Some thoughts on leadership and fixing our broken politics | Opinion

‘Powerful stuff’

As a former pastor, a law enforcement officer, and now a leadership consultant, I know about the power of conversations: sitting across from someone who is likely very different from me; someone who has different lived experiences; someone who has been shot at, or misjudged, or who is in a dispute with their spouse.

Sitting across from someone who simply wants to be heard.

That is powerful stuff.

A few years ago, I participated in a moderated conversation as part of the One Small Step initiative. One Small Step brings strangers together with different political views for a conversation–not to debate politics–but to get to know each other as people. The program is currently expanding its effort nationally, and is continuing to work locally right here in Wichita. I signed up because I was curious to see if the power of conversation could make a difference across political divides.

The differences that my conversation partner and I seemed to have were more stark in writing than what I experienced in person during the conversation itself. Our conversation flowed and I was happy to have a moderator, who found ways to guide us and intercede if our comments went too long.

What I have taken from my experience is so fundamental: While research shows that One Small Step works, I felt this intuitively after my own conversation.

I discovered that even if we hold different political beliefs, we can still have meaningful conversations, see each other as fellow Americans, and be part of the solution.

Future leaders

This summer my peers and I spent eight weeks participating in Bank of America’s Student Leaders Program working alongside Goodwill Industries of Kansas. The internship not only exposed us to industry-deep connections and tangible experiences, but also strengthened our personal financial skills and opened doors for continued networking opportunities as we begin our professional journeys.

Throughout the internship we were given hands-on experience in all levels of operation, from overseeing daily store management, working alongside clients, collaborating with the marketing team and attending social functions. Along with this professional programming, we also participated in Bank of America’s Better Money Habits financial education series which equipped us with critical personal finance skills.

The most exciting experience was the national Student Leaders’ Summit in Washington, D.C. There, we networked with 300 of our National Student Leader counterparts, all partaking in similar internships across the country. While in D.C., we heard from influential speakers, had the opportunity to meet with representatives from Kansas and expanded our network of like-minded young professionals.

The connections we made in D.C. have proven to be more than just a connection on social media, but rather genuine relationships full of constant communication. In fact, since the conclusion of this program, I have relied on this network to be a sounding board for guidance and support as I began my own passion project right here in Wichita — a bipartisan voting initiative to bridge the Spanish language barrier of performing our civic duty. It is my hope that projects like this will continue the cycle of leadership development and access here in our community, as well as throughout the Student Leader network.

This program exposed us to the inner workings of nonprofits as well as private businesses and how they partner with each other to achieve their goals, equipping us with professional development skills. The opportunities made available to us throughout the Student Leaders Program are irreplaceable, and we are excited to begin putting this learning into action as we advance into our futures.