Service: The Quantification of a Life Well Lived, By John Bratton

Five years seems like an eternity in the life of a 24 year old graduate student. Five years spans an amount of time that I am just now beginning to comprehend. Five years could get me from high school to college, from college to the “real world.” The quantification of time is a funny thing though. Five years is almost a lifetime to me, but may merely be a glimpse in time for another. Some might remember five years ago as if it was yesterday. In fact, today could physically look like five years ago (believe it or not). August 29, 2005 is a day that for many in the Gulf States might quite literally feel like yesterday. Why? This is the day that Hurricane Katrina greeted the residents of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama with a hellacious fury. Perhaps the depiction of destruction and devastation that followed seems like yesterday to you.

I reflect back on these images because I recently had the privilege to serve as a learning partner on a service trip organized through The University of North Carolina at Greensboro’s Office of Leadership and Service-Learning. I, along with another graduate student, accompanied 12 undergraduates for a week of service spent in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward. Much to my dismay, the Lower Ninth Ward vastly still resembles the landscape of over 5 years ago after the flood waters had receded. Empty lots filled with debris, shambled structures, and spray-painted Xs haunting the doorways that now house residents again are all common sites found in the Lower Ninth, not 5 years ago but today. Sure, the cleanup efforts have provided the city of New Orleans with millions of dollars, thousands of volunteer hours, and a sense of hope for a brighter, safer tomorrow but one cannot visit the Lower Ninth without feeling the same loss, the feeling that somehow its residents have been forgotten.

However, the residents I encountered were the first to remind me that these feelings of loss are not to be confused with despair. After all, here it is over 5 years later and the young and old alike still flock to this hallowed ground in an effort to help the Lower Ninth continue its renewal. A sense of service permeates the individuals who still hear the calling to help those directly impacted by the life changing events of over 5 years ago. While the story of the individuals impacted could be expounded upon along with the physical situation that many parts of New Orleans still experience, a larger question arises from this experience. Can service be a solution? Rather, this question is already answered by many individuals across all walks of life. Instead the framework must become how can service be a solution?

There is little doubt that many challenges currently face our nation, let alone the world. Economic hardship continues to affect millions of Americans. The tsunami in Japan is quickly becoming one of the costliest natural disasters in history. Uncertainty is abound. However, those willing to make a difference and help another out are also ever increasing in number. The call to serve one another is resonating across generations in the US. As baby boomers head towards retirement and Millennials figure out their own place in society, it is clear that a national movement of service is taking hold in every generation in between. The goal of any successful leader, community organizer, or change agent should be how to harness this potential. This is no easy task and it is not designed to be. However, human capital is going to remain a strength found across cultures and generations to come, so to not harness it for the betterment of the social good would be to the detriment of all. So I encourage everyone (whether you view yourself as a leader or not) to think about how we, as humans, can put service at the forefront of our lives. Five years is a mere quantification of time, and a short one at that. Service has the unique ability to span eternity, so why don’t we put it to use?

Author:

John Bratton

Service-Learning Graduate Assistant

Community Identity, By Preston Yarborough

Often we talk about understanding our personal identity or personal brand by thinking "What defines me? What makes me stand out? What are my values?" As leaders in our community, we can also shift gears to think about our community identity with "What defines our community? What makes us stand out? What are our community values?"

Here's a personal story about a dear place to me, High Point, North Carolina. As community leaders, you can apply this to your own 'neck of the woods.'

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Check One

☐ High Point: A place to live.

☑ High Point: The place to live.

Transforming High Point: From A to The.

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How would you feel if 668 North Main St., home of The Dog House, was closed for a month and when it reopened it had turned into a Subway? I'm a healthy eater, Subway is a fine establishment, but something about that corner of Main and Westwood wouldn't feel quite right. That's the difference between A and The. Subway is A fine place to eat in High Point. But a long-lost High Pointer (e.g., college students back home for a visit), want to go to The place to eat when they land back in town. The Dog House is one of The places to eat in High Point.

Subway is a uniform commodity--almost appliance-like in it's approach to dining. A well-run Subway is efficient, cost-effective, and even healthy. These are all good qualities but apart from cholesterol levels, what separates Subway from the Dog House? The Dog House is a High Point institution. It has a character and flavor all its own--and not only in the chili. A thousand Subways can't replace one Dog House. I ate three meals a week there during High School--all with my best friend Gary. We sat at the Duke booth whenever possible, even if it meant waiting an extra 10 minutes. (If we were late to class, at least it was for a noble cause!) I don't have to explain what the Duke booth is--you know because it's part of our shared history of what it means to be a High Pointer.

Cities run the risk of being viewed as commodities, or appliances. Ubiquitous strip malls, restaurant chains, and cookie cutter housing developments evidence this shift. Such changes come at a cost, one that creeps in gradually and subtly. If we pause to take stock, we may wince inside. Furniture is imported into High Point rather than manufactured here, and generations of skilled craftsmen have been left with idle hands. This once proud discipline now resides as a mere a footnote from a bygone era. What would happen if Emerywood were razed because a developer's dollars spoke louder than an ambivalent community did? And if the Dog House changed to Subway, would college kids ever come home?

More and more, High Point doesn't look and feel much different from anywhere else. As uniqueness fades, so does its character and our shared identity. I want to belong to a community that understands the Duke booth is better than the Carolina booth--period. (And I don't care if the Dog House keeps Chapel Hill calendars on the wall--the Duke booth is better!) I want to belong to a community that supports quirky, vibrant businesses. A community that creates opportunity to share its talent, its gifts, and its creative genius. A community that appreciates what it has been, where it is now, and aspires to become something meaningful and relevant for its future citizens. I hope my son has a Dog House story to share with his kids. But our future rests with us.

High Point is searching for citizen-leaders who appreciate their community, where High Point isn't merely A place, but is The place. How do we transform High Point from A to The? First we converse. We sit together, we listen, we worry, and we dream. And this won't be easy.

Margaret Wheatley is the President of the Berkana Institute, a charitable global foundation that supports life-affirming leaders and grassroots changemakers around the world. The challenges High Point faces are not unique to the Piedmont, to North Carolina, or even the United States; they are a byproduct of our times. Wheatley observed, "Good people are finding it increasingly difficult to do what they know is best. Whether we're in a small village or a major global corporation, in any country or in any type of work, we are being asked to work faster, more competitively, more selfishly--and to focus only on the short-term. These values cannot lead to anything healthy and sustainable, and they are ultimately destructive. Even though life is our best teacher, we're not learning her lessons. I believe we must learn quickly now how to work and live together in ways that bring us back to life."

A community will not sustain her citizens through this chaos, but The community can.

At the present time we are fragmented.

At the present time we have a crisis of identity.

At the present time we are either scared to death or are oblivious--and both inhibit effective action.

But we will move forward.

In the future, diverse factions will converse and find common ground.

In the future, common ground will guide our transformation.

In the future, citizen-leaders will take action.

However we must discover, nurture, and develop our resources.

Author:

Preston Yarborough, Ph.D.

Assistant Director of Leadership

Leadership Lessons from the Campaign Trail, By Michael Beitler

I have been a student of leadership must of my life. After graduating from a university business school, I entered the financial world and eventually became a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in banking. In the business world, I saw leaders who were amazingly effective, leaders who were marginally effective, and leaders who derailed completely.

While still serving as a CFO in banking, I decided to pursue graduate school studies (MA in Psychology and Ph.D. in Leadership Development) to get a better understanding of leadership effectiveness. I enjoyed the challenge of graduate school level work and the exploration of a wide range of leadership theories, but all of the theories seemed to focus on only one or two aspects of leadership. None of the leadership theorists seemed to appreciate the complexity of leadership.

After leaving the financial world I entered the academic world. The academic research I read and conducted was interesting. But, once again, it all seemed to focus on particular aspects of leadership at the expense of an understanding of the complexity of leadership.

In 2009, I was asked to serve as my party’s candidate for the U.S. Senate. Being my first political campaign, I expected a very steep learning curve. It was.

I was especially surprised by the lessons learned about leadership. A political candidate is immediately thrust into a leadership role. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to attend the Institute of Political Leadership (IOPL). IOPL prepared me for many aspects of the candidate’s role (talking to the print media, doing TV and radio interviews, crafting political strategy, fine tuning your message, etc.).

After graduating from IOPL in December 2009, I felt prepared for most of the challenges facing a political candidate. Surprisingly, I felt rather unprepared for the leadership role (no fault of IOPL).

I had served as a leader many times throughout my professional career. I had a vision for the campaign. I had a realistic view of our budget constraints. I had sufficient time and energy to devote to the campaign. But I had never worked with a small army of volunteers before.

Peter Drucker’s comments about volunteers became instantly clear. Volunteers are the ultimate in motivated workers. I recall seeing my volunteers working Facebook and other social media sites at 2am every morning. Their energy seemed limitless.

Suddenly a high-energy volunteer would disappear. And then another one would disappear. A few days later another volunteer would vanish. IOPL had predicted a volunteer turnover rate of three weeks, but I refused to accept it.

I assumed it must be about me. What did I do wrong? What did I say that was offensive?

It took a while for me to realize the complexity of my leadership role. I was only one ingredient in the mix.

In addition to my own strengths and weaknesses, I had to consider the strengths, weaknesses, needs, and preferences of the workers. I also had to consider the unique opportunities and threats of our task.

Workers (paid or volunteer) loss jobs, have family problems, go back to school, take on more responsibility in their church or civic organization, start or end a romantic relationship, or experience some philosophical angst that causes them to re-evaluate their commitment to “your” project. The best thing you can do is talk to them; do what you can do to help. But allow them to take responsibility for their own lives.

Keep in mind that leadership is complex and dynamic. Things change. You change, your followers change, and the requirements of the task change. As the leader you are always dealing with a different mix of variables. Get frequent feedback about your leadership effectiveness. Use an instrument such as the Leadership Versatility Index to make feedback dialogue part of your organization’s culture.

Leadership is more than providing an inspiring vision. You must develop the versatility to deal with the changing needs of your followers and the task itself.

Author:
Michael Beitler, Ph.D.
Professor at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG)
Libertarian Canidate, US Senate http://www.beitlerforussenate.org/about
http://www.beitlerforussenate.org/about