Acts of Good
Leadership Assignment
Due: Wednesday, March 25, 2015 at Noon
Use the $10
to do an act of kindness/generosity between today and our class next week and post a 250 word essay in the comment section summarizing
what you did, how you felt about it, how the people felt about it (if it was
not anonymous), and how your act contributes to good leadership.
Also--write up a brief description of your act and post it on:
Also--write up a brief description of your act and post it on:
"I expect to pass through this world but once; any good thing therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now; let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again." ~Etienne de Grelle
I was unsure of what I was going to spend my ten dollars on. I really wanted to find a way to maximize someone’s happiness with the relatively small amount of money. An opportunity presented itself as I was walking to forest park. I saw a kid who looked to be around 8-years-old excitedly hammer down a sign advertising his lemonade stand. What better way to literally make someone’s day than paying ten dollars for a glass of lemonade? After arriving at the stand, the kid quietly listed the prices for his gods: “one dollar for lemonade,” “50 cents for a bracelet,” and “50 cents for a picture.” I just gave the kid ten dollars and asked for two cups of lemonade. He tried to act like it was no big deal, just saying, “Wow, thanks,” but almost before I could turn away to begin walking back to forest park, the kid joyously yelled, “Mom, I just got ten dollars!” I honestly don’t think I could have found a better way to spend the ten dollars. I’m not sure the kid was expecting to earn that much money the entire day, let alone in the first five minutes of the stand opening. Additionally, 50% of his funds were going to a good cause, so the situation couldn’t have been any better. I hope the kid might learn that generosity is an important trait in good leaders. I think that the best leaders are willing to make personal sacrifices for the betterment of their followers.
ReplyDeleteFor my generosity gesture, I had my grandparents who live in Arkansas ship a number of worry stones from one of their local rock shops to me. Once they arrived, a typed up a short note explaining the gesture, purchased a pack of envelopes and distributed them to a number of people on my floor. In some ways, this situation was almost more of a moral question than an act of generosity. I could have kept the ten dollars and written some little spiel about having spent it on some act of generosity and personally gained financially. I appreciated the opportunity to do something kind without having to sacrifice anything myself. By spending the money on something for others rather than keeping it for myself, I am no worse off than I was before I was aware of the activity. So far, people have seemed grateful to have received the worry stone. However, in some ways the simple act of receiving thanks for doing something takes away a level of the generosity because being thanked is a form of personal gain suggesting that the most generous acts are anonymous. In terms of how this act contributes to good leadership, I think it shows a powerful sense of honesty. When people know that a person is honest, it builds a greater sense of trust between the two individuals, something incredibly important in any sort of organization. An organization that has trust makes the followers more willing to listen to the leader and the leader more willing to take advice from the followers.
ReplyDeleteNearly two hundred dollars in the form of $10 bills covered the tiled floor, sending the mind of a broke college student into frenzy. Said mind belongs to me, and before Dean Stratton, professor of a Wash U course titled Bad Leadership, challenged each student to donate $10 to an act of kindness, all I could envision was making a snow angle in the pile of money I thought I needed.
ReplyDeleteBut I don’t. Wash U is a playground for an almost-twenty-year-old, boasting beautiful architecture, delicious food, a diverse student body, and an ocean of opportunities. What more could I ask for?
I wanted to keep the money in the St. Louis community because I believe Wash U doesn’t consistently use its power to improve the lives of its neighbors, taking its resources for granted. Sitting in the library pondering ways to help, I realized the answer was right in front of me: books. Reading consumed my childhood, transporting me to the places of my imagination and fostering skills that manifest in my life as a college student today.
I decided to donate to the Ferguson Public Library because reading is a life-long skill that leads to a more fruitful education, career, and role in society. A library is an environment that encourages curiosity and provides a refuge for those wishing to escape turmoil. I feel great about contributing to learning, but I understand $10 is not enough. I plan to continue tutoring students in poor areas of St. Louis throughout my time at Wash U to share the education I often take for granted. Good leadership is instilling confidence in and opening doors for others to create a safe, motivated community. I hope my donation and goal to contribute through tutoring ultimately inspires generations of good leaders.
- Kate Shikany
Sometimes it’s the little things that matter. Like a smile from across the street, holding the door open for someone, or even encountering all green lights as you drive down a city street. This week I tried to do my part to make someone’s day a little bit better in one of the places I most often frequent on campus – Starbucks. I know it has been done before in various places across the country, but I wanted to see what it felt like to “pay it forward” with the 10 bucks allocated to me by Dean Stratton. I walked up to the counter in Bauer Hall, ordered my usual iced coffee, and handed the 10-dollar bill forward for the next couple customers. I stuck around for a little while and watched as the girl who had been next in line widened her eyes in surprise, then pure happiness as she realized her coffee was free. While I do not know her or the next patron in line, I’ve decided to be an optimist and hope that they, too, decided to pay it forward. I think that an important way to be a leader is to take that first step toward spreading positivity and good will others; once that positivity is out there, it can be infectious. Small efforts to make someone’s day better can have a significant impact on mood and, when set as an example by the leader, the overall attitude and effectiveness of the group.
ReplyDeleteMy roommate was having an extremely rough week due to which she was very stressed out. I was really worried about her and was looking for ways in which I could cheer her up. Three of her favourite things are cookies, mini M&Ms and the colour pink and so for my act of kindness, I bought her a lot of cookies, half with pink frosting and the other half with mini M&Ms. When I gave her the cookies she was surprised but also really happy. I hope that she felt better and that she had someone who cared about her because when you’re having a bad week it’s very easy to feel as if everyone is against you. I wanted her to know that I was on her side and that I was there to support her. Doing something nice for her made me feel better as well because I realised how easy it was to make other happy and to commit an act of kindness. It also gave me hope and I will definitely try to do such things more often in the future. Considering how easy it is though, why don’t more people commit random acts of kindness? I understand that to do so people have to think about the welfare of others before they think about themselves. But if a person is able to be selfless and prioritize the happiness of other people, they will certainly make good leaders because according to me, a major part of leadership is doing what’s best for other people and not just what in your best interest.
ReplyDeleteI’ve seen occasional pictures on Facebook or social media sites where people leave money on vending machines for the next person to use. It seems like a fun and quick way to help brighten up a stranger’s day. So I went to the bank and exchanged the ten-dollar bill for ones and I put two dollars in each envelope. On the front of the envelopes I wrote, “This one’s on me! I hope you have a great day.” I plan to deliver them as I walk around campus tomorrow and while I know this act is a bit cliché, I’ve never actually seen it done before and would like to be the first to do it at WashU. I feel a bit concerned that people might just take the money and leave, but as long as they put it to good use, I figure what the heck. My act contributes to good leadership because a leader is a person of their people. Giving back to the community shows caring and modesty from a leader and helps build trust with the followers. Also, improving the overall atmosphere of a community can be beneficial for everyone involved. A person having a great day can brighten another’s mood and pretty soon we would have a vibrant and enthusiastic campus. Or at least one can hope!
ReplyDeleteFor my act of generosity, I decided to surprise my roommate with dinner in our room. Tonight was the last in a series of exams for him so I decided to list his mood even further with a surprise sandwich, a couple hot cookies, and his favorite tea. When he got back, he saw the gift on his desk and his face immediately lit up. He usually has a very energetic personality but lately, he has been so focused that he hasn’t really been himself. It was exciting for me to see his reaction because it is what I had been anticipating all night. However, it was even more rewarding to see him return to his normal self for even just a moment. The energy he got from the surprise lasted all night (as he went right in to checking his answers from his exams and watching chemistry lectures) and even got passed on to me. After dinner, I asked him how he felt when he came back to the food and the only word he could use to describe what he felt was “happy.” He said that my act of generosity inspired him to do the same for someone else and pass it on.
ReplyDeleteI think it is important for leaders to recognize the hard work of those around them, followers and fellow leaders. If I feel like my efforts are being noticed by others and my hard work is recognized, I am motivated to continue and improve. I would venture to say that many of my peers feel the same, and therefore it is essential to good leadership to allot time for recognition.
Michael Chang
Trying to find something to do for my act of generosity was way more difficult than what I expected. I wanted what I did to be creative or cute but when I thought of it this way my act of kindness seemed like a chore. After failing to think of something clever I decided to go the candy shop on the forty and buy my friend chocolates. At first I kind of felt like doing an act of kindness for a friend wasn't going to have as much of an impact rather than if I had done something for a stranger. Though I initially thought this I'm actually glad that I did something for my friend because she is pre med and has been under a lot of stress lately because of exams. In addition to the chocolate I decided to take my act of kindness a step further and watched the season finale of pretty little liars (I hate that show) but it was something my friend really enjoyed. I felt that this act of kindness was more meaningful than doing something anonymously because it benefited me and my friend, I got to hang out with her outside of doing homework for the first time in a while and she really appreciated the stress reliever. I think this relates to good leadership even though we weren't in a follower leader scenario. My friend is really involved on campus and was overwhelmed by the responsibility of her activities and school work. By providing her a couple hours to relax and hang out I think I helped her relieve some of her stress by allowing her to have time outside of freaking out about all the things she had to do. I think times like these of stepping back and taking time for yourself are very important whether you're a follower or a leader.
ReplyDeleteI thought about four ways to go about this project at first. Frist there was the question who would I effect with this small act of kindness. In my mind I thought I could either give back to the community in some way or do something a little more random. Ultimately I decided I wanted to reward someone for something they have done to me for me and the community. The train of thought followed the concept of rewarding good action which we talked about earlier in the semester. Then who exactly would I randomly reward? I was thinking about this when I went downstairs to do my laundry and (quite literally) ran into one of my RAs Jazmin. Then it came to me. My RAs Jazmin and Jason were the people I were look for. They provided a perfect environment for me as I transitioned into collage and always open for everyone in my floor. There are also two of them and I could make a difference to more people than just one person. Therefore, I concluded that I should finally give back to them and let them know how great they were for everyone on my floor. So I took the ten dollars, went to Paws&Go and bought two good looking cupcakes and left them at their door steps with a note saying thank you. In reflection, I feel good about doing this. They deserve it and anytime I can put a smile on anyone’s face is a good day.
ReplyDeleteI spent my ten dollars on my future suite mate. A little background info about the situation is probably necessary here. My roommate and I had housing lined up and on the day before it was due it fell apart. We were terrified and frantic so we made a post in the class page on Facebook. We got a number of responses to the post including one from Meredith. She was so willing to meet with us and talk to us and even live with us. She told us that she loves cooking. We ended up getting our suite on the South 40 and so I wanted to do something to make her feel welcome because my roommate and I are already very close. I went to the store and bought a spatula and painted her name on it. Then my roommate and I took it to her door and left with a note about how excited we were to live with her. It made me feel like I had stepped out of my comfort zone and reached out to someone that could potentially be one of my best friends. I chose this act because it was a happy medium between a random act of kindness for a stranger and a gesture for someone I know. Shortly after, Meredith messaged me thanking me for the spatula and expressing how welcomed she felt and how she was also very excited to live with us next year.
ReplyDeleteA week ago, I felt like forced generosity wasn’t generosity at all, that spontaneity and free-flowing goodwill were the most important parts of citizenship in the world. This assignment, then, was difficult initially for me. Generosity on a schedule put me in an interesting bind: if I planned some act of kindness, I would feel disingenuous, while if I didn’t do it at all I would get in trouble, and feel really scuzzy. (Who can’t give away $10 in a week?) So I thought long and hard about how to be spontaneously generous, but that little irony ate at me and paralyzed me.
ReplyDeleteWell, Wednesday came around. I needed to act. I decided that I would put the money in a vending machine and let people ahead of me enjoy it. But fate intervened – after carrying the bill around all week, it had been worried away and torn so much that the vending machine mutely spat it out at me over and over again. Foiled, I went and talked to my friend – a cashier for EnCouncil’s Cheap Lunch – and was struck by inspiration. I paid him the ten dollars, telling him to cover the next couple employees that came through with it. But while I was talking, someone came up to my friend. “I’d like however many pieces of pizza what’s on my BearBucks account can buy me,” he said. I, through a few fleeting near-death experiences trying out rugby, knew that he was on the team. I expected piles and piles of slices, but the balance on his card was a meager twenty-three cents. With a quick explanation, I covered his lunch, and his gratitude and appreciation came gushing out.
Of course, it was just pizza, and he kept it in perspective. But for me, someone who had always believed in anonymity in charity, it felt great. I had impacted his life, and what more are we looking for? This has changed my perspective a lot; no more do I believe that good acts are best when they go unnoticed; no more do I believe a planned act of kindness planned is not an act of kindness at all.
So what does this mean for leadership? The best goal of a leader is bettering the individuals and group they work with. When they point effort inwards at bettering their followers, they expressly do that. The positivity that creates then can spread throughout a group and impact the general culture, improving life for everyone. Similarly, as a leader it is important to form strong relationships with the rest of the community, so acts of kindness thrown into the world often are returned, sometimes multiplied manifold. To quote the Dalai Lama: “Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of that candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases from being shared.” If we light other’s flames, maybe we will be able to enjoy the light they cast. If we spread our joy, we can be uplifted ourselves.
Drew Brost
I have one friend who I'm not actually very close with. She's a sweet girl and I've always meant to get to know her better, but I've never had the time. The other day when I ran into her off campus she looked pretty awful. She ended up breaking down when I asked her what was going on, admitting that she'd just gone through some really really rough times with her family. I gave her a huge hug, and we had lunch, my treat. It wasn't anything special, just a trip to a local grocery store to buy all the fixings we might need along with desert. We had a picnic in forest park, and just talked through both simple stuff and complex problems. She was laughing by the end, and I was so glad that I had finally gotten to spend time with her. Sometimes we just need to carve some time out for other people in our very busy schedules. I joined many of the activities that I'm involved with in order to become more involved with the community and to help people, and they've made me pretty busy. Because of that, I'm realizing that I'm not noticing when people around me have problems, or that I try to hand them off to someone else. I can't always think on this scale of massive organization, this situation has taught me that it's always worth it to pay attention to a person in need, no matter my other time commitments.
ReplyDelete