Cardigan Mountain School Pushpage

In lieu of Saturday morning classes this past week, the students were afforded a well-being “sleep-in,” following which came their Saturday-morning education in a very different format. One of Dr. McCormick’s most memorable colleagues—as he pursued his doctorate in developmental studies in counseling (emphasis in sports psychology) at Boston University several years ago—arrived to campus, now a professor himself, with seven of his own current BU grad students in tow. His name is Dr. Adam Naylor, and the topic of the morning? Leadership.

The beginning of this special program began in the theater, with the entire student body gathered for the introduction. Dr. Naylor expressed his hope that, as a core idea of the morning’s breakout sessions, we should all keep in mind that leadership takes a lot of different forms. There are certainly the more-formal forms of leadership, such as being elected or appointed captain of a team or being elected to an official student leadership role, but there are lots of other leadership roles to be played—there are many other ways to lead. He gave specific, real-life examples of both kinds of leadership, a person who epitomizes leadership in the more formal sense (the Trinity College Men’s Squash coach), and one who exemplifies what it means to lead simply via the manner in which he carries himself (a freshman ice hockey goalie at the University of Maine, Scott Darling)—proof positive that one can lead regardless of one’s age relative to those he or she is leading. Of course, he pointed out, there are numerous real-life examples of leaders outside the realm of sports, as well, at which point he talked about our country’s president, among others.

Before launching into the rest of the morning’s program, Dr. Naylor introduced us to the folks who would be helping to facilitate the four planned break-out sessions: Val Alteri; Joe Alvayero; Kristen Chipman; Laura Hayden; Dave Hurley; Andy Joy; and Ira Martin. Each of these grad students, he added, has a college team or department (all in the Boston area) with which he/she is working as part of his/her graduate studies. The format of the rest of the morning was such that every student would move in rotation with a group of about 20–25 boys to four of eight possible venues (one instructor/facilitator would remain at each of the venues) and experience, in the same order as all other student groups, a different activity/discussion at each. Each forum would build further upon the topic of the previous one. “The symposium will have been successful,” said Dr. Naylor, “if each of you comes away with at least four good ideas to use today, tomorrow, and beyond.”

In the first session, each of the eight groups brainstormed qualities that a good leader should have. One student served as the initial scribe, and another became the scribe when it was time to narrow those qualities down to just “six core leadership qualities” by group voting and consensus. (One student group, for example, narrowed its roughly 40 suggested leadership descriptors to the following six: They agreed that a leader should be honest, respectful, consistent, motivating, determined, and positive.) Each student then had to complete an introspective worksheet, rating themselves on a scale of 1 to 10 with regard to each of his group’s agreed-upon qualities; determining which two qualities he brings most often to his community; deciding which quality he would like to further develop; and strategizing a way to proceed with that development (“talk is cheap!”).

The second session aimed to demonstrate the importance, in the role of a leader, of devising a plan and sticking to it. The students each had one minute to do a sort of “numbers search” exercise (comparable to a “word search”), and those who experienced more success after the first attempt shared with the others what their plan of attack had been (if any). Attempting the search a second time, most students devised a plan to follow. The facilitator, however, threw a “distraction” into the mix (in one case, a sudden, loud banging noise), and the follow-up discussion centered on what a good leader does if a distraction (or obstacle) impedes the progress of the initial plan (perhaps take a deep breath, learn to refocus?)—or, if the plan is not going well, when it’s appropriate to adjust the plan to the circumstances. Another message that emerged from this session was that, as leaders, we have to be able to manage adversity ourselves before we can manage others.

Role-playing lay at the center of the third session. Various students volunteered to stand before their group and act out a scripted moment in time during which the character is attempting to be a leader. (Each scenario was handed to the volunteer on paper by the facilitator.) The “viewing audience” was instructed to decide whether those words and actions exemplified positive or negative leadership—or in some cases, whether they were too ambiguous to be put in either category. These scenarios evoked a number of terrific discussions, some of which addressed body language and the concept of our actions’ being as important as our words.

The final activity involved putting together a fairly simple 24-piece puzzle as a group (as quickly as possible). Group dynamics and the display of human behavior during this session were, of course, rather fascinating and provided fodder for healthy follow-up discussion. The most important concept that emerged from the exercise was that “every piece is necessary.” A person can make a difference even if he or she is not the titled/appointed/named leader.

When the full community reconvened in Humann Theatre, Dr. Naylor kept his comments brief and to the point. He asked us all to remember the following:
--Strong leadership is a choice. Choose to lead.
--Before you can lead or motivate others, you must be able to
motivate and manage yourself.
--Send energizing messages clearly and consistently to those you are leading.
--Leadership cannot happen without a team and all of its pieces.

And with those concluding thoughts, we broke for lunch and the rest of our afternoon (and the many days ahead), surely putting to the test what the morning’s symposium may have inspired within us, whether in the dining hall; in the dorm; in the classroom; on the stage; or on the slopes, the mats, the court, the ice, the fields, or the trails . . .

A big, public “thank you” to Dr. McCormick for arranging this symposium for the benefit of the entire Cardigan community.

Symposuim Feedback
Members of Mr. Gray's English class offered their thoughts on the symposium:

"What I learned in the Leadership Symposium actually affected a large part of my day. During my basketball game when my team was down by a handful of points, we didn't give up. I learned to stay focused, stay positive, and finish strong."
-Andy Kebalka '10

"I have learned that leadership involves compassion, support, perseverance, courage, and bravery. From participating in all of [Saturday's] rotations, I believe I have put myself on the road to being a very successful leader...I learned that in the classroom or out there on the field, each student and athlete plays a significant role in what they do."
-Allen Dawson '10

"The Leadership Symposium was a real success. With an Eaglebrook game later that day, I felt twice as confident, and I knew if I used some of the qualities I learned, my team would have an exciting game---whether it was a win or loss."
-Aaron Rodriguez '09

"Every person on the team counts. We learned this with the puzzle and [the] one lost piece. This was a fantastic day, which will benefit the Cardigan community."
-Anthony Chammah '09

"In the Leadership Sympoisum, I had a great time. I learned about all kinds of leadership. I especially liked number two, which was to back up your words with actions and everyone is important in a team."
-Santiago Gavito '10

"My favorite rotation was when we got to make a plan for ourselves...the idea was that with a plan, it would be easier to accomplish your goal."
-Carlos Roca '10

"I learned that to be a leader you must be able to lead yourself. I also learned how even the most quiet person has an effect on group projects."
-John Rhyne '10

"One trait that is extremely important for kids our age is control. Before we began our exercise, the man said, 'Keep your composure and pretend nothing [is] happening.' We began and the whole time he was throwing books and dropping chairs trying to get our attention to wander. To his surprise, everyone kept their eyes down and their minds set on the workshop."
-Charlie Kissel '10

"I was honored to be taught by Boston University graduate students. It helped me to realize how important everyone is to a team."
-Koji Gormezano '10

"I took away confidence and positivity from the whole symposium as two key ideas to help my development as a leader."
-David Stack '10

"The graduate students reminded us that a leader must be positive, have control, and have compassion for their team."
-Jared Posternak '10

"I learned that a title, like captain, doesn't always mean they are good leaders."
-Holden Soffer '10

"My favorite rotation was the first...where we had listed ideas about leadership. Some of my favorites were that a leader should be generous, respectful, hard-working, smart, and confident. These all show a good person and that's what a leader should be."
-Charlie Parry '10