LeaderShape is a six day retreat hosted by the University of Cincinnati Honors Program and facilitated by the LeaderShape Institute. The purpose of LeaderShape is to empower students to create and attain bold new visions for the future and to develop foundational skills in leadership. I attended LeaderShape the week of December 9-14th, 2013. Sixty students gathered with six faculty leaders, three student helpers, and two retreat “Leads”. My role as a participant was to be actively engaged and to contribute to the learning process. The program was broken down in to three main settings; Large Group, Family Clusters, and Individual Time. Large Group time involved collective discussions and instruction time. Family Clusters were groups of ten students led by one faculty leader; time with the clusters included more intimate discussion and simulations. Finally, Individual Time consisted of personal reflection. I was part of the “(…)” Family Cluster led by Jason Autry.
Each day of LeaderShape was centered on a theme. Day one was “Building Community”, and I learned that relationships are the foundation of leadership. Day two was “The Value of One, The Power of All”; I took the DISC personality test and learned about group dynamics and synergy. Day three was “Challenging What is, Looking to What Could Be”, and I learned about using my passions to discover my vision. Day four was “Bringing Vision to Reality” and I began to understand how I can use manageable and stretch goals to realize my vision. Day five was “Living and Leading with Integrity” and I reflected on what my core value are and how I can use them to lead with integrity. Day six was “Staying in Action” and I learned how to bring my vision and the skills that I learned back to the “real world”.
Below is my complete reflection of the experience.
Each day of LeaderShape was centered on a theme. Day one was “Building Community”, and I learned that relationships are the foundation of leadership. Day two was “The Value of One, The Power of All”; I took the DISC personality test and learned about group dynamics and synergy. Day three was “Challenging What is, Looking to What Could Be”, and I learned about using my passions to discover my vision. Day four was “Bringing Vision to Reality” and I began to understand how I can use manageable and stretch goals to realize my vision. Day five was “Living and Leading with Integrity” and I reflected on what my core value are and how I can use them to lead with integrity. Day six was “Staying in Action” and I learned how to bring my vision and the skills that I learned back to the “real world”.
Below is my complete reflection of the experience.
leadershape_reflection.docx |
Tomorrow's Headline
My article on Human Trafficking is what the newspaper would print if my vision were achieved. I chose to include this because it is my “mountaintop”; it is my perfect world. When I envision the mountaintop I can then look down to see the steps that I took to get there. My article also includes these steps which are measurable and achievable. I included both manageable and stretch goals in my article to detail the steps I can take now and the steps that I will need to take later.
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Breakthrough Blueprint
The Breakthrough Blueprint is a summary of what my vision is, the steps I need to take to get there, the relationships I will need to make, and how I will lead with integrity. I chose to include this because it truly is a blueprint for my vision. I will be able to use to keep myself focused on creating relationships with the Salvation Army and GlobeMed so as to raise awareness on human trafficking. It gives me steps that I need to take now, and steps that I will need to take in the future. Finally, it centers on who I am as a leader with integrity and it reminds me of whom I want to be.
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