The Glenholme School: Putting the Pieces Back Together: Leadership Challenge, Day Two

One of the most vital characteristics possessed by an effective leader is the ability to communicate. During today’s Leadership conference, Glenholme students were confronted with various tasks that challenged their communication and forced them to reflect upon ways in which they could improve their verbal communication skills.

The first task required the students to work together in order to achieve a common goal. Prior to the activity, each group collaborated and brainstormed various techniques and methods that they believed would help them to be most successful. In a common case of “too many chiefs, not enough Indians,” many of the students became frustrated and aggravated with their teammates’ lack of compliance and disorganization.

Discussing strategies

But why? What forces within us limit our patience and inhibit our ability to communicate effectively with others? How can we communicate more effectively in order to get our point across?

After the activity, the students were instructed to ask themselves these difficult questions.

Each student was provided with the outline of a “gingerbread man”, which would serve as a replica of him or herself.

The students were told to cut the gingerbread man in to several different pieces and on each piece, write a word or characteristic that prevents them from communicating successfully. Then, the students were provided with bandages that they used to “put the pieces” of their gingerbread men back together. On those bandages, they wrote different techniques or characteristics that they could adopt in order to communicate more effectively with others.

This activity forced the students to reflect upon themselves as individuals and, more importantly, as leaders. The students conveyed maturity and self-awareness in looking within themselves and coming to terms with their imperfections. This degree of vulnerability is vital to being an effective leader, and is a trait that many of us lack. All too often, we allow pride and egotism to inhibit us from means of self-improvement, but today, the Glenholme students were open and willing to address their weaknesses and took steps to address them. That is what being a leader is all about: having the ability to encourage and guide others to be the best they can be, and more importantly, having the ability to encourage and guide yourself to be the best you can be.

Check out some pictures of the student's exceptional work!