MLMH Reflection

After I finished reading and answering the questions for the MLMH assignment, I immediately noticed a connection between the tenets of Brendon Burchard’s “The Student Leadership Guide." Burchard's guide to student leadership essentially follows his six-step process: envision, enlist, embody, empower, evaluate, and encourage. At InFocus, I feel as if we are checking off the majority of these boxes.

At the start of the semester, while we as an executive producer team had a list of values in our minds, it didn't really translate to paper. It wasn't until December when we met as a publication and made our vision statement clear. In his book Burchard states that this essential step of crafting a clear and concise vision helps a team stay to its course and hit imperative objectives. After talking as a group in front of our vision, I feel as if we were able to navigate the conflict that occurred and get everyone on the same page.

Burchard's second "E" is enlist. This past semester, I have noticed that many of the staff members who were reliable and committed last year further expanded upon the responsibilities that they gained, in particular many of our now juniors. However, this year, we as a team have enlisted upon many of our newer faces, including the four freshman new to the publication. Although they are new to InFocus, these four are certainly not new to broadcast journalism. With there immense experience at JLS and Greene, they have been able to participate and make an impact right away. Although we as a leadership team have been able to give them more responsibility and expand their roles, they have taken this step mostly by themselves which has been great to see.

Even though Paly journalism publications create an environment where certain students might have more responsibility and a "higher role," it is essential for student leaders to embody the principles they communicate to their staff and follow the same rules they set. This semester, I have made it a priority to produce more video stories to improve myself but also possibly make an impact on others' work. Another adjustment that I feel has been successful and align with Burchard's value of evaluation has been the addition of live feedback at the end of package cycles. In this step, we as a class can evaluate the content of the current cycle and see what areas we could improve in and what areas we are strong in. This has helped us as a leadership team evaluate the areas we want to improve in leading the class as well.

Burchard's last tenet of student leadership is encouragement, which is the value that I have prioritized throughout my time on InFocus. I can recall to my freshman year when I was struggling with producing video stories as it was my first time interviewing sources, writing scripts, and working with Premiere Pro. Now, I attribute my growth in this field to the encouragement I received from the upperclassmen on staff to not just preserving with learning the concepts but also in exploring new stories and taking risks. During class, I have made sure to check up on individuals' progress on their work and be of service.

As I look on to next semester, I hope to continue these principles of student leadership and even get others involved in important discussions about the publication to make sure everyone feels that their voice is heard.