Something to Keep In Mind About Your Leaders

[Akash Rastogi]

Hey CD,

I suppose what I wanted to say can be directed more towards the students on teams than mentors, but I'm sure for many it can be applied to both.

As build season starts in the morning with Kickoff, I wanted to add a little piece of advice to students on every team. Student leaders such as captains and subteam captains hold a lot of heavy responsibilities during the build season. Some of these responsibilities can be coped with easily and handled by the students, but sometimes burdens can to greater than your captains and even adult mentors can handle. I just like to remind students who aren't part of team leadership, that no matter what the outcome of your build season, make sure you remember not to criticize the efforts of those around you too harshly (or in some cases, at all). It is always easier to point fingers during and after build season when you are not given great responsibilities yourself. So just know that sometimes, your fellow students, even though they may be captains, are still just students who are capable of making the same mistakes and lapses in design judgment as you are. Sometimes decisions made by students leaders cannot be criticized if the person pointing fingers never made an effort to make an impact of the decision in the first place. I'm sure I am not the only former student leader to have faced criticism during/after the season, so I wanted to put this out as a reminder to all students, that sometimes mistakes are made by student leaders, but you may not know all sides to a decision. So speak your mind before something happens! Don't stand there! I hope what I've said here is at least a little coherent and expresses what I am trying to say. Sometimes being a real leader is harder than it looks from the outside.

Your student leaders are still just that in the end, students. Remember to think before you speak negatively about them or decisions being made by the TEAM. No single person is responsible for the outcome of a season on a TEAM.

Start off the season in the morning with open minds and vocalize your ideas and opinions. Don't hold anything back, you will regret it in the end. (This does not mean shoot down ideas you don't like right off the bat during brainstorming, it means express your opinion while major decisions are being made).

Best of luck to everyone for the season! I hope this didn't sound preachy or whiney, just a little PSA. If you disagree WITH THIS POST feel free to say why!

Still teamless,
Akash Rastogi