Friday kicked off with peer learning circle meetings to discuss capstone projects and engage in a morning activity related to processing change. Throughout the MARL experience, our peer learning circles have been a great asset, allowing each of us to bounce ideas off one another and forge connections with others who can provide feed-forward. To tie it together, the last content presentation addressed group dynamics. This complimented our first day topic related to effective meeting facilitation, as group dynamics certainly play a critical role in accomplishing a necessary task at any successful meeting.
As the Seminar Management Team, we identified three key themes with which we left the St. Paul seminar.
- Be The Leader You Need: Our group reflected on what makes a meeting successful or frustrating, learning how to intentionally engage and support ideas from all, and be mindful of group dynamics. When implemented, this knowledge will have an immediate effect on those of us engaged with meeting facilitation and supportive leadership.
- Open-Mindedness: This theme was reiterated by several speakers throughout the seminar. The State Representatives, Patrice Bailey, and Bill Gordon each specifically suggested leading through listening and engaging with an open mind. This attitude will be essential to making Ecuador an enjoyable, educational experience.
- Communication is Critical: Communication continues to be a priority in order to get our message out and correctly received; it is critical for leadership. While Wednesday’s presentations focused on communication, additional speakers highlighted the importance of communication as well.
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