#trditions

[amandalynnp82]

Every year I take Noah and Nora out for there Birthday 🎂🎉❤️💙 #memories #trditions #lovethem

[tryingtoflywithoutwings-blog]

Leader.

As part of a council, we did a leadership-building exercise. In this exercise we evaluated the Native American "color wheel". Some leadership overlord, probably found through Google, translated the sacred traditions of a people into a fun little compass exercise. 

Setting the Scene:

Walking into the room, I noticed the four walls were each labeled with a paper marked "North", "South", "East", or "West". I questioned what the night's activities entailed.

The Activity:

Our adult moderator, for the sake of saving time we'll refer to her as "Carly", described these four poles in the sense of different leadership tactics and told us to choose the one which described ourselves the best.

The Poles:

North was described as the direct pole that emotionlessly executes a plan, only focusing on the final product. Every step in their decision process is executed like a computer. Beep. Boop. 101100 East, home of the creative thinkers, was stereotyped as "idea people" who are innovative thinkers, but nearly incapable of execution without being held by a tight leash. Although they have the best ideas, they don't know how to apply them to real-life situations or may find themselves wandering of the intended path. The South pole, other than being Santa's favorite vacation spot, was dubbed home of the emotionally reckless. It's inhabitants focus the majority of their time on people's emotions and opinions. They focus all of their time trying to please others and often get discouraged by stronger poles. And last but not least-detailed, the West. These tyrants make a list for everything. It's quite possible they went as far as to take notes while reading this post. Details are more important to them than their own children, mostly because anything to deal with human emotion comes second to the project.

Which Direction Did Each of Us Choose?:

Each and every member of the council immediately leaped from their seats and ran to either the North or West poles. As I care about the people who appointed me their leader and often take each and every individual person effected by my decisions into account, I found myself flying South for the winter.

Why Should I Care?:

This exercise really taught me a lot about myself. I realized I do care about other people and will do anything to make their dreams a reality. I want to keep people happy, and sometimes that means giving up things I want or need. I don't think this is a bad thing. I've never had a problem completing a leadership task, nor have I ever been severely disappointed with my performance as a leader. Carly explained that each tactic works in its own way and we need a balance in our lives to run an effective council. I really enjoyed how she took the time to explain to me that she was glad I joined the board. Carly stressed the important balance I brought to the group. She explained how I remind the group that the people who appointed us have expectations of us that need to be met and their thoughts and opinions should be valued and taken into account.

As a late addition to the board, I questioned whether or not I was meant to be there at all. This exercise showed me that I'm on the council for a reason and I bring a special balance that would have been missed, had I not taken up this post. A great friend of mine reminded me of something very important today. In reference to the circumstances that brought me to the board, she said, "Just because you got there in a different way than you had originally planned, doesn't mean you aren't supposed to be there. If anything, it means this position is so right for you, that despite everything that happened, you still found your way to it." God, I missed her.