Authenticity

Every now and then, this blog becomes my mushy-gushy outlet of reflection and/or sentimentality. This is one of those posts - consider yourself warned. ;) I recently returned to lovely North Carolina after 8 fabulous days in a cornfield of Illinois. For the past week I have been serving on the faculty of The LeaderShape Institute in Champaign, Illinois. This is the same organization I worked with in grad school; however, this was my first time attending their national institute and serving as a facilitator. Without a doubt, it was the single most profound experience I have had yet as a professional. I think I will need more time away from the experience to truly process what it meant to me and what I can take away from it to apply to my current work. However, I can say that I feel blessed to have the opportunity to work with students who demonstrate such passion, character, conviction, and integrity. On several occasions throughout the week, I found myself just filled with goosebumps at the picture of our future when these students are leading corporations, organizations, social movements, etc. For anyone who feels cynical about the future of our country or our world, I challenge you to have a conversation with a college student and ask them what they hope to see and do with their lives. It's humbling, to say the least!

Aside from the great privilege of being a small part of their journeys, I also found the week to be a unique opportunity in my own life to be completely authentic and congruent as a person and as a professional. Wow - I lose track of how often I feel the need to "perform" to someone else's expectations. It's utterly refreshing to have the opportunity to engage in an experience that challenges me to be wholly myself each and every day. That revelation seems a bit ironic to me considering that I spend my work days trying to help students see they don't need to live up to some external expectation of a leader, rather discover and utilize their own unique contributions to leadership within a group. Organizations would be so much stronger if the veiled expectations of "performance" would be thrown out the window in exchange for valuing individual authenticity and excellence. My newest conviction is to do whatever is within my power to create such environments, particularly with the students with whom I work each day.

WooHoo LeaderShape!