Experiencing Relational Leadership
I have taken part in a variety of groups, clubs, and organizations, but one club that gave me a good understanding of how to help advance the club while developing into a leader through relational leadership was my high school photography club. I have taken photography classes since I was in middle school, but during my sophomore year of high school, I joined the after-school photography club. Each year it is run by two seniors and our photography teacher, Mr. Johnson, but the seniors are given most of the responsibility. Every year, the way the club was run changed depending on the seniors who were put in charge, but its goal to be a laid-back club where students could go and experiment with photography no matter their skill level remained the same. Students who were taking the actual photography course in school would come and get extra work done, while others came without ever having even touched a camera, just wanting to learn more about it and take part in fun photography experiments.
During my time as a member of the photography club as a sophomore and junior, the presidents ran it in a way where I would go and be able to get work done that I did not have time to finish during the school day and also take part in new smaller projects that they had everyone in the club try out. The presidents of the club during my sophomore year ran the club in a very organized manner and were always prepared with activities for everyone to do, while still leaving time for the members to do work on whatever. They also organized fun outings on weekends, such as our trip into Boston one night where we learned how to take long-exposure pictures, and various other fun events. On the other hand, the two girls who ran the club during my junior year did not take their roles seriously and were ill prepared at every meeting. They did not put much effort into helping students learn how film photography functions, creating events and projects, or even showing much passion for photography in general. I observed how their poor relational leadership took a negative effect on the club and hoped to alter this outcome when I became a co-president during my senior year.
My close friend Chloe and I were appointed to run the club and based on our member turnout, we changed the course completely. After the first week, we realized that we were getting less participants so we reached out to the special education program in our school and gave the opportunity for those students to come and learn how to work a camera, print film, and have a fun photoshoot. This was an intense change for the club, especially since it had usually been run the same throughout past years. This first transformation of the club demonstrated strong relational leadership by Chloe and I, as we initiated a new chapter for inclusivity of a different group of students in our high school. We gave it our all to empower these kids to have fun while learning something that none of them had been offered before. Other members of the club began to empower the special education students as well, illustrating how not only the presidents of the photo club demonstrated relational leadership, but generous students who held no high position in the club. Chloe and I also structured the club around being process-oriented. Instead of looking at the end of the year when the club would be finished, we would plan things out based on how we felt our members would like the projects at particular times.
If I could go back and change anything, it would be to rearrange the way I combined what I did with the special education kids and the photography club regulars, so that everyone could work on the same thing and become more unified as a club, rather than just do something different with each group of students. It became a little difficult in having to put in a lot of one-on-one help with this group of students while also running other projects for the rest of the members, yet this would not stop Chloe or I from letting the special education kids get any less help on wanting to improve their photography skills.
I was lucky to have gained multiple perspectives while taking part of this photography club, starting out as a member and ending as a co-president. I was able to see from the two sides how it was run and, after I graduated, I was able to give good feedback to Mr. Johnson on how the future presidents and members could make it even more successful. Being a member of the club before being nominated to be one of the presidents was helpful, since I was able to recognize some changes that the members wanted, and becoming co-president gave me the authority to actually make those changes, such as suggestions on where to go outside and take pictures, or tasks that would be interesting for the members to tackle during our meetings. My high school photography club allowed me to see that relational leadership takes a team, and not everyone needs to hold a high position in order to improve the function of the group. Additionally, initiating a useful change can be challenging and risky, but with determination and a moral reason behind it, it can be achieved.