Leading Is About The Small Things

I brought my friend Drew Dudley, who is the Coordinator Leadership Development at U of T Scarborough, in to do a leadership workshop with some of my classmates. I think understanding the different facets of leadership is an important step in growth no matter what field of work or life you aim to enter.

While he put us through an exercise on understanding social styles and the role that plays in how the team dynamic forms and performs, the end of his workshop came to the same point I came to in my studies of leadership: leadership is about being genuine and the best person you can be no matter what your strengths happen to be. You don't need to be the best at directing people, or the best public speaker, or the highest scorer on a team. Leadership happens in the small, more meaningful, encounters that happen every day, all around you.

Leadership is about being a beacon for being yourself and being comfortable and confident in that fact. People will follow you where you lead them if they can trust you, and trust is built from being true to yourself and true to others. We are not all born with the gifts of a Ghandi, or Martin Luther King Jr., or Bill Clinton, or any other famous leader that comes to your mind. In Drews estimation only about 1% of the entire world is born with that ability, in my estimation is probably far less than even that. However, that does not mean you can not be a leader, it just may mean that you wont be leading entire nations or droves of people.

Leadership happens most often, and within most of our realms of control, in the one-on-one encounters that happen everyday. We can be a leader to our friends, our family, our colleagues - this is where impact happens. We all dream of being the face of the biggest movement or the best business, but these instances will not happen if we can't first learn to lead from within our immediate environments. We must be a beacon.

Drew had one last point, which was this: If after years of being out of someones presence the mere mention of your name brings a smile to their face, a story to mind, or good laugh, and they have nothing but good things to say, then you made an impact - you were a leader. That is the point of real leadership and a lesson we all must come to terms with. We will not likely change the world for millions or billions of people, but we can change the world for the few people we come in contact with everyday. That is where you start. That is where you need to be.

Paul Rusesabagina

On Monday my college will be welcoming Mr. Paul Rusesabagina, the inspiration for the movie Hotel Rwanda, where he will do a speech about his experience. I have the pleasure of thanking him for coming and imparting his story of heroism upon us. After Monday I will post what I have to say, as I have been thinking about it quite diligently. It is a real honor to be able to meet him and listen to his tragic story. His story, unfortunately, is one that continues to have significance around the world, as similar conflicts are carried out all over. I also get the opportunity to have lunch with him and a select few other students where I have a few questions for him. Hopefully I will be able to post them as well as his answers afterwards.

If you want to learn more about Paul he has an autobiography out called An Ordinary Man that is available at all your major book retailers. I am about 50 pages in and I have already made mental notes of many things he says that I think are of significance. I am very excited for this opportunity.

A World Of Peace

This might become a regular post if Tyler can keep coming up with these great poems. This one is titled A World of Peace by Tyler Herman.

A World Of Peace

A world of peace comes when we each shed the light,
fueled by love as a weapon, no longer a need to fight

The bombs can stop dropping, but for that unity must exist,
without global unity, war and strife wont fail to persist.

Its fueled by greed, with competition, hatred and fear,
drop the mass consumerism and there's enough resources for everyone here.

When did the value of one life become more important then another?
testing new pharmaceuticals on africans when we all share the same eternal mother?

Our priorities are out of line, instead of making change, we're digging our graves,
A Modern world, with laws shaping equality, yet there still exists slaves?

Polluting mother nature, reaping her of her bountiful grace,
even with us as the protestors, our own foolish actions are the authorities mase.

We're blinded, not by the truthful light, but by the veil that covers our eyes,
the false fabrication of life in this system, it only contributes to our demise.

What's needed now is for us all to open our eyes and see the guiding light,
To always be consciously aware and make the truthful choice in what's wrong and right.

To view our own lives and choices from an outsiders lens,
to share peace, spread love, give generously, and make amends.

if you don't believe in religion or God, know that the true religion of God is love,
With love as the true compass of your life, all your trials and tribulations can be risen above.

let that love foster, reach unimaginable heights and spread it in humble ways,
Let it bright light to any darkness, bring beauty to all of your days.

Now sit back and think about peace, and ask yourself how you can contribute to the path,
Peace is inevitable, add a bunch of positives to a negative;you do the math.

So go now, shed the light, and spread the peaceful way,
peace is coming in the future, but we must start building peace today.

International Development Week

I wanted to just briefly mention that this coming week is International Development Week all around the world. Check it out online and see what events are being held in your area to commemorate the occasion. At Humber we are holding a different event every day of the week to highlight different areas of need. Monday is Feast for Famine, Tuesday is refugee awareness day which includes the screening of a movie, Wednesday is HIV/AIDS day which includes a guest speaker, Thursday is Fair Trade Day where Ten Thousand Villages will be on hand to sell some of their products, and Friday will be Environment/Conservation day which includes some carbon footprint games and activities. Now would be the perfect time to learn more about an issue around the world that you have an interest in.

Yes We Can

Great new YouTube video by Will I Am of the Black Eyed Peas. Based on Barack Obama's speech this star studded video is awesome. Inspiration for a better world is all around us, we just need to be open to it.

Check it out

State of the Planet '08

A classmate of mine passed along a notice for a great conference at the end of March (March 27-28 to be exact). It is called State of the Planet, and it is held at Columbia University in New York. There is a fabulous list of speakers and presenters taking part, and it is free to register. Here is a brief description of what the conference is about:

State of the Planet Mission
The State of the Planet Conference, held every two years by the Earth Institute at Columbia University, assesses the state of global natural and human systems in order to identify those factors central to achieving sustainable development. The conference brings together insights from the world's most influential and innovative thinkers in a wide range of academic fields, including the earth sciences, engineering sciences, biological sciences, health sciences, and social sciences, with those from opinion leaders in the media, government and the policy community.

Participants explore and debate in depth, on a global scale, the current condition of natural and human systems from the perspectives of both the natural and social sciences. In fostering constructive relations between these scientific communities and government leaders, international organizations, individuals and others, the conference promotes policy designed to reach the goals of sustainable development.

To secure our future as a species we must first understand what impact we have on the planet we inhabit. Getting to that understanding - and framing viable solutions for our future - is what this conference is all about.

Individual Social Responsibility

I read this interesting tidbit in my 365 Ways newsletter I received today and I think it is something worth exploring. While I have written a number of times about Corporate Social Responsibility and Social Enterprises what might be more important is Individual Social Responsibility. In other words, what is it that you do, the little things, to make the world a better place? What is it that you stand for? What are YOU doing to ensure that you are making a contribution to a better world, not just the status quo? We can look at it like the chicken and the egg argument, the 'it starts at the top and will filter down to the bottom' approach, or you can just step up.

Start by making a list of the things for which you believe in. Do you stand for animal rights, human rights, the environment, etc. Then decide what you can do through your purchasing behavior, your actions, your conversations, to start making it a part of your character - about making it a part of your life. When we individually decide to do something it will start to create a ripple for others to follow.

You don't notice it right away but you plant seeds with every interaction you make. It is like marketing, the more people see and hear something, the more they start to adopt it - this is the way successful brands have done it for years. Think about how you can market animal rights, you could buy only brands such as The Body Shop, wear a PETA T-shirt to a party, or become a vegetarian/part-time vegetarian (my friend Kylie has one day a week where she is a vegan, the rest of the week she is a vegetarian). You don't have to be an advocate, although it would certainly help, but sometimes the more subtle approach with people has a more profound and lasting effect. If you can get other people to ask you about your vegetarianism, instead of telling them outright, people are more likely to listen and take interest than if you are pushing pamphlets on them.

Be a pillar for your values, model them for all to see. Think about how you can market your better lifestyle. Think about other ways you can do your part to make the world a better place. This is your individual social responsibility - you are a business, you are a brand. Now is the time to 'sell' it.