Accepting Applications for The Palmer Award

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 (in this case, that's 2009). 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 $750 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.

PALMER AWARD APPLICATION

Why Multiple Sources Of Information Are Important

It seems lately that everything seems to be characterized as polar opposites. Democrat or Republican. Red or Blue. Fox News or MSNBC. Liberal or Conservative. With us or against us.

The leaders of today and tomorrow need to see past this sucker's argument. Very rarely in life are things just so simple with easy dichotomy. Heck, just do a Google image search of blue states vs. red states and see how many versions different sources show. I've just shown two examples above.

That's one reason we haven't hung our hat here at LeaderShape with any one particular leadership theory. No one author, theory, study, or approach works in a one-size fits all, works every time, way.

One strategy to help you avoid falling into this trap is to seek out multiple sources of information. Look for opinions and approaches different than yours. To illustrate the point of why only looking to one source of information could be dangerous, I'd like to share with you four different takes on the same research study. Each of these articles have a different spin on the same recent study. Notice the different titles:

New EyeDriver technology the future of driving?

Hands off that steering wheel

Driving with your eyes, not your hands

Checking out girls while driving could kill you

Nothing is "wrong" here. Just different takes on the same basic information.

Let's be honest. We're all busy. It's easy to only listen, hang out, and agree with people who already agree with what you think or believe.

But there is a danger in doing this. Part of leadership is not doing the easy, way you want it, version. Effective leadership bringing all voices, people, opinions, thoughts, and ideas together and forges a new way forward that's better for all.

Often there are multiple "truths" involved. No one is saying this is easy. But this is one reason why good leadership can be difficult, exciting, challenging, rewarding, frustrating, and needed.

Why Is Ethics So Important?

"Business is set up in a way that deliberately pushes the boundaries of ethical acceptability and evolves naturally along a path of ethical ambiguity. This does not arise because of intrinsically low integrity of the entrepreneurs/owners, but because of the genuinely ambiguous role of them." (p. 21)

Pearson, G. (1995). Integrity in organization: An alternative business ethic. London: McGraw-Hill.

The Humanitar-ish Award

I have to admit. I'm a fan of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report.

While I do enjoying watching these shows, I don't support these shows as a main source of news for some individuals (my lack of support extends to all tabloid journalism, not just these shows, posing as legitimate news).

That being said, comedy can often provide a reality check. Last week, there was an episode on The Colbert Report that seemed timely:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Own a Piece of Histor-Me - Original Interview Table
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Economy

Stephen Colbert proposes a Humanitar-ish Award for "outstanding achievement in the field of considering whether to give to charity as long as there's something in it for me."

Colbert does a great job and poking fun at individuals and organizations that seemingly give for altruistic purposes, but come across as though they have alternative selfish motives.

There is no substitute for the real thing.

If you choose to give, give because you really care - not because you want to look good.

New Years Revolutions!

A few years ago, a good friend and LeaderShape Lead Facilitator, Jeff Cufaude, and I were discussing new year's resolutions. I have to say that I have not been a big fan. I've never understood the concept of waiting until a particular time of year to start or do what you want to do. Why not do it now? Why wait?

Now I do value the taking stock of what you've done, where you've been, and where you want to go.

Jeff suggested I change my language from resolutions to revolutions. Now we're talking...

So for the past several years I've made a list of things that would truly be revolutionary in thinking and doing. And set out to do just that. To put it in LeaderShape terms, it's stretch goals.

I've included a great revolution clip for your inspiration (of course, I'm hoping it really doesn't involve the police).



If you are interested in taking stock of the past year and want to look toward the next year, I think David Allen's most recent newsletter does a great job of posing some compelling questions. Here are his questions:

David's Coaching Tips

For those of you who want more form and structure, here are some questions that can guide you in your 2009 review and 2010 goal setting. When I go through these kinds of questions I like to consider my answers in several areas:

Physical
Emotional
Mental
Spiritual
Financial
Family
Community Service
Fun / creativity / recreation

Completing and remembering 2009

Review the list of all completed projects
What was your biggest triumph in 2009?
What was the smartest decision you made in 2009?
What one word best sums up and describes your 2009 experience?
What was the greatest lesson you learned in 2009?
What was the most loving service you performed in 2009?
What is your biggest piece of unfinished business in 2009?
What are you most happy about completing in 2009?
Who were the three people that had the greatest impact on your life in 2009?
What was the biggest risk you took in 2009?
What was the biggest surprise in 2009?
What important relationship improved the most in 2009?
What compliment would you liked to have received in 2009?
What compliment would you liked to have given in 2009?
What else do you need to do or say to be complete with 2009?

Creating the new year

What would you like to be your biggest triumph in 2010?
What advice would you like to give yourself in 2010?
What is the major effort you are planning to improve your financial results in 2010?
What would you be most happy about completing in 2010?
What major indulgence are you willing to experience in 2010?
What would you most like to change about yourself in 2010?
What are you looking forward to learning in 2010?
What do you think your biggest risk will be in 2010?
What about your work, are you most committed to changing and improving in 2010?
What is one as yet undeveloped talent you are willing to explore in 2010?
What brings you the most joy and how are you going to do or have more of that in 2010?
Who or what, other than yourself, are you most committed to loving and serving in 2010?
What one word would you like to have as your theme in 2010?

So here's to a new decade...and not to incremental change, but rather revolutionary change that makes a much bigger difference.

Learning from LeaderShape

Mike Severy, currently serves as the Program Coordinator, for The LeaderShape Institute at the University of North Carolina-Pembroke. We came across his post about us, and with his permission along with studentbranding.com, we are republishing it here.

We were honored and sincerely appreciative for Mike's comments. You can find Mike's original post online here. Thanks Mike, for being a great partner with us!

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I spent this past weekend in Chicago completing Program Coordinator Training for LeaderShape. Here are three transferable learning points I gained from my time with the LeaderShape Staff and some opportunities for you to make LeaderShape a meaningful experience for you:

Communicate your Brand Consistently and Constantly

LeaderShape’s focus is on teaching young adults to lead with integrity. We started the first evening with a welcome ceremony, and within the first thirty seconds, the president started talking to the group about leading with integrity and the values and beliefs LeaderShape espouses. Every time he spoke throughout the weekend, the same held true – within thirty seconds, he was talking about leading with integrity.

All of the LeaderShape staff members revisited and practiced their values. While each individual person had a sense of self that was uniquely his or her own, the common denominator between all of them was evident. Their transparent, intentional and unapologetic focus on their brand, values and mission was refreshing.

What would our interactions look like if we were positive, transparent and intentional about sharing our beliefs and brand?

Ask Others to Own and Share your Brand

Word of mouth is often cited as the strongest method of information dissemination, but how do you actually use this method effectively? A few years ago, LeaderShape developed their ‘I am LeaderShape’ phrase and gave their brand away to everyone who participated in the program.

The effect had two major consequences. First, it solidified the learning and expectations for participants, essentially requiring them to reflect on: If ‘I am LeaderShape’, and LeaderShape members believe in leading with integrity, then I better follow through. Secondly, by giving away ownership of their brand they extended LeaderShape beyond a pass-through experience for participants into something each individual incorporated into their own being. By doing so, LeaderShape developed a tribe of followers who became disciples of the LeaderShape experience.

What are you doing that is so exciting others want to widely share positive stories about and for you?

Evolve your Brand

While having a strong sense of the LeaderShape brand, the staff actively sought and were open to feedback about their programs and ideas. Their goal was to accurately align perception with reality and further solidify the ownership of their brand by asking you to help define it.

How often have you asked for feedback about your brand?

More importantly, how often have you incorporated constructive feedback to refine and evolve your brand in a manner that holds true to your core beliefs while staying fresh and relevant?

Looking for a Meaningful Experience?

College Students:

LeaderShape, designed for college students, is a an interactive, energizing, and unique experience that includes six days of non-stop self-discovery and learning from practical experiences to build your leadership concepts and abilities.

As an undergraduate, you can participate in two ways. If your campus sponsors one of the campus-based sessions you can register to participate with the coordinating office on your campus. Campus-based sessions occur at a variety of times throughout the academic year. If your campus isn’t listed (and even if it is) you can apply to attend one of the National Sessions. Most of the National Sessions take place at Allerton Conference Center in Monticello, Illinois 20 minutes from the University of Illinois. New for 2010, LeaderShape also plans to offer sessions in Atlanta and Boston to help alleviate travel costs for participants who live further away. A west coast session is also under consideration.

If you choose to apply for a national session, check for sponsors on campus to help offset your cost. The usual suspects include many student affairs offices especially student life, student government, leadership, service, programming and residence life offices. Be sure to check with your academic department (or college on larger campuses) to see what travel funds might be available to support your participation. If all else fails, do a quick search for student travel funding or leadership and see what comes up on your university site.

Graduate Students:

The Cluster Facilitator position is ideal for graduate students. Utilizing your experience, you will be asked to facilitate a group of 8-12 students through the LeaderShape experience. The days are long but incredibly valuable for your personal and professional development. Applications for both campus based and National Sessions can be found on the LeaderShape website. Applications are due by 5 pm Friday, December 11.

High School Students:

LeaderShape is exploring programs that would target high school students, and you can follow their progress and any potential announcements at their website. For now though, do your research on LeaderShape and have the program be an aspirational experience for you until you reach college.

Are you LeaderShape? What do you think? Make it a good day.

Author:

Mike Severy is the Director of Student Life at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. Managing an office responsible for student organizations and major campus programs, his role at UNCP is to help students create and find the meaningful experiences in their lives. He views his work through the lens of student leadership development believing that students are developed over time through a series of meaningful experiences.

Cluster Facilitator Applications for 2010

We are excited to announce that applications to serve as a Cluster Facilitator for a 2010 national session of The LeaderShape Institute are now available!

Please visit our website to learn more, including how to apply.