“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.”
~ Dallas Trade Mart, 1963
Last year I was selected by my peers
to act as a costume/fashion captain for our annual Red and Gold theatrical
production, which is put on entirely by the young women of Rosary High
School. During the three-month
preparation process I feel that I demonstrated initiative and leadership skills
when I was placed in the position of having to choose between my popularity and
the integrity of my design product. I
discovered a side of myself that was much stronger than I had ever realized.
The situation unfolds like
this. I designed, created, budgeted,
prepared and sewed thirty fairy costumes for a choral number. My products were nearly complete when I
received a phone call from a superior student advisor who requested help. This
student knew that my previous year’s costumes had won for best overall design,
that my current costumes were almost complete, and that I had a quick eye for
creativity and design. Her request was to
take a few pieces from some of my costumes and create watered down ensembles
for the entire drama cast, which would entail about ten new versions of the
same design. No, I did not laugh in her
face. Instead, I asked her why my design should be compromised along with the
team’s entire production just to cover for her failure to complete the
assignment.
I discovered my own strength in that
I have always tried to give one-hundred percent effort to any project assigned.
Quality must come first. Also, I stood
up for my own design to save it from being altered, which in turn preserved the
integrity of the production. Our team
did go on to win the 2002 annual Red and Gold Competition.
My refusal to compromise was unpopular with some, but believing in
my design and the integral part it would play in the production was worth the
scorn. I was a little weak in the sense
that I was too harsh with the student advisor, and should have made my “no” a
little softer. However, I did spend several hours with that same student
advisor, giving her guidelines, suggestions and ideas for her own
costumes. Working together not only
resulted in better costuming but also renewed our team spirit.
There is a secret to leadership –
one must be willing to work with others and their abilities, not trying to
change them or wishing they were someone or something different. I learned that a leadership role is not as
glorious as it sounds, but that it teaches us things about others and ourselves
that may not otherwise have been learned.
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