Ep. 123 – If You Want to Level Up Your Leadership This Year, Do These 5 Things!

This is the student leadership news podcast. Hello and welcome to the student leadership news podcast. My name is Jared and I'm here with Kira and Levi. Hello. It's good to have you guys on the podcast. Good to be here. It is good to be here. And today we're talking about how to be the best leader you can be this year. Because if you check the calendar, it's the start of a new year. Wow. Wow. Wow. So there's lots of exciting things coming especially for our students. Maybe they're stepping into a new grade. Maybe they're stepping into a role of leadership. Things that they haven't done before or maybe they've been leaders in the past and they're stepping forward with projects that they've got going. So we really want to orient you and help you to have the best year possible. And we've got some key tips to really help you to be successful this year. But I though it would start off with an icebreaker game. And the name of this icebreaker is who's more likely. So I have a series of 10 questions. All right. Between the three of us, we have to figure out this year who's more likely to. Okay. So do we want to say who we think? Yeah. What do we all decide on something? I think we just jump in. We just like, I'll ask the question and you guys just like put out your opinions and we just discuss it. Okay. Okay. So the first who's more likely to question is who's more likely to this year pick up a random new hobby? 100. Wow. I was going to say Jared, but me? I'm almost thinking Levi now. Well, I'm actually thinking you. Me? Yeah. I'm not going to care. What's your reasoning? Well, I haven't really decided I'm going with I think I'm going to go with Levi. I feel like you've been dabbling in a lot of new hobbies last year. And I feel like you're just going to send it this year and pick up something. You have picked up. Would you say cycling? Yeah, I feel like sure. And running. And running. Content creation. Yeah. Yeah. Levi might be pretty set on what he's got. Yeah. I already kind of have it. But there's so many other things you've said you want to do and I just feel like they're going to happen this year. What hobby would you pick up? Like modeling. Modeling? Yeah. Yeah. He's dabbled in that. Yeah, see? He said he would be any hobby. So I'm picking Levi. Well, there you go. Well, there you go. Okay. Fluttered. Who are you picking, Levi? I'm going to go with Kira. Yeah. Because I kind of don't actually know what you're hobby. I was actually just about to say I actually. I hope that I get a hobby this year. Like you've got a few things that you love doing, but like, you know, thanks Levi. Yeah. You've now motivated me to get a hobby. Go to it Kira. Go to it. Go to it. No, that's not what I said. No, maybe I should get a hobby. I think we'll get her into our hobbies. We'll just get her into triathlon. Yeah. Be full-fledged triathlete. I'll be taking her to a keen on that, to be honest. I'll come support. He's on the right. He's on the right. That's the thing I never are, till you try it. No, we're in the getting. You can buy me a bike if I'm doing that. Okay. We'll put a go for me for that. Great. Can't wait. That'd be interesting to see what you, what hobbies you pick up this year. We'll have to do it after the end of the year. I have no idea. Okay. The next two is more likely to, number two, is adopt a stray animal. Okay. I'm going to be so real. This is 100% Kira. It's 100%. I'm picking myself too. Yeah, that's a no. That's a no. Here's the kind of person to walk through a park, not for the park, not for the nature, because there's cute dogs. Yeah. Just like, I want to see the animals. I want to see the cute dogs. I'm looking for the dogs. Yeah. Yeah. And you would just bring one into the office. Guys, I got a bird. I got a pet. No, not birds. I don't like birds. I don't like birds. Sorry. Puppy. Yeah, we're a puppy. Or a hamster or something. Hamster. I don't even think they have those. This side of the world. An office hamster. An office hamster. Yeah. A little lizard. Um, okay. The next one. Who's more likely to forget someone's birthday? I'm going Levi for sure. Yeah. I'm going to jump on that train. I'm thinking Levi's probably the type of guy to forget his own birthday. What? That's big. That is a big time. No, I actually don't think Levi forgets his birthday. I don't know if I was like everybody. I don't know if I don't. Come around. It's his favorite day of the year. He's going to forget that big time. Okay. The next one is. Yeah. What? That's big. Okay. The next one is. Become famous. Interesting. Look, I'm going to be so honest. I think it's Levi. I think it's Levi too. Oh. Because he is already becoming famous on Instagram. I mean, he's getting hundreds of thousands of views on his pay. Oh, I'm sorry. He's lost if he gets into modeling too. Yeah. He had that modeling shoot. He's getting. He's getting. He's getting. Cycling influencer. What would you call yourself? I wouldn't call myself an influencer. Okay. I don't know. I do it for the fun of it and I enjoy doing it but it's cool. It's good time maybe pick up my new hobby Maybe I'll be really good at that and get famous. Wow Then you'll be famous. That is yeah Okay, I'm definitely not getting famous apparently Next one is win a reality TV show He's good. He's gonna go on like the chase or something Absolutely smash it out of the park know the questions to everything like I feel like if it's a social reality TV show you would you would so many people over yeah Everyone would love you. I think that I think that's a compliment and my Like a bull guy. Yeah Stuff it stuff it I like this. I spray I think I'm not gonna have a dance Absolutely embarrassed myself. I tried to do the worm like I did on stage one time and I'll stack it So I'm brushing for anyone listening the context is there's a crowd of about how many 200 people or more 400 Leave on our own stage and it's a dance off with a bunch of students and Then I'm like, you know what I'm gonna hit the worm and the whole crowd is like yeah, it's doing the worm And I got so excited that I jump into it But I jumped too far and what was supposed to be a worm turned into a scorpion And I sum a salted and stacked it on my back on stage in front of all these people It was so funny and nobody knew whether to laugh or be worried Yeah, of course you Okay, the next one is number six win the biggest drama King slash Queen award I think that says it all I think that says it all really do you think I'm a drama queen well No, I don't want to start any drama I love it. I don't think you are but I think more than jargon Yeah, like leave a night. I don't really will go write our bucks and forget about it We're not really worried. I'll say me as well. Yeah, compared to you guys for sure. Yeah, we don't get very anxious It's okay. I'll take it. Okay, the next one is completely changed up their fashion style. I'm going jargon. Oh Yeah, I'm going jargon. I'm gonna cut some hard one. Yeah. What do you say me? Well, I just feel like you're the type of guy to do that. Yeah, I have been in Melbourne recently I did buy a leather jacket the other day And I've switched it up. I did wear a scarf once I haven't stuck with the scarf, but I did I don't think I've ever worn a scarf for the sake of fashion Really this guy did my girlfriend liked it. Well, there you go big time Yeah, I reckon you'd be the first person to change up your whole style. Yeah, I'll back it. Yeah, it's well done Yeah, yeah, all right the next one is have regular fitness challenges. I mean I Mean I think that's Levi and I Well, I'm gonna go jargon more than I think so. Yeah, really well just because last year you had so many Different like different ones marathon cycling like all this stuff. Yeah, like you're very Inspired by like challenging yourself physically. Yeah, and I like motivated by that. I like an event calendar I like events to train for and I think it makes you feel really good when you achieve physical Challenges. Yes, that makes sense. I do love it. Okay. I'll take that take it all right number nine is get everyone on the team lost again Hey, hey, I wasn't looking at anyone, but I'm gonna say cute. Hey, I was looking at Kira He's honing up to it Yeah, guys, I'm gonna go with me as well. I think you do have good Directional ability to function a GPS system Yeah, Google maps, but there was one time where we Kira and I where were we we were in some town in Australia and we had walked probably about 200 minutes from out hotel It was lit up completely and it was one turn that we had to take and Kira's like, oh, how do we get home? And I'm like, you know what Kira? I trust you show me the way home No And Kira started by walking the complete opposite direction So I don't and when turning her around she then took a wrong left to walk down there for about 50 meters until I turn her back around And then she still didn't find it until I guided her to the corner where the motor was which is okay Because it was off memory, but This is a true story. It is I hate to admit, but I just feel like I'm I don't really take observation of my surroundings And yeah, really bad with direction. You're just too busy bringing the vibes 100% yeah, that's fair enough. Yeah, I am very much like I always need to know where I am and I'm like a Jeep I'm like a GPS guy like I like knowing roads I don't think I can make a generalization. I just know as for me personally There you go. That's why we picked it Okay, that was that was good to for the new year It's more likely and maybe we can check back at the end of the year to see who did those things Yeah, and so we have five real practical tips to basically help you to be the best leader you can be this year I'm gonna start off with the first point So let's go start it is get comfortable being uncomfortable Oh, and I love that this is the first point because I feel like this is the real foundation of becoming a great leader Because we all know that leadership isn't easy all the time and sometimes it does mean trying something new Especially if you are a new leader or you've stepped into a new role There's gonna be a lot of new things that you've never done before which means getting out of your comfort zone and just doing the thing Whether it's speaking up in front of people or taking on responsibilities that feel a little bit scary But if you want to make the most impact possible you do have to get comfortable getting out of your comfort zone Even if it feels a little bit scary or hard or you've never done it before you just you just have to do it Because unfortunately a lot of leaders stay in their comfort zone and in doing that they don't reach their own Their own potential and they don't make as much impact because I guess they just let fear get in the way. Yeah, yeah So that feeling of being uncomfortable and stepping out of your comfort zone actually means you're growing So it's actually a really good sign if you are feeling uncomfortable in your leadership Yeah, and I even reflect on last year for me I did a couple of a few things that really made me uncomfortable like I said like you're talking before about the goals that I was sending of a marathon and And like those were actually really uncomfortable moments moments where I wanted to give out I didn't want to keep going But those are some of the most pivotal or most growth-insighting moments that I had in the past in that the past year of 2025 so I think for me I think it's that that's just talking about my personal growth my personal goals But I think as a leader when I reflect back in being in school For many of the initiatives that I got to run it was uncomfortable inviting people to it It's uncomfortable approaching teachers and coming up with no ideas It was uncomfortable having to have group discussions and trying like leadership Is uncomfortable a lot of the time when you're making a real difference? So if you are thinking this year is going to be my most comfortable year ever I think you're not going to have much of an impact on school. Yeah, and I don't always say That's why not everyone wants to be a leader because they know they're going to be out of their comfort zone It's not for everyone. Yeah, right? So you've got to expect that if you are stepping up into a leadership role Yes, and that's not just tell anyone that it has to be uncomfortable all the time There are fun moments there are good moments But just make sure you're stretching yourself to get the maximum growth and impact. Yeah, definitely And the second Second point is listen and learn from others. That is good. Listen and learn No leaders know everything a big part of being a leader is paying attention to people around you and learning from that Get this willingly asking for feedback from others to a great way to grow Yeah, willingly asking for feedback. You're wanting to grow. You're listening to people around you Yeah, where you're going forward Ask questions watch what teachers coaches or even older students do What works what doesn't and leadership is like a puzzle you need all of the pieces Maybe someone is greater keeping people motivated maybe someone's great or someone another person is amazing at organizing Take notes and always be open to learning from others. Yeah, I love that I think that's a good analogy used because you don't know what you don't have and to complete the puzzle of leadership If you just I can imagine if I was trying to make a puzzle and I had a quarter of the pieces Would be clueless. I get frustrated. You'd be pulling your hair out I think some leaders some leaders do that now like so frustrated. Why can I figure this leadership thing out? It's because they're not actually approaching others whether that's teachers They respect or whether that's other leaders that have gone before them being like what am I missing? What can I learn from them? What can I grow in it's like their eyes are down where you just have a look up and see what's around you see what you can use Yes, yes, and I think a lot of the times People can see it as a sign of weakness to be asking other people for advice or asking for lessons from people But really it's like you're probably going to limit your growth in your leadership if you aren't asking other people Because there's always going to be people who are more experienced in what you're doing or have done it before And that's okay like the best thing you can do is ask them for help so that you can Then start off on as good of a foot as you can you don't know what you don't know. So you have to ask that's awesome Number three is to lead on behalf of others And I think it's so important this one because you're not in a leadership role for yourself Yeah, it's not just about what you can get out of leadership You're there to lead your school and to lead on behalf of others So it's not about just doing things your way It's about doing what's best for your school and the people around you And sometimes that means that you have to make an effort to listen to what others need And what the needs are at your school So being a leader is about making this impact even if it's small things that people talk about they're like we just Are really struggling with this at our school and We feel like no leaders before it have even tried to take on this idea If you can be that leader that says no, I'm not just leading to to enforce my will or to do the things that I think are best But you go no, I'm actually going to listen to what people have been saying really need to change in this school And see how we can be the leaders that are the ones that listen that are the ones that lead on behalf of others And make difference in those things that are really needed in school Because when we go around and talk to so many different schools, it's funny I'll talk to them. I'll be like what's needed at your school And they will talk about how students Have sometimes frustrations that have been ongoing for years And it's because maybe leadership groups come through And they don't listen to the problems that have been happening at their school They just do the things. Oh, we think running a basketball game will be fun. And that's all we want to do All they just do stuff that the last few years have done and all this works well like yeah Thinking about the real needs of the other people in their school Exactly, and they might even be leading on behalf of themselves rather than leading on behalf of others So that's why I think it's so important to have conversations with others to build connection and trust to make others feel included And listen to what is needed at your school to lead on behalf of others Yeah, absolutely love that and we've got tip number four Which is learn and grow from mistakes which kind of fits in I feel like with the Listen to others and learn from their feedback Kind of fits in with that But knowing that when you do make mistakes in leadership because let's be honest There's probably going to be a fair few mistakes that you'll make and that's actually not a bad thing Yeah mistakes happen and that's okay Even the best of best leaders make mistakes all the time And I think it's something that's actually not really talked about as much as it should be in leadership like We often see the end result of someone's journey and we don't see all the mistakes and the failures that they've had For the truth is they wouldn't have got to that final outcome if they didn't have all those lessons and failures along the way So the trick is to treat your mistakes as lessons and not failures So just know that every time you are making a mistake You're actually just growing and improving for next time and if a plan doesn't go the way that you wanted wanted it to Ask yourself what can I do differently next time reflect on your mistakes and then improve for next time So maybe if you tried organizing a school event and it didn't go perfectly It's not the end. It's just a chance to get better and and stronger and really reflect on them what you can do better for next time Yeah, it's really good and I think at this point they're entering into the year if they can set their expectations right now They expect mistakes they expect setbacks that when they come they can say oh no Uh Jared Gira Levi they told me they said this was gonna happen there would be setbacks. So wow So it's okay. It's okay. I knew this was gonna happen We can keep moving forward rather than throwing your hands up and thinking oh we failed as a leadership team Made a mistake about this done and I think a lot of the times or I know for me anyway like the idea of Quotum Quote failing has stopped me from doing a lot of things and I think if you can have the mindset that actually mistakes are a good thing You kind of want to try more things and get involved with more things because you know that mistakes I just a part of the journey and they help you grow. Yes One thing I will say though is don't dismiss your mistakes if you do genuinely make a mistake as a leader It's important that you exemplify owning your mistakes to other leaders So that if you have done something wrong or you haven't held up your your part or done the work necessary That you show other leaders that you're willing to improve and learn just like you Just like you show that builds trust Build relationships and yeah And tip number five moving on is focus on being consistent and not perfect. That is good Consistency over perfection wins every day Leadership isn't about getting it right all the time. It's about showing up and doing your best every day Even if it's just in small ways throughout the day. Yeah, it doesn't have to be big things The best leaders are the ones who keep trying Keep trying keep learning and keep showing up for others Consistency builds trust And keeps momentum If you wait to be perfect you'll be waiting forever. I think that's so good. Yeah, I think it's like The tortoise in the hair right? I think there's some leaders that are the hair they run really quicker the start of the year They said And then just by the first term or halfway through the year that like I'm done with leadership This is too hard to fit and they give up like the hair as a nap gives up right? But if you're just a consistent leader that if you just have the art of showing up that every day Every meeting you show up even when you're not feeling it even when you've got a lot in your plate you to show up You don't have to be perfect You can be vulnerable about things that you're working through or the workload that you have but you keep showing up throughout the year You're gonna be like that tortoise and you're gonna finish the year well Yep, I agree And I think a little bonus point I have with all of that is a lot of that there's quite serious stuff But I want to remind the listeners to have fun Like leadership gets to be fun And I remember my years of leadership and I can have I remember having some of the most fun moments of all of my schooling of maybe my whole life Just doing things with my mates where maybe it's a swimming carnival cheering for our friends or we did this color on and I'm throwing like Ex or I don't even know We were like yeah, do not do not condone this but we're like throwing eggs at each other and like We'll cover it Do not try this and you know just doing fun stuff like we once had this like Christmas Carolina runs like jamming out of this Christmas music and all the teachers are dancing like It was actually low key Leadership was one of my most fun was one of the most fun things about school And I think the best part is because you're doing it with a team as well like it's always more fun with other people It's because you're not just doing it alone. You're doing it with your team So I feel like really utilize your team and the year is I know it's a bit cringe, but like the year is literally what you make it Yes exactly Exactly. Yeah, and it will be challenging there'll be times where you have to put in the work But if you haven't added you to fun throughout it you're gonna end up reflecting and being like it was so worthwhile doing Leadership. Yeah, that was awesome. Yeah core memories right? Core men So that was five ways to be the best leader you can be this year. I would encourage you now that we've said these five things I think things that are not reflected on will be forgotten So I encourage you as a listener write these down and review them in six months time to see how you're going with them Because you don't want to be like the hair that just forgets about them Just runs quick and then gives up on leadership We want you to be a consistent leader that does the year well And so we hope these five tips have helped you To be the best leader you can possibly be this year Love it love it. It was easy to find me doing this with you guys. I'll see you on the next episode Bye-bye Thanks for listening to the Student Leadership news podcast Interact with us on social media and follow the news online at studentleadership.News