Leadership Inspirations

Hello, My Name Is…

It’s Election Season! Soon you will have a new leadership group who need the opportunity to get to know each other…and what is the first thing people need to know? You guessed it…names!

Name Games are the perfect way to start a new group!

Students at LAc 2010 learning each other's names!

A good name game has four main components:

It is simple and easy to understand. If you have to explain it more than three times, it’s not simple.
It is more than just people saying their name.
It is low risk. People should feel comfortable participating, and they shouldn’t be expected to share too much.
It is fun!

Name Games can be long or short in length, depending on the size of your group. That said, if you have a larger group, it’s probably best to find a shorter Name Game, and if you have a smaller group, you can use a more complex Name Game.

Here are some easy ones that we’ve used at Leadership Academy:

Name Adjective: Each person says their name and an adjective that describes them which starts with the same letter (or sound) as their name. For instance, “Kind Kim” or “Awesome Angel.” If you want, you can add an action or a hobby instead of the adjective.

Quickest Name Game: You just have know three names in this game. You need to know your own name and the names of the people on the right and left of you. The first person says the name on their left, their own name, and the person on their right. This continues around the circle. See how fast the group can go.

Name Origin: Each person says their name and where it came from.

Name Games are an important first step to the formation of a group. Before you go into teambuilding, expectations, job responsibilities — before you get to the conflict, event planning, or event success — you need to know the names of the people you’ll be working with.

Congratulations to all of you with new positions and good luck in the upcoming year!

Jeannette’s Getting Married!

Hi Everyone!

Jeannette here, checking in! Since Leadership Academy last year, a lot of great things have happened. The biggest and most exciting news that I’d like to share first is that I got engaged in October! Since then I’ve been planning my wedding.

Noah & Jeannette's Engagement Picture. The next time you see her, she'll be married!

Successful planning is the foundation for the event itself (I’m sure you can all relate). The facilitation skills I learned from being a Coach at Leadership Academy has helped me streamline this process so smoothly. I’ve broken down the event into smaller, manageable tasks, prioritized the tasks by date, and am working through the list! With all the various vendors and people involved in the event, I couldn’t be happier that I’ve been able to display those skills, and more importantly be successful doing so. The skills you learn at Leadership Academy really can serve you in all aspects of your life!

In addition to wedding planning, I joined a team of young professionals in the Glendale area, the Glendale Young Professionals (GYP), as a council member and as the Chair of Events and Professional Development. GYP is a program of the Glendale Chamber of Commerce that connects, develops, and empowers its members, bridging the gap between generations, and serving its community. One of the things that I’m very proud of is GYP’s mission statement. With the help of the council members, we were able to put together a very powerful and positive mission statement that encompasses what our main goal is. Being open to the team’s ideas and listening well during brainstorming sessions was crucial because they were counting on me to be timely and professional in facilitating the creation of a high quality mission statement. The listening and accountability programs and activities at Leadership Academy definitely helped me here!

Being a coach at Leadership Academy was one of the greatest leadership experiences that I’ve had. I learned a lot about myself through the coaching process and I learned a lot about the people around me. The best part of the program is the diversity that the students bring to the table. So many different ideas! So many different personalities! But at the end of the day, everyone is working towards one main goal. We are all leaders and how each situation is approached can make you as successful as you can be!

Here’s to another great year ahead! Looking forward to being a part of it!

Got a great rally game?

We’ve all seen a good rally or class competition game…but what makes one GREAT?

Help your peers by posting a GREAT game that you’ve experienced at your school!

Besides the great ideas that are shared, you can also Google “pep rally games” to find tons of ideas from colleges and high schools around the nation.

Students at LAc 2011 trying to create their own balloon animals!

TIPS for your next rally game or class competition.

Safety first! Some risk makes the games fun, but you don’t want people to get hurt — physically or emotionally.
Get new people to participate in each game/rally or find ways to involve everyone!
Be aware and plan ahead for food-based games as people have allergies.
Acknowledge everyone for participating, not just those who win.
Make your games quick and easy to understand.
Involve administration and teachers — and be nice to them!
Make games fair.
Adapt games from TV shows, like “Minute to Win It.”
Test your games before you get to the rally!

Big News from Angel!

Things have been really busy since camp!

Among some exciting things in my personal life (read to the end to find out!), I was accepted into a program called the Women’s Policy Institute. Imagine that all of your ASB lives in different cities throughout California and need to figure out how get a task completed. You never see each other face-to-face, so all of your conversations are done through email or conference calls. This institute has me doing just that…working with four others across California to get a bill passed into law within our state government.

The most challenging thing has been being able to interpret the tone and nonverbals in people’s emails instead of seeing their faces. Accountability has been our biggest struggle. I definitely use a lot of the skills that I learned through the conflict resolution curriculum we teach at Leadership Academy. Mostly how to bring things from the underground into the common ground in order to have a real conversation and move forward.

I’ve also learned a lot about marketing. Leadership Academy gave me the foundation I needed to be able to understand how to market to people who oppose me. The policy process in Sacramento is all about networking. If you know the right people, you get your questions answered quickly. If you don’t, it takes weeks to get a question answered, if it gets answered at all. If you don’t know anybody, most of your time is spent figuring out who is who in Sacramento. The networking activities that we do at camp definitely lay a solid foundation for learning how to talk to people, ask the right questions, and how to develop elevator speeches.

Even though I’m a Coach who teaches leadership skills at camp, I was about to learn more about these skills going through this process. It’s amazing how much this foundation puts someone ahead of others who never had the chance to learn. Conflict resolution, communication and networking are all key in being successful. We have a hearing in two weeks to determine whether or not our bill will actually be considered. I’m excited to see what happens and will definitely update you all on the process!

On a personal level, I’ve also been really busy because my husband and I welcomed our very first baby into the world! Our little boy, Luke William Meraz, was born on January 28, 2012. He was 4 lbs. 6 oz. and 16 1/2 inches long. He was a little bit early, but he is doing very well and I love being a mom.

Angel spending time with Baby Luke.

I can’t wait to see all of you that are returning to camp next year. For those of you who are graduating and moving on to college, we are so excited to hear from you in the future and learn how you use the skills that you learned at Leadership Academy!

Students Love Leadership Training…but Activities Directors Do Too!

~ What I learned from CADA ~

Learning new things, meeting new people, dancing and socializing…it’s not just for students! Last week CADA hosted it’s annual convention for ALL California Activities Directors – with some Canadians too! The Grand Sierra Resort in Reno was filled with great energy and excitement to meet with vendors, hear new ideas about rallies, dances and leadership, and to hear amazing speakers.

Kim was there and had an awesome time with our Leadership Inspirations friends…the PYLUSD district was a blast, had a great lunch with St. Francis and Arcadia, spent some time with our vendors and met some more amazing people!

Here are some thoughts about the week from Meghann Lukach, Esperanza High School Activities Director:

In my past 4 years of attending the CADA leadership conferences there has been so much to walk away with. Whether it be a couple of new ideas to implement in the classroom, assemblies or guest speakers to hire on campus, or just the new set of Activities Directors you meet, the CADA conferences are a great way to get re-energized and ready for the crazy 2^nd half of the school year. Each year I walk away with at least 2-3 ideas that can be useful right away. I truly think that getting involved in CADA and going to this conference is something every activities director needs to do!

Missed out on the convention? No worries! Give us a call and we’d love to share our thoughts!

On the Move with Glenn!

…keeping up with our LI Staff…

Since Leadership Academy, I have been very busy working my full time job at Cox Communications in Orange County. In my spare time, I have been facilitating a wide variety of programs, like taking the Mt San Antonio Women’s softball team ocean kayaking and facilitating team building activities on the beach in January. I was able to do a few motivational speaking jobs last year and have written several interactive programs (“Living your Dreams” and “The Answer = LOVE”). I have been working on programs through UC Irvine, Cal State Long Beach, the Boojum Institute, The Outdoor Education Center and continuing to work with schools through Leadership Inspirations!

See Glenn in his hat! He's ready for a great day with Troy High School's ASB!

I also volunteer for Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA), which is coming up in April in Idlywild. I’m also submitting my papers to be a presenter again this year for the World Diversity Conference in Vancouver Canada in June. Wish me luck!

Leadership Academy has really motivated me to pursue my dreams. It has helped me to fine tune my skills as a facilitator and I love that I always take away something new from camp. No matter what others might say, I believe you’re never too old to learn. As my Idol John Wooden said, “If you stop learning, you stop leading.”

What about the Leadership Academy makes me so passionate? That’s easy, it’s YOU (the participants). I’ve always said that I get as much out of Leadership Academy as the participants do. It’s so inspiring watching students learn and grow. It’s getting to know you and those silly one of a kind camp memories that you can’t get anywhere else. Leadership Academy energizes me and keeps me motivated all year. It is a great feeling when a group comes together and accomplishes their goals. What can I say, it’s good for the soul. I just hope that I can have a positive affect to not only succeed in school, but in life as well.

Here is one of my favorite poems. I try and live my life by it. I carry it with me and read it whenever I need a pick-me-up.

SUCCESS
by Ralph Waldo Emerson

To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty,
To find the best in others,
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.

Your Leadership and U.S. Presidential Leadership

With the President’s Day holiday just around the corner, we at Leadership Inspirations are thinking about what qualities make a President a great leader.

Which characteristics do you think are most important to the U.S. President? Which of these same characteristics are important for High School Leadership?

Leadership Academy has a special session just for Presidents & Advisors!

There are several polls that ask scholars to rank the Presidents based on a number of characteristics. Check out this list from the Siena Research Institute:

Family Background
Party Leadership
Communication Ability (writing & speaking)
Relationship with Congress
Court Appointments
Handling of U.S. Economy
Luck
Ability to Compromise
Willing to Take Risks
Executive Appointments
Overall Ability
Imagination
Domestic Accomplishments
Integrity
Executive Ability
Foreign Policy Accomplishments
Leadership
Intelligence
Avoids Crucial Mistakes

The Institute of the Study of the Americas adds these qualities to the list:

Vision/Agenda Setting
Moral Authority
Positive Historical Significance of their Legacy

Are there any qualities that you think are important that are not listed here? Do you think these qualities are important for high school leaders?

Over the next 10 days, we are going to be posting quotes from the recognized top 10 Presidents of all time, based on an average of many polls from scholars across the globe.

Catching up with Joe P!

Since Leadership Academy, I have been working as the Director of Professional Services for a consulting company. My job focuses heavily on helping other companies improve their organizations through developing new strategies and working to improve how they conduct business. This opportunity allows me to confront real problems that plague employees in the workforce everyday. In addition, I have just completed my application for a doctoral program, an Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership. My hope is that this new academic pursuit will help me to keep improving, while fostering my desire for lifelong learning.

The Leadership Academy has helped me by sharpening my ability for facilitation and preparing me to enter into a group and run any session with confidence. This process was not overnight, as each year I came back, I found my skills growing. The academy has also given me a greater respect for listening to each individual and giving them the chance to grow at their own pace so they can truly flourish.

Joe facilitating Esperanza High School's PTSA School Session

What about the Leadership Academy makes me so passionate? I find that every year, the entire academy has been improved. Through exploring new facilities, refining the schedule, or continuing to add amazing staff, each year seems to get better. For me, this academy is a unique way to give back to the community through enabling people in their own respective communities to effect greater change through their actions. It is the “gift that keeps giving” because each person that attends learns something that can positively influence another person’s life and/or the community, creating an endless ripple effect.
Create your ripple effect today and sign up for Leadership Academy!! August 1-4 at Chapman University. Click on the REGISTER tab above for more information and the application form (coming February 8).

Event Planning: Saving time, money…and adding Learning?? Here’s how we do it!

It is Winter Formal Season! On or off campus, Winter Formal is a great opportunity for students to celebrate the end of the semester and have a great time. It’s a dance for everyone! We are lucky to be working with both Esperanza’s and Yorba Linda’s Sophomore Class Officers this year planning their Winter Formals…and here’s a little bit about what they’ve been doing.

Our Leadership Inspirations philosophy is that all experiences are opportunities for learning and for fun…which is why our event planning process is different! We meet with student committees multiple times prior to the event to discuss the necessary components of planning an event. From reading contracts to budgeting, marketing and logistics, our students have an opportunity to learn about catering menus and pricing, DJ selection, designing a site layout and more.

This is the layout for Esperanza's Winter Formal -- complete with security guards stationed throughout. The students decided the best places for security after visiting the site.

Not only that, we also use leadership development models to demonstrate how to create effective group dynamics and successes. We all can use the reminder that it’s not just a dance and we aren’t in it alone! Working together, goal setting, communicating effectively, working with and including other students in ASB, addressing student needs, and evaluating are all parts of the process.

What is involved for the students the day of, you ask? Our Leadership Inspirations staff takes care of everything! Providing experienced, professional event managers from beginning to end, we ensure every aspect of the event goes as planned…after all, our committees are students that deserve to enjoy their event too!

In the end, the students we work with come out with a better knowledge of how an event is produced and how a group functions. With one of the great benefits also being that they add a nice profit to their class bank account!*

Do you have an event you’d like to plan with a professional event planner, but you want your students to learn at the same time? Contact us today to find out how we can work together!

* Although not guaranteed, all of our event clients have made a profit on their events. Ranging from $1,000s to $10,000s, we work hand in hand with you to ensure we make the most effective use of your money!

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