YEAR 11 LEADERSHIP PROGRAM 

The Year 11 Leadership Program is an optional after-school workshop designed to help students develop their leadership skills - whether in everyday life or within the school community.

Students will explore the traits of effective leaders, work on their presentation skills, and learn about the importance of emotional intelligence.

Below are some student reflections on the second session.

Mrs Jobson and the Year 11 Student Management team

STUDENT REFLECTIONS

At first glance, Inside Out may seem like another trivial kids movie, however, leadership program participants were convinced otherwise. In one scene, when a minor character faces struggle, “Joy” tries to lift their spirits with positive reinforcement, mentioning that, “Everything will be okay,” and attempting to make them laugh. Joy’s approach ignores the character’s emotions and the reality that life’s challenges and emotional responses are sometimes necessary for growth. 

In contrast, “Sadness” connects with the character by empathising with their distress. This recognition and understanding aids the situation immensely, leading the team of emotion characters closer to resolving their problem. The role of “Sadness” encapsulates the focus of the second leadership workshop perfectly: what makes a leader, and more specifically, the emotional intelligence required to be a leader.

But analysing scenarios from movies was just one part of the workshop. Participants also explored different quotes, speeches, and engaged in discussions to develop their own definitions of leadership. Many heavily emphasised the importance of actively listening to feedback and responding accordingly, whilst other Year 11s highlighted the crucial role of conflict resolution. Despite varied perspectives, emotional intelligence emerged as a common theme in most definitions. A leader, above all, must exhibit self and social awareness by empathising with and understanding others to communicate effectively. 

Before this workshop, I hadn’t appreciated how vital emotional intelligence is for leadership. Now, I have come to understand that without it, there’s less engagement, less connection, and ultimately, less leadership. To be a leader, you don’t need to be the smartest, strongest or most creative, you need to be emotionally intelligent. You must be brave enough to take the first step and allow others to follow your example. You have to comprehend the emotions of these followers and act accordingly.

Overall, the second leadership workshop provided me with a new perspective on what it means to be a leader. If I hadn’t attended this workshop, I would probably still use “Joy’s” method of avoiding negative emotions instead of empathising with others to resolve a situation. I’m extremely grateful to Mrs Jobson for this opportunity to branch out from the regular curriculum and gain new insights into leadership.

Susana O’Leary

Year 11 Student

For the Year 11 cohort, our last year of secondary school is only a few months away, and I for one am very excited the new memories that will come with it. As part of the the Year 12 experience, there is a diverse range of leadership positions offered by McKinnon Secondary College.

However, leadership is just like any other skill, and takes time, dedication and practice to develop. That’s why Ms Jobson has organised an opt-in leadership program for current Year 11 students. This three-session program has involved time for self-reflections, insightful table group discussions and open mic commentary about what leadership means to us.

The first sessions involved meeting new people through a campus scavenger hunt, before settling down to talk about what our individual strengths and weaknesses were, and how they impacted our unique leadership style. There was also a key focus on our school values of; respect, integrity, resilience, community, creativity, and success, and how we embodied those values at school and in our communities.

In our second session, we discussed the leaders in our lives who motivated us, and the qualities that they possessed which made them so inspiring. Emotional Intelligence, also known as EQ, is the ability to recognise the emotions of ourselves and others, and is an invaluable skill that was also focused on as part of the session.

While as of writing this, the third session has not happened yet. But there will be a focus on public speaking and leadership at McKinnon. Personally, I’ve loved this course and my perspective on what it means to be a leader has grown after hearing some of the fantastic points made by Ms Jobson and my peers. Being a leader isn’t about bold actions, bolder claims and the boldest of badges. It’s about small commitments every day to being a better person than you were the day before by helping those around you.

Romani Parrish

Year 11 Student