‘Lunch and Learn’ discussion around leadership

The Lunch & Learn program, sponsored by the Oregon Board of Humanities, is hosted at MHCC by the Diversity Resource Center, to serve students and others interested in leadership. It’s a nonprofit program that provides a series of relevant topics on current information, training and education on current development issues – and the DRC supplies 10 free lunches for the first 10 students who arrive.

The most recent event on Oct. 19 allowed students and others a chance to meet with Oregonian expert Lois Ruskai Melina, in the Jazz Café.

Melina currently teaches  at Gonzaga University and at Institute University teaching leadership. After her Mt. Hood presentation, she said her goals and hopes were for people to “question our assumptions people have about leadership.” She added that there’s “not a lot of emphasis on positional authority or power, relating to leadership, which is what you read a lot about.”

The midday session utilized an array of exercises on the definition of what leadership means, and how different roles of leadership play in society, and how leadership differs from authority and power.

What qualities would make an ideal leader? was one such question.

A leader, often times, has referred to a figure who holds utmost power, such as the U.S. president. Melina shared her view on the different types of leadership roles we have in our society, noting that the greatest leaders can be people in our lives who’ve made an impact in the community, or on ourselves. Teachers, speakers, sports coaches and even parental figures who’ve displayed good character and an example are such leaders.

“I think being a mother and a grandmother, we don’t automatically associate those roles with leadership,” said Melina, “but I think those are huge leadership roles.”

Students and teachers gathered together to share their views on what traits and qualities they believed made an ideal leader. Qualities such as ‘intelligence,’ ‘passionate,’ and spreads the word of positivity to others.

Melina told the audience that a “good leader brings the leadership out of people,” meaning that they leave a positive influence on others to grow for the better, and that there’s more to being a leader than always being ‘politically correct.’ A leader is someone who empowers and inspires others, she said.

With cultural diversity comes various viewpoints in terms of values and ethics.

Melina said she takes into account that many individuals came to the session with different sets of what leadership meant to them. It was interesting to listen to what others had to say because every culture has its own set of values and ethics, she noted.

For information on future Learn & Learn events, contact .

Contact Melinda Bullen in the Student Union, AC1050, or oregonhumanties.org for more information on upcoming events.