Archive for the ‘Blog’ Category
Posted on: June 11th, 2016 by Ruth-Ann Shantz
A couple of weeks ago I graduated from Bluffton University with my MBA. On Wednesday I finished my final class so I guess that means…I’m done! It has been an honor and a privilege to be a part of the graduating class of 2016.
I never thought I would go back to university after my first year, but in the fall of 2010 I embarked on an educational journey that has been transformational.
I have been asked the question lately by many people, Why Bluffton? Quite frankly, I looked at a number of universities but as an adult you don’t quite fit into the traditional university box. I hadn’t done well academically in high school so my transcript didn’t read – pick me! I also knew I didn’t want to work at this university “project” for 10 years. Bluffton provided me with a clear path to graduation.
To shed my modesty, when I graduated with my undergraduate degree in 2014 I had been on the honor roll each semester and I graduated with a 3.94 GPA. I was inducted into the honorary society, Phi Delta, which promotes high standards of scholarship. This accomplishment is recognized as an incredible achievement and for me, will stand forever as one of my proudest moments!
During my graduation weekend in Bluffton, I sat quietly on this bench. I sat for a long time and reflected on my five and a half year experience of completing my undergrad and MBA degrees. As my fingers traced the words on the back of the bench I thought about the phrase “it’s all about relationships”.
Two stories come to mind when I think about relationships.
When I sat in the Director of Adult & Graduate studies office at Bluffton back in 2010 I knew I had found my educational home. I recall the adviser stating that there was good news and bad news when he reviewed my transcript. The good news was that I received 6 credit hours of transferable credit from my past university experience. The bad news was that I only received 6 credit hours of transferable credit from my university experience. That being said, I had a lot of work to do in order to complete the 124 credit hours required to graduate. At my MBA graduation, the Director commented on how pleased he was that I persevered and put in the work required to complete both my undergraduate degree and my MBA. I told him that Bluffton invested in a relationship with me that very few others were prepared to do because I wasn’t a traditional student but an adult who had a strong desire to obtain a university education. Yes indeed, its’ all about relationships!
At about the same time as I started university, my dear friend Anne bought Revel Café in Stratford, Ontario. For Anne, it’s all about relationships and doing the right thing, even when no one is watching. Anne has embraced her community both locally and globally. She has opened up her Revel home as a place for friends to gather and connect and provides a creative space for artists to share of their talents. Revel has a direct trade coffee relationship in Nicaragua and with her roasters at Las Chicas del Café. She connects directly with local farmers and producers – not because it is easy or inexpensive but because it is the right thing to do. For me, Anne lives out every day, “It’s all about relationships”.
In my leadership development work with youth and young adults they continue to talk about the importance of knowing that they matter and the significance of creating healthy relationships. As those who are tasked with leading it is imperative that we continue to find ways to do the right thing when no one is looking, to emphasize authentic leadership and personal formation and to nurture our communities to be resilient, collaborative and sustainable.
In my final class the words of Parker Palmer where shared with us:
A leader is a person who has an unusual degree of power to project on other people his or her shadow or his or her light. As a result a leader must take special responsibility for what is going on inside him or her. Less the act of leadership create more harm than good.
What I know for sure…we can all look for ways to project our light and continue to be mindful that it’s all about relationships!
Posted on: March 30th, 2016 by Ruth-Ann Shantz
This past weekend I had the opportunity to spend time with my extended family. We ate together, laughed together and played together. I realized in that moment that I am in a unique place right now where both my parents are still with me and therefore, I am both a parent and a child. As a parent, it occurred to me that my mom and dad still love me the way I love my own children – and that will never change.
Being able to still see both sides, I am aware that family relationships are about give and take and a mysterious mix of the silly and the profound. Making an effort is what matters. Continuing to keep the family in the room so to speak, is what allows us to make genuine connections. Feeling connected to others is what gives our lives meaning and fuels our sense of belonging. That sense of connection speaks to our desire to identify with and feel a part of something bigger than ourselves. So…at the core, family relationships are about cultivating that worthiness in order for each person to become wholehearted.
Living from a place of wholeheartedness means:
Always pay attention. Paying attention says – I am interested in what you are doing.
Having a ‘date night’ with your family and making family a priority.
Finding opportunities to celebrate and be grateful.
Going on family vacations and actually wanting to be there.
Realizing a parent will be a parent forever.
Being vulnerable and courageous in order to show up and be seen.
Giving hugs to everyone in the family on a daily basis. Hugs are a way of showing love.
Treat people in your family the way you would want to be treated.
Love is unconditional and something that can always be counted on.
What I know for sure…It seems to me that our truest core value is to actually feel valued in our relationships. Deeper than any other human need is our desire to know and believe that we matter. When we connect as both parent and child it is then where meaningful things truly happen.
Posted on: February 23rd, 2016 by Ruth-Ann Shantz
Imagine if you could talk to your teenage self and more importantly, wouldn’t it be amazing if your 
teenage self would listen! What would you say? What would be the important things you would want to reflect upon and share?
I would want to remind myself – Life isn’t about what happens to you, but how you react to it. You will have some challenging times in your life. It could be a traumatic event, the death of someone really close to you or a family incident that takes a long time for your heart to heal. It is really OK to be discouraged and angry but don’t let those feelings consume you, be patient with yourself and surround yourself with people who care. Let these challenges shape you but not define you.
I would want to tell myself – mistakes will happen. Your job is to pay attention when a mistake is made. Apologize to those who need an apology and move on. The reason you want to pay attention is because, often the same mistake will happen until you learn otherwise. Nothing will ever leave you until it gives you what you need.
I would want to repeat over and over to myself that meaningful friendship matters. Friendship is about quality, not quantity. Surround yourself with friends who show up, pay attention and care for you because you are you. It takes time to create friendships and work to sustain them.
I would want to remind my younger self to just accept that you are on a journey. You can look back and say, “If I knew what I know now” but from experience, that still probably won’t change your choices. Think of life as stepping stones. Make sure the stones underneath your feet are stable and then begin to walk.
I would want to reach out to my teenage self and say – Don’t ask “What do I want to be when I grow up?” instead ask “Who do I want to be?” Who you are is defined by the struggles you are willing to fight for. Figure out your values in order to help guide your choices and behaviors. Find ways to be collaborative, to empower others and to build people up instead of tear them down.
I would encourage my teenage self to find ways to give back. Find organizations that resonate with you and that are making a difference. Remember places that were instrumental in helping you become the person you are today – your school, sports organizations, church, camp, theatre groups or clubs. Don’t forget them as you grow older. There are so many organizations that are doing good things and there are several different ways to be involved – give of your time, your talents or your money. In fact, I would suggest you should do all three!
What I know for sure…If I was talking to my teenage self, my final piece of advice would be to never lose sight of the importance of being authentic. Discover who you truly are and then have the courage to show up and be you.
Posted on: February 17th, 2016 by Ruth-Ann Shantz
“I pledge to explore and take into account the social and environmental consequences of any job I consider and will try to improve these aspects of any organizations for which I work.”
This is the pledge I took when I graduated from university and I was reminded the other day that I will get another opportunity to affirm this pledge when I gradate in May with my MBA. As part of the pledge there is an opportunity to wear a green ribbon during the graduation events signifying that you have signed the pledge. Since 1987, the Graduation Pledge of Social and Environmental Responsibility is offered at colleges and universities throughout the world. The Graduation Pledge Alliance states,
Instituting the Graduation Pledge gets at the heart of a good education and a good educational institution; Not only does it remind students of the ethical implications of the knowledge and training they received, but it can help lead to a socially conscious citizenry and a better world. In a sense then, the Graduation Pledge operates at three levels: students making choices about their employment; schools educating about values and citizenship, rather than only knowledge and skills; and the workplace and society being concerned about more than just the bottom line.
Where it’s all going and whether it will make a difference is anybody’s guess – I guess it is up to those who participate to make that decision. At Pathway Leadership Group I want to live the business out of my values so I am super excited that I have created a Learning Opportunity during reading week to spend time in Costa Rica at Nacientes Palmichal. The community of Palmichal and the surrounding communities have developed sustainable local policies to put sustainable development into action. This has enabled the water surrounding Palmichal and the communities beyond to also be protected. The springs have recovered thanks to natural regeneration and the planting of trees. This has turned the water basin into an open environmental classroom where students and neighbors can learn about sustainable natural resources, get to know conservation practices and share those resources with the wider community.
The Learning Journey will provide an opportunity to see firsthand: (a) the importance of satisfying the needs of one community before being able to look outside to others; (b) that environmental sustainability often starts with just one person, with one idea and can spread and (c) that children can become a catalyst for others in the community.
What I know without a doubt…anything of significance often starts with the idea of one or two people. I suspect there are ways that you are already being socially conscious as you live out your values of social or environmental awareness at your school, in your community or where you work.
Posted on: January 25th, 2016 by Ruth-Ann Shantz
In High School I wasn’t a very good student. I looked for ways to avoid studying and since I had many other gifts and talents I procrastinated on my studies. Ironically, in my final year of High School I used athletics as an escape from some difficult parts of my life and I failed a course because I didn’t put enough effort into my schooling. This put me in a position where I wasn’t able to graduate with all of my friends because I didn’t have enough course credits. Doors closed because of this failure, athletic scholarships were taken away and the pursuit of playing varsity basketball or track dried up. That was a really low point in my life – lots of embarrassment and self-doubt. Luckily, I went back to High School for one semester and got the course that I needed and I was accepted into University the following September. I was thrilled to enter the world of academia and to be accepted because it made me feel adequate. While I enjoyed the social part of my University year I hadn’t chosen the right courses and I was not engaged in my learning. During this year I also experienced a personal trauma and this made me unable to continue my studies.
For many years I thought that formal education was out of my reach. I watched those around me obtain their university and college degrees and go on to pursue higher learning but I never imagined that I would have the same opportunity.
Five years ago I was at a turning point in my life. I suspect the turning point had much to do with watching my dear friend die of a brain tumor. In the early days of her illness we talked about lost opportunities, about the various paths that we had chosen and we ruminated over Robert Frost’s poem, “The Road Less Travelled”. My friend suggested that maybe I needed to choose a new path and part of that path should include completing my university degree. Going back to pursue my education was a tough decision because there had been lots of pain and failure involved with university. Often we obsess over perfection and we want to get it right the first time and we aren’t willing to “go back into the arena”. Surprisingly, when I started university again, it was magical. At Bluffton University I met a fantastic cohort of people who embraced me and became both my friends and my classmates. My professors were authentic individuals who taught me to think critically and I wrote a lot of essays and my writing became cathartic.
What I know for sure…we all have opportunities to choose different paths in life. Sometimes a decision seems straight forward and other times it feels overwhelming. For me, the decisions that have made the most impact on my life have been the ones where I didn’t choose easy. After my friend’s death, I had Robert Frost’s poem made into a plaque and I continue to live out these words – “two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference”.
Posted on: January 3rd, 2016 by Ruth-Ann Shantz
If you are reading this blog it means that my website has launched and I am on my way to my next adventure. Welcome to Pathway Leadership Group! Do you ever wonder what you should be doing with your life and if you are on the right path? You might say it took me awhile to get to where I am today. I believe that every different path I took and every choice has landed me right where I need to be. If I can give you a tip it would be to think of your own life as a really awesome adventure.
My adventure includes creating Pathway Leadership Group because I am intrigued with leadership development. I also love working with youth and young adults who have stepped up and want to lead. Youth and Young Adults have an amazing ability to show up, to ask questions and to be all in. We are living in changing times and being a leader at any stage of life has become noisy. Media and pop culture is telling us who are important people, what values we should aspire to and who should be central in our life. My worry is that we are starting to define ourselves as leaders based on a set of criteria that has been superimposed upon us instead of focusing on what is most important which is to be bold and courageous leaders.
Pathway Leadership Group believes that great leaders do the right thing. Leaders inspire people. They challenge the way things are. They dream about new possibilities. Leaders are innovators who find ways to develop and lead in order to vision the future. When you live and lead on purpose you will be transformed – welcome to the adventure!
Ruth-Ann Shantz, Pathway Leadership Group
