So I struggled with what to write for this last blog.  Having already talked about developing leaders in the classroom and then developing student leaders I wasn’t really sure what you all might find interesting.  With the help of my supervisor I finally settled on the evolution of a student leader.  I hope you all enjoy this last entry!

 

Motivating your new student leaders

We often find new student leaders need a push to get them started on their leadership path.  When students take on a new leadership role they are often timid and don’t know where to start.  This is where retreats are useful.  Before your new (or returning) student leaders begin their assignment, spend a day or two with them going over what is expected of them in this new role.  A good idea is to give them handouts, or a binder of handouts, going over everything they need to know and even some stuff they might not need to know.  By giving them a folder or binder of information, even if they forget some of the things you tell them in the retreat, they can always refer back to that information as a refresher.  During the retreat do some icebreakers and team builders with your students.  You as the advisor should participate as well so that they get to know and be comfortable with you too.  Once everyone’s comfortable with each other, run through scenarios with them, explain to them exactly how they should address each and every situation.  Help to prepare them for the best and the worst of experiences.  If your new student leader is prepared he or she will be much more comfortable in their new role.  Also, remember to continue to challenge and support your student leaders, whether they be rookies or veterans, throughout their leadership experience.  The more you challenge your students to be better leaders the more they’ll start to be comfortable in their new role and taking on more responsibility. 

 

Burn out

On many of our campuses we find that the same students are involved with everything.  Last year’s student body president at USCA was also a member of the programming board, an executive member of the concert committee, an active member of her sorority, a volunteer with the community service programs, a student employee in the chancellor’s office, an orientation leader, and an active member of a number of other organizations.  While this specific scenario may not always be the case, many times we find that there’s a small core of student leaders on our campuses who do everything.  Unfortunately, this is often where we first look when recruiting volunteers as well.  We as professionals know that we can count on these students to get the job done, and do it well, so we frequently call on them when we need something.  The problem many of us are finding is these students are over involved.  These are the same students who are constantly stressed because they have too much going on in their lives; they carry multiple planners to try to keep up with where they’re supposed to be when, and what they’re supposed to be doing for each organization and class.  They are often the students in our offices crying because some small task or minor incident has them very upset.  They are the students who are freaking out afraid they’re going to fail a test or course because instead of studying over the last several days they’ve been preparing for programs and events.  These are the students we need to keep an eye on. 

 

Recruit new students

While we know we can count on these students to get the job done well, we need to put ourselves out there more and try recruiting more of those students who aren’t yet over involved.  This is where we need to be looking for that leadership potential in some of those first year students and recruiting them to take on the smaller, simpler tasks instead of relying on those who we already know can get the job done.  This will also help to keep us from over taxing our current student leaders to their breaking point.  If we make a more concerted effort to recruit new student leaders and prepare them for the smaller task at hand, in a few semesters we will have a larger pool of students to use for those major undertakings which require greater student leadership. 

 

Evolution

As we all know our students quickly evolve from being a timid rookie in a new role to be that over involved student who cannot say no.  While it is easier for us to continue using the same, seasoned, student leaders for everything, it is up to us as educators and professionals to keep an eye on our students and make sure they are remaining healthy and not wearing themselves down.  In order to do this we’re going to have to stick our necks out there a little more and recruit and train some younger students with leadership potential (not yet skill) to do some of the easier tasks and only call on our pros for the most important stuff.  While this may seem more time consuming at first, it will make our lives easier for us in the long run because we won’t have so many students getting burned out by the beginning of their senior year. 

 

I hope you all enjoy this last blog.  I’ve thoroughly enjoyed writing about leadership and sharing my thoughts with you all.  I also have to thank some of my colleagues for letting me bounce ideas off of them and helping me proofread and edit the blogs so thank you to: Jared Tippets at the University of Kentucky, Wes Riddle at Kennesaw State University, Luke Massee at the University of South Carolina Aiken, and Ahmed Samaha at the University of South Carolina Aiken.

 

Angel