Leadership as Leased Space

Last night as I was falling asleep it dawned on me that while I preach of leaving a legacy to the college student I works with I haven't quite framed that notion in to something digestible for them. So here it is: leadership positions are leased space. You sign up for whatever reason. Maybe this specific student-leader position was more appealing because it allowed you to focus on event planning or maybe you signed up because this other position focused on the fun things. You leased that space because it was great for entertaining or it allowed you to retreat on focus on details like studying. Whatever the reasons you were attracted to the position and that space.

Also, much like a lease on a space, you will not serve in your leadership position forever. You take on the responsibilities with an already defined end in sight. Sure we may re-sign a lease from one year to the next and you may stay in that leadership role for additional time past your original agreement. But the experiences you have from lease term to lease term are usually vastly different than anything else you've experienced. You'll have cycles in both your leadership role and also that lease. You know that every year you'll go through a Greek recruitment process or that you'll participate in a club fair. You know that every winter or summer (depending on which is more extreme) your electric bill will increase.

What if I told you though, that before you leased that space the person who held your leadership position (or the person you leased your apartment) could provide you with a list of helpful tips? They would tell you that you needed to jiggle the toilet handle to keep the water from running or that the back burner on the stove heats up more than the other. They would give you pointers for working with your next organization advisor or tip you off to the most cost-effective vendors for events. Would you be more likely to learn from the tenant or leader before you?

Wouldn't you want to pass the same information along to the next leader? To the next renter in that leased space?

Think about what you would say to the person next in line. Write it down. Discuss it with them when the time is right. Be intentional in that message and help your organization grow. Since we are only temporary placeholders in something bigger than ourselves it becomes our duty to, "leave it better than we found it."