What a day we have had! It seems that everyone has begun to be more comfortable and getting to know one another, making for a more jovial experience here at PLMI. Today was not only informative but also fun and inspiring.
Much of what we discuss pertaining to leadership is nothing new for me. I spent my high school years heavily involved in the FFA and attended leadership camps and retreats right here at Fall Creek Falls (as odd is that is!) and continued on with leadership development in college and employment. Yet, as I have grown older and moved into ever more demanding roles of leadership and administration, the pracical implementation of those skills is a constantly evolving process. Today's real treat came from our visit with Dr. Self. I was touched, inspired, and surprised by not so much what she had to say but how she drove her points home.
My expereience with Dr. Self surprised me because I was prepared for another speaker to come in and give a PowerPoint presentation while preaching to me about leadership. Yet, she taught through metaphor and analogy and the self-reflection exercise made me truly stop and take account of where I am and why I am there. During our partner exercise I was touched by Kim's story and I was inspired by the passion I saw in her eyes when she related that experience to me. But, more than that I was inspired by myself. By making me pause and think about what I am passionate about and how my expereience had helped to shape me and inadvertantly bring me to my current position, I felt an almost immediate sense of renewal, a new attitude emerged. I am vowing to return home and make myself take time out of the blinding paperwork and constant office duties to allow my heart to be filled by actually spending time with people and focusing my efforts on creating a library that offers a level playing field for everyone through the empowerment of education and access to information....a statement that I think is the beginning of either a vision or mission statement. I actually feel like I made a great stride today in helping me to be the best Director I can be.
I think that I had the same reaction to the experience. It seemed to me that Dr. Self is an amazing woman. I really enjoyed your Blog and I think that you express yourself very wonderfully.
ReplyDeleteI think we all enjoyed Dr. Self, she was a whirlwind of calm and inspiration. In the partner exercise, I realized that some things that have happened through the years, have had a very deep and personal meaning for me as a person. I would love to take a course she taught, it would be amazing.
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