If I ever get the choice to surround myself with leaders, I think I will do my best to pick people I don't really like.
This may seem the exact opposite of what I should do, but too often I see a leadership team become a clique that is full of very similar people. While this allows them to spend very little effort functioning as a team, it can really bog down those they lead. This is even more evident in a team with many volunteers who are free to come and go as they please, yet are so vital to the success of the group. When a volunteer comes and feels "outside the clique", it is very hard to retain them. Likewise, when a volunteer has been around for a while and feels they are not as valuable because they aren't the right "type" of person, they will be more likely to leave.
Some of the most rewarding and challenging relationships I've had recently have been with people I never would have thought I'd be around. These people bring different life experiences, ideas, and opinions that combine to make the body a stronger element.
Now, this concept can create many problems as well. A team of very similar people doesn't have to work very hard to gel together. A diverse team needs to be reminded why they are there in the first place. They need to know the vision, know what is at stake, and have a mutual respect for each other and their differences. The rewards for this is a team that is stronger, more flexible, and more likely to connect to those they lead. Imagine if you always had someone in leadership that you felt comfortable with and would always listen to you and could voice your opinion to all the other leaders.
This is one thing I think my generation does really well. I have been hearing a lot about Generation Y recently. I guess a new study came out or something. Apparently, we're really good at working in teams and being in diverse environments. I guess my blog is just one example of that.
But yeah, I think if I ever get the chance to build a team of leaders, I will try to find people that may be against my "instinct" (read: people I instantly feel comfortable around because they are just like me).
5 comments:
Clique my friend, clique. :) You know I correct because I care...not that I'm a grammar NAZI or anything. hahahahaha.
Good points. Very good. And wow, they get along but I think of Elevation's staff and they are so very different and have so many different views to offer which combines to make a lot of awesome ideas come to life.
i want you to spell check!!!
but yea. lindsey beat me to that. i think she's taking my place as creepy friend who manages to comment your blog 5.873 seconds after you post it.
:]
oh yea, i like the post, too.
Hasty late night blogging did me in. I knew it wasn't right, but couldn't figure out why.
haha Kelly. :) It's called bored to death because I only have two days of school and no planning to do...so here I am...was on the internet... I hadn't noticed the post time! But I will admit: I do tend to check friends' blogs quite frequently... I always wonder...did they update? Did the update again?
And further proof of my grammatical obsessiveness... I apparently didn't catc...INBREEDING...inbreading? Installation of bread in another person? :-P
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