learning to lead: page 5 EXPERIENCETHREE QUESTIONS to ask before doing anything page 7

nurturing growth: ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS page 9

EFFECTIVE DIRECTIONS

setting up for success:

page 3

November 2014 | Volume 13, Issue 02

Wes Davis is a student at Purdue University studying agricultural economics. He is a former state and recently retired national FFA officer from West Virginia. His interests include international travel and reading. Wes hopes to pursue a career creating change and innovation in agriculture.

“Why did you run for state office?” It’s the one question we are all asked during our state officer year. If any of you are like me, you may have a different answer each time this question is asked.

Whenever I browse through the leadership section at Barnes and Noble, I see an ever-growing collection of books about purpose-driven leadership —a style of leadership that allows you to focus on making key decisions. When we discover that “why,” we have a greater influence on the things we do — we make a purposeful impact. The “why” gives us direction and points to where and how we are meant to lead.

AS STATE OFFICERS, KNOWING YOUR PURPOSE

IS CRITICAL.

Time is limited and for most, November marks the year’s halfway point. Finding your leadership purpose will allow you to capitalize on these final few months and make a purposeful impact.

Maybe you do know what your purpose is for being a state officer. Or you may be working to solidify that purpose. Either way, the following questions will serve as a guide to developing and strengthening your own purpose.

What do you wake up in the morning excited to do?

It’s a simple question, but one that’s often ignored. It may be that you enjoy helping others succeed, being a facilitator of personal growth, or doing something awesome and crazy with people you just met.

How does your passion align with your role as a state officer?

Much like overlapping Lincoln Log toys, your purpose and role as a state officer have common themes. Find the connections between the two.

What can you specifically do as a state officer to carry out your purpose?

This is where the rubber meets the road, and you identify specific actions that allow you to carry out your purpose.

For me, these answers are meaningful. My purpose is showing out-of-this-world love to others. It lines up with my daily life because I am constantly meeting new people to whom I can show love and appreciation. I do this by always trying to build meaningful relationships, encouraging others to succeed and building up those around me.

When we find a way to bring action to our leadership purpose, it’s empowering. You find your motivation and reason for being alive. But most importantly, you are the strongest, most authentic leader when you are carrying out your purpose. When you do that, you can and will make a purposeful impact.

FROM FFA DRIVEPurposeful Impactby Wes Davis

OFF THE SHELFUnbroken, by Laura HillenbrandReview by Bethany (Bohnenblust) Parker

THE READ

It was May 27, 1943, when a former Olympic athlete and his World War II flight crew crashed their plane into the vast Pacific Ocean. Only three people survived. Runner Louis Zamperini was in the best shape of his life, but there was no way he could be prepared for what the next two years held. Surviving 47 days in a life raft, drifting into a POW camp in the Pacific Islands, experiencing torture from a terrible Japanese soldier called the “Bird,” and other atrocities left Louie, in his own words, a “dead body breathing.” When Japan surrendered, Zamperini returned to Southern California and married, but soon the flashbacks from war slowly began wrecking his life. Post-traumatic stress drove him to alcohol and away from people. One momentous night in September 1949, Zamperini was coerced by his desperate wife to attend a Billy Graham campaign. Zamperini had a life change — he never had another flashback; he poured out his liquor bottles and believed he was a “new creation.”

Zamperini spent the remainder of his life expressing forgiveness to the Japanese. Just this summer he passed away, but author Laura Hillenbrand allows his legacy to live on through this biography.

THE REALITY

The word “unbroken” is perfect to describe this American hero, who on any given day from May 1943 to September 1949 could have given up. Giving up his spirit, his perseverance or his dignity would have been easy, but Zamperini chose to fight.

What set Zamperini apart?

• He persevered before it became difficult.

He pushed himself to do difficult things. In season and out-of-season, Zamperini was training as a runner and soldier. A leader is never afforded the luxury of “finally arriving.” During slower times, how can you prepare for a stock show, banquet season or convention? Perseverance is a result of a lifestyle.

• Giving up wasn’t an option.

Many of us will never walk through the challenges Zamperini did; however, exit ramps to opt-out are always present. In our world, divorce is a common exit ramp for marriage. Not wanting to be allured by it, my husband and I decided from the beginning that the word “divorce” isn’t in our vocabulary. What exit ramps may be alluring to you and your team during the rest of your state officer year?

THE RESPONSE

• Train out-of-season. Write a new workshop to keep your “Magic Formula” skills sharp or revisit time management tools from Blast Off.

• Self-evaluate. What do you communicate when challenged?

• Ask your teammates, “How do I respond when circumstances change?” Is it negative or positive?

Bethany (Bohnenblust) Parker lives in India working with college students in leadership and character development. She served as a state officer and national officer from Kansas and has facilitated and spoken in all 50 states. Bethany and husband Morgan enjoy traveling, eating spicy foods and checking off their bucket list.

“Dignity is as essential to human life as water,

food and oxygen.”

2Bright Ideas • Volume 13, Issue 2

Picture this. . . You’re in the middle of your workshop at a

chapter visit and things are going exactly as planned. The students

are engaged, your jokes are on point, your connection was a hit

and you seem to have them right in the palm of your hand. You’re

excited about your first objective because naturally you’ve crafted a

unique and meaningful support experience (throwback to the last

issue of Bright Ideas!) that’s going to set up your students to grasp

your content. All eyes and ears are on you as you give directions

for what’s about to happen next. You explain the activity and

before you’ve even finished your last sentence… chaos. People are

everywhere, questions are flying, materials are scattered and no one

has any idea what’s actually supposed to be happening. In short…

YOU’VE LOST THEM.

Here’s a reality that’s often overlooked: Directions can make or break

your workshop.

You can be an engaging facilitator with knockout content and

exciting experiences and still lose your audience if you don’t set

them up for success by giving them solid and clear directions. Here’s

the good news: With a little practice, a few simple guidelines and

some solid preparation, you can give simple and clear directions

that mobilize your students and help you get the results you want

every time. Let’s take a look at some simple tips.

by Renee Durham

Setting up for Success: Effective DirectionsTHIS

NOT THIS

3

Have you ever been in the middle of giving directions and as soon

as students hear, “find a partner” or “move to the back wall” they

are looking around, getting up, talking and definitely no longer

paying attention to the rest of what you have to say? It’s a common

problem with an easy fix. At the beginning of your directions give

students a clear understanding of when they will actually do what

you are about to tell them. Use a cue like a particular word, song,

signal or phrase that will clarify when they should take action. This

will prevent them from moving their bodies (and their minds!) before

you’ve completed your directions. It could sound like this:

• On the word “go”…

• When we hear the word “move”…

• When the music starts…

To give the clearest directions possible, make them sound

like bullet points, not paragraphs. The fewer words people

have to sort through, the more they can remember. So

instead of saying, “You will get a pen and paper and try

to draw your partner with your eyes closed” try it this way:

• Grab a pen and paper.

• Close your eyes.

• Draw your partner.

This gives students short, simple steps that are easy to

remember. Notice that each step begins with an action verb.

This cuts out unnecessary words and packs more punch.

When you begin each sentence with what you want students

to do, they are more likely to remember what you said.

Have you given a clear and detailed set of directions with several

steps only to find that once students completed the first few things

they couldn’t remember what to do next? Because our brains can

only hold a certain amount of information at a time, it is important

that we don’t overload people with too much detail at once.

Chunking helps you get the most relevant information to students

when they need it.

Break down long, complicated directions into a few short, easy-to-

remember sets. Generally, our brains remember things well in sets

of three, so if your directions have more steps than that, students are

likely to get lost in the middle. Instead, help students focus on one set

of tasks at a time and let them know to expect more directions soon.

Here’s an example:

On the word “go”…

• Find a partner.

• Move to the outer wall.

• Grab a seat and wait for further instructions.

Here students know exactly what is expected of them and they also

know that once they are seated there will be more information for

them to hear.

After giving your directions and before you set the room into

motion, check for understanding among your students. You’ll be

able to make sure they heard what you think you said and prevent

people from shouting questions after everyone starts moving.

A simple phrase like, “What questions are there?” communicates

that questions are expected and ok to ask.

After checking for understanding, give a quick, concise recap using

only one or two words from each step. This will help the important

pieces of the directions stick and allow students to easily recall what

is expected of them.

• Partner

• Wall

• Sit and wait

This recap should be the last thing you say before giving your go

word to spring students into action.

Using these tips will help set up you and your students for success.

Take some time to write out your directions word for word, keeping

them short, clear and simple. Practice them on one of your

teammates and let them poke holes in areas that need more clarity

or simplicity. Then memorize them so you can deliver them with

ease and confidence. The payoff will be students who understand

what is being asked of them, making it more likely you’ll get the

results you are aiming for!

Instead of losing them early… Use a GO word.

Instead of getting lost in the words… Start with an

ACTION verb.

Instead of giving too much info at once… CHUNK it out.

Instead of assuming they get it… Check for

UNDERSTANDING.

AND… Give a RECAP.

Renee Durham is a world- traveling developer of leaders. Her experiences as a state FFA officer and national FFA staff member ignited passions for people, travel and serving others. She now works for the missions program The World Race as a trainer and mentor for young leaders overseas. When she’s not hanging out in developing countries, she enjoys life in a north Georgia lake town and consumes all the coffee and Mexican food she can get.

4Bright Ideas • Volume 13, Issue 2

If you are fortunate enough to spend some time with him,

Dr. Snyder will show you how he engages with the experiences

that are presented to him. To put it mildly, Dr. Snyder is able to

squeeze more life out of one week than most of us do in a lifetime.

Recently, Dr. Snyder was recognized at the national convention

and expo for a lifetime of service to FFA and his efforts in founding

the Wyoming FFA leadership camp. He described starting the

camp in his spare time while being a full-time college student. He

has focused his incredible efforts on entertaining, inspiring and

leading young people ever since. Dr. Snyder knows what it means

to maximize his experiences— he creates them, plans them,

participates in them and learns from them all the time.

Great leaders maximize their experiences. Intentionally

maximizing experiences happen only after you are focused. In the

last issue of Bright Ideas, we discovered that as leaders we must

narrow our focus to maximize our impact. Sharpening our focus

is critical before engaging in an experience. Let’s compare your

efforts to a light. Are you spreading your efforts too thin? If you

were a light, would it be a diffuse, weak light, barely visible from

any distance? Or, are your efforts focused? If your efforts were a

light, would they be like a laser —intensely focused beams of light,

powerful enough to cut through material? Make sure you focus

your intentions and attention before deciding to engage in an

experience. But once you have that focus, choose to engage in

any and every experience that comes your way. Put another way,

maximize your experiences.

Just about anything can be an experience. Whether you are

going to a chapter lock-in, participating in a community service

event or getting inspired to write your retiring address, we are

surrounded by a smorgasbord of possible experiences. The

only rule to maximizing experiences is that you have to engage

with whatever is happening. Simply “being there in spirit” isn’t enough when it comes to an experience. Your mind, body and soul must be present. That’s when you can say you have

truly experienced something. Don’t miss this point. Leaders

are regularly asked to participate in many activities but don’t

necessarily have to engage. Or worse, they don’t even show

up at all! The outstanding leader is one who has experience, is

engaged in experiences and is constantly working to gain new

experiences. In this article, let’s explore the idea that outstanding

leaders do not hesitate to deeply engage in experiences. We

can become leaders who dive into experiences by planning

intentionally, picking wisely and participating powerfully.

Plan intentionally. Most state FFA officers serve a one-year term.

Intentionally fill the time you have with the good stuff you were

meant to do. Actively seek opportunities to take in or create

an experience. If today were a suitcase, what would you fill it

with? Would you engage in experiences with as many members

as possible? Would you work to find time to create experiences

with your fellow officers? Or, are you content to simply let

experiences happen, passively packing the bare minimum into

your suitcase and then filling the rest with unnecessary time

wasters? Intentionally pursue experiences.

Pick wisely. It’s okay to try things on the edge of your current

understanding. Sometimes engaging in activities you don’t

always see an immediate application to, have no background

with, are not completely comfortable with or have never heard

of before make the best experiences. Plus, you never know when

the skills you gain along the way will come in handy. I know this

runs counter to focus. Know that there will be a tension between

these two ends — focus and experience. The outstanding leader

strikes a balance between the two. However, my personal bias, if

given the choice, is to err on the side of gaining the experience.

Participate powerfully. Use your strengths to gain and give new

experiences. You will grow more in the areas that are already

strengths of yours. Plus, you get to use them to help others.

So, if making people feel comfortable in a new crowd is a strength

of yours, engage it at every chance. Make people feel welcome.

You’ll add to your own experience and make some cool ones for

others along the way.

He’s a veterinarian, professional hypnotist and founder of the Wyoming FFA leadership camp. Many of you have no doubt seen his shows at the National FFA Convention & Expo. So, how does Dr. Al Snyder do it? Many would simply throw up their hands in the air and say, “Who knows!”

by Seth Heinert

LEARNING [TO LEAD] BY DOING

5

What will maximizing experiences look like for you? Perhaps

you will set a goal to try one new thing every month. Maybe it

will be to plan your time more intentionally to engage in new

experiences with new members. Or, maybe it will simply be to

make a conscious effort to be fully present at every moment so

as to not let the experience pass you by.

One experience often leads to another. Be ready and don’t let them pass you by.

Ultimately, choosing to lead though intentionally maximizing

experiences requires risk. As the author William Ward puts it:

“To laugh is to risk appearing a fool.

To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.

To reach out to another is to risk involvement.

To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self.

To place your ideas and dreams before a crowd is to risk their loss.

To love is to risk not being loved in return.

To live is to risk dying.

To hope is to risk despair.

To try is to risk failure.

But risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to

risk nothing. The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has

nothing, is nothing. He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he

cannot learn, feel, change, grow or live. Chained by his servitude

he is a slave who has forfeited all freedom. Only a person who

risks is free. The pessimist complains about the wind, the optimist

expects it to change and the realist adjusts the sails.”

What will you accomplish, who will you influence and what will you change if you can just choose to deeply engage in maximizing every leadership experience?

Seth Heinert is currently a Ph.D. student at the University of Florida studying agricultural education. He served as a state FFA officer in Wyoming and National FFA Secretary. He taught agricultural education in Nebraska and Tanzania, Africa. Seth is married with a son and resides in Gainesville, Fla.

E X P E R I E N C E

F O C U S R E F L E C T

E X P E R I E N C E

S I M P L I F Y

6Bright Ideas • Volume 13, Issue 2

QUITTING

On Feb. 11, 2013, Pope Benedict XVI shocked the globe when he announced his plan to resign as the leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics. The first pope to retire since Celestine V in 1294, Pope Benedict confessed, “I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me.”

Even though Pope Benedict’s eight years as pope offered much to the church, especially through his extraordinary theological training and understanding, this man came to understand one thing that made all of the difference: It takes a lot of strength of mind and body to serve the church, strength he simply no longer had.

On a smaller scale, U.S. Men’s National Team superstar goalie Tim Howard also sent shock waves through the soccer world when he announced his leave of absence from international play for the coming year.

Howard was catapulted to fame by his World Cup-record 16 saves in the U.S. loss to Belgium in the Round of 16 this summer in Brazil. Yet, he didn’t love his soccer success as much as he wanted quality time with his wife and children. So, the golden goalie made the tough stop: To let go of one thing he loved for something he loved even more.

In the first story, we have a holy man, a leader of a global community of Christians who decided to resign based upon his inability to carry out his office. In the second, we see a young,

spectacular soccer player who decided to spend more time with family at a time when he seemed to be approaching what could be the climax of his career.

So… why am I sharing two stories of people “quitting” to officers committed to a full-year term of service?

Well, frankly, because we should follow their lead.

THEY ALL AGREE

I am reading a book called Speaker, Leader, Champion by Jeremy Donovan and Ryan Avery. (Note: It’s the best book I have read about public speaking!) In it, Donovan and Avery argue, “Nearly every book or article ever written about finding your purpose offers identical but profound advice — to discover your true calling and pick a vocation that lies at the intersection of three considerations: What is valued by others, what you are great at, and what you would be willing to do even if money were no object.”

They’re right. These criteria are great for planning one’s life, but what if we used them daily? What if they helped us implement the principle we talked about in the first article last issue: Weniger, aber besser? What if we came up with “Three Criteria to Consider Before Doing Anything”?

LESS. BUT BETTER.Three questions to ask before doing anything.

by Tyler Tenbarge

7

A BIT OF PERSPECTIVE

An Aug. 3, 2013, article in Huffington Post noted that the number one regret hospital patients had on their deathbeds was a statement that went something like this,

“I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true

to myself, not the life others expected of me.”

The principle Weniger, aber besser — “less but better” — can help us avoid this regret at the end of our lives by filtering out what doesn’t matter to us or to others by asking these three simple but powerful questions. Try it this week. The results will speak for themselves.

Stay tuned: In the next article we will take a closer look at how we can gracefully say “No”… and how this might actually garner respect.

THE THREE CRITERIA

I’d like to boil down Donovan and Avery’s list and merge it with others’ lists. Here is the list of “Three Criteria to Consider Before Doing Anything”:

1. Is there a real need for it?

2. Am I the best one for it?

3. Do I absolutely love to do it?

These seem rather simple, but after only a few months, I have already seen the fruit of asking them in my life. Let’s break them down.

ONE — Is there a real need for it? So often, people expect a blog post on Monday about a weekend conference. But will anyone actually read it? And, if they do, will they actually benefit from it? If there is no real need for what you are being asked to do, why spend the time? If it doesn’t make a real difference in the world, do something else that does.

TWO — Am I the best one for it? This is the criteria we might pair Pope Benedict’s resignation with. The Holy Father was at a point where he didn’t feel he had the strength. When your team is dividing up tasks, maybe let whoever does something best take that particular task. Or, if you are asked to do something, and you know someone who does it better, offer their name in your place. It will benefit you, them and whomever is asking.

THREE — Do I absolutely love to do it? If we spend the majority of our time doing things that we don’t like doing, our life with drain us. We will have nothing to give to things we love. Howard stepped back from international team play in order to spend time with what he loved more right now: family. Another way to consider it: If you wouldn’t do it for free (not that you need to do it for free), is it really worth whatever you will spend the pay on?

Tyler Tenbarge is a former state and national FFA officer from Indiana and is currently studying for priesthood for the Diocese of Evansville at Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology. After serving as a facilitator for the Washington Leadership Conference, he has remained involved in FFA by developing and facilitating various pieces of curriculum and content for state FFA officers. He also blogs at tylertenbarge.blogspot.com.

photo credit Julio Cortez/AP

8Bright Ideas • Volume 13, Issue 2

ENVIRON MENTAL

FACTORS

ENVIRON MENTAL

FACTORS

9

In the last issue of Bright Ideas we began a series on personal growth, more specifically, your growth as a state officer. When you were elected, you made a personal commitment to not only serve but to also continuously grow so that you could model the expectation of growth in others. Your environment has much to do with the success of your rate of growth. Just as in raising plants and animals, environmental factors for growth are critical.

John Maxwell, in his book The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth, says that “If you’re always at the head of the class, then you’re in the wrong class. The best place to learn is always where others are ahead of you.” Oftentimes it is easy to put ourselves at the head of the class because leadership is not difficult there. We have a position, people like us because we might be fun or maybe it is because one of our strengths is WOO and entertaining comes naturally to us. But what happens when we realize we are not being challenged by our current situation? Are we content living an unchallenged life or do we take the next step to increase our own personal growth so that in turn we can invest in the growth potential of our followers?

Maxwell advises to choose wisely where personal growth is concerned. He asserts that the first step is to assess your environment and to make sure it is conducive to growth. In other words, do you have the necessary things that create a nurturing environment, things such as the right hopes, giftedness, music, thoughts, experiences, friends, recreation, soul, home, memories or books? It is important to understand that you cannot compartmentalize your life as an officer. Your role is not like a light switch that can be turned on and off depending

on the environment you are in at the time. Growth must be approached in a holistic manner. You should be focused on growing as a whole person, and it starts with an environmental assessment.

Once you have assessed your environment, Maxwell purports that changes need to be made in both you and your environment. He says, “Change yourself but not your environment — growth will be slow and difficult; change your environment but not yourself — growth will be slow and less difficult; change your environment and yourself — growth will be faster and more successful. By putting both together at the same time, you increase and accelerate your chances for success.” Isn’t that what being a state officer and living the FFA mission all about?

Finally Maxwell suggests that leaders pay close attention to the people with whom we spend the most time. Write down the five people who you spend the most time with and ask yourself what they add to your development as a leader. These people should be the ones challenging you, loving you unconditionally, helping you when you need help and cheering you on toward successful growth. It is easy to surround ourselves with people who offer words of affirmation all the time because it feels good and feeds the ego. But true growth begins when we are supportively challenged by those around us whom we trust.

Growth begins with being intentional about our commitment to growth and continues when we are able to create the proper environmental conditions for that growth to happen. Create that proper, yet challenging, environment for yourself and keep growing!

ENVIRON MENTAL

FACTORS

ENVIRON MENTAL

FACTORS

Amy Nicol has been a career and technical educator for the past 18 years. She served as a state FFA officer and has worked with state officer programs through the National FFA Organization. Amy lives in Marysville, Ohio, and enjoys being active in her church and community through various service activities.

A YEAR OF GROWTHNurturing Growth: Environmental Factorsby Amy Nicol

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10Bright Ideas • Volume 13, Issue 2

Bright IdeasNational FFA Organization

6060 FFA DriveIndianapolis, IN 46268-0960

The State FFA Officer Programs are made possible through sponsorship from the following organizations as a special project of the National FFA Foundation.

Bright Ideas Magazine is sponsored by CSX as a special project of the National FFA Foundation.

©NATIONAL FFA ORGANIZATION 2014 The letters “FFA,” the FFA emblem, Future Farmers of America and Forever Blue are registered trademarks of the National FFA Organization and cannot be used without permission.

FFA MISSIONFFA makes a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.

THE AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION MISSIONAgricultural education prepares students for successful careers and a lifetime of informed choices in the global agriculture, food, fiber and natural resource systems.

The National FFA Organization is a resource and support organization that does not select, control, or supervise state association, local chapter or individual member activities. Educational materials are developed by FFA in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Education as a service to state and local agricultural education agencies. The National FFA Organization affirms its belief in the value of all human beings and seeks diversity in its membership, leadership and staff as an equal opportunity employer.

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