Hixson's at I.S.L.E.

            The Iowa State Leadership Experience this weekend was a very interesting event.  The keynote, presented by Delatorro McNeal, was a high-energy presentation focused on leadership styles and strategies. Workshops that took place after included “Understanding and Appreciating Group Members”, teambuilding/icebreaking, and “Using Your Strengths”. Some workshops were more engaging than others but all demonstrated strategies that can be brought back.

            The conference started off with a very entertaining presenter from Florida who makes a living by presenting to businesses and students across the country.  He used a unique strategy to demonstrate leadership styles and strategies.  Delatorro emphasized the importance of leading yourself before you can lead others. He demonstrated leadership in popular movies like “Hitch” and “Honey”.  Some of the styles he touched on included, authoritative, passive, aggressive, assertive, and mentor/coach.  His high energy and engaging strategies to get the crowd involved set a stage for the rest of the afternoon.

            The next workshop was about how to improve listening skills and inclusive language in groups.  The first part of their presentation was about how to be a successful active listener. Some of the pointers included; attending, mirroring, questioning, respect, problem solve, and spontaneity.  Most of the information was pretty basic but one that really stuck out was spontaneity.  What they mean by that is when listening to somebody you shouldn’t have an agenda and you thoughts and feedback should be genuine and sincere.  The two presentations gave several do’s and do not’s when providing feedback. The last topic of the workshop was inclusive language that can be used to avoid being offensive in any way.

            The most exciting workshop was definitely the teambuilding and icebreaker to build strong leadership teams.  What could be taken away was the once you build common experiences people are more comfortable and willing to open up. Click here for a link to some activities that Iowa State has put together.  I am excited to use some of these activities as a peer mentor. 
            The last workshop was disappointing at best.  Not enough time was allowed for processing or discussion. It was suppose to help us identify what parts of our life strengthen us and that we should be pursuing just that.  I agree with what she said but it could have been delivered in a more effective way.

            Overall it was a decent afternoon that was filled with a lot of information and tips that I plan to implement in different areas of my college career.

~Easten