I am normally not the type of guy who enjoys shaking hands and hobnobbing with other folks. Despite an otherwise outgoing personality at first blush - I am quite introverted and my tendency is to isolate.
The Pensacola Chamber of Commerce has organized a program known as LEAP, which takes an annual class through an impressive series of leadership exercises and other community based education pieces. I was frankly not looking forward to going through the class and had mentally relegated it to yet another of the marketing participation exercises expected of a young professional.
What a pleasant surprise it has been! It has been a real pleasure getting to know many of the class members and I am excited about this year's recently selected project, which will involve planting gardens at several local elementary schools. This past weekend was spent at Pensacola Beach for a two day retreat, which included an impressive presentation by Studer Group speaker Craig Deao. Among the unexpected gems was a communication tool effective at derailing a five year old who is in full "I want to go home" mode while traveling in a car. Tested and proven effective this past Sunday morning on the way to church by yours truly.
What was most interesting to me was the SIMSOC evolution, which consists of a simulated societal interplay. It took most of the day on Saturday. Without spoiling the premise of the exercise, I will say that it essentially consists of simulated interaction between several varying socioeconomic groups. I will also say that at some point I got bored (and frustrated with one of the other groups) and our group shortly thereafter started a warlike conflict with another group. At the time, I viewed the sojourn into conflict as merely a semi comical diversion from boredom. But it struck me early on Sunday morning that perhaps this behavior on my part was reflective of my constitutionally destructive tendencies. Rather than continuing to play the game, I decided to play my hand at destroying it. There must be something beneath the surface worth exploring.
What are your natural tendencies? Are they destructive or constructive?
