Leadership Tools for Life

"Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margret Mead

Congratulations. The day you became an RA or a leader in your community you were chosen to be a member of this small group of people capable to change the world.  Whether we want it or not we have the ability to influence those around us in a positive way.  This year’s leadership conference is organized around the theme of "packing your leadership suitcase" and our goal is for everyone who attends to leave with the tools necessary for this journey.  When I became an RA I knew that I would now be responsible for a small group of students living in my building.  Not only would I be there for them as an ally but as a positive role model.  These students look to me for support and leadership.

When we leave college, we take with us the leadership skills that we have learned while at school and we can apply them to our every day lives as well as our careers.  In the business world, it is important to know the tools needed to take charge and help others.  During the conference, we want you to learn and grow as a leader and gain the tools needed to help us in the “real world”.  We hope you will be able to apply information such as resume building or how to conduct yourself on a job interview. There will also be opportunities for you to see how others act as a leader in their community. 

While doing research for this blog, I found some ways that anyone of us could become leaders.  I found five characteristics that every good leader has and I wanted to share them with you:

1) The first characteristic that any leader needs to have is the ability to plan.  Leadership means you are able to identify a problem and then work toward solving it before it becomes a crisis.

2) The second characteristic a good leader posse’s is vision.  Without a vision you wont have direction and with direction it is hard to accomplish anything.

3) Once a leader has captured a vision they must share that vision with others.  Being a good leader means working with others and by sharing with others your vision can grow.

4) A leader is not afraid to take charge.  You must be able to make a decision and stick with it.  Be confident with your decisions and work toward a goal.

5) Finally a leader inspires others by being an example that we can look up to.  Leadership is defined by action and by acting like a leader you will be able to inspire others.

Once you have gained these important tools you can begin to grow as a person and utilize them in your own lives.  On February 19^th you all will have the opportunity to grow as a leader.  We look forward to you all attending and I hope you have enjoyed this blog.

-Elizabeth Terlizzi, Manhattanville College Leadership Conference Committee

What I've Learned About Being a Leader

Here are some tips that I’ve learned about being a leader that I would like to share with you. Sometimes being a leader is more than meets the eye. It takes skill and patience to be a leader when working in a group. You have to learn to listen to people and be able to listen to opinions that may differ from your own. An important characteristic of being a leader is just to be able to humble yourself to the idea that you may not always be right or have the most practical and/or appropriate solution to a problem. A true leader offers his/her ideas in addition to those ideas of others and treats each idea equally, careful not to impose their idea onto others. A leader should be able to work his or her way up to gain the respect and trust that is needed from his/her peers. This is when I experience true leadership.

Each person has their own leadership style and timing. This past weekend, I went for an intensive ballroom dancing class and we talked a lot about leading and following and the respective roles. These ideas can be used for leadership training as well. Sometimes when you are leading people, you have to not only be able to lead, but also be able to follow the lead of others. Although sometimes it can be difficult for a leader to follow the lead of others, this is another instance where the leader must humble themselves and allow someone else to take the lead. Sometimes in order to be a great leader, you have to be able to follow someone else’s leadership to achieve the best solution. This applies as much to leading groups of people as it does to ballroom dancing.

One of my favorite quotes by George van Valkenburg states: “Leadership is doing what is right when no one is watching.” Many times to be a great leader, you have to do things when no one is looking. Doing this sets the standard for everybody else who is watching. It takes time and practice to work at the skill. It also takes patience hard work and a bit of a funny bone to laugh off the silly things. I think it is important to have a good sense of humor when working with other people. But just because you have a sense of humor doesn’t mean that you don’t take things seriously. A true leader is able to differentiate the difference between what is serious and what is funny. Humor helps to keep things in perspective, doesn’t allow you to get too uptight and allows you to really focus on what is the real objective. During the time of your leadership, you’ll gain not only valuable lessons that will help you in future positions, but also friendships and relationships that you will want to keep long term.

No one said that being a leader would be easy, but just remember it takes time, patience and trust to develop good relationships with those who you are working with. I hope you enjoy this blog and I am looking forward to seeing you at the leadership conference in February!

- Isabel Iparraguirre, Manhattanville College Leadership Conference Committee

Why Focus on Leadership?

Leadership consists of influencing others with the intention of achieving a goal. Leadership has been studied for years because of the importance of the role of leaders. Because we live in functional societies, there will always be at least one person that will become a leader in that society. In my opinion, leaders can be born and can also be made. Some people are just born with a magnetic personality that attracts others to follow them, but having this personality is not always enough. It has to be shaped to agree with the circumstances. For this reason, leaders can also be made. There are different theories that provide different approaches to the study of leadership. Some of these theories are the Trait Theory of Leadership and the Process Theory of Leadership (as pictured at right).



Trait Theory of Leadership (left) and Process Theory of Leadership (right)



The Trait Theory explains that leaders have traits that make them appealing to others such as intelligence, charisma, and extroversion. The Process Theory explains that it is the interaction between the leader and the followers, which is in turn observed by others, that makes a person a leader. This theory is in accord with the idea that leaders are made from the situations. Communication is key. This is true both for verbal and non verbal communication. If the followers feel that the leader genuinely cares about them, they will be more inclined to work harder to achieve the goal. Also if they feel that their leader is trying to push them to achieve the goal, but knowing their limitations and without making them have to do something they cannot do with their current set of knowledge and skills, they will also try to fulfill their task. 

The workplace is greatly influenced by the capacity of its leaders. If the manager is a true leader and not just a boss, then there will be an inspiring environment and people will want to excel and improve. The concept of leadership is a key element of any successful organization. For this reason there are hundreds of leadership trainings and conferences, such as this one, taking place throughout the year. The Manhattanville College Annual Leadership Conference will take a practical approach to leadership in the way of giving participants the tools to succeed in the workplace and in life after graduation. We hope you will join us on Saturday, February 19th for a great day learning about leadership.

- Anna Gabriela Batlle Reyes, Manhattanville College Leadership Conference Committee