Another year of school has started, and with it come all the trials and tribulations, hard work, dedication, etc. This is my final year of undergraduate study, if all goes according to plan, and I feel as though I am in a certain position of leadership in school. These feelings have also sparked an awareness and a curiosity on my part into leadership in general. The motivation for this blog was a self-help commercial I saw on the TV, and also Delia's orientation "Team Building" at Samford.
It seems in the last ten to twenty years, there has been a spike in the self-help, motivational speaking industry, with bustling technology and an increasing desire to create the "global economy." Am I the only one who gets a bad taste in his mouth when I think about these things. I personally don't feel as though I need someone to tell me how I should live my life, and in what way I should conduct my affairs. I feel successful in myself, and I believe I will be successful as an adult with a career. It is wonderful that these people who write books and speak have become successful, but why do they think that the way the lead their lives will help me at all? I know a lot of people swear by these systems, but I just have a hard time believing that these actually work, or that they would make a difference in my life. Perhaps that's why it's a good thing I'm having to research "Getting Things Done" for Dr. Copeland's class. Maybe it will open my eyes to what these systems are REALLY about.
The other half of this blog is on the issue of building teamwork and "leadership skills." Anyone that's ever been to camp, or an orientation, or something like that knows what I am talking about. I find these exercises usually pointless. But the question is why? Is it because, I believe, I already feel like a leader, and don't need to build these skills? or am I just missing the point altogether? We watched Troy last night, and I said that I hope I would be like Hector, a great leader of men. I hope I conduct myself that way and that I am a leader in my adult life.
Ohh well, this was sort of a ramble, kinda missed my point from what I was originally going to blog a few days ago.
charles
1 comment:
i actually thought that the team building that i participated in as a part of my orientation was a very good thing...i did not get to explain it completely to you and maybe that is why you feel the way you do...it was not so much 'leadership' exercises as 'team building' exercises..the entire goal of the morning was to get the group to communicate, which if you are in a group with people you know or are familiar with is easy, but when you start in a class with 123 people you do not know it is very intimidating...the exercisers or games forced us to talk with each other and work with each other, which is going to be essential in the next four years that we spend together in tight quarters...yes we would have eventually learned how to communicate with each other and listen, but this was a fun way of forcing us to work together as a team, which can be difficult at times when you do not know or like the team you are with...i actually thought to myself as the day was over what a wonderful thing this would have been for concert choir to participate in, not only would it have forced us to listen and communicate earlier in the year but it also would have made us a closer group earlier on, and i think that most of the people in choir, including yourself, would agree that it is that closeness and trust that makes an amazing choir....sorry this was so long...love you
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