Sharon Strouse
County Director
Community Development Educator
|
|
Sharon Strouse
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The difference between management and leadership is oft debated. The axiom
that “management is about doing things right and leadership is about doing
the right things” settles any debate for me.
Throughout my years as a student, a mother, and an extension agent, I have not always done everything the right way, at least not according to some teachers, my family and my clients - but very infrequently have they accused me of not doing the right things. An example would be the management of the family’s food as the person/leader responsible. In a family of six, there is no agreement about the right way to select, prepare, and present food for the family’s meals on a daily basis. But, over time, I have provided nutritious meals with enough good snack food available to supplement any hungry family member’s appetite. The children all seem to be growing and have no signs of health problems related to nutrition deficiencies. Management vs. leadership is also about not being afraid to fail. There can be managers out there doing things right day after day, but if they aren’t willing to try new things, and risk failure, success will elude them both as a manager and a leader. To split hairs over the difference between management and leadership is academic. To me this debate matters very little. To be a successful manager or leader is what is truly important. Success can be measured only by one’s own convictions and spirit. For over two years, Julie Butterfly Hill lived one hundred and eighty feet above the ground in an ancient redwood tree called “Luna,” living her life with purpose. She was living in the tree to prevent Pacific Lumber from cutting it down. In December of 1999, after an agreement to save Luna was finally reached, Julie climbed down from her perch. Those who love stories about one’s inner spirit and convictions will devour the book “The Legacy of Luna.” Julie attributes her passion to the lessons she learned from her parents. With early childhood memories full of religion, she identifies learning lessons on how to save money and be thrifty; appreciation of the simple things in life; and the meaning of being responsible. Julie professes that being responsible means not just taking care of oneself, but taking care of others too. Whether you have raised a family on nutritious meals or saved a tree, success at management and leadership is about setting and reaching your own goals. Look around, make plans, it is never too late to take stock of the blessings around you and make new goals for your future success. |
|
Although
a billboard sign can not talk, it sure can make a lot of noise. This past
year, every time a new sign goes up, there is more and more concern being
voiced about when the number of signs appearing on a regular basis will
slow down. My hats off to Alethea Maxwell who wrote about signs and
some history of the issue in the county from the early 90's a couple of
months ago.
This scenario is much like a goose that is preparing its nest to lay a golden egg. The goose can make a very nice nest, one that is even admired by other geese in the barnyard and even by more geese that travel from miles around to see this beautiful nest. As the golden egg is laid, that too is admired, not only by the geese that appreciate the value of the nest, but also by other beasts that admire the beauty and the value of the egg itself. Remember however that the goose that lays the golden egg also shits in its own nest. The goose then has problems keeping the nest clean, especially over a long period of time, for continued admiration of the golden egg. There are two solutions to this problem. We can help the goose keep her nest clean or we can let the goose continue to mess in her nest and ruin the appeal of the golden egg to all local and visiting admirers. These oversimplified solutions are not unlike the discussions that have been taking place in the county among officials, travel and tourism businesses, and residents for many years now. Discussions with Ohio Department of Transportation officials were started years ago and they are progressing on a steady basis now. This column is too short to describe the entire process of slow progress in dialogue about the signage along our roads - but there is hopefully progress. The designation of the state routes in Holmes County as Ohio Scenic Byways does restrict ODOT’s application of the permission of advertising through the state’s Advertising and Device Control Code as administered by the Director of ADC within ODOT. Based on a survey that was sent to over 600 Chamber of Commerce members last summer, mostly business owners, there is a committee forming some county parameters on the appropriate use of signage along our 161 miles of Scenic Byways across the county. The county will be holding public hearings in the near future regarding this issue, after it is deemed that the Ohio Revised Code will legally support the county’s outline of signage as applied through Ohio’s Director of Advertising and Device Control at the state level. The signage along county or township roads is not affected by this at all. Local road issues and concerns need to be addressed within the township by first contacting local trustees. We can all join together to help keep our nest clean and beautiful for admirers of our golden egg. Or, we can turn our head and ignore the mess and be content with the amount of beauty that is disturbed by our lack of attention. As the county struggles with this issue, and we come closer to Ohio’s Bicentennial year, think about the kind of community you want to live in years from now and what you can do to make it become that way. |
|
The
spring rain and the motion of the windshield wipers created what I would
term as a magical moment as the children and I drove to school. The rain
against the windshield was the perfect distraction as I pointed my right
hand out over the dashboard and wiggled my fingers motioning the wipers
to “do their thing.” And, they did.
The children were fascinated as the wipers not only would wipe on command of my fingers, but also go faster and slower. After a few minutes, it was easy to get them in on the act with finger pointing and wriggling as well. As we all laughed for minutes on end, finally my eight year old daughter asked, “how are you doing this mommy, show me!” With a six year old son in the back seat still pointing and giggling, now wasn’t the time to spoil his fun. And, I didn’t.
How often does this happen when teaching our children about “how life works.”
Time after time we are conditioning our children about how to play the
game of life, while having fun, and they soon learn that things aren’t
always what they seem to be. Is it good or bad that our children learn
this lesson, that life isn’t always what it seems to be? It doesn’t
matter if what they are asking to learn about is good or bad, what is important
is that it is our responsibility to teach them the truth about life.
So, of course, since my daughter was asking about how the magic windshield
wipers were working, it was time for me to show her. And, I did.
|
OSU Extension embraces human diversity and is committed to ensuring that all educational programs conducted by Ohio State University Extension are available to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, age, gender identity or expression, disability, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, or veteran status.
Keith L. Smith, Associate Vice President for Agricultural Administration and Director, OSU Extension TDD No. 800-589-8292 (Ohio only) or 614-292-1868
Updated: July, 2006