Delegates completed their first round of workshops on Monday. In Self-Awareness and Relationship Building, delegates learned about – and assessed their own level of – emotional intelligence and discussed its impact on individual leadership styles. In addition, they determined their own strengths and weaknesses in fostering relationships and practiced strategies for building healthy relationships.
In Principles of Communication, delegates learned about active listening, analyzed their own personal communication styles, learned about the strengths of different communication styles, and explored various models for providing feedback.
In addition to these workshops, delegates have spent time in group meetings completing get-to-know activities and team building games. A special part of MLW is the bond that each team forms and we can already see lasting friendships developing.
Delegates have also started “Tuning,” where they meet in small groups of 5-6 with a staff member. During Tuning, delegates develop goals for the week and debrief the material they are learning. Delegates also engage in small group activities meant to extend and supplement the content being learned in workshops. This is a great time for each delegate to really focus on what they want to get out of the week and how they can further develop their leadership skills.
After dinner, history teacher and former MLW delegate Maury Izzett taught a seminar called “Looking at Leadership Through a Historic Lens.”
At the end of the day, delegates were treated to an evening of fun games that the staff designed. These games allowed staff to observe how each delegate solves problems, works within a team, and responds to challenges, all of which helps the staff better frame the rest of the week’s activities.