• Mary Ann "Skipper"
  • 2014
  • 0

Are You Playing Frisbee or Boomerang?Many college students are heading to school this week. In addition to carloads of parents and kids unpacking and moving into dorms, I picture quads with people throwing Frisbees and listening to music.

When we throw a Frisbee it flies through the air and either a dog or others catch it.

Effective leaders are good at Frisbee. They can take an idea and throw it out to the group. They allow it to percolate. They can let go of getting credit. Others participate in order to catch it. The team creates, owns and moves the idea forward.

Some leaders throw boomerangs instead. They put an idea out and do not allow others to participate. They want to control or manage all of the details involved. Like a boomerang, they put something out and it comes back to them quickly by their own design.

This is because they may not trust others to catch and play, they may not like the direction where it lands or they may want to maintain ownership.

Playing Frisbee allows others to participate and move around as needed. Playing boomerang can be overwhelming, exhausting and lonely.

What is happening on your campus?