A letter to WHS student leaders

Dear WHS leaders: As a leader I’m sure you understand what I mean when I say “leadership is not easy.”

Reading those words probably takes you on a trip down memory lane to road blocks along your journey, people and situations that seem like they have nothing better to do than stand in your way and prevent you from making the changes you think would benefit your group, team, club or organization better.

But, throughout my high school career and rise to leading several groups at WHS and the student body, I have come to learn that the longer we look at the obstacles, the longer we care about the opinions of the people who have nothing better to do than throw stones, the less likely we are to achieve our goals.

Making change happen is a difficult road to travel, but it is one that is absolutely necessary to advancing any group of people.

I love the way that some authors describe moving people toward change when they say that there are 25 percent of people who are going to love your idea, 50 percent of people who don’t know how they feel about the idea, and the 25 percent of people whom no matter what you do or how hard you try will always stand on the outside complaining. If we as leaders focus our attention on bringing the whining 25 percent to our side, we will never have the chance to sway the opinion of the 50 percent whom are unsure.

So, this year, as our school begins to make changes, as our student government begins to enact reform, and as many clubs revamp their status at WHS, know this: leaders, you are not alone in your struggles with difficult people. Together, we can make change happen, and together we can change the culture at WHS.

Sure sometimes we will fail, but that’s part of leadership. The important thing is that no matter how hard times get, how stressful a situation may be, or how loud that 25 percent of complainers may sound, we keep fighting for change in our building, we keep advocating for a positive school culture, and we never lose focus on the big picture.

Because then, we will truly be able to lead like generals.