DLAB Leadership From Within: Part 2

The second session of D-LAB was titled “Leadership From Within (Part II)” and proceeded to build off of session one. A unique aspect of D-LAB is that participants are asked to complete bridge activities in between each session to encourage reflection throughout the week and prepare for the following session. The bridge activity for the past week was to rank values that were most and least important to participants. This prepared participants to consider how their individual values influence their daily activities and future goals.

Following icebreakers and casual dinner conversation, participants wrote down their top 3 values on post-it notes. The group as a whole then discussed the chosen values and highlighted the overlaps among the group. Students then paired off to explain more about how their values were shaped by their personal life experiences, and why they identified with those specific values. The pairs then shared with the group as a whole; it was interesting to note the pairs that had matching important values, and those that had opposite most important and least important values.

The group then discussed an instance that they acted in opposition to their prioritized values. Participants brought up how context can cause one to act in opposition to values, and how sometimes prioritized values are in opposition with one another. In particular, students discussed how “community” can sometimes be in opposition with “achievement;” students may want to relax with friends but also want to prioritize school. The question of how to balance opposing values was raised again when participants wrote out schedules of their weekend activities. Students pointed out that certain values were of importance over the weekend, while others were more relevant to them during a week of midterms.

Near the end of the session, participants were able to identify values that they wanted to work on or felt they did not prioritize. At this point, participants were introduced to the concept of SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-based) goals, and composed SMART goals to help them prioritize specific values.

Participants will have an opportunity to revisit their SMART goals next week. SMART goals and the session overall allowed participants to reflect critically on how their daily actions reflect their values.

Written by Sarah Han '17, D-LAB Student Facilitator