Track your progress. Measure your success.
We are back with part 5 of the leadership lessons from the Lead2Feed project challenge—designed to help young leaders build leadership, teamwork and collaborative service skills, while "feeding" critical needs in their communities. This summer, Ambassador Leaders from across the country and around the world will team up with Lead2Feed to make a real difference in our communities.
In the last part, Lesson 4, we learned how leaders communicate their vision in a concise, effective manner to inspire people to get in the game.
Now it's time to explore Lesson 5 and learn how to UNDERSTAND AND OVERCOME THE BARRIERS TO SUCCESS.
In this lesson, you will:
Set benchmark goals, and track and measure progress of your project.
Explore different ways to uncover and overcome barriers to success.
Reflect on personal growth moments.
At this point, your Lead2Feed project is fully underway. There are many ways to achieve your BIG goal, and there will always be barriers along the way. Reflection and constructive problem solving will keep your team moving forward.
As a team, you will assess the reality of your project and the barriers to your success. How would you overcome these specific barriers in order to achieve your goal as a team? Can you go over, under, around or through the barriers? Sometimes a barrier cannot be easily overcome. Is there another way to achieve your Big Goal or make it more realistic?
Your team will review progress by asking:
Do you find yourself open-minded to suggestions that might help you achieve your Big Goal, even when they were not a part of your original plan?
Is there anything that happened in the project that was not a part of your original plan, but helped you to achieve your goal?
Sometimes people suggest new ideas and ways to achieve your Big Goal. Did you get any suggestions? From whom?
Measuring your progress has another great benefit—it allows you to celebrate your successes, and each other, along the way! Hear from David Novak how recognizing your progress can help you inspire each other, create momentum and get to the end goal faster.
Interested to learn more? Head on over to Lead2Feed.org and register to get free access to lessons and resources to help you start a Lead2Feed project at your school today.
Up Next: Lesson 6 - The Change is Never Over!
Tune in for our last Lead2Feed blog next week!
By Linda Spahr
Linda is the Program Manager for the Lead2Feed Student Leadership Program, a program of the Foundation for Impact on Literacy and Learning, and the fastest growing, free leadership program for students in grades 6-12. Fully aligned with standards and 21st Century Skills, Lead2Feed provides opportunities for high levels of student engagement through collaboration, critical thinking, problem-solving, reflection and creativity. Ambassador Leaders participate in the Lead2Feed Project Challenge to impact their communities.