Introduction
Welcome to Lower Light Leadership’s Lead with Impact: A Student’s Guide to Leadership course. C.S. Lewis is quoted as saying, “There are no ordinary people” (Kincaid, 2017, para. 3). That is to say, each individual, including you, is extraordinary. We believe this wholeheartedly. Our purpose is to empower you to embrace your innate potential by providing you with foundational leadership concepts. The study and application of these correct principles will shape your character development and give you control over your legacy and the impact you will have on those around you. Our mission is to inspire individuals to do more, be more, and lead others to become more, regardless of their role or position.
You might be curious about our name, Lower Light Leadership. It’s inspired by the essential role lower lights, or leading lights, play alongside the main lighthouse in maritime navigation.
Lower lights aren’t the grand, towering structures – that role belongs to the main lighthouse. But their role is just as crucial. Positioned strategically along the shoreline, they work in tandem with the main light to guide ships safely through treacherous waters and into the harbor. By lining up the lower light with the main lighthouse, sailors can navigate a clear path, avoiding hidden hazards like rocks and reefs.
Lower lights represent the importance of providing focused guidance and support. Effective leadership isn’t just about giving grand pronouncements from the top. It’s about offering clear direction, fostering collaboration, and empowering your team to navigate the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
At Lower Light Leadership, our role is to provide tools, perspectives, and questions that support your leadership journey. Ultimately, you will determine the course you take and the leader you become.
We also see you as a lower light in your own life—someone who can influence and guide those around you through your choices and actions.
Throughout this learning curriculum, you will be asked to watch specific videos, read various articles, and complete different projects or tasks. You will get out of this course what you choose to put into it. The value comes not just from consuming the material, but from how you engage with it and apply it. We recommend using a study journal throughout this course. As you write, notice what stands out to you, what challenges your thinking, and what feels worth acting on. Journaling can help you clarify your thoughts, connect ideas, and recognize patterns in how you think and respond. Journaling has proven to provide many benefits, including boosting memory, enhancing critical thinking, heightening academic performance, inspiring creativity, and improving mental health, to name just a few (University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences, 2020).
Leadership has been studied for a very long time, and there are countless resources that can provide you with various principles, definitions, diagrams, and models. We have gone through much material in building this curriculum, and while we have compiled what we feel is the most essential and relevant to understand, this is no complete list of everything that can be learned about leadership. We hope that you continue seeking out and studying more leadership philosophies and examples even after you complete this course. Leadership is found in many resources, including some associated with religion. While we occasionally do pull some material from various organizations, we do not claim to be affiliated with any church, religion, denomination, political party, social, or ethnic group. Our intention is to focus on the principle addressed. We hope you find value and connection with what we provide, but we are not propagating anything beyond leadership and character development. As you move through this course, consider which ideas resonate with you and why—and which ones challenge you.
Dr. Jordan Peterson is a well-known and respected psychologist and the author of several books (Jordan Peterson, n.d.). As you watch this video, pay attention to his views on leadership and the essential component of personal character. Reflect on the following questions as you listen to Dr. Peterson:
- What impact does it have on people and society when schools do not focus on teaching character development?
- What does being a person others admire mean to you? How can you develop traits and behaviors that make you admirable, especially in places that might not stress the importance of character?
- What do you think are the most important character traits that make a good leader? How do your ideas compare to Dr. Peterson's thoughts on the importance of character for being an effective leader?
- How can young people build trust in their personal and professional lives? Why is being trustworthy important for good leadership?
- Why do you think leadership is a skill that can be learned and not just something a person is born with? How can people improve their leadership skills based on Dr. Peterson's idea that these skills are closely linked to character?
- Based on what you heard, what is one way you could begin applying this in your life this week?
Watch:
Notice that one of the first points made by Dr. Peterson is that the qualities that make a good leader are character traits (WTTW, 2022). What does this suggest about leadership? If leadership is rooted in character, what does that mean for you? It means that anyone can choose to be a leader. However, to be an admirable leader (notice the difference between good and admirable made by Dr. Peterson), you have to develop certain character traits. Unfortunately, most of our educational system currently does little to emphasize character development (WTTW, 2022).
So, what are the character traits you need? We have already heard of a few, such as having a valuable vision, being able to communicate your vision, and being trustworthy (WTTW, 2022). As you continue with this course, you will learn about more traits that we believe help create and support leadership. You are at a point in your life where your decisions carry real influence—both for your future and for those around you. How do you want that influence to show up? Equally, if not more important, your decisions will also impact the lives of those around you. We hope to show you the impact you have within your circle of influence. You may or may not be surprised to know that your circle of influence extends beyond your close friends. The following story will help you understand this principle.
This story was shared by Jeffery R. Holland, an ecclesiastical leader, in 1997. As you read the following excerpt, look to understand how you influence more than just your immediate friends.
"My confession is that I wish I could go back to my youth and there have another chance to reach out to those who, at the time, didn’t fall very solidly onto my radar scope. We are so vulnerable in our youth. (And I certainly consider you in your youth. In fact, you look younger to me every year of my life!) We want to feel included and important, to have the feeling we matter to others. In your years people deserve to have true friendships—the real value of which, like our health, may never be realized until we face life without them. I think that my problem was not that I had too few friends but almost too many—maybe more friends than anyone I know. But it is the associations I didn’t have, the friends I didn’t reach that cause me some pain now all these years later.
Let me cite just one case, which will be guilt enough for tonight. In 1979 we held in St. George our 20-year class reunion for Dixie High School. We had great high school years filled with state football and basketball championships and a host of other “hometown, USA” memories. My life was straight out of Happy Days. I was Richie Cunningham before Ron Howard was Richie Cunningham. We even had our own Fonzie—black leather jacket and all. Anyway, an effort was made to find current addresses for the entire class and get everyone to the reunion.
In the midst of all that fun, I remember the terribly painful letter written by one very bright—but, in her childhood, somewhat overweight and less than popular—young woman who wrote something like this:
Congratulations to all of us for having survived long enough to have a 20-year class reunion. I hope everyone has a wonderful time. But don’t reserve a place for me. I have, in fact, spent most of those 20 years trying to forget the painful moments of our school days together. Now that I am nearly over those feelings of loneliness and shattered self-esteem, I cannot bring myself to see all of the class and run the risk of remembering all of that again. Have a good time and forgive me. It is my problem, not yours. Maybe I can come at the 30-year mark.
(Which, I am very happy to report, she did.) But she was terribly wrong about one thing—it was our problem, and we knew it.
I have wept for her—my friend—and other friends like her in our youth… I cannot help but wonder what I might have done to watch out a little more for the ones not included, to make sure the gesture of a friendly word or a listening ear or a little low-cost casual talk and shared time might have reached far enough to include those hanging on the outer edge of the social circle, and in some cases barely hanging on at all." (Holland, 1997)
As you reflect on this story, where do you see opportunities in your own life to be more aware of those around you?
Remember, our influence extends far beyond our immediate circles. Just as Jeffrey Holland reflected, our actions and inclusivity can profoundly impact others. As you navigate this journey of leadership discovery, embrace the power you hold to positively affect the lives of those around you, shaping not only your own future but also the world we inhabit.
References
Holland, J. R. (1997, March 2). Come unto me. Brigham Young University. https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/jeffrey-r-holland/come-unto/
Jordan Peterson. (n.d.). About. https://www.jordanbpeterson.com/about/
Kincaid, Z. (2017, March 16). Be careful. Harper Collins Publishers. https://www.cslewis.com/be-careful/
University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences. (2020, December 30). 10 ways journaling benefits students. https://www.usa.edu/blog/ways-journaling-benefits-students/#:~:text=Heightens%20Academic%20Performance,a%20higher%20grade%20point%20average.
Word to The Wise. (2022, January 27). The importance of character in leadership | Jordan Peterson [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMzSiLUckjY
