Living Lessons in Leadership

 

Those in charge of developing the leadership potential of others might find living leadership lessons through group projects. When a group of seven college seniors decided to build a Habitat for Humanity house, they had to put into practice principles and skills they had studied in class. The students, who had participated in the Columbus State University Servant Leadership Program for their entire college career, selected the Habitat project as their senior project in leadership studies.  After completing the project, they agreed that they learned more in this hands-on approach than in all their previous experiences combined.

 

Setting Goals

Having studied SMART goals (Werther, 1989), the students experienced the power of setting simple, measurable, accountable, realistic, and timely goals. Their goals were to raise the required $25,000 during Fall Semester (before Christmas) and build the house during Spring Semester with dedication taking place before graduation.

 

In planning fundraising, students put to use the model of group decision-making studied in earlier seminars. 

They defined their goal, brainstormed possible solutions, evaluated and chose the best solution, and then made plans to implement the idea.  Borrowing an idea from a depression-era fundraiser, they adapted the concept of a friendship quilt. A quilt comprised of 100 squares would record the names of all who contributed $10 or more. Groups would be encouraged to sponsor a square for $250 (25 members’ names x $10 each).  Simple math indicated that once the 100 squares were committed, the $25,000 would be forthcoming. One student had quilting expertise, and one had building expertise; hence, the division of labor became readily apparent.   

 

While the plan seemed simple, getting underway was not.  Students quickly realized that they would have to set small goals such as “everybody will try to sell a square by next week.” Weekly meetings charted the progress.  Students made 100 squares of colorful construction paper and taped them on the office door. Each square represented a square on the quilt, and the name of the student who sold that square went on the door for all to see. Students demonstrated what happens when long-range, intermediate, and daily goals are aligned. When September arrived (just 3½  months till Christmas break), and students were still just talking about the plan, we realized it was time to demonstrate the importance of modeling the way.

 

Modeling the Way

Kouzes and Posner (2002) list “modeling the way” as one of the five practices of exemplary leaders. “People first follow the person, then the plan” (Kouzes & Posner, 2002, 15). As their leader, I realized that I could not motivate students to move out of their comfort zones and begin to ask for contributions until I did so. Overcoming my reticence to impose upon my friends, I asked my Sunday School class members to donate $10 checks, assuring them that as soon as 25 checks were passed to the front of the room we would have earned a “Wesley Class” square on the CSU-Habitat Friendship Quilt. After that successful venture, we took every opportunity to brainstorm about how we all might “sell” other squares to family members for a family square, fellow club members for a club square, acquaintances at my exercise facility for a “Curves”^® square, students in our classes for a class square, staff/faculty members in various departments for a department square, and so forth.  No friendship was to be left untapped by this opportunity to participate. The students began to catch the vision and use their own contacts. Once they successfully “sold squares,” they were then able to inspire the younger servant leadership students to help, and we were well launched.  Just before building began in January, we exceeded our $25,000 goal.

 

Collaborating

From the outset, the students realized that seven “financially challenged” college students could not build a house. They determined to get the entire campus involved and wisely decided that the project should be called the CSU Habitat House, not the servant leadership house. They established the mindset of inclusiveness, which caused them to change “help us build” on promotional material to “let’s build.” In the final analysis, we had participation from local businesses, from adults who have served as the students’ mentors, from campus groups, non-profit agencies where our students have served, schools where we have mentored young students, individual civic minded citizens, church groups, university departments, alumni, students, and staff.  The leadership students quickly saw the power of partnerships and the reciprocal nature of friendship, sharing, and giving.  An elementary school in a deprived neighborhood where our students have mentored raised over $250 for a square on the quilt by bringing in pennies and nickels, and another elementary school partner raised over $900 (our largest contributor) through a contest between faculty and students. Widespread collaboration produced synergy and cooperation.  When students saw other students they didn’t even know raising money for the house through bake sales, they were amazed. They were familiar with the saying of Lao Tzu, 6^th Century B.C. philosopher, who described a good leader as one who, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, the people all say, “We did this ourselves” (McCollum, 1995, 242), but experiencing the synergy of true collaboration caused the philosopher’s words to live.

 

Articulating the Vision

Students learned first-hand how to articulate the vision. In order to help each student develop a personal vision of the goal accomplished, we invited a lady who had received a Habitat house ten years ago to speak to the group. As she shared her compelling story of gaining independence and a decent place to live, students were able to form a mental image of the family that would benefit from their efforts. One student reported that he would mentally visualize the happy family moving in as he shared the vision with groups or as he laid tile, cut siding, painted, or nailed shingles. Each student developed an “elevator speech.” Such a message enabled them to explain what they were doing, why, and how one could help within the minute or two required for an elevator ride. They also planned and practiced a longer version of the vision message and asked their professors for permission to speak to the various classes in which they were enrolled.  Several of the students spoke to larger groups---civic groups, boards, faculty meetings, etc. They learned to speak with passion and confidence. The students spoke of their common purpose, the importance of community, and the joy of helping a family become independent. While they had all taken a public speaking class earlier, most of the students still reported speech anxiety, but they learned that having a real mission, a goal to which they were personally and publicly committed, and a well-prepared message gave new meaning to the concept of making a speech. They experienced the freedom of forgetting themselves, of losing themselves in the larger cause, and they became superb speakers in the process.   

 

Communicating

The importance of seeking first to understand and then making sure one is understood became very clear as students saw the difficulties caused by the failure to communicate effectively. No leadership principle was more important than Covey’s fifth habit (Covey, 1989). Lacking good communication, we had either far too much food for lunch or not enough, siding cut too short or baseboards left too long, too few roofing shingles delivered to the site or the wrong color tile. They saw the common sense in our mantra of  “when in doubt, over-communicate,” and they came to appreciate that basic characteristic of the servant leader---the commitment to listen. Students saw the necessity of paraphrasing to ensure a common understanding and the power of sharing and reflecting feelings. Any group project will bring to the surface personalities that irritate, resentments, unsettled issues, feelings of being overworked and under appreciated, of having to do more than one’s share. Practicing communication skills learned in earlier seminars helped those basic interpersonal skills come to life. Suddenly one needed to know how to send a clear message, how to speak assertively but with empathy, and how to share feelings honestly without being self-serving or self-centered. The project brought theory to practice.

 

Empowering Others 

The essence of servant leadership is helping others grow.  Robert Greenleaf, the father of the modern servant leadership movement, defined the best test of servant leadership.  “Are people growing? Are they, while being led, becoming healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely to become servants themselves?” (Greenleaf, 1970) Such growth occurs when people are empowered to accomplish their goals. The seven students experienced empowerment and also learned to empower others through the project. They learned that “driving hard with a light hand” (Greenleaf, 1965, 25) is more persuasive than fussing, whining, or complaining, that keeping a sense of humor and good will creates a climate for growth, and that positive energy is a powerful motivator. They monitored progress, celebrated, encouraged, and took the time to explain, guide, and teach as they enlisted others in the cause. They led the way as students, staff, and faculty members gave up nine Saturdays to build the house. Standing on the porch when it was dedicated, they experienced a healthy sense of pride mixed with humility and gratitude for those who helped them accomplish a mission larger than themselves.  

 

Conclusion

The goals were met---the money raised, house completed, and family moved in before graduation. Seven seniors shared a special bond as they saw their CSU-Habitat friendship quilt prominently displayed in the graduation hall. The quilt will become a historical artifact commemorating CSU’s first Habitat House project. For the seniors involved, it will be more than that. For them it represents leadership lessons that came to life. Goal setting, modeling, collaborating, sharing a vision, communicating, and empowering others became more than abstract concepts to use someday in the “real world” as they made their vision a reality. An effort that began as simply a culminating project turned into a transformative experience, and all were enriched.

 

References

Covey, S.R. (1989). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. New York: Simon & Schuster.

 Greenleaf, R.K. (1965). A concept of strength. In D.M. Frick and L.C. Spears (Eds.), On Becoming a Servant Leader: The Private Writings of Robert K. Greenleaf, (1996). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

 Greenleaf, R.K. (1970). The Servant as Leader. Indianapolis, Ind.: Robert K. Greenleaf Center for Servant-Leadership.

 Kouzes, J.M. & B.Z. Posner (2002). The Leadership Challenge. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

 McCollum, J. (1995). Chaos, complexity, and servant-leadership. In L.C. Spears (Ed.), Reflections on Leadership: How Robert K. Greenleaf’s Theory of Servant Leadership Influenced Today’s Top Management Thinkers. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

 Werther, W. B., Jr. (1989). Workshops aid in goal setting.  Personnel Journal, 68, 11. Retrieved May 27, 2005, from ProQuest database.

 

About the author:

 

Mary Sue Polleys is Assistant Professor of Leadership Studies and Director of the Columbus State University Servant Leadership Program in Columbus, Georgia. She holds an MA Degree in Speech Communication and a PhD in Educational Psychology from Auburn University.