When thinking about leadership, different types of people in your life may come to mind. You may think about how they have influenced your own style of leadership, or how well they did in their leadership roles. But what makes a good leader? How do those who keep getting stuck in loops of bad behavior get out of it and better themselves?

In the chain of ACE events, “Lattes and Leadership” the students get insight into how good leaders stay good leaders from Christa Wiskirchen, the retention specialist and coordinator of first-gen programs for student success. Goal setting looks different for each person and not everyone will set goals the same way. Finding what works best for you will put you ahead of others. Another thing to keep in mind is to be realistic with yourself. Make goals that are both hard and obtainable, so that when you are actually trying to reach them, they don’t seem as daunting. Being able to look at your life and see what things are going on so that you can have a realistic timeline for yourself also helps a lot. 

Reaching out for help is another way of inevitably helping yourself in the long run. The amount of resources that are on this campus alone is probably a lot more than you would expect. A lot of the different groups here on campus like the First Gen Program, the Diversi-T.E.A.M., and, not to mention, the many faculty members that are willing and able to help. 

In the second session of, “Lattes and Leadership” Dr. Jay Hoffman Associate Professor of Athletic Training and Health Sciences, and Athletic Training Education Program Director, spoke about being a leader. It starts with being able to stay on top of things, as humans, people are going to forget things, so making those reminders in your phone, calendar, or even sticky notes in Dr. Hoffman’s case will be a great tool to not fall behind. 

Another thing that was brought up during this second session was mentors. As a mentor, Dr. Hoffman likes to use all different types of leadership styles. But being able to act in service to others, will ultimately lift you. To trust in your mentor, to know that they have your best interests at heart even when they are telling you things that aren’t the easiest to hear, but making those connections, having that respect and trust between mentees and their mentor(s), will get someone much farther in life. 

As you progress through life, you may find yourself asking a lot of the “what if” questions, overthink, and in a lot of people’s cases, inevitably shut down. Reaching out for help, using those resources, and generally just taking good care of yourself, is essentially the message that both Wiskirchen and Dr. Hoffman were trying to get through to the students. Leadership cannot be defined as one thing. Sure, it has its own dictionary definition, but to be a leader means to be flexible and know that there is always more to learn, because not everything will go the way you want.