The Student Government Association (SGA) heard a presentation on the topic of leadership from Michael Edmondson during their meeting on Oct. 8.
Edmondson’s speech focused on different definitions of leadership, the two different kinds of leaders, and four different styles of leadership.
The first exercise involved every member of SGA having 15 seconds to write down the definition of leadership.
Edmondson then listed some definitions off anonymously. They included, “Setting an example,” “ability to help others achieve a goal,” “Taking charge of the situation,” “having a skill to not only lead but follow.”
“With 30 different people in a room, there are going to be 30 different definitions of leadership,” said Edmondson. “However, that doesn’t mean any are completely correct or incorrect.”
Edmonson’s speech was focused on two types of leaders: “leaders” and “managers.” “Leaders” focused on instilling change while “managers” were more about maintaining stability.
Edmondson made it clear that neither was better or worse than the other. The majority of the SGA identified as leaders, but there were 7 that claimed to be more managers.
The final exercise Edmondson had the SGA participate in was determining what their leadership style was.
Every member of the SGA was given a sheet of paper with a pie chart split into four different types of leadership.
They were then supposed to say in order what type of a leader they were.
The four different types had things such as “strong listener,” “makes decisions based on data,” “leads with a vision,” and so on.
“SGA is about effecting change,” said Edmondson. “The more these senators know about themselves, the better the leaders they will be able to become. And being strong leaders is the most important aspect of effecting change.”
The SGA also approved Kendall Maduro as the Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC) representative for SGA.
Committee meeting highlights included the Rotating Committee giving updates on their Twitter Advisor Challenge and the Campus Activities Committee beginning plans for a white elephant gift exchange during Winter term.
