Ahh, the smell of sweet, delicious food in the air. Wow, everyone’s sporting Harry Potter wardrobe on the streets. Whoa, there’s the castle; it looks so big! That’s right, I’m talking about Harry Potter World in Universal Studios. This past week I’ve been on a leadership conference in Orlando, FL, and I’ve been lucky enough to experience this awesome amusement park with friends in our free time.
It sounds strange, but while on the trip, I actually experienced a great campus leadership lesson in the amusement parks outside of the conference itself. While in the parks, I had some friends who were eager to ride the tallest, scariest roller coasters in the park; they were the thrill-seekers sitting in the front of the carts who put their hands in the air and screamed before the ride even started. I also had a few friends who like roller coasters, but wouldn’t risk their lives by putting their hands up in the air. Then, I had the friends who looked at the roller coasters, and said, “No thanks, you can catch me on the merry-go-round” (see image below.)
This made me think, “Wow everyone has their own comfort level when it comes to roller coaster rides.” It reminded me a lot of what I learned in Dance Floor Theory, where we see that the active, engaged members of a campus are at the center of the dance floor. In “Roller Coaster Theory”, we learn that the active, engaged members of a campus are the thrill seekers who put their hands up and scream “WOOOOOH!” So the question is, how do we become a 5 in the Roller Coaster Theory just as we would in Dance Floor Theory. How do we bring others to the center of the dance floor? How do we bring others to the front of the roller coaster to raise their hands and scream? How do we get them to feed their butterflies? How do we actively encourage those on our campus to get involved, thus building a community where everyone feels welcomed, connected, and engaged?
The answer: creating opportunities for x+1 moments, where each student increases their level of engagement by one level. How can you create x+1 moments as a campus leader? Here are a couple tips:
- Find out what their current level of engagement is: Some people go to Disney World because they enjoy the atmosphere, rides, and games. As a 5 in the front of the roller coaster, find out what they think about roller coasters, and why they may or may not like them. As a campus leader, find out why the person came to your college and what their interests are. This will help you actively engage that person based off of what they tell you.
- Encourage them to increase their level of engagement by 1: You see someone who has never ridden a roller coaster before in their life. Ask them to ride a basic roller coaster with no drops or flips. Make them go from “Meh” to “Hmm” by giving them a great first experience. Maybe they aren’t involved in any organizations on campus. Tell them about your campus organization, and ask them to attend the interest meeting where there’s free pizza and refreshments. When pizza is involved, the decision to attend a meeting is never a hard one.
By creating x+1 moments on your campus, you are not only building a community where everyone feels welcomed, connected, and engaged; you are also allowing others to be the one who builds that community one day. Remember, we all started as a 1 somewhere in life. At some point, we were the new student on campus who wasn’t involved in an organization. We were the friend at the amusement park who had never been on a roller coaster. Then one day, a friend asked us to try it, and now we sit at the front of the roller coaster, with our hands up, screaming “WHOOOO!”
