Put It On Your Resume

Every so often I do a Google search on "LeaderShape" just to see what's out there and what's new. I'm always surprised what I find.

It could be pictures, videos, or people talking about their experience - most often from The LeaderShape Institute.

With more than 34,000 graduates of The LeaderShape Institute and over 4,000 faculty, LeaderShape is a community that continues to grow.

I have also noticed that many people list on their online resumes that they have attended, participated, or serve as a faculty member for The LeaderShape Institute.

Putting LeaderShape on your resume is one of the best ways to increase your accountability to leading with integrity and to let others know that your a committed graduate.

So go on...and put it on your resume.

Mike

Another "Greatest Generation" is on the way!

We often get great resources from our campus partners. This is another one.

Dr. Becky Bradley, Director of Student Life and Leadership from Scottsdale Community College, currently serves as the Program Coordinator for the Maricopa Community Colleges session of The LeaderShape Institute in the Phoenix area.

In her email to us she said, "Before clicking and reading it, however, click and read the first link, which is referred to in the second link – just helps to provide a bit of background. For those of us in higher education, I think the commentaries add some additional emphasis and hope to what it is that we do."

1. http://www.forbes.com/2009/04/01/new-greatest-generation-leadership-innovation-bennis.html

2. http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/cs/2009/08/observations_from_a_student_le.html

Thanks for sharing Becky!

We look forward to working with another great generation.

Mike

Miniature Earth

Recently a LeaderShape Program Coordinator, Lauren Cove from the University of Texas-Austin, shared with us a great resource.

In her note, she said, "It's a great video showing what the world would look like if we had 100 people representing the entire world population." For Lauren, it serves as great motivation to be fortunate for her opportunities and drives her to be motivated to work toward a better world.

We agree with her and wanted to pass along the video to you.

http://www.miniature-earth.com/me_english.htm

Go out and make a difference today.

Mike

World of Possibility

During The LeaderShape Institute we spend a lot of time thinking about what we are passionate about where we want to spend our time. We then create a world of possibility where our time is spent working on the things we are most passionate about. When we are in that world of possibility our mind wanders to amazing places and creates great things. However, once we leave LeaderShape it might be difficult for us to work in our every day world while at the same time living in that world of possibility.

Last month while I was visiting a camp and conference center in Prescott, Arizona I met two amazing people Mike and Corky. They are the on-site caretakers for the Anytown Camp and Conference Center.

Mike and Corky are able to live in that world of possibility everyday. They loving refer to the Anytown Camp and Conference Center as “camp”. Their hearts and souls are there at camp. Now they have not always been as fortunate to work in a place that directly aligns with their passions but now that they do they could not be happier. They work diligently to serve the participants of their camps; making sure that everyone who comes to there is well feed (yes the food is DELICIOUS!!) and has all of their needs met so that they can fully participate in their program.

At camp there is no hierarchy. Mike and Corky do what needs to get done. While I was visiting the camp, a large delivery truck came by and accidentally knocked out the phone lines to camp. No sooner than it happen, Mike got out his ladder and fixed the phone line. When I saw him doing this, I asked him why he did not call someone from the phone company to come and fix it. He smiled and said, “Well, that would take to long, I don’t want any of our participants to miss an emergency phone call from their parents. Plus, this is what I do and I love it!”

It was the last part of what Mike said that has stuck with me. “This is what I do and I love it.” Mike and Corky have been fortunate to find a career that aligns with their passions. They don’t do this work for recognition or fame. They do this job because they love it. They are amazing examples of servant leaders.

As you think back on your experience at The LeaderShape Institute, where does your mind wander as you think about that world of possibility you want to create? What steps can you take today to bring a little of that possibility into your every day world?

Kristen Y.

Pull Your Manual Off The Shelf

So when's the last time you've actually looked at your LeaderShape binder?

I thought so.

I find myself in conversations with individuals who have participated in The LeaderShape Institute who say things like "oh, I still have my manual on the shelf."

I want to invite you to dust off your binder and reconnect with the lessons learned. Track someone down from your family cluster. Rework your vision and bring it up-to-date. Commit to one thing you wanted to do, but just haven't had time.

It's never to late to begin something you've always wanted to do.

Mike

Aha Moment Campaign

The Mutual of Omaha is sponsoring this really cool and interesting campaign called The Aha Moment. For the campaign, an Aha Moment is is a defining moment where you gain real wisdom - wisdom you can use to change your life. They have been traveling around capturing the Aha Moments of people all over the country. How amazing is that? These moments are recorded and posted for viewing on their website. Check it out! I find watching the videos to be inspirational and uplifting.

We learned about the Aha Moment when the LeaderShape staff members were invited to participate during the campaign's stop in Champaign, IL. A couple of us had the opportunity to record our own LeaderShape Aha Moments. We hope you enjoy them (just click the links below).

This posting is not a shameless plug to check out our videos. No, I want more than that from this entry. I want to encourage (challenge?) each of you to take some time to share your Aha Moment! You can be part of the campaign and do so on the Aha Moment website. You can also do this in other ways, anytime you wish. Write about it. Create art about it. Talk about it. Sing about it. Create an interpretive dance about it - whatever! Just Share It. Put it out into the world. Change your life. Change our world.

Kristen H.


Kristen Y's Aha Moment

Kristen H's Aha Moment

Palmer Award Recipients!

“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”
—Harriet Tubman (1820-1913); American escaped slave, abolitionist, humanitarian


This year's Palmer Award recipients have been selected and notified...and they certainly are impressive! It's difficult to truly capture all of the passion they have and all of the accomplishments they have made here, but please read on to learn a little bit about each recipient.

Alexis Dennis (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill)
Alexis's experience with the Sunflower County Freedom Project, a nonprofit organization that offers students intense academic enrichment and leadership development opportunities, inspired the vision she created at the LeaderShape Institute in 2008. Her vision is for the women and girls in the Mississippi Delta to have the skills, knowledge, and confidence to become successful and take risks in order to pursue their passions and dreams. One of Alexis's steps towards this vision was the creation and execution of the "Health and Self" camp, a six day after-school program that led young people through a series of modules covering topics such as goal setting, values identification, healthy relationships, media stereotypes,and health related topics.

Kathryn Rice (Alma College)
While at LeaderShape, the vision that Kathryn began was to establish health clinics in developing countries that would provide free basic care and children's books to patients, making an impact on both healthcare and illiteracy. Since attending LeaderShape in 2008, one of the steps that Kathryn has taken was to spend a month in Ghana looking after newborns in the Osu Children's House orphanage. While there she came across the World Light of Ministry and began teaching at the school each day before she went to the orphanage.

Congratulations to Alexis and Kathryn!

We also want to take a moment to thank all of the LeaderShape graduates who shared their stories with us through this process. It is wonderful to learn about the impact you are making on the world. Thank you...and don't stop!


** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
The Palmer Award is given out each year to two LeaderShape graduates who have participated in a national or campus-based session during the previous year.  The award is given to recognize the achievements of those individuals who have demonstrated their commitment to bringing their vision to reality after attending a session of The LeaderShape Institute.  The recipients of these awards receive $1000 in honor of their achievements.

The Palmer Awards are provided from an endowment gift donated to the Alpha Tau Omega Foundation by Dr. Edmund T. Palmer, Jr.  Alpha Tau Omega created the concept of The LeaderShape Institute in 1986 and the Alpha Tau Omega Foundation funded the creation of the initial curriculum design for The LeaderShape Institute. 

Kristen H.