Lead from Where You Sit
Kouzes and Posner’s “The Five Star Practices for Exemplary Leadership,” identified in their original research some 50 years ago, still hold true and include:
- Model the way
- Inspire a shared vision
- Challenge the process
- Enable others to act
- Encourage the hearts
Who do you know possesses these attributes? Were you aware that at Mason High School (MHS), students have boundless opportunities to work on acquiring and refining these skills?
MHS hosted a Student Leadership Summit for students from Mason and the surrounding schools. This brought students together to share their stories, expand their leadership initiatives and create action plans for the months ahead. As I circulated through the field house where the students congregated with their teacher sponsors, I was impressed by their projects and experiences.
After some clever warm up activities led by our student leaders, students were divided into mixed groups from different schools. Groups spent most of the day focused on school spirit and themes, student council structure and activities, student involvement, and the overall theme of leadership - teamwork, belonging, silent voices and the phenomena of change. As a conclusion to the spirited discussions, the attendees addressed the question, “How do we measure success in student leadership?” That is pretty heavy stuff!
Obviously, our students don’t sit at CEO desks or serve as presidents of universities, yet their leadership from where they sit matters and is made evident by the host of school initiatives they create. Notably, the MHS group plans and conducts Homecoming festivities, Wellness Wednesdays, Student Council, Spirit Week and more. By honing their skills, who knows where they’ll go? The sky is the limit!
Courtney Ford and Krista Sherman are our go-to student leadership professionals at MHS. We thank them for their leadership and mentoring!
