Me – A Leader?

1. Me – A Leader? Erin L Payseur, Associate Director Leader Dev & Civic Engagement

2. Common Leadership Myths Debunked • Leadership is about power. • Leadership is largely about change and reveals new horizons for a more just, equitable and humane world. • Only “special” people can lead – people who are outgoing, who run for student office, etc. • All human beings, regardless of race, gender or ethnicity have the capacity to lead and influence the world for noble purposes. • Being a leader is about making the money, having the prestigious position, driving the nice car. • Helping students understand life as a stewardship and work as a vocation releases them to lead out of their divine giftedness.

3. Common Leadership Myths Debunked • I am not called to lead. • Some individuals are called to sustained positions of leadership (and possess the Christian spiritual gift of leadership), but also that no human being is released from the responsibility to influence the world for noble and good purposes through opportunities to lead. • Leaders work best on their own. • Leadership is a shared responsibility that requires collaboration, diversity of thought and is best experienced in the context of community. • Leaders don’t serve. • As a Christian institution of higher learning, we have a compelling responsibility to prepare leaders for lives of service.

4. Model the Way • Inspire a Shared Vision • Challenge the Process • Enable Others to Act • Encourage the Heart The Five Practices for Exemplary Leaders Kouzes & Posner (2008). The Student Leadership Challenge. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons.

5. What I like about this model • Easy to understand and to apply • No advanced training required to get started, and yet can always keep developing skills in these areas • Relevant to any context, at any level – class, church, community, corporate world • Way to identify what we are doing well and to identify ways we can grow

6. Application • Let’s celebrate the leadership in us! • Let’s think about practical steps we can take to improve. • Let’s build a team with complimentary strengths, looking for people who are strong in our weaker areas. • Let’s live it out and make a difference!

7. Melissa Jones New York Times article - March 24, 2011 1. Model the Way “Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but be an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in faith, in love, and in purity.” - 1 Timothy 4:12, NIV Clarify values Set the example

8. 2. Inspire a Shared Vision “Then I said to them, ‘You see the trouble that we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins and its gates have been burned with fire. Come let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so we will no longer be in disgrace.’”- Nehemiah 2:17, NIV Envision the future Enlist others Todd Harper Baylor Magazine - Winter 2010/2011, Vol. 9, Issue 2

9. 3. Challenge the Process “For if you [Esther] remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” - Esther 4:14, NIV Rebecca Canning Brumley Sherry Matthews Waco Tribune Herald – February 13, 2011 Seize the initiative Generate small wins

10. 4. Enable Others to Act “What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you can not handle it alone.”-Exodus 18: 17-18, NIV Foster Collaborative relationships Strengthen others Amy BolinYP Leadership

11. 5. Encourage the Heart “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouth, but only what is helpful for builidng others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”- Ephesians 4:29 Recognize contributions Celebrate victories Jan GrahamFBC Woodway

12. Application • Let’s celebrate the leadership in us! • Let’s think about practical steps we can take to improve. • Let’s build a team with complimentary strengths, looking for people who are strong in our weaker areas. • Let’s live it out and make a difference!

13. Additional resources • The Five Practices® • Student LPI Assessment & Individual Development Plan • The Student Leadership Challenge book – workbook style with personal application questions • ALDCE Leadership Clearinghouse • http://researchguides.baylor.edu/academyforleaderdevelopmentandcivicengagement • Books, articles, associations, & other resources

14. Other Opportunities • Academy Fellow program • Individual, self-paced leadership program • Social change model of leadership • Leadership Studies Minor (LDS prefix) • Introduction to Leadership (LDS 1301) • Servant Leadership (CCS 1100) • Leadership & Technology (LDS 3V01 01) • Leadership in Ghana • May 12-27, 2012 • Visit BU Missions website for more info.

15. “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” - Ephesians 3:16-20, NIV Closing Thoughts

16. Contact Information Erin L Payseur, Associate Director Leader Development & Civic Engagement 254-710-1736, Erin_payseur@baylor.edu SLC, Student Learning & Engagement #207