Review your personal values and the personal mission and vision statements you have written. Search through magazines for words, pictures, and images that best represent each of these three important components of any leader’s personal leadership compass – his/her personal leadership philosophy.

Then, glue the words, pictures, and images onto the posterboard to create a Personal Leadership Collage. Organize your graphics into three parallel zones (refer to the diagram below). In the bottom zone arrange the clipped art that represents your personal values as a leader - the foundation of your personal leadership journey. In the top zone, arrange the clipped art that represents your personal vision for the future – the ultimate destination of your personal leadership journey. Then, in a band across the middle, arrange the clipped art that represents your personal mission statement in life – the bridge that will help you reach your ultimate destination.

Once you have a look that you like carefully lift each graphic and glue it into place.

A sample of a Personal Leadership Collage is shown below. This leader’s foundation (lower left and across the bottom of the collage) is based upon his personal values of family and heritage (that’s a photograph of his great-grandparents), his Southern roots, holidays, and other traditions (notice the antique Santas), and teamwork. The leader’s ultimate destination (upper right and across the top of the collage) emphasizes his vision (notice all the eyes) of teamwork and volunteerism and his desire to one day own and operate a bed-and-breakfast in a grand historic home. The leader’s bridge to help guide him to his ultimate destination (stretching across the middle of the collage from left to right) includes his personal mission of education (notice the stack of books and the university logos) the role of 4-H (see the clover?), a focus on leadership and imagination, and gardening and growing things.

If you have access to a camera, take a photo of your Personal Leadership Collage and insert it into your Reflection Journal and enter the date. Then spend some time describing and explaining what the images in your collage mean and how they collectively represent your personal values, mission statement, and vision for your future.

Most of us have favorite movies about important journeys. Some are about exciting quests for lost treasure; others are about reconnecting someone to his/her past or to long-lost family members or friends.

But all of them include stories of dreams, challenges, and overcome obstacles.

Now, it’s time to write a story about “your never-ending leadership journey.” Be creative, and tell your story thoroughly. Focus upon some basic questions: Where did you begin your “journey” in leadership? What is your ultimate leadership “destination” or vision? What will you “pack” from your treasure chest of personal values to help and support you on your journey? How will you use your personal leadership mission “road map” to guide your way?

Go to your Reflection Journal, enter today’s date, and begin writing your short story. OK, the question you’re probably asking right now is, “How long does the story have to be? How many words? How many pages?” The answers to these and similar questions are up to you. After all, you are the leader and main character, and it is your leadership plot and story. Just remember to reflect on what you’ve already accomplished in this module, where you want to go in life, and the tools and resources you’ve identified to help you map out a direction.

Have fun!

The concepts of values, mission, and vision apply not only to individuals, but also to groups of individuals. In fact, at one of your Team meetings, you will share your individual values, mission, and vision with your fellow Team members in order to develop shared values, mission and vision statements.

The individuals who live in your household are also a group of individuals, each of whom contributes to the overall well-being of your family.

Convene a household or family meeting. At the meeting, share with the others what you’ve learned through this module. Share what you’ve identified as your personal values, mission, and vision, and ask and encourage each of your other household members to do likewise. (You may need to have a second meeting in about a week to give the others time to think about and develop their ideas.)

Identify the values, mission, and vision that you all share as a household/family. Discuss how these ideas can help your household/family work together toward a positive, happy, and meaningful life together.

Go to your Reflection Journal, enter today’s date, and record what each family/member thought of individually and then what you all came up with together.