Communication. Team work. Leadership.

Those words seem to be the epitome of my college career. Whether it was through organizations, classes, or even social activities, I have learned what these mean, or did I? I proudly told the rest of the Sigma Sigma Lambda crew aka Student Success Leaders (SSL) to come up with other words or other things they could say besides team work and communication when we participated in the ropes course this past summer. I laughed; they laughed; especially when they were told not to use those words by BJ and Terry. lol

Maybe it is because I am getting older or maybe it is karma, but I am starting to believe communication and team work is not a means to an end. There is more to it than just those words. These two words contain more meaning than most probably do in fact. I am an agricultural communications major. I am scared to admit this, but we are often told 'you are a communications major, and you don't know how to communicate.' Hmmm.... Or, the statement that really hit me like a brick--Question: 'what can we do to make this better?'---Answer: 'Communicate.' OK, it was basically something like that lol. All I could think about was, 'what?!?' All of a sudden there seemed to be much more to it than just a simple word. Communications is about sending and receiving messages. In my opinion, more than just talking and more than just listening. Communication is about trust, respect, honesty, etc. However, these words do not seem to come up much.

Leadership. I could devote a whole blog to this topic. It is also my minor! I find it very interesting, and I enjoy learning more about the topic. However, once again this semester I have been challenged with what I thought leadership was. Here is my answer. Leadership should not be defined as someone who is extroverted and is seen as the 'leader'. Leaders come in all varieties! Some may be introverted. Sometimes those are the best leaders. Also, with successful leadership comes active followers. It is not realistic to expect everyone to be 'leaders' as that does not work. I use quotes around 'leader' because this is the way I view other people's opinions on what a 'leader' should be. They should be the most outgoing person, with the most outrageous ideas, making other people notice...Hmmm...yes, some people can and should lead like this, but it is not the only way. I also believe in situational leadership. For example, I may not be very outspoken in a class, but that does not make me any less of a leader. Because for example, I am very outspoken in others. And, when you force others to be outspoken, it isn't authentic...that defeats everything in my opinion. So then what did we accomplish? Something to ponder.