A Veteran's Stance On This Leadership Issue.... (first point: give me better health coverage!)
Just kidding on the health coverage thing... It was a joke... ha ha... funny... get it?
Anyway, I'm an innocent bystander to all this, but I can't help but notice that things are looking a bit nasty. So, my questions for you are: 1.) First, what leadership positions will you be having on the team next year? (From what I've gathered you will have an LD Captain, a Speech Captain, and a President or Co-Presidents.) 2.) What people are interterested in/ deserve to fill a leadership position? (Sounds like Josh, Coty, and BJ from what I've heard.) 3.) What qualifications do they have? 4.) And which qualifications are most important? Trophies/performance? Seniority? People skills/popularity with team members?
We usually give some regard to seniority, although that's not the most essential qualification. Seniority in and of itself isn't the key. Rather, how long a person has been at DHS and/or on the team is a good indicator of their commitment, a way to gauge their potential, and a factor that can be closely related to how well they get along with their teammates. Performance and Popularity aren't definite indicators either. Someone can perform well in a round but be too self-focused to be a good leader. Likewise, someone can be a great people person but a terrible leader (a la Alan). What you need to focus on is what balance of qualities is most important to you in your president and other leaders.
But there are things more important than deciding who should be in charge. (Which is technically Mr. Conant's job anyway... Please don't give him such a hard time!) Remember that it isn't necessary to have a title to be able to lead. It might give you a greater claim to authority, but ordering people around isn't always the most conducive way to get work done anyway. (Norman didn't stop playing games during practice because I told him to. He did it because he wanted to win.) Whether or not you get the position you want, or even get a position at all, you still have plenty of opportunity to be a master debater (or speaker) and play an important role in the team. So... Josh, Coty, BJ (I have no idea if this applies to BJ, but from what I've seen on this blog it applies to the others), please don't get pissy about this leadership business, and don't take it more seriously than it ought to be taken. You might think you're just giving each other trouble, but what you're really doing is making things hard for Mr. C. Remember that he and Ms. Adley are offering their time to help you. They don't put in all this time because they enjoy petty arguments and headaches.
posted by Amy Mc at 1:43 PM
4 Comments:
First off, I want to clear things up. This is not an attempt on my behalf to end the world as Amy seems to believe, I am merely declining a position I was offered, nothing more, nothing less. It is in my abilities and indeed my responsibility to reject any position I feel may not be conducive to my performance, whatever the reasoning behind my decision may be. I was under the impression that I would have your support in this, but it seems I may have misunderstood the stance each person involved would take. I was under the impression that I would recieve support without having to fill a position avaliable to other members, but as this situation takes its course, it seems I may have been mistaken. Once again, this is not an attempt at the destruction of the Debate Team, I am merely declining the offer, as was preivously explained. My reasons are my own, and I ask for your support in my decision. I am not the only qualified individual for the Executive Positions available, had I been there would be no need for this conversation to take place. Indeed, the reason I am declining the offered position is to increase stability in the team and to prevent any dissension in the ranks, so to speak. In regards to the aforementioned qualifications, I am not the person to tell you who is or is not qualified or who does or does not have popularity amongst team members. I could list my strong points with evidence to back them up that I am more qualified then the other candidates, but that is not my intent, as it would only harbor "bad blood", so to speak. If you want the answer to this, I would advise you ask the remaining team members their opinion in the situation. Either way, I would appreciate a little support from the team that I have tried so hard to equip with the tools and motivation necessary to compete. I debate for the cause, not for the position or awards, much like an infantry solider in the greater scheme of things. If this is not taken to heart and understood that what I am writing is how I feel in regards to this, it may be time for me to revise my stand in regards to the team. Please do not make this a necessary step, as this is something that offers me an escape from the chaos that surrounds me in my life, and I would hate to lose a sanity outlet because other people are taking my words too seriously or "slippery sloping" my words, but I am willing to do if this situation does not come to a resolution. If you would like my opinion in the matter, Coty can be President, BJ can be Co-President (or vice versa), assign whoever else you want as a Vice President, and I will remain the Head of Research and Development.
Sat Jul 29, 05:27:00 PM 2006
Josh, I never accused either you or Coty of trying to destroy the team. I merely pointed out that your issues with each other were making things unnecessarily difficult for Mr. Conant. I wrote my post because of my interpretation of your attitude as well as Coty's. I felt that you were refusing Mr. Conant's compromise of making you co-president because you didn't want to work with Coty, and I felt that Coty (in response to Norman's post) was acting as though the only reason she voiced any interest in the position in the first place was because Mr. Conant wanted her to. It seemed to me that you were being a little unreasonable and that Coty was far too willing to use Mr. Conant as a shield as soon as their appeared to be some friction in the situation. I was a little worried that both of you were making things harder on Mr. Conant. It seems that by compromising Mr. Conant was trying to do right by both of you, and if you can’t work together it appears that your own personal issues with one another are bound to make things more difficult for both Mr. Conant and for the team. I just hoped the two of you would decide to accept the compromise and make matters a lot easier all around.
Mon Jul 31, 01:00:00 PM 2006
OK, more things to clear up. There are no issues between Coty and myself, as a matter of fact we have talked for a considerable amount of time a few times this summer and hung out as well. I will think about the offer some more, but do not get your hopes up, it is not so much Coty that dictated my decision, rather that I do not really wish to share a position with anyone.
Mon Jul 31, 10:18:00 PM 2006
Oh, I see. Things make a lot more sense now.
Tue Aug 01, 09:39:00 AM 2006
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