Watching Leaders Emerge

Today the Governor of Minnesota, Mark Dayton, visited our campus, along with three legislators and the Commissioner of Education.  Although I could write about the leadership styles of these seasoned politicians, I'm choosing instead to write about the leadership exhibited by the students who spoke during the question-and-answer period.

I estimate that about half of the attendees were students, and in addition to our students from the University of Minnesota Duluth, we also had attendees from the College of St. Scholastica, Lake Superior College, and Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College.  Students from all of these campuses spoke, and they did a terrific job.  I think it takes leadership to get up in front of a large crowd and ask a question.  So many people worry about looking dumb or foolish, but these students overcame these fears in order to speak. 

Here are some of the characteristics I noticed.

• They came prepared.  Many had notes on pieces of paper, and one read from his smart phone.  They used data to support their arguments.  They had clearly thought ahead about what to say.
• They were respectful.  Even those that clearly had a strong opinion behind their statements were careful to speak with care and respect.  There was no name-calling.
• They listened to the responses.  There is nothing more frustrating than a person who asks a question and doesn't wait for the response.  With perhaps one exception, these people were truly interested in the answers.  They were not looking for a debate or trying to push the speakers to give a particular answer.
• They spoke from the heart.  The speakers clearly conveyed how much they cared about the issues they were raising.  This made it nearly impossible to dismiss or ignore what they said.

I was proud of our students today.  They exhibited real leadership as well as critical thinking.  I think we must be doing something right at UMD.