DIVE IN!

From your dream to an implemented vision

Few days ago, I attended with my Rotary club a meeting with the applicants of our Fallbrook Pageant. It is of course not a beauty pageant but an opportunity for three freshman students and three junior/senior high school students to benefit of a year of exposure in our community and to develop their leadership skills.

During that meeting, I took the time to meet each of them and listen to their motivations and get to know them better.
They were all motivated and some of them had some sparkles in their eyes on the top ofit. That made me decide to offer my “DIVE IN! From your dream to an implemented vision” workshop for free to the six winners of the pageant.

Being committed and walking the talk

So, I talked to the person who is leading the event and I shared with her my intention. I explained her I was willing to offer this workshop for free to these six young ladies but that there was a condition for them to fulfil to be able to participate: a full commitment to attend the workshop for the two days. The first reaction of the person was to say that they are teenagers and that she did not know if it was possible. I insisted and said that I will not do it if the participants are not willing to commit for the two days. Then the person said that she will make the workshop mandatory! My response was the following: “No, I am not interested by havingpeople coming to that workshop because it is mandatory! I want people who are committed, which is the first quality of a leader: being committed and walking the talk”The lady I was talking to first was a little bit surprise and then I explained her my motivation to deliver this workshop in such condition.

Am I able, as a leader, to take full responsibility for my choices?

I consciously and willingly seize the opportunity to attend this workshop as it is appealing to me and I take all the consequences of my choice, including attending the workshop from the beginning to the end. And when I commit to attend this workshop I also commit to bring the best of my knowledge and experience to the group for the good of other participants. If I am not willing to commit to it, I rather say no which is perfectly fine, rather than to say yes and not keeping my promises.

This is called congruence

and it is one of the four most important necessary and sufficient skills a Leader has.

Edith Samouillet,
Partenaire d’AERYS COACHING