3
Volume XXVIII Number 1 September/October 2011 The collegiate newsletter of
9 5
Thoughts From Leadership Institute 2011 by Mark Wilson, Delta Eta (Youngstown State) ’03, Director of Communications As I absorbed my first Leadership Institute since 2005, and my very first as a staff member, it struck me that what I was watching wasn’t the Fraternity creating leaders. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Certainly, many men come into Phi Mu Alpha “unfinished.” They have yet to become the musicianly men and manly musicians spoken of so often in our goals. The Fraternity, then, can play a pivotal role in this kind of formation. And it does, too! If our fraternal organization was impotent to enact tangible and lasting change within men, it would quickly die out or be replaced with organizations that could. The ability to form lasting bonds of brotherhood and create change in a man, however, remains perhaps the primary reason for the Fraternity’s success and recent growth. Which is why it may seem odd when I say that Leadership Institute, Phi Mu Alpha’s premiere leader-creation event, is in fact not creating leaders. I do not say this in a negative way. The experience of Leadership Institute, or any of the Fraternity’s national events, is a potentially life-changing one. I know this firsthand, since it was the ’05 Institute (then called “Conclave”) where I had perhaps the most profound transformational Fraternity experience of my collegiate career. But the reason I say this is simple: we’re not creating leaders at Leadership Institute, we’re strengthening the leadership qualities of those who
are already leaders. Those who attend possess a certain fire, a passion for being there. They are among brothers and friends, and taking part in a wide variety of events. Such activities might be entertaining, like the lighter moments of the presentations given by NEC members. The activities might be serious or profound, like the Ritual, Men of Song Chorus, or deeper reflections imparted to us in one of President Mongiovi’s talks. Or even occasionally silly activities, like the Sinfonian Olympics. But all of these things are done in the name of greater ideals. This shines forth in everything brothers say and do over the course of the weekend. They may not have all the skills of a great leader, but they have the mindset of one. It is easy to spot an apathetic educator, the unfortunate ones whose drive has left them. So too with a brother. Station, rank, and title don’t matter; such men are no longer leaders. The good news is, hope is not lost in such cases. But the truth remains that a good deal of leadership isn’t personal skill, learned or inherent, nor is it station or office. Both can help, but are not needed. The core of a leader is simply excitement and passion. Phi Mu Alpha’s (see “Wilson,” page 3)