#🌲 #🟢 [[Forge & Fabricate Leadership]] << [[Materials with leadership properties|Materials]] # Leadership is about the process ![[calendar-plus.svg]] <small>Nov 06, 2022</small> | ![[calendar-clock.svg]] <small>Jan 03, 2023</small> 🏷️ [[Leadership MOC]] This project reminds me, on a much smaller and more individualized scale, of a community leadership program I was part of almost a decade ago. After completing a 3-month leadership training program our group had to identify, design and implement a project in our community using the leadership skills we had learned. The motto our facilitator kept emphasizing was “It’s about the process, not the project.” The design and materials of the earrings I created are not the only parts of this project that are symbolic of the leadership styles we’ve been studying. The process of coming up with a vision and seeing it through to completion mirrored the experience of leading through change. My initial vision for this pair of earrings was more elaborate and complicated. Instead of getting locked in to that idea I sought advice and perspective from my father. He is the one who introduced me to jewelry and metalsmithing and we have been taking a studio class together for nearly fifteen years. With the help of his insight, I recognized the need to adapt my vision to fit the resources, time and skills I had available to me. Rather than scrapping the whole design and starting from scratch, I practiced [[adaptive change]] by determining what was essential to preserve from my original design, what could be eliminated, and how I could adapt my methods to be successful (Heifitz et al., 2009). Even though I simplified my design, there were still parts of this project that were very challenging. I knew my weaknesses well enough to ask for help and guidance from my father, who is more experienced. I experimented with solutions to one challenge that was both technical and adaptive: how to connect the earwire to the back of the bezel setting without melting it, while making the connection strong enough to hold the other elements? So, I tried using a spot welder to connect the pieces. While I had some success, the result wasn’t strong enough to hold and I ended up needing to solder after all. <span class = "rightimg">![[Soldering_sm.jpg|200]]</span>Soldering is a very tricky process, especially when you are working with small wires and jump rings. You have to heat the metal enough so that the solder will flow, but not so much that your piece will melt. It’s a lot like the adaptive leadership concept of keeping the temperature within the [[productive zone of disequilibrium]]. Luckily, I managed the heat and successfully soldered two earwires and two jump rings without melting anything. I really appreciated the opportunity to design and create these earrings. The COVID-19 pandemic shut down the class my dad and I take every term at our local community college. It’s been over a year since I have made anything. I hadn’t realized how much I’ve missed that creative outlet, and I loved the chance to work with my dad again in his studio. Not only will I remember this experience every time I wear this pair of earrings, but they will also serve as a reminder of the kind of leader I aspire to be. ## Sources [[The Theory Behind the Practice - Heifitz et al. 2009]]