Leadership: Learning It In then Out of the Classroom by Andrea

Leadership: Learning It In then Out of the Classroom by Andrea - August 2015 Scholarship Essay

In 2008 the United States began a lengthy recession. Target was one of many businesses affected by the downturn in the economy with declining sales and profits. But CEO, Gregg Steinhfel, 1 remained loyal to his promise of donating five percent of all sales to charity. Steinhafel is an example of a leader determined to hold fast to his word even in difficult times. I want to suggest a Foundations of Leadership class be added to high school curriculum. Instead of developing leadership skills through trial and error, provide a foundational start. First I will address how leadership affects a student’s life. Then, I’ll review three traits that I believe to be core characteristics of leadership. Everyone has the possibility of leading. Learning from those who have lead is a great place to start learning to be a young leader.

Math, science, and computers are all subjects that teach life skills. I propose adding a Foundation of Leadership class to the current curriculum since leaders are found in every aspect of our lives. Adults are sought after to lead businesses so why wait until they reach college to start a foundation of what‘s necessary to be a good leader? The first place students lead is school. Student government, sports, chess, even siblings have one thing in common, someone is the leader. They are dependable, on time, and respectful. A second place to look for “captains” of the squad is competition. Whether it is chess or football, most teams select one of their own to be the encourager, head decision maker, the one looked to for direction. Thirdly, students lead in character. When they are amongst their friends or alone, leadership is displayed by their decisions made. I believe this is the place where trial and error in learning what leadership looks like begins. But if examples of integrity, ethics and consequences aren’t examined and studied, as a past high school teenager I can say you have no idea how decisions impacted others.
So what kinds of traits are found in a leader? Honesty, accountability and commitment are three of the many characteristics great leaders have. Honesty 3: we are told as children to “always tell the truth.” Too bad there are so many professional examples of adults not following that childhood rule. Case and point: Bernie Madoff 5. Almost 5,000 people invested billions of dollars with a person they thought was being truthful about investments, profits, and their money. But in the end, Bernie admitted he had lied about the $65 billion gains and $18 billion was lost from individuals, businesses, and charities. Ironically in this story, his two sons turned him in to authorities and that is how Bernard Madoff’s dishonesty came to light. The classroom is a great place to start grasping the depth of what honesty means and its possible costs.
A second trait of leadership is accountability. This story is also well known and it revolves around Penn State and many staffers. Although most know the story from the perspective of Jerry Sandusky, this example of accountability focuses on janitors, coaches, a graduate student, Penn State superiors, Coach Joe Paterno and the Penn State Police 6. Due to several years of no accountability 26 juvenile boys were victims, six people were fired, three are facing criminal charges besides Sandusky, Penn State was fined by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) $60 million, were required to forfeit several years of wins, plus $13 million in revenue will go to charity. Penn State has also paid out $59.7 million to the 26 victims, has committed to pay an additional $60 million to the prevention of child sex abuse plus millions in attorney and court fees. In this story, adults did not hold themselves. From my perspective taking a class that examines what accountability looks like would help students prepare for tough choices and allow students to solidify what accountability looks like in their own lives.
The final trait is commitment 2 which is defined as the state or quality of being dedicated to a cause, activity, etc. A positive example of commitment is Sam Walton 4. He was the Missourian with a heart for retail. He believed he had to lead by example so every day his work day began at 4:30am. He expected results from all that worked underneath him. He had no reservations to change goals, objectives, or course of business. He was also willing to move personnel around to better the business. Lastly small towns considered Wal-Mart a threat and he promised every town he proposed to build in he would supply many jobs and would follow through. These three traits, honesty, accountability, and commitment are characteristics most learn the value of over time. By implementing a Foundations of Leadership course I believe stronger leaders would emerge while still in high school.
Most students encounter the same subjects in high school. Adding a Foundations of Leadership course could potentially impact every aspect of their lives including math, science and computers. Then while studying traits of leaders, they will see there are many who succeed and fail when it comes to leadership and power. With the information they research students become more informed on how to establish their own foundation. With a Foundations of Leadership class we possibly could see the youngest, most service minded leaders to arise.