leadership

Teen role model

Backstory

I was so impressed when I met this young lady. She had started a program for teens to mentor younger children and she was at the Rotary Club meeting to tell us about it. So poised, so self confident. We stayed and talked, after the meeting. I decided to introduce her to you.

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Teen Role Model – #638

A high school senior was telling me recently about the responsibilities she feels being a role model in school. This young lady is her class president. She is an officer in Future Farmers of America, a leader in 4H.

She said that as she built up these credentials, her mother warned her, “There is always someone watching.” She said that thought guides her with the realization that she is a role model.

Fellow students see her lead and achieve. They would also see if she did wrong.

When she is tempted to gossip or experiment wrongly, she considers how she would feel if someone was watching and was led to do likewise, following her bad example. She accepts responsibility for the image she projects.

Obviously she was brought up in a home where the right values were stressed.

And she is determined to uphold those values, not just in public, but in private.

In this age of bullying and blame, it is truly refreshing to hear this young lady standing straight.

Hats off to the millions of young adults who stay the course and do the right thing.

You don’t hear about them often enough. They are out there, doing good and being kind. As they become leaders, our future is in good hands.

P.S.

The young lady received a Rotary Club scholarship. It was just one of many acknowledgements and awards she accumulated before leaving high school. We’ll be watching her college adventures for more leadership. She is prone to help make the world a better place.

[Show #638]

Song from the 80’s – Make Things Better

Backstory – Song from the 80’s – Make Things Better

We were listening to the songs from half a century ago, played by Craig Orndorff on Old Time Radio. Then songs from the 1980s came on. There seemed to be a thread through much of the music. Artists sang about the troubles of the time and how they needed to be fixed. Here we were, 30, 40 or 50 years later. Were those things fixed? Are we able to sing of the joy and sweetness of conquering the challenges? Asking those questions led to the story featured this week. Please listen in.

Consider This Show – Song from the 80’s – Make Things Better

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A song from the 1980s came out of the radio today; one of those oldies but goodies where you know every word and sing along. The lyrics were about how we simply HAVE to make things change for the better.

The words of the song applied today as eloquently as they did thirty years ago. How sad! Have we learned nothing from our experience?

Our values and preferences contain so many opposing views. Whatever suits one group infuriates another. We can’t seem to come together. Compromise seems out of the question.

We need leadership to bring us all back to a place where there is hope, because our current actions are tearing us apart.

What a challenge. Are we up to the task? Who will step in to take the lead? Will it fall into place after the next election? Or will it take someone somewhere speaking up to go viral and give a wakeup call that is heard around the globe?

Of course, our fear is that the wakeup will be a tragic event that could have been prevented if we had only heeded the words of the songs of the 1980s . . . or 90s . . or those that were sung at the turn of the century.

Or will the songs we sing today be the mantra of the next generation, and will they wonder why the words were never heeded?

[Show #616]

When Something Goes Wrong: How Do You Handle Mistakes?

What’s the first thing that comes to mind, when something goes wrong . . . when mistakes have been made? In leadership training, I was taught to look inward first. Others argue with me on that, but I find it to be pretty accurate.

Rather than immediately seeking a target for finger-pointing, I will check what part I played. Were my instructions detailed enough? Did I allow enough time? Did I inform everyone who needed to know?

Even if the error itself was that of someone else, I want to check how I could help prevent it, next time around. I can’t control what others will do. But I can always control what I do. When I meet with others to discuss the error, I admit what I would have done differently and ask what they would have changed.

The result is so much more fruitful than make accusations and putting everyone on the defensive. It’s a technique I believe in and have taught. It especially holds well if you are practicing servant leadership.

How do YOU react when things go wrong…when you make mistakes? Think about what you do . . . what you say . . . and how It affects those around you. Does it help prevent future errors?

If your technique has worked, keep it – And let me know what it is. If not, give it some new thought.

Show #421