about one's capabilities because of the newness and unknowns about the student leader position.  This typically happens when a student leader moves past the initial celebration of being elected/selected and begins to take seriously the responsibility of the student leader position.
• The student leader begins to learn, train, and get better equipped to succeed in the position.
• Hopefully, the student leader spends time with the outgoing student leader whom he or she is replacing. I say hopefully, because this may not happen.  One of the key characteristics of the separation season is the time that an outgoing student leader spends investing and equipping the incoming student leader.

It is important to realize that each season effects the one that follows.  The Separation Season for the outgoing student leader will play a key role in the Anticipation Season of the incoming student leader.  This interaction between the outgoing and incoming student leaders is vital(See related article on this topic here).  It is also true that the work done during the Anticipation Season will have a direct impact on the how well you get moving in the Implementation Season. 

In order for the incoming student leader to get the most out of the Anticipation Season, he or she should:

• Develop relationships with key people. 
  This would be your advisor, other student leaders that you will work with, and other people with whom you'll interact.  I would caution a student leader from building relationships with people solely based on the requirements of one's position.  People will feel used if they think that you always need something from them.  But rather, embrace these relationships as an important way that you can learn something from each individual and look for ways to add value to their lives.
• Learn the systems that are in place for your student leader position. 
  Find out what they chain of command is and how to properly follow it.  Learn about the budget processes and how you can request money.  Are there certain procedures to plan an event, put it on a calendar, reserve space on your campus?  How often should you conduct meetings, attend meetings?  What forms or paperwork does your position require you to use?  If you plan on implementing some kind of change, especially in an area where there is some type of tradition, what are the proper channels, people that you must go through to make it happen?
• Look for training opportunities that will better prepare you for your student leader position.
  Hopefully, your organization will spend time equipping you to be able to hit the ground running.  But there are things that you can do on your own as well.  Spend time with previous student leaders who have held your position.  Look for books, articles, and online resources that will help to enhance your leadership skills.  Approach your position with an open mind and a teachable spirit.  Talk to students from other organizations.   

The key to a healthy transition into the next season will be in how well you plan out your year and begin to work with people and accomplish your responsibilities.  Once you have taken some time to get familiar with your new responsibility, it’s time to get to work and enter the Implementation Season.

The Six Seasons Of A Student Leader Year

One of the more unique aspects of student leadership is the amount of time that each student commits to his or her position - typically one year. 

That's the beauty of the student leadership laboratory.  One year to accomplish something significant.  One year to learn to become a better leader.  One year to invest in the lives of others through one's position and influence. 

One year. 

A lot can happen in a year.  But in order to make the most of each and every year, a student leader must be aware of the ebb and flows - the seasons that each year contains.  A season is "a recurrent period characterized by certain occurrences."  (American Heritage Dictionary).  Seasons divide each year at certain times. They shape the weather and give us a general idea that things are changing, time is moving forward.  We recognize the onset of summer as the days grow hotter and longer.  We begin to prepare for winter as the temperature drops and rain turns into snow.  Each season is recognizable and repeats itself every year - sometimes in more pronounced ways than other years.

There are seasons in a student leadership year as well.  They flow from one into the other.  Sometimes they are more intense and dramatic, other times they seem to come and go without much notice.  There may be some overlapping and even some signs of moving back into a previous season.  They express the flow of each year.  And each student leader experiences these seasons at different levels.  Some feel them more than others because of their own temperament, personality, and leadership situation.

For the most part, these seasons happen in the order that I list them here. There is movement in a student leader year with high points and low points.  That’s why it's important for each student leader to get a sense of the big picture.  If you understand ahead of time when and where the seasons (both good and bad) might be, you’ll be better prepared to handle them when they come.

Let me give you a quick overview of each season:

Anticipation

This is the season of looking ahead.  Deciding to apply, planning a campaign, looking ahead to what one will attempt to change, maintain, and accomplish throughout the upcoming year.

Implementation

This is the season of moving into action.  All the plans and dreams are put into motion.  A student leader quickly finds that he or she is kneedeep in their position, putting their strengths to work, building relationships, and having fun.

Fluctuation

This is the season of overcoming obstacles.  Student leaders discover that things don't always go as planned, conflicts arise, certain realities begin to push aside one's idealism.

Evalutation

This is the season of the gut check.  Working through the fluctuation season, one discovers that the year may turn out differently than anticipated, that everything planned may not happen.  A student leader must take the time to figure out what's most important or risk their success.

Determination

This is the season of staying the course.  A student leader will come to a crossroads - to persevere or to walk away (before their done...before the year is over).  It is during this season that student leaders must decide that there is still work left to be done and if they stick with it, they' discover a whole new level of leadership.

Separation

This is the season of letting go.  Every student leader leaves, the question is when?  A student leader who stays the course will leave a lasting legacy that other student leaders can follow.  How a student leader prepares the next generation of student leaders is vital to the health of the organization.
__________________________________________

The next series of posts will deal individually with each season.  As I explain each season, I will include ways that student leaders can be the most effective and how they can handle or avoid the pitfalls that frustrate a student leader's ability to be the best they can be.