Florida Leadership School: A Personal Perspective

When I first heard about Leadership school, I thought that it sounded very interesting.  I was already very involved at Buckman Bridge Unitarian Universalist Society in Jacksonville, and a spark was ignited when my congregation encouraged me to go. I knew very little about leadership school. When I asked people who had gone to tell me what it was about, they would say as their eyes sparkled, that it is “life changing.” I thought that was quite a statement, but after the third person had the same response, I thought, Leadership school must be really phenomenal!

Now that I have attended, let me say this, Leadership school IS life changing! It is incredibly transforming. When I returned from the School, I wanted to pack the congregation up and send them there so they could have the same experience.

The structure of the school has five basic elements—heritage and values, where we learned about our Unitarian Universalism roots; practical development; leadership development, where we explored our individual leadership style; Worship services, and faith journey discussions.  We had wonderful talented, intelligent and skilled Leaders. The group of students and leaders celebrated all that was being put before us. We were highly encouraged to fully immerse into the school. I was very open to fully participating, and was thrilled to be with this intentional community. The leaders of the group were fully present and encouraged questioning and growth. A foundation of trust and safety was present, and encouraged risk to explore new ideas and styles. It was inviting to be authentic, and to develop more of my leadership style. I felt very valued, and was willing to go out of my comfort zone and stretch. I drew great value in the strengths in the different knowledge, experience and personalities in the students there. We all were integral contributors and we saw the realized potential of our diverse community. Their encouragement propelled me to reach for personal goals of success, and to contribute to the success of the group. I also knew they were there for support when I may have felt uncomfortable or challenged. There was a positive challenge element from outside, and from within. This seemed to be echoed in the group.

A very strong part of the school that was modeled is the tremendous skills and value of listening and sharing. The students of the School each gave of their individual strengths and knowledge. In a supportive community we worked together as many of us do at our home congregations.

I was able to see the best of who I could be. In that environment, it felt wonderful to stretch, and try on new behaviors.  I even ventured out in a canoe,

for the first time on my own, and laughed with the other students after I fell out of the canoe! In the several months since Leadership School has ended, I have referred back to practical experiences at the school and the interactions with the other students.  A great support system was developed there. The other students are still available to communicate with to get feed-back and suggestions for something being worked on in my congregation or hear of what they may be doing in their congregations. I often refer to the skills and knowledge I acquired there, and have shared much of the information with my home congregation.

I highly encourage you to go and get a chance to see the sparkle and the spark of Leadership School. It is a tremendously valuable experience for both blossoming and current Leaders.

— KAREN SILINSKY, FLS99 GRADUATE