LeaderShape 2013
December 14-19, Camp Higher Ground, Indiana
I’ll begin by telling you what The LeaderShape Institute was not. It wasn’t boring, it wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t cookie cutter. It wasn’t a six day discussion on leadership theory, and it wasn’t an opportunity to close myself off to others around me. However, most importantly, it wasn’t a six day experience. Confused? Welcome to LeaderShape 2013.
The LeaderShape Institute comprises a six day intensive leadership experience that teaches just as much about leadership as it does about the self. Through a combination of self-reflection and team oriented activities, it allowed me to develop a better sense of who I am and how I work with others. From December 14th – 19th, 2013, I was joined by 58 other honors students who were on this same journey. I was also joined by two lead facilitators, Gabe and Nathan, who had been trained by the LeaderShape institute in order to maximize the experience’s impact. Finally, I was joined by a small group facilitator, Suzie, who helped my small group better get to know each other, and who helped create an inclusive environment in which I was comfortable sharing my thoughts.
The LeaderShape Institute comprises a six day intensive leadership experience that teaches just as much about leadership as it does about the self. Through a combination of self-reflection and team oriented activities, it allowed me to develop a better sense of who I am and how I work with others. From December 14th – 19th, 2013, I was joined by 58 other honors students who were on this same journey. I was also joined by two lead facilitators, Gabe and Nathan, who had been trained by the LeaderShape institute in order to maximize the experience’s impact. Finally, I was joined by a small group facilitator, Suzie, who helped my small group better get to know each other, and who helped create an inclusive environment in which I was comfortable sharing my thoughts.
I could go into the details of every single day at LeaderShape, but I’d probably bore you. In my mind, the most important part of the institute is that it is rooted in self-reflection and self-examination. Each person’s experience is unique and acutely personal to them. Therefore, if I told you every detail of the experience from my perspective, it probably wouldn’t mean much. Here, I choose to highlight a select few activities that occurred throughout the 6 days, and then delve into the outcome of those specific activities. So, instead of talking about what was for lunch on day 3, I’ll talk about something that was more meaningful to me.
The first of these meaningful experiences is the creation of my ‘Breakthrough Blueprint’. One of the central goals of the experience was to develop our personal vision for the world. We spent a considerable amount of time reflecting on what our ideal world looks like, and from there worked backwards in order to create the first part of the Blueprint. My vision, as you can see if you follow this link to the blueprint itself, is to create a future that is supplied by the waste of the past. In order to better define this vision, I next began thinking about the next object on the blueprint, a ‘Stretch Goal’. This is an overarching, nearly impossible goal that guided my reflection and actions throughout the rest of the experience, and that will guide the decisions I make for the rest of my life. My stretch goal is to see atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide peak and begin falling. Also, I wish to ensure that the majority of polymers come from prior waste, and not non-renewable resources. From there, we broke our stretch goal down into one or two manageable goals. My manageable goals are to begin learning what it is like to do research, and to graduate college with a degree in chemistry. These were, by my standards, the most important part of the blueprint. Often times, I have a relatively easy time dreaming big, but when it comes to implementation, I hit a wall. LeaderShape forced me to spend time reflecting on what I can do right now to take the right steps towards achieving my near impossible goal. Saying this, I recognize that LeaderShape was effective for me because it was a forced time-out from life. My days and weeks are busy, and I simply don’t have the energy to deeply reflect on my life at the end of every day. LeaderShape isolated me from the chaos (no cell phones between the hours 8AM and 9PM) and finally gave me the chance to take a breather. Even though it was an intensive and incredibly busy week, it was, in many regards, more relaxing than my daily life. Given the chance to reflect, I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
So, why did I choose to talk about the Breakthrough Blueprint? Put most simply, this aspect of the institute is the one which I will carry with me the longest. Because my goal is large but also energizing, I will carry it with me the rest of my life. My career, my volunteer opportunities, and my studies at the University of Cincinnati will all be impacted by this part of the institute, and that is where it draws its immense importance. By concretely laying out my goal, I will continue to pursue my Chemical Engineering major, but will likely look towards focusing on a Masters in Science as opposed to a Masters in Engineering. In the future, I will take electives which most closely align with my goals, and in such classes I will be able to feed off the energy that these goals create.
The next thing I’d like to talk about is my value system. Along with my vision for the future, LeaderShape gave me time to reflect upon what was most important to me. I grew up knowing that everybody has values which guide their actions, and that mine were supposed to be loving and kind values. However, prior to LeaderShape, I’ve never sat down and thought, ‘My values are x, y, and z.’ It’s strange, and I can’t think of why I never reflected on something of such magnitude. LeaderShape provided me the opportunity to put my values down on paper. After much reflection, I concluded that my values are as follows (you can also view these on the Blueprint at the bottom left):
Acceptance
Friendships
Honesty / Truth
Religion / Spirituality
Wisdom
The importance of this list is twofold. First, knowing my core beliefs helps to explain why I do the things that I do. By seeing that I value friendship and honesty, I know, now, why it would be difficult for me to be honest when it harms a friend, where I would easily be honest about something that could negatively impact a perfect stranger. LeaderShape afforded me the opportunity to see how my values interact with each other, and it helps me to understand the ethical dilemmas of daily life. Furthermore, knowing my values better enables me to lead with integrity. By having the core of my being written down on paper (and hung in my room, for that matter), I am able to reflect on my values as I make decisions, as opposed to asking whether or not I followed my values after the fact. Finally, in the future, I know that these values may change. Something may become of greater importance than these 5 concepts when my life changes in monumental ways, such as when I begin my career and when I start a family. However, for the time being, the fact that LeaderShape allowed me to reflect upon my values will let me act more consistently with my values in the future, which will allow me to be more content with my decisions. In the coming months and years, these values will guide my actions as a leader. By understanding what drives me, I will be able to be a more effective and consistent leader, and this will allow me to accomplish my goals more effectively. It will also allow me to be personable, and the organizations in which I have a leadership position will benefit because of this consistency.
The final experience that I’m going to talk about is the personality test that I took while at LeaderShape. While the rest of the institute allowed me to develop my vision and discover what is important to me, taking a personality test allowed me to come to terms with how I act, why I act, and why I feel the way that I do when certain situations arise. We took a test called the DiSC, and overall, my personality type is labeled as “Dominance”. However, I use the word ‘labeled’ because I don’t think that this personality type describes me perfectly. Ultimately, the test measured the relative intensities of four different personality types. My Dominance trait was (literally) a fraction of an inch higher than the Conscientious personality trait. At first, this was confusing. I wondered how I was supposed to label myself one or the other given such a small difference between the two categories. Then, however, I discovered my ‘Classical Profile Pattern’. There is a pattern where a D is just as high as a C, with low values in the other two categories (the graphed results are shaped like a parabola), and this is called the Creative Pattern. This, more than anything, helped me to grasp what my personality truly is. A creative type is someone who has “personal standards and progressive ideas for accomplishing tasks”. A Creative becomes bored with routine work, may be blunt, and fears failure of achieving their own standards. Also, (and I’m going to just quote the book for the rest of this, because it does a much better job of explaining it than I do), a creative type displays:
The first of these meaningful experiences is the creation of my ‘Breakthrough Blueprint’. One of the central goals of the experience was to develop our personal vision for the world. We spent a considerable amount of time reflecting on what our ideal world looks like, and from there worked backwards in order to create the first part of the Blueprint. My vision, as you can see if you follow this link to the blueprint itself, is to create a future that is supplied by the waste of the past. In order to better define this vision, I next began thinking about the next object on the blueprint, a ‘Stretch Goal’. This is an overarching, nearly impossible goal that guided my reflection and actions throughout the rest of the experience, and that will guide the decisions I make for the rest of my life. My stretch goal is to see atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide peak and begin falling. Also, I wish to ensure that the majority of polymers come from prior waste, and not non-renewable resources. From there, we broke our stretch goal down into one or two manageable goals. My manageable goals are to begin learning what it is like to do research, and to graduate college with a degree in chemistry. These were, by my standards, the most important part of the blueprint. Often times, I have a relatively easy time dreaming big, but when it comes to implementation, I hit a wall. LeaderShape forced me to spend time reflecting on what I can do right now to take the right steps towards achieving my near impossible goal. Saying this, I recognize that LeaderShape was effective for me because it was a forced time-out from life. My days and weeks are busy, and I simply don’t have the energy to deeply reflect on my life at the end of every day. LeaderShape isolated me from the chaos (no cell phones between the hours 8AM and 9PM) and finally gave me the chance to take a breather. Even though it was an intensive and incredibly busy week, it was, in many regards, more relaxing than my daily life. Given the chance to reflect, I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
So, why did I choose to talk about the Breakthrough Blueprint? Put most simply, this aspect of the institute is the one which I will carry with me the longest. Because my goal is large but also energizing, I will carry it with me the rest of my life. My career, my volunteer opportunities, and my studies at the University of Cincinnati will all be impacted by this part of the institute, and that is where it draws its immense importance. By concretely laying out my goal, I will continue to pursue my Chemical Engineering major, but will likely look towards focusing on a Masters in Science as opposed to a Masters in Engineering. In the future, I will take electives which most closely align with my goals, and in such classes I will be able to feed off the energy that these goals create.
The next thing I’d like to talk about is my value system. Along with my vision for the future, LeaderShape gave me time to reflect upon what was most important to me. I grew up knowing that everybody has values which guide their actions, and that mine were supposed to be loving and kind values. However, prior to LeaderShape, I’ve never sat down and thought, ‘My values are x, y, and z.’ It’s strange, and I can’t think of why I never reflected on something of such magnitude. LeaderShape provided me the opportunity to put my values down on paper. After much reflection, I concluded that my values are as follows (you can also view these on the Blueprint at the bottom left):
Acceptance
Friendships
Honesty / Truth
Religion / Spirituality
Wisdom
The importance of this list is twofold. First, knowing my core beliefs helps to explain why I do the things that I do. By seeing that I value friendship and honesty, I know, now, why it would be difficult for me to be honest when it harms a friend, where I would easily be honest about something that could negatively impact a perfect stranger. LeaderShape afforded me the opportunity to see how my values interact with each other, and it helps me to understand the ethical dilemmas of daily life. Furthermore, knowing my values better enables me to lead with integrity. By having the core of my being written down on paper (and hung in my room, for that matter), I am able to reflect on my values as I make decisions, as opposed to asking whether or not I followed my values after the fact. Finally, in the future, I know that these values may change. Something may become of greater importance than these 5 concepts when my life changes in monumental ways, such as when I begin my career and when I start a family. However, for the time being, the fact that LeaderShape allowed me to reflect upon my values will let me act more consistently with my values in the future, which will allow me to be more content with my decisions. In the coming months and years, these values will guide my actions as a leader. By understanding what drives me, I will be able to be a more effective and consistent leader, and this will allow me to accomplish my goals more effectively. It will also allow me to be personable, and the organizations in which I have a leadership position will benefit because of this consistency.
The final experience that I’m going to talk about is the personality test that I took while at LeaderShape. While the rest of the institute allowed me to develop my vision and discover what is important to me, taking a personality test allowed me to come to terms with how I act, why I act, and why I feel the way that I do when certain situations arise. We took a test called the DiSC, and overall, my personality type is labeled as “Dominance”. However, I use the word ‘labeled’ because I don’t think that this personality type describes me perfectly. Ultimately, the test measured the relative intensities of four different personality types. My Dominance trait was (literally) a fraction of an inch higher than the Conscientious personality trait. At first, this was confusing. I wondered how I was supposed to label myself one or the other given such a small difference between the two categories. Then, however, I discovered my ‘Classical Profile Pattern’. There is a pattern where a D is just as high as a C, with low values in the other two categories (the graphed results are shaped like a parabola), and this is called the Creative Pattern. This, more than anything, helped me to grasp what my personality truly is. A creative type is someone who has “personal standards and progressive ideas for accomplishing tasks”. A Creative becomes bored with routine work, may be blunt, and fears failure of achieving their own standards. Also, (and I’m going to just quote the book for the rest of this, because it does a much better job of explaining it than I do), a creative type displays:
opposing forces of behavior. Their desire for tangible results is counterbalanced by an equally strong drive for perfection, and their aggressiveness is tempered by sensitivity. Although they think and react quickly, they are restrained by the wish to explore all possible solutions before making a decision. […] Creative persons want freedom to explore, and they want the authority to examine and retest their findings. They can make daily decisions quickly but may be extremely cautious when making bigger decisions.
Stop reading this paragraph and go back and read the prior one again. It’s important.
The paragraph you just read (twice?) explains my personality. I wish to be productive for the entire day, but getting everything done is usually hindered by my desire to achieve perfection in everything I do. As another example, my results of the DiSC test explain why I must take the time to gather as much information as possible before making a decision (over the past two weeks I have been researching which binder I should purchase for my classes this semester, if you must know how ridiculous it sometimes is). All of this said, I was relieved to see this test result. It showed me that all of my feelings are natural, and that they arise simply because that is the way that I operate. Instead of becoming frustrated for not finishing all of the day’s to-dos, and then becoming more frustrated because I don’t know why I was frustrated in the first place, the test I took at LeaderShape allows me to recognize why I feel the way I do about certain things. Once I slow down and recognize these feelings, I am able to take a step back, recognize that they are natural, and then accept the feelings as they come. This allows me to keep calm and accomplish more.
The DiSC Profile has many implications in my future. It allows me to be more confident when taking up leadership roles because I know before I even being whether or not the role will be the right fit for me. For example, I would never place myself in a situation where I am stuck doing paperwork all day. As my personality test confirms (I already knew this, though), I become bored quickly, and monotonous day-to-day tasks would cause me to lose interest quickly (answering email is a never-ending struggle). Instead, I must find a career or leadership opportunity where I am able to explore what captures my interest, and where I am able to take the time that I need in order to explore this interest. As I look forward to the beginning of my career in a few years, the importance of this piece of LeaderShape will become more pronounced.
Those are my three most meaningful LeaderShape experiences, the explanations as to why those experiences mattered, and what I’m going to do about it in the future. However, I still feel like I haven’t addressed what is really at the core of LeaderShape. What does it mean, the institute asks, to be a leader? What does it mean to lead with integrity? In my eyes, leadership isn’t standing in front of a crowd and yelling at people. It isn’t kicking back and forcing other people to do work that should be yours. Leadership to me is knowing how and when to use the resources available to you. Leadership is interacting with people, knowing when to let them shine, and knowing when to step in. Leadership isn’t just commanding people. It is working with people, getting to know them, and developing relationships with those around you. The only way to do this, by extension, is to lead with integrity. By leading with integrity, I will be making decisions based upon what I believe is right, and I will do this consistently. This, in turn, will instill trust in those around me, and will allow me to develop the relationships vital to effective leadership. Making the right decision sometimes is not leading with integrity. Making the right decision with unfailing persistence, however, is.
I got more out of LeaderShape than I ever expected. I gained new friends who are not simply friends, but close friends. I also strengthened the ties that I had coming into the institute. The entire process (I think) is meant to accelerate the building of meaningful and genuine friendship, and this is exactly what it did for me. The institute exceeded my wildest expectations, and I think that part of the reason for this is that I put forth my all. I gave everything I had from 8 in the morning until 9 at night every day, and that is what made the institute special for me.
I arrived at the LeaderShape institute with one goal: make a new friend. Instead, I made many new friends, defined my vision, explored my values, gained insight into my personality, and many other important things. These lessons are ones that I will carry with me forever. LeaderShape wasn’t a six day experience. It is a living and breathing entity, present in my life every day from the time I rise to the time I retire for the night. And in the hours in between, I know that my time at Camp Higher Ground in the cold month of December 2013 will empower me to do what I know needs done. It will empower me to Lead with Integrity.
Alex Muir
20 January 2014
The paragraph you just read (twice?) explains my personality. I wish to be productive for the entire day, but getting everything done is usually hindered by my desire to achieve perfection in everything I do. As another example, my results of the DiSC test explain why I must take the time to gather as much information as possible before making a decision (over the past two weeks I have been researching which binder I should purchase for my classes this semester, if you must know how ridiculous it sometimes is). All of this said, I was relieved to see this test result. It showed me that all of my feelings are natural, and that they arise simply because that is the way that I operate. Instead of becoming frustrated for not finishing all of the day’s to-dos, and then becoming more frustrated because I don’t know why I was frustrated in the first place, the test I took at LeaderShape allows me to recognize why I feel the way I do about certain things. Once I slow down and recognize these feelings, I am able to take a step back, recognize that they are natural, and then accept the feelings as they come. This allows me to keep calm and accomplish more.
The DiSC Profile has many implications in my future. It allows me to be more confident when taking up leadership roles because I know before I even being whether or not the role will be the right fit for me. For example, I would never place myself in a situation where I am stuck doing paperwork all day. As my personality test confirms (I already knew this, though), I become bored quickly, and monotonous day-to-day tasks would cause me to lose interest quickly (answering email is a never-ending struggle). Instead, I must find a career or leadership opportunity where I am able to explore what captures my interest, and where I am able to take the time that I need in order to explore this interest. As I look forward to the beginning of my career in a few years, the importance of this piece of LeaderShape will become more pronounced.
Those are my three most meaningful LeaderShape experiences, the explanations as to why those experiences mattered, and what I’m going to do about it in the future. However, I still feel like I haven’t addressed what is really at the core of LeaderShape. What does it mean, the institute asks, to be a leader? What does it mean to lead with integrity? In my eyes, leadership isn’t standing in front of a crowd and yelling at people. It isn’t kicking back and forcing other people to do work that should be yours. Leadership to me is knowing how and when to use the resources available to you. Leadership is interacting with people, knowing when to let them shine, and knowing when to step in. Leadership isn’t just commanding people. It is working with people, getting to know them, and developing relationships with those around you. The only way to do this, by extension, is to lead with integrity. By leading with integrity, I will be making decisions based upon what I believe is right, and I will do this consistently. This, in turn, will instill trust in those around me, and will allow me to develop the relationships vital to effective leadership. Making the right decision sometimes is not leading with integrity. Making the right decision with unfailing persistence, however, is.
I got more out of LeaderShape than I ever expected. I gained new friends who are not simply friends, but close friends. I also strengthened the ties that I had coming into the institute. The entire process (I think) is meant to accelerate the building of meaningful and genuine friendship, and this is exactly what it did for me. The institute exceeded my wildest expectations, and I think that part of the reason for this is that I put forth my all. I gave everything I had from 8 in the morning until 9 at night every day, and that is what made the institute special for me.
I arrived at the LeaderShape institute with one goal: make a new friend. Instead, I made many new friends, defined my vision, explored my values, gained insight into my personality, and many other important things. These lessons are ones that I will carry with me forever. LeaderShape wasn’t a six day experience. It is a living and breathing entity, present in my life every day from the time I rise to the time I retire for the night. And in the hours in between, I know that my time at Camp Higher Ground in the cold month of December 2013 will empower me to do what I know needs done. It will empower me to Lead with Integrity.
Alex Muir
20 January 2014