#LeaderShapeTahoe

"At the LeaderShape Institute, someone told me that I can change the world. And it is as simple as that."

-The quote on our t-shirt said by a participant at a 2010 national session of The LeaderShape Institue.

After seven days, six nights, and hundreds of moments of laughter, tears, authenticity, vulnerability, pride, shame, guilt, fear, and hope, I am wrapping up one amazing and unforgettable week in Lake Tahoe, CA with LeaderShape. Joining two lead facilitators, 4 other faculty members in and outside of higher ed from Dallas, Salt Lake, San Francisco, and Madison, WI and one incredible On-Site Coordinator moving soon to Baltimore, we spent the week with 55 college students from across the US unsure of the experience before them. "Having a healthy disregard for the impossible", "living and leading with integrity", and "creating a just, caring, thriving world" framed the curriculum for the week as we sought to both support and challenge these student leaders to define their passions, examine their values, and develop visions for a better tomorrow. Amazing, right?

 Our backdrop was breathtakingly beautiful. With the mountains and views of Lake Tahoe surrounding us and the weather a smidge cold but otherwise perfect, I could not have asked for a better location to spend the week building relationships with 65 strangers and examining my own core values, leadership style, and personal vision. You see the week was about more than just being a teacher. It was about being a learner as well. All in all, I leave behind my second LeaderShape experience reflective, grounded, contemplative, inspired, refueled, enflamed, and hopeful. For I truly believe that these students and the 48,000 LeaderShape graduates around the world to date will shape and change this world for the better.

the SATs

the faculty

 So to my family cluster, the SATs (Survivors and Thrivers), thank you for sharing your stories, your successes and shortcomings, your hopes and dreams, and your fears and regrets with me. I believe in each of you and am grateful to have met you. May you be change agents in your communities and on your respective campuses and never doubt yourselves.  To the faculty who kept me grounded, kept me laughing until my sides hurt, and who challenged me to be the best me possible, THANK YOU for your friendship, your companionship, and your love and presence. I will always carry this week and my time with you with me. And finally, to #LeaderShapeTahoe, thank you for reminding me that DREAMING BIG and refusing to "play small" aren't simply nice thoughts, they are guiding forces as we forge new paths and look to a better and brighter tomorrow.

#LeaderShapeTahoe

LS<3. Cheers.