Leadership and Teambuilding
How We Work
This year, I lead a staff of 55 students over 3 class periods. Sadly, I am only able to be in one official yearbook class period, so managing the staff can be difficult at times. Through this leadership role, though, I have learned many key skills to be successful in leadership. One thing that every person needs is encouragement. I needed it from my family and advisor, and I knew my staff probably needed it too. They are human beings after all and yearbook isn’t ever a laid back class period. I found that many of the staff members decided to open up to me after a little bit of encouragement. With me telling them, “hey, I know this is out of your comfort zone, but you got this”, they realized I had faith in them. Due to the fact that there was only one Editor-in-Chief this year, my adviser and I were forced into the roles of good cop bad cop. While she would constantly nag at them about getting their work done, I would let them know how much I valued them as a staff member. Don't get me wrong, my adviser is literally the sweetest and most loving human in the world, but I was not fit to play the role of the disciplinarian. Through my words of encouragement, the staff members flourished with confidence and were able to grow as individuals. While some needed more than others, I saw not only myself encouraging each of them, but they would encourage each other and even me when they noticed I needed it. Just those few words brought us even closer as a staff.
Another thing that brought us closer was our unusual class schedule that placed lunch in the middle of our yearbook period. I would stay in the yearbook room and eat my lunch as I worked on the book. Slowly more and more of my staff members began eating in there as well. Now, we will bring in food and do potlucks, such as potato soup or Pizza Hut pizza. I think that through this experience, many of my staff members have seen me as a friend instead of the editor. We converse over foods we hate and those we love, while also just making conversation about life in general. At the beginning of the year, I thought having lunch in the middle of our period would only slow down our work, but now I see it has brought me much closer to many of my staff members.
Of course, would we be a staff if we didn't play games? One of the first things we always do as a new staff is a thumb war tournament. This is a simple and easy way for the staff members to get to know each other. Do they get embarrassed easily? Are they super competitive? Are they shy about starting or do they just go for it? These are important characteristics for certain roles on staff. We also do “Minute to Win It” games because they are so weirdly specific that when someone is really good at one, we can’t help but stand in awe. Sometimes, we even play table tennis or all sing along to Frozen. These goofy activities allow us to grow even closer to one another and develop relationships important for working on a team.
Another thing that brought us closer was our unusual class schedule that placed lunch in the middle of our yearbook period. I would stay in the yearbook room and eat my lunch as I worked on the book. Slowly more and more of my staff members began eating in there as well. Now, we will bring in food and do potlucks, such as potato soup or Pizza Hut pizza. I think that through this experience, many of my staff members have seen me as a friend instead of the editor. We converse over foods we hate and those we love, while also just making conversation about life in general. At the beginning of the year, I thought having lunch in the middle of our period would only slow down our work, but now I see it has brought me much closer to many of my staff members.
Of course, would we be a staff if we didn't play games? One of the first things we always do as a new staff is a thumb war tournament. This is a simple and easy way for the staff members to get to know each other. Do they get embarrassed easily? Are they super competitive? Are they shy about starting or do they just go for it? These are important characteristics for certain roles on staff. We also do “Minute to Win It” games because they are so weirdly specific that when someone is really good at one, we can’t help but stand in awe. Sometimes, we even play table tennis or all sing along to Frozen. These goofy activities allow us to grow even closer to one another and develop relationships important for working on a team.
Letters from Staff Members
On Madelyn Stout,
I have truly treasured my time on staff with Maddy. I could not have imagined a better partner in crime or a better friend than Maddy. She is talented, smart, strong willed, and creative. Without her, that yearbook wouldn’t have gotten finished. It’s impossible to count the number of nights where Maddy and I stayed late after school trying to meet deadlines. With her hard work and dedication, we were miraculously able to finish an award winning book. Even though Maddy had band and color guard practice among other educational and extracurricular activities, she still somehow made time to stay after school and work harder than anyone else. She would have rough days where she thought she couldn’t carry on anymore and she even told me she sometimes cried from the pressure of responsibility and the workload. Nevertheless, she continued to be the most valued member of our staff. I have had many friends and acquaintances come and go throughout my life, but none of them had an impact on me like Maddy did. I have always been particular about my skills and talents when compared to other people. I have always strived to be the best and thought that I had to be better than anyone else. Maddy is the only person I’ve met that I want to surpass me. I want her to grow and become better than she believes she can, better than I want her to be. And I know she is capable of doing this, even if she doesn’t. I truly am proud of Maddy and the work we have done together, but I am more proud when I think about what else she will accomplish in the future. Maddy is a rare type of person that has persevered and struggled through everything and actually came out on top; she is a born leader. She serves as an example of everything I want in a friend and a co-editor. Maddy is truly an
exceptional person and staff member and my highschool experience and life in general was improved just by knowing her.
Lovingly,
Michael Turcios
I have truly treasured my time on staff with Maddy. I could not have imagined a better partner in crime or a better friend than Maddy. She is talented, smart, strong willed, and creative. Without her, that yearbook wouldn’t have gotten finished. It’s impossible to count the number of nights where Maddy and I stayed late after school trying to meet deadlines. With her hard work and dedication, we were miraculously able to finish an award winning book. Even though Maddy had band and color guard practice among other educational and extracurricular activities, she still somehow made time to stay after school and work harder than anyone else. She would have rough days where she thought she couldn’t carry on anymore and she even told me she sometimes cried from the pressure of responsibility and the workload. Nevertheless, she continued to be the most valued member of our staff. I have had many friends and acquaintances come and go throughout my life, but none of them had an impact on me like Maddy did. I have always been particular about my skills and talents when compared to other people. I have always strived to be the best and thought that I had to be better than anyone else. Maddy is the only person I’ve met that I want to surpass me. I want her to grow and become better than she believes she can, better than I want her to be. And I know she is capable of doing this, even if she doesn’t. I truly am proud of Maddy and the work we have done together, but I am more proud when I think about what else she will accomplish in the future. Maddy is a rare type of person that has persevered and struggled through everything and actually came out on top; she is a born leader. She serves as an example of everything I want in a friend and a co-editor. Maddy is truly an
exceptional person and staff member and my highschool experience and life in general was improved just by knowing her.
Lovingly,
Michael Turcios
Madelyn Stout not only taught me and other staff members how a yearbook editor should act, but also how to act in any sort of leadership position. She showed us that even when times get stressful and deadlines get nearer, we need to remember that we are a family and everyone deserves to be respected throughout our journey as a staff. There was never a day where she wasn’t giving everything she has into the book and the staff. No matter what was happening in her personal life, Madelyn came to class ready to work her hardest.
Being able to work with Madelyn for the two years she was editor has given me so much more knowledge and confidence in everything I do. She’s not only an amazing leader, but also a great friend. I know that I can always contact her if I need to about anything. She’s pushed me to try different things with my photography and get better pictures overall. Madelyn has helped my confidence and shown me that I can do whatever I want to as long as I work at it. My first year on staff, she gave me the Photo Editor position. This helped me become a better leader and improve my communication skills. I hope that I can follow in her footsteps and be such a great leader in and outside of school.
Sincerely,
Addison Whitney
Being able to work with Madelyn for the two years she was editor has given me so much more knowledge and confidence in everything I do. She’s not only an amazing leader, but also a great friend. I know that I can always contact her if I need to about anything. She’s pushed me to try different things with my photography and get better pictures overall. Madelyn has helped my confidence and shown me that I can do whatever I want to as long as I work at it. My first year on staff, she gave me the Photo Editor position. This helped me become a better leader and improve my communication skills. I hope that I can follow in her footsteps and be such a great leader in and outside of school.
Sincerely,
Addison Whitney
Lesson Plan
This presentation was made to help the staff better understand story writing and to help correct some of our basic grammar errors.
Accountability Sheet
During my junior year, I found that it was hard to keep up with who was writing what caption and story. To solve this problem, I created something that I call the accountability sheet. This google sheet allows me and other section editors to better keep track of the tasks that need to be completed and the staff member responsible for each one. This holds both the editor and staff member responsible because the staff member must turn in the caption to get their name to be green, and the editor must change the name to green to keep Mrs. Sprague from getting on to both of them. I found that this makes everything more efficient and has become a vital aspect that allows the staff to function smoothly.