Tuesday, March 31, 2009

New course finds 'natural' strengths

Stephanie Gotter
Staff Writer

The Establishing Leaders course at ECC kicked off on February 20. Led by Amy Beth Maurer, the class is designed to explore leadership qualities in students. The course approach is that student leaders don’t necessarily need leadership experience; more important are the leadership qualities within students.

Maurer, who works for Student Life at ECC, wants the class to focus on what qualities the students already have and expand on them. Maurer believes that too often bosses, teachers and elders tend to focus on the negative aspects of one’s performance, when attention to one’s strengths could make a huge difference in overall performance.

The class is a very intimate group of about ten. Maurer likes the class this size as the students come to know each other better and get more comfortable with themselves. Half of the class focuses on learning what strengths a person already has, while the next half of the class is spent on how to apply those strengths.

The class is also designed to show that anyone can be a leader.

In the book for the class, StrengthsQuest, by Donald O. Clifton and Edward Anderson, the theme is that one does not need to be well-rounded in every part of their life.

Instead, one should focus on what they are already good at and become stronger in that aspect, in turn making them naturally well-rounded.

Maurer emphasizes that “strengths are natural,” and said we need to build our connection with others in positive, strong relationships.

“The greatest leaders build healthy relationships with others,” Maurer said.

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