The Leadership Compass, Presented by City Year

Louisa Polos, Coordinator, Gettysburg College

In this workshop we worked with City Year to identify many of our leadership techniques. We also discussed how to work well with others who may have other leadership styles. I learned a lot about my current leadership skills as well as ways to work with others on projects. It was eye opening to see my strengths and recognize areas of leadership where I can improve my skills. I will take away an understanding that different people have different leadership techniques/styles and that I must be prepared to be flexible in certain situations. I also now know that I need people with contrasting leadership styles to have a holistic leadership approach and to be sure to consider all aspects of a project.

Rebecca Teichmann, Coordinator, Gonzaga University

The basic idea of the session was to determine our individual leadership styles and how to build the style in which we are the weakest. We also discussed how to work with styles different from our own (which may or may not conflict with our own). This activity was very beneficial in my opinion, because it helped me recognize my own leadership style as well as those of my co-workers. I am so glad to have had the opportunity to get to know the CKP staff on such a personal level, which I believe will increase our efficiency and productivity when we return to our own Campus Kitchen!

Sara Kandler, Coordinator, Marquette University

We discussed the 4 different leadership styles and associated ourselves with a dominant style. Our groups discussed the pros and cons as well as stereotypes connected with each of our styles. We also were able to talk between groups about the difficulties we face when styles clash. It was a fantastic experience that was an eye-opener for so many of the participants! We had interesting and productive discussions that could have continued much longer if there was time. I have participated in numerous leadership style workshops in the past, but this was much different from previous experiences! The approach taken by the Leadership Compass brought new perspective to leadership by not only helping each of us identify our styles, but also by helping us learn how to work with other styles. The activity also gave us the opportunity to collaborate solely with people of the same style. Through this activity we were able to see just how our style comes into play in our work. We were also able to identify tips to pass along to the other styles about how to effectively work with us.