With association conferences wrapped up and the International Career Development Conference right around the corner, many of us are reflecting on a successful year serving as a DECA leader, but how do you define that success? Is it finishing all the items within your Program of Leadership, or is it the successful completion of the year? Looking back on and defining your legacy is crucial to completing a term. It allows you to reminisce over the great memories and hard work you accomplished and find new ways to improve your leadership style.
When you look back at your year in review, you might be looking at the conferences you attended, the people you met or the memories you made. Looking back on the activities you participated in, the events you competed in and the people you met along the way is crucial to reflect on your term. Everyone’s DECA story is different. Whether you went to any and every conference this year or just to an association conference, only you can determine your legacy and how you view this chapter of your life moving forward.
You may also look at what you and your chapter or association accomplished this year. Were you the top MDA donor? Did your service projects have a successful outcome? You may look only at quantitative data, such as attendance numbers and level of engagement. Don’t forget to look at the qualitative data. This would be how your members felt about activities and if your members felt engaged and involved throughout the year. Both data sets can be used to build upon ideas and improve your leadership capabilities inside and outside of DECA.
While reflecting on your year, you can look at your leadership journey and see how you grew and how you can continue to grow and evolve your skills! You can look back on projects that may not have gone as well as you wanted or ideas you want to build upon to make projects better than the previous year. When you look back with an improvement mindset, you are determined to Get the Edge in leadership.
Congratulations on a successful year, and we can’t wait to see you at the International Career Development Conference in Orlando!
