The Task of Leadership by Dare K. Makun

The task of leadership is not to put greatness into people, but to elicit it, for the greatness is there already."~ John Buchan

A typical day for most people usually starts out with an activity schedule, mostly detailing a step by step process of what we intend to achieve; in the same way great leaders create a vision and subsequently delegate the many facets of the process of achieving the vision to followers. I believe in life we make decisions good or bad that usually affects us positively or negatively throughout a life time.

I had the privilege of talking to high school kids from the boys and girls club about my experience in college; emphasizing the roles that peer pressure, life's challenges and will power, play in the whole process. This group of intelligent kids really showed enthusiasm about college life and in our quest to ensure an interactive session; we tried to ensure every kid participated in the process by encouraging them to ask questions.

The day started out with brief introductions from me, my colleague and the kids. We started out by asking each of the eleven kids how many of them will likely be attending college after high school, it was interesting to note that all of them expressed the desire to attend college after high school. My colleague and I talked about our various experiences at college; highlighting professors’ expectations and most importantly laying emphasis on the role personal responsibility plays in getting good grades and excelling in school. Unlike high school, where kids are often guided and chaperoned to do the right thing or even attend classes and do assignments as at when due; responsibility for doing these lie solely on the individual in the university/college. Through the help of a teacher at the center, we were able to depict this by effectively using everyday people and examples that the kids can easily relate to, further illustrating the point with short drama skits.

The kids had interesting questions, ranging from the meaning of grade point average (GPA); social life and academics to sports and how to pay for college (financial aid). Overall, I was highly impressed by the enthusiasm showed by the kids. Our role as mentors was to show that going to college was not only attainable, but getting good grades and excelling were realistic achievements regardless of one’s background. We were careful to note that school was not only about studying also; one of the kids specifically asked if we ever had best and worst days while in college. This gave us the opportunity to talk about campus involvement and the role it plays in personal development and enhancing one’s leadership skills. The kids were very excited to know that school was so much fun and they were really looking forward to getting into the university as soon as possible.

The immediate effect of this session I would hope, is the fact that it will make these kids do better in high school right now and strive for better grades or at least maintain good grades. We were careful to emphasize that the GPA at the end of high school plays a large role in the application process of getting into their desired colleges. Cleary this was a confirmation of the earlier stated quote; these kids were ready to “lead” their lives to achieve their personal goals even at a young age.

Leadership is therefore an innate ability that most individuals already possess, they just need to tap into their potential, recognize it and utilize it to the fullest.

Dare K. Makun is enrolled in the Robert G. Merrick School of Business at the University of Baltimore and is certified as an Emerging and Established Leader with Leadership UB.

For over eight years, Leadership UB has provided leadership training and opportunities for service and reflection to University of Baltimore and the surrounding community. To find out how you can get involved, visit www.ubalt.edu/leadership or e-mail leadership@ubalt.edu.