Students, faculty and professional staff gathered for the Seasons of Leadership seminar on Thursday afternoon to hear two speakers challenge individuals to better their leadership skills.
The goal of the seminar, hosted by a group of leaders known as the Callan group, was to give individuals at USC a new perspective on how to exercise leadership that strays from typical beliefs. The seminar aimed to challenge individuals to pursue the internal journey to leadership excellence, using the four seasons as metaphors.
All students, faculty and staff were encouraged to attend the seminar, and it was held in the campus room at USC’s Capstone residence hall.
As explained in the introduction for the course, the guest speakers described "how each season of our life, much like the literal seasons of the year, asks us different questions, and demands of us different forms of sacrifice and conversion.”
President of the Callan Course and former Marine Corps pilot Michael Dyer spoke on how he has overcome the adversity of a plane crash and become a leader through his life experience.
Dyer said that if there was one takeaway from the seminar in order to exercise leadership, it would be to “control your ego … because it gets in the way of being a true leader.”
Dyer also emphasized the importance of trust and that “leadership is not about being in front,” and that the concept of being a leader is multi-dimensional and leaders can be found beside as well.
Third-year anthropology student Haley Davis-Martin particularly benefited from the Callan Course and plans to incorporate what she learned in the seminar to her future.
“I just love learning other people’s perspectives on leadership. It’s such a ... spectrum, and it changes with each person so it’s a different experience every time I go to one," Martin said. "I know I have to mediate a really tough discussion in two days, and I’ve literally been taking notes the entire time, and I’m like, ‘Oh, that’s a good way to approach it rather than X, Y and Z.’”