Leadership camp gave confidence a boost
Last April I was given the opportunity to attend the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards, a young leaders’ camp run by Rotary. Matamata Rotary Club sponsored me to go to this week-long course at Epworth Camp.
There were about 40 attendees aged between 18 and 25 from many walks of life all coming together to learn more about leadership of ourselves and others.
Throughout the week we had sessions on self leadership, public speaking, team building, communication and cultural diversity.
As well as the sessions inside we also took to the outdoors.
We had a go at a high ropes course and also spent a day in Waitomo abseiling, rock climbing and doing team building challenges.
On day one, one of our first challenges was to build a tower made from spaghetti pasta and marshmallows. I must say not the easiest of building materials. The challenge was not only the building of the tower but also communicating with your team, let’s just say lots of leaders equal lots of ideas. We also had the privilege on going into Hamilton to interview leaders in different lines of work. We asked them questions about their line of work and their leadership style, what they have found works and doesn’t. I was in the group that interviewed Elizabeth Bang, chief executive of Waikato Hospice.
One of the big things the camp helped me with is public speaking. I’m not the most confident speaker when in front of groups. I took part in a session in which we were talked through the basics of making a speech, how to write one and how to overcome your nerves.
As part of going on the camp I spoke to my local Rotary Club. This went well and instead of running out of things to say I had much to share and even got a few compliments on my speech. The camp has provided me with an insight into how I lead a group and also what my needs are when being led by others. The camp was an awesome experience and I say if you have an opportunity, go for it, you won’t regret the experience and you will meet new friends.