OPINION: Student Parking Improvements Require A Leader

 

(Source: via Flickr)

This week, I adjured The Student Government Association to take two steps before the semester's end to address student complaints about parking: address whether to raise the parking citation fine and whether to reinstate the volunteer faculty & staff remote parking shuttle. My full speech is available here.

I thank Vice President Robert Carnes who led a discussion about the parking fine later in the meeting. 

Senators had a lot to say in support of a parking fine increase. Multiple members also suggested solutions for how to address unauthorized parking. However, change happens through leadership. It is important to realize that someone must now take responsibility for the change he wants to see. Otherwise, the change senators want to see in the parking fine will likely fall through the cracks and SGA will end its semester without having taken meaningful action to improve students' parking experience. So, the parking situation needs a champion; and leadership is key. 

Notice how personal responsibility for a solution is how positive change happens. 

Consider how personal responsibility for a cause provides a team with clarity about roles and expectations. It prevents confusing many people's discussion about the issue with accountability for the issue. When someone takes responsibility for a change, then this person has an assigned role. "I am responsible," the leader thinks. A leader’s personal responsibility for a solution brings a group clarity and assigned roles. 

Secondly, personal responsibility for a change also creates action. When a leader accepts responsibility for a change, then there are inherent measurements along the way that motivate action from the leader. As guru Stephen Covey said, "What gets measured, gets done." So, rather than having a group discussion that lacks commitment, which leads to inaction, a leader’s acceptance of personal responsibility for the change, and the measurements he encounters along the way, motivate him to act towards achievement.

Leadership provides clarity about roles and motivates action towards achievement. Leadership is how change happens. The first step of leadership is to take responsibility for a situation. This is what the parking citation fine (and every other student cause) needs: a leader who accepts responsibility for the change.

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Feature Image: Via Flickr. (Source unknown!)

 

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