High heels or flats when it comes to footwear? It seems like a simple question at first, but what would your argument be for either option? Furthermore, how would you present this perspective to an audience and successfully convince your listeners that they should agree with you? Those questions were some of the thoughts that crossed my mind last Tuesday during an event with the Athletic Director’s Leadership Institute (ADLI).
The event was organized for the sophomore class of the ADLI with the intention of putting the members in uncomfortable positions that many leaders come across. Now, most leaders may not ever have to discuss their footwear preferences with a crowd of people, but they may be called upon to confidently answer a question posed to them out of the blue. Furthermore, this question may be one that they have not considered before or developed a concrete opinion on. However, in order to maintain an image of confidence a leader needs to possess the skills necessary to discuss such a question with composure and decisiveness. The purpose of the ADLI event, therefore, was not to determine our perspective on shoe options, but to introduce us to uncomfortable situations in which we must react with composure.
The event began last Tuesday night at 7:00, which of course cut into the President’s course for the Epsilon PLA class. As a result, Christian (who is also a member of ADLI) and I arrived a half hour late without a clue as to what we were about to participate in. Before we even knew what was happening, we had been put in front of a room of our peers and asked to convince our audience whether heels or flats were more important. I obviously had the upper hand, because I have had experience wearing not only flats but heels as well, while Christian was not as familiar with high heeled shoes (or at least I hope that’s the case). I therefore assumed that the task set before me wouldn’t be that difficult because I have never had great difficulty speaking in front off my peers. I was surprised then, when I opened my mouth to speak and realized I wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted to say. I had to create the context for my presentation, develop my opinion, organize how I presented it, and express it eloquently without missing a beat.
While I managed to develop a solid argument, I realized afterward that the organization of my discussion was lacking. For instance, I presented my opinion that flats are better solely (excuse the pun) for the consideration of comfort, before I even mentioned the context in which I defined my opinion. This context, which consisted of which type of shoe I believed would be important in a setting involving presenting to others, was critical to my opinion of why comfort mattered, yet I failed to mention it until I had already stated my opinion. Therefore, the experience taught me that I need to focus on organizing my thoughts before I open my mouth to speak before an audience. Furthermore, I gained an appreciation for practicing such leadership skills as addressing unforeseen questions and quickly developing an opinion. I hope that we find a way to include such leadership activities in future PLA classes because I feel that I gained much from being put outside of my comfort zone by the ADLI last Tuesday.

Leadership is a valuable skill, but knowing when not to lead is a critical skill as well.  For example, the St. Lawrence String Quartet performed for the Athletic Director’s Leadership Institute and the Students Engaging Students organizations this fall and shared some insights on leaderless teams.  This was a very interesting experience for me because it brought to light the intricacies of working within a group that contains multiple leaders/no leaders.  As I learned, the string quartet is the perfect example of a leaderless team because it requires each performer to be tuned in to his peers, to know when to take the spotlight, and to be aware of when to take the backseat.  When I think of a team, I usually assume that a leader is required to provide a semblance of order.  For instance, sports teams have captains and corporations have CEOs.  However, the St. Lawrence String Quartet proved that a group of four very successful and very talented artists could work together as one without requiring an individual to act as the leader.

I have performed in musical groups before, so I am aware of the skill it requires to be able to coordinate with other musicians.  However, a conductor always led me so seeing the string quartet perform gave me a new outlook on being able to reach success without an overall leader making the decisions.  I think the concept of leaderless teams is very applicable to situations that involve multiple leaders coming together to evaluate situations and make critical decisions.  One example that comes to mind consists of the meetings between political leaders of countries.  These leaders are all powerful and competent, yet they need each other in order to reach a compromise that benefits all of their constituents.  Therefore, they must find a way to create policy without stepping on each other’s toes or creating a power struggle.  In this way, the concept of leaderless teams seems to go beyond simple teamwork and define a different area of cooperation among multiple talented individuals.

While the concept of leaderless teams was the priority of the night, the quartet members also took the time to discuss other concepts that are crucial to success.  For instance, the group discussed the importance of engaging in activities you are passionate about.  One of the members stated that he performed for the young musician he once was; he played for the little boy who picked up an instrument and fell in love with playing it.  The other members went on to emphasize this sentiment and express the opinion that in order to be successful you must be willing to dedicate yourself, which in turn requires passion.  Overall, my experience with the St. Lawrence String Quartet gave me a great new perspective of being successful by pursuing my passions and learning to lead within leaderless groups!