ethics news & views: EASL’s `Turner Scholars´ express group's servant leadership covenant through artwork

December 01, 2004

EASL’s `Turner Scholars´ express group's servant leadership covenant through artwork

By Kate O'Dwyer Randall. Each new academic year, students in the Ethics and Servant Leadership Forum (or, the Turner Scholars) take on the task of creating a covenant with one another.

The covenant is a contract where group members together decide their shared goals and aspirations. They decide on values as a group they think servant leaders should commit to and be attentive to. They identify themselves in this group of servant leaders and strive to incorporate these concepts in their corporate work for the year.

The process of building and deciding upon the group's covenant is a wonderful exercise in ethics and servant leadership. Turner Scholars are given the freedom to create their covenant in any way they choose. In previous years groups have created covenants complete with legal contract language for individual group members to sign. Other groups have used symbols from various religious traditions that use words and images to demonstrate their aspirations and values.

The open-ended process of this first group exercise allows students to embark on the difficult work of group dynamics and consensus. Complex, multifaceted concepts like competing goods and group decision making as servant leaders infiltrate the activity. The difficulty of creating a shared vision is experienced first hand by participants:

How does a group of fifteen decide upon one document that both states who they are and who they hope to become through the year?
What values are crucial to that process?
How do fifteen people decide between the hierarchies of “good” values?
Which ones make it on the covenant, and which ones don’t? Why and why not?
Why are some words better than other ones? Why do some words create controversy in some and comfort in others?
Does the use of artistic imagery help or hinder that process?

After several conversations and good, spirited debates, creative brainstorming and thoughtful reflection, this year’s Turner Scholars have created a covenant in word and image. So, influenced by the multifaceted nature of ethics and servant leadership, the covenant has emerged a two sided document that relies on artistic expression as the covenant’s main thrust.

The image is that of a tree rooted with five words: compassion, intention, risk, humor and commitment. The main trunk of the tree is decorated with the largest word on the covenant, humility. The branches are filled with words that both stretch and reach outward with the words: concern, provocative, action, balance and vulnerability. Thinking also about the need for leaders to be attentive to situations and to match leadership with context, the student agreed that the tree be drawn in two seasons.

The spring season demonstrates the need for the softer side of leadership. This side cleverly matches the Servant Leadership characteristics of empathy, listening, healing and awareness.

The version with bolder reds and yellows demonstrates the changing bold colors of fall and match the servant leadership characteristics of conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, persuasion and building community. All ten characteristics are needed for whole leader. Therefore a two sided covenant was chosen. (A summer rendition was also considered.)

The artistic design and colors were done by junior environmental studies major Natalie Brubaker. She was aided by a “covenant committee” who helped take the words and ideas agreed upon by the group and think of appropriate images.

The process and product exemplify the extraordinary young thinkers and doers in EASL. The words chosen are words all of us in the program will look forward to learning more about and practicing in community. Certainly, the “common good” will benefit from these thinkers, and their outreach. So begins another exciting year.

[ Posted by Kate Randall at December 1, 2004 10:25 AM |