Getting to know you

February 13, 2008 07:14 pm

— Imagine walking into a room with 24 complete strangers, and being told that you’re going to spend the next year working closely with them. That you’ll share many of your innermost thoughts. That you’ll tell them personal information you may have never discussed with your significant other. And that you aren’t even going to get to decide where you’ll sit.
It’s not the plot for television’s newest reality show, nor is it the recipe for an introvert’s worst nightmare. It’s actually the way every year-long Leadership Hendricks County (and Youth Leadership Hendricks County) class begins.
The opening retreat is a critical part of the program — so important that attendance is mandatory. So much happens in less than two days that anyone who fails to attend would find it nearly impossible to “catch up” with the nature of the program and the relationships among the participants.
As with most introductions, the opening retreat includes a description of what participants can expect during their year in the class and what LHC’s board of directors hopes they’ll accomplish. Participants talk about what brought them to Hendricks County, their families, what they do (or, in the case of retirees, did) for a living, and their own leadership experiences.
A few had set out to be leaders from a very early age. Others found themselves in leadership roles in work, civic, or church settings without quite understanding how they got there. Some have never really held those roles, but hope to get there. All share a desire to learn more about how they can be more effective as leaders.
Through a series of personality assessments and activities that are as enjoyable as they are instructive, the participants learn more about themselves and how they interact with others. It doesn’t take long for this knowledge to turn into good-natured teasing with those who have different traits.
Each class member discusses issues that are important to him or her, and small groups examine some of those issues as they relate to the future of Hendricks County. Those discussions form the basis of team discovery projects, in which four or five people who have never worked together will collaborate on something to address the issues and needs that matter to them.
There’s plenty of time for socializing, too, and it doesn’t take long before this roomful of strangers is engaging in the kind of animated conversation one would associate with longtime friends. The retreat ends all too quickly, and the participants continue to talk and laugh in the parking lot, each departing with a little sadness — and a great deal of anticipation about what they’ll learn and do in the months to come.
— Scott Flood serves on the Leadership Hendricks County board of directors. To learn more about the organization, visit www.lhcinc.org.