Roy- Director of Dream Management

Roy- Director of Dream Management

A former advisor says:

He is really driven to make something very special not necessarily of himself but the world that he is in. I do think he thinks about the two together pretty closely, but he wants the world to be better and he is going to be part of that in a process and that energy level and follow through: I mean when he says he is going to do something, he does it.

A student participant from the first year’s trip says:

Roy is someone that likes to look at the big picture. He likes to look broad, likes to think definitely outside of the box. He is more of the inspirational one. He is the one that throws ideas out there, helps people find ways to get things done. He is not the one writing the task list.

In interviewing Roy about his first title, when asked if that held true in his current work he said:

I am always a push ahead, bigger is better …just kind of seeing the possibilities like I sometimes wonder if…being an opportunist is a bad thing? I can see how opportunities lead to the next very clearly, I can see connections how getting to know a certain person can help in this way and you know sometimes I, I wonder if that is a negative? But yeah, definitely dream management you know, growing and looking to the future and …looking at possibilities. I am an entrepreneurial man I like new things. I get bored, like the college tour to me is old news, its great news, but it’s still old.

Speaking of SLP, Roy says, “I found a passion and I found a heartstring.” Roy is the dreamer of the group, constantly thinking of new opportunities for SLP such as the expansion to high school and middle school trips.

The role of leadership is not always an easy one. This was tested during a MAD tour in 2007 when students from one of the buses were sent home for consuming alcohol. The group has a zero tolerance policy on consumption and Roy was told there was suspicion about students having violated this. To complicate the matter, one of the students was a close personal friend of Roy’s. The national core was divided on how to handle the situation and the founders were in different celebration cities trying to make a decision over the phone. Roy had a strong sense of conviction and felt the students should suffer the repercussions of their actions, so ultimately they were sent home from the trip early. Zohar (2005) refers to this aspect of spiritual intelligence as “Field Independence”, which is standing against the crowd and having one’s own convictions. Roy, being identified as a charismatic leader, exhibits these personal characteristics, which include: being dominant, having a strong desire to influence others, being self-confident, and having a strong sense of one’s own moral values (House, 1976). In talking about his dealing with adversity Roy states: “A kite flies against the wind!”

Growing up in a large town in North Dakota, Roy was involved in numerous leadership camps in the United States and in Australia, and the camp influence is seen in the program model. In speaking of his camp experience, he says: “So I went to those three camps and that is really when I was like ‘I can make a difference: I can do things.’” His current role, along with being co-executive director is Director of Development and Expansion and he is the contact with the high school affiliates. Still, many elements of dream management continue in his present role. Roy is currently dreaming about the idea of SLP creating:

an organization to support each other...conference techniques or creating an association that can bind together a pretty specific segment, um, student run, student driven, founded before the age of 25 and then try to just share best practices to really educate each other.

Roy has many other dreams he wants to pursue, including someday serving in a political office.

Nickers - Director of Finer Details

Nickers stands over 6 feet tall and is very thin. He has straight blonde hair, green eyes and a quick smile. The following comments were made about Nickers and his role in the formation of the group: “Very detailed. Detail-minded, commitment, his word is probably stronger than anyone I know”; “Nickers is always fun to be around, he is just a true lover of life, no matter the situation he will always be able to smile”; “He is just really good at the finance, the numbers, crunching numbers and also super encouraging.” A former advisor described Nickers as:

the nuts and bolts guy. He has a very easy smile. He’s not intimidating so he probably would make other people say, ‘Well geez, if Nickers can do this, I can probably do it, too,’ and I think that he has an endearing quality that people say ‘Wow.’

When Nickers was asked what leadership means to him, he said:

To me it’s really kind of stepping up and making the difference…so really when you’re stepping up it doesn’t have to be…‘I’m going to take charge’ but maybe stepping up and helping out someone else. But it’s really trying to make a difference whatever that might be, is kind of the ultimate end result of leadership.

Mackenzie stated that the role Nickers played in the group was that of “neutralizer.” Numerous repeated comments mentioned his positive attitude and that he brought energy to the group. Nickers explained what lies behind his positive attitude:

I think it definitely…comes from the family, we are definitely positive on that side, so in that it just seems that it…got ingrained in me early on…to be positive, be thankful for what you have and kind of help people out.

Nickers shared that he had taken an interest inventory at his work place called StrengthsFinder and that his personality type was known as an “arranger.” He adds:

I’m an arranger, so I enjoy arranging things and I think that is another thing that kind of goes with the positive, that really fits well with the positive and the energy side of it.

Kouzes and Posner (2002) talk about leadership as a dynamic process that motivates others to take action and occurs when leaders “model the way, inspire a shared vision, challenge the process, enable others to act, and encourage the heart” (p. 13). Nickers, from all of the comments made about him, is definitely a leader who encourages the heart and models the way through his own actions. In my observations he was the one at the winter retreat who swept the floor and went off to fix a toilet that was overflowing. Mackenzie says, “The difference between Nickers and others is that if I give him something to do he actually does it.”

Nickers grew up in a small town in Minnesota. He currently serves on the SLP Board of Directors and also volunteers approximately five to ten hours a week; he actually rearranged his work schedule to work four-ten hour days so he can “volunteer” each Friday. He took a week of vacation to go on one of the MAD trips this year. However, in commenting on this he said, “I think of it as not giving up vacation time, but just using it to its fullest.” He talks about his current role this way, “My five-to-midnight job is usually SLP, so that is kind of my fun.”

Nickers made an interesting observation during my first interview with him. Both he and Pete were managers of basketball teams in high school and he noted that on the first year’s Make a Difference tour, six of the 43 participants had all been basketball managers. He described a manager’s role as a behind the scenes worker who supports the team. This analogy is similar to the role for both Nickers and Pete within SLP. Nickers was given the title “Director of Finer Details” because he works on the budget, stuffs envelopes, and deals with the small details that others might not consider important.

Along with the common characteristic of the manager role mentioned by Nickers, there are other group characteristics and common experiences to consider in the development and continued expansion of SLP. The four founders all have strengths that they offer to the group and that compliment each other. Pete talks about the way the founders function together.

If you take all of us, like, and separate us all, I don’t know how effective any of us would be…we’ve grown together so well that, like, together we do pretty well.

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