From Michigan's First Gentleman

This issue of Leading Change covers the concept of Leadership, and all that the word encompasses within the educational setting. Based upon the concepts within Strand II of the Michigan School Improvement Framework, school leaders have the potential of creating a school environment where everyone contributes to a cumulative, purposeful, and positive effect on learning. Opportunities to empower Michigan students exist through instructional leadership, the shared leadership touching school culture, and continuous improvement efforts. As a writer and inspirational speaker, Dan Mulhern, Michigan’s First Gentleman, has made the subject of leadership a focus of his professional and personal life. Mulhern seeks to illuminate the leadership lessons that help everyday people achieve great results by leading with their best selves. The following is one such example.

On Friday, I had two Michigan State University freshmen on my radio show. They were graduates of a marvelous middle and high school program called the “Art of Leadership.” One facet of that program is that the young people write a “personal life vision” statement. The first young lady told me that her vision is to bring joy into the lives of all the people she meets. She said that even when people are negative, she makes every effort to listen to them, to help them to see the positive, and to maintain her own sense of joyfulness. It was very cool to see this young woman approaching life with a sense of purpose that was both broad yet deeply personal. I was uplifted by the vision and the light in her eyes.

I then asked the other young woman about her vision. She said that although life is not really that great a lot of the time, if you communicate and work with other people you can actually make good things happen for them and for you. I admit it. I felt underwhelmed. A vision statement should greatly inspire; it should offer hope in some lofty purpose. Our interview went on.

Later, we were discussing how those in the Art of Leadership program became like a family, and the second girl quite matter-of-factly said “Well, I lost both of my parents…” She said that Denise, the program leader, helped her face that loss and move on. These thoughts screamed in my head. “Mulhern, are you still underwhelmed by this young lady’s vision? Because when she says life isn’t always that great, she knows whereof she speaks! When will you realize how misleading appearances really are?”

I took two important lessons from this experience. First, context really matters. People’s words truly make sense only to the degree you understand the context of their thoughts and their life. Secondly, I was struck by the power of two eighteen year old women each moving through life with a vision, a sense of belonging, and a unique purpose. With vision and purpose of their own, they don’t have to wait for others, blame others, or even follow others. They have a direction of their own and can lead.

As we raise up our fellow employees, and “raise adults” at home, we should never lose track of the power that comes when an individual chooses a purpose. As we help them find purpose, we and they can lead with our best selves.

In 2000, Dan Mulhern began to write and distribute Reading for Leading, a motivational message on leadership. The above article, titled Context and Purpose, was first printed October 22, 2007 as a Reading for Leading article on Mulhern’s Web site. For more information, visit www.danmulhern.com. For more information on the Art of Leadership program, visit www.artofleadership.net.