 Greetings, welcome to Working Together on Think Tech Hawaii. I'm your host, Cheryl Crozier-Garcia, and on this show we talk about the impact of change on workers, the workplace, and the economy. One of the issues that we have been investigating in previous shows is entrepreneurship and how young entrepreneurs are choosing to start their own businesses, to create their own opportunities, and to work toward issues that they're passionate about in order to be positive contributors to society. And today's guest is yet another of those skilled entrepreneurs of the future. Todd Mackey is a co-founder of the Students Leadership Foundation, which is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide opportunities for students at all educational levels to reach and attain their full leadership potential. And today we're going to be talking about how we can support our future generations in developing the skills that they will need to replace the current generation of leaders. We invite you to join into the conversation. And you can do that by calling area code 415-871-2474, or if you like, you can tweet us at atthinktechhi. And so now, without further ado, please welcome Todd Mackey. Hi, Todd. Hello, thank you for having me today. Thank you for joining us. Tell us about what motivated you and your team of co-founders to start the Students Leadership Foundation and what you hope to accomplish within the communities where the foundation will have an impact. The motivation is really inherent, I believe, in the aspect that there's not a lot of good leadership coming out of our schools today. I look around and I think that being a student for so many years in the university setting, I've seen a lot of the students that come in. And I can see that there are certain aspects of leadership that are lacking. And truly, getting together with the co-founders, we developed a plan and essentially came up with an excellent idea to reach out to those students who are in need. The students that we're going to target as our prospective scholarship awardees will primarily be college students and university students. And that's where the development and the focus will begin. It'll also focus on developing the leadership traits and the students that are in later elementary school years, third, fourth, and fifth grade, as well as on through intermediate school. And after that, they'll be able to apply for scholarships when done with high school and then eventually hopefully go on to graduate school, which is where we would like to see all of our student leaders that come through the foundation. What about those who do not have an interest in professions that require a graduate degree? I mean, is there any reason why someone who wants to be a plumber when they grow up or do heavy machine operation, et cetera, is there any reason why they could not benefit from the programs that you are proposing? There's obviously a benefit for leadership. And a lot of it is personal. When you go into a particular program, like a trade school program, you're probably new to the environment. You don't know a lot about how to work your way around. And essentially, if you had somebody to follow and somebody to look up to and somebody to model the behaviors of a tradesman, then essentially you would be much better off in the end. And we're working on putting together a college and trade school focus that would essentially help out those focusing on motivation to get through the program, as well as the technical education, or the how-to. How-to leadership works really well for those that are basically going into those types of skills. And we're working on setting that up and ensuring that they have a way to get involved and active in clubs, even if it takes giving them scholarships so that they can participate in clubs and not have to, for instance, a journeyman would come and he would provide mentorship to all of these apprentices, or soon-to-be apprentices. And that would be an awesome opportunity for them to basically increase their skills tenfold other than just being in the classroom every day. Right. Now, two things that you mentioned that I'd like to touch on, if you don't mind. The first thing is, what did you observe was lacking in the next generations of leaders? What skills specifically did you notice in the university setting that students didn't appear to have, first? And second, how would you assess the success of leadership development in young leaders? I think that maybe saying that they're lacking in a particular leadership trait was maybe something that I'm not able to observe because my age difference at this time might share some kind of difference. Anyway, so the focus that we're trying to bridge is that gap between when they come out of high school and when they do go to college. And there's ways to communicate with these students so that you can understand what their needs are. And essentially, once we give them the assessments and the opportunity to apply to these particular scholarships and then find out where their needs are, then we can better determine where they're lacking. And if I would say that I saw something lacking, it was more or less the active ambition for them to get involved in student activities on campus. I can't say for what they do off campus. Maybe they have their own things that they like to do. But I think that if you get engaged and you're active on campus in different organizations, then you can really show that I'm eager and I'm willing to learn not only from the classroom, but also from those that have been in leadership positions before me. So it sounds as though you are making a positive correlation between involvement in campus life or student life type activities and leadership potential. And I have to admit that when we look at people who are accepted leaders, government officials, people like that, we often find that they were very, very deeply involved in campus life type activities. But what do you do for the college student who is like me back in the day, who had to work in order to pay tuition and meet the other expenses of an undergraduate education? And because of the need to work so many hours at such low pay to finance my education, I simply didn't have time to get involved in anything that was over and above what was expected of me in terms of my major. So how do you address that situation for the kid from a working class family who is working rather than joining, I don't know, the Rotoract Club or becoming a member of Toastmasters or something like that? Well, we are definitely seeking to develop those with ambition and potential, not only in extracurriculars but also in the classroom. So that would be our first signal point saying, hey, these guys are A students. They deserve and they're willing to show that they're going above and beyond the norm. Really, if you still consider a B or C student the norm, then these A students are what we're looking for. And that's in regards to their potential. In regards to their ambition, that's them wanting to step out and get involved in these extracurricular activities. What is it that their drive is? Where is their passion lie? And that's generally where they're going to say, hey, I would like to join this club. I would like to participate in this certain endeavor. But I don't have the wherewithal right now. I have to go to work every day. I have to pay my tuition. And then not only that, my rent is due next week. And I'm barely scraping enough money off the carpet. So here they are and they're in need. So we have need-based students that are essentially looking and seeking to develop their skills. We, on the other hand, as a student's leadership foundation, would value that. We value that type of that need. And we would actually look into providing for these students the opportunity for them to apply and be granted certain scholarships that might cover their entire needs so that they don't have to go to work, essentially to evade participating in these classroom activities and extracurriculars. Where were you in the early Jurassic period when I was going through my undergraduate program? Because I would have loved needs-based as well as merit-based scholarships that would have enabled me to become more deeply involved in campus life. I mean, I was there at all of the events, but I was the one selling the hot dogs or serving cocktails or taking the tickets at the door, that kind of thing. And I would have loved to have participated in a more active way in whatever was going on on campus. So I think that being able to provide those opportunities for students and subsidize them, essentially, what you do is you build a job description that says, your job is student. And the essential job functions are that you will succeed in your classes making the grades that are necessary to continue to receive merit-based funding, A. But B, you will become involved and pay forward what you're receiving in scholarships by being active within the club of your choice, where the club's multiple of your choice. It's an enormous opportunity. And I think it creates a sense that even kids who might have thought that a university education was beyond what they could envision, it makes it possible for them to see that they really can become whatever a college graduate is, whatever we're supposed to be. You made another statement that I found particularly interesting when you said that someone of your age perhaps wasn't able to really recognize the shortcomings in leadership development among the younger generation. Now, you're not that old. You're a young guy. So is there a difference, an appreciable one, between folks, say, who are currently in their 20s, which is the tail end of the millennial generation, and you? Because you're relatively, I'm guessing, at the beginning of the millennial generation. Is there a big difference in the way you are socialized, in the way you were taught values, et cetera? I think so. And a lot of it might have to deal with the upbringing and how we were raised in a certain generational scheme of life. And me, I still had a dial telephone where you could dial. And it was a circled dial. So you'd stick your finger in there and push it around until? I still have a rotary dial phone. Does it work? Yes, it does. What a surprise. When you call me and I pick up the phone, I am speaking to you on a rotary dial phone. Serious. And actually, the reception is better than any cell phone I've had, any touch tone phone I've had, the current computerized phones. Rotary phones are the bomb. So I don't see any reason to change it. And that brings up another point when we talk about change, because technology is moving faster than certainly folks like me, who are dinosaurs, can keep up. And I'm guessing that folks of your generation, that first wave of millennials, are more able to deal with rapid change, but are still finding challenges in some aspects. Whereas the tail end of the millennial generation is just embracing all of it. They want to swap out their iPhones every single year. They want to download and upgrade their apps on their phones and things like that. How does that help to really prepare that generation for what they will experience as leaders in the community? I think it's when you look at the elder generation that came before us and the way that they utilized today's technology. The hard part is, as a millennial or as a younger student, is communicating to that elder generation that, hey, this is how this is supposed to be used. This is the best way to go about using this technology. And it's very difficult as a student to communicate maybe to your professor that, hey, this is the way that I do this. This is my way of going about instead of sitting there on a computer typing with my hands, I'm going to just verbalize into the microphone and let the computer type for me. So there's different ways that are being generated to this day that is difficult for others in our previous generations to grasp. And for the younger students and the younger generations that are coming up to be able to communicate how and why it's essential for us to embrace this change is probably one of the hardest aspects that I think is lacking and that I've seen lately. So I think what I'm hearing you say is that probably the most fundamental aspect of leadership development is that senior people need to model the expected behaviors for the younger ones to see and observe and then embrace. What do you do then in an environment where we have, for example, I was telling you earlier the story of a particular elementary school where they have a Cub Scout troop, but they don't have a committed leader to lead that troop. So instead, the rule for participation is that every Cub Scout's parents need to chair one meeting with one activity that meets the standards for Cub Scout merit badges and things like that. So those kids would normally be receiving pretty good leadership training at the hands of the troop leader, the dead mother, the adult scouting person. These boys don't get that. They don't see someone taking the responsibility and then running with it. So how do we overcome that? And what could the Student Leadership Foundation do? Think about it. We will be back in 60 seconds. I know, cruel, isn't it? This is working together on Think Tech Hawaii. It'll be great. Aloha. I'm Carl Campania. I hope you please visit us this summer. It's a wonderful summer. It's actually a cooler summer than we're used to. But I hope that you come back and visit us and watch our show, Education Movers, Shakers, and Reformers here on Think Tech Hawaii. It's at noon every Wednesday. See you then. Aloha. My name is Danelia, D-A-N-E-L-I-A. And I'm the other half of the duo, John Newman. We are the co-hosts of Keys to Success, which is live on Think Tech Livestreaming Network series weekly on Thursdays at 11 AM. Aloha. Aloha. Hello. This is Martin Desping. I want to get you excited about my new show, which is Humane Architecture for Hawaii and Beyond. We're going to broadcast on Tuesdays, 5 PM, here on Think Tech Hawaii. Hi, again. Welcome back to Working Together on Think Tech Hawaii. I'm Cheryl Crozier-Garcia, and we are talking to Todd Mackey, co-founder of the Students Leadership Foundation. Now, Todd, before the break, I ask the question, how do we model leadership behavior for future generations when current generations of leaders don't have the time to really devote to voluntary leadership goals? So what would you suggest you do as a Students Leadership Foundation to begin to model those behaviors? It sounded specific as it was a Boy Scout troop or a Cub Scout or something where, OK, so these students, you're saying that they don't have the role model or somebody to model a particular leadership behavior after. And essentially, it changes out every week. And that may be good for some environments in some particular ways, but that's not something that we focus primarily on. But what we do is we team up with the community. Essentially, we see what the needs are within that particular community. And if it's a Boy Scout troop, and then we have something at the college level where somebody is there and they would like to get involved and basically volunteer and get active and helping their fellow community members, we would see if the right fit would be for them to become and fill in for that particular troop and perhaps run away with that troop leader position throughout the entire school year or however long it lasts for. Might it be possible to use, say, the merit-based scholarships or need-based scholarships to perhaps reach out to an undergraduate student who is a scholarship recipient, who is perhaps a former scout to say, OK, you've got the scholarship, and so in exchange you are going to be a leader of the troop at such and such elementary school. And that is going to be your job for this academic year. And that is the way you're going to pay forward whatever you receive in scholarship dollars. It seems to me at that point it's a win-win all the way around. The kids get to see excellent leadership behaviors modeled by someone who has gone through the same system that they're in. The student gets the subsidies that are necessary to afford their education and you provide the linkages that are necessary to connect people that have needs with people that have skills. So it's a triple win. That's absolutely the case. And that's why the Students Leadership Foundation, actually what it came from, seeing that there was a need in society for there to be dynamic world-class role models to stand up and basically fill in the gap for these students, not just 20, 30 years, but 40 years down the line we can have this generational privilege of leaders coming back, helping their own, and assisting in areas that are needed in the community. So it starts out with the society's need to have leadership fulfilled in certain areas like that. And that's how the Students Leadership Foundation is going to be tailored exactly. That's good. I'm intrigued by the opportunities that this creates, not only for the senior members, say, of the pipeline. That is the scholarship recipients, the university students, but really the positive change that may come to the elementary school-aged children that would receive services from the foundation and from adult volunteers, as well as that totally difficult middle school time when children are at their most irritating and their least obedient. That's really the time when they need additional adult education, or not education, that's not the right word, additional adult interaction so that they stay on the right path towards success and not getting into mischief that is potentially damaging. And again, this seems like an opportunity for those who are senior to look at the middle school, middle school Todd, you, and say, bra, listen, when I was 13, I did that kind of stuff, too. And all it got me was nothing but heartache. So I cannot force you that my advice would be cut it out. Don't do that. Spend your time on something constructive. And you catch them before their qualified, for say, a scared straight program or something like that. You have someone who says, dude, learn from my mistakes at that early time. So this actually bridges the gap. This is between the scared straight problem students and then those that are actually wanting to come into school and find out what's next for them. So we would be the one that's in the middle saying, here, follow us. We're essentially the group that's going to help you. We're going to build healthy habits, provide a way for you to build friendships. This is an opportunity for you to go to your library, the book fairs, and the gymnasium and the auditorium and know who to sit with. What books to read. Where are you going to be focusing your attention for the next however many years of your life? And that's what we want to provide for these students and it's critical that not only the business community takes us into account and sees the importance for this foundation and what it provides rather, but also the political side of things. How would we encourage the future generations to become involved in our political system? I mean, I have to be honest. I consider voting a responsibility and the most basic responsibility of citizenship, but the reality is I'm embarrassed by the behaviors I see being modeled by some of our candidates and some of our office holders. And that is not a group that I want to play with. So how do we encourage the best and brightest among the future generations to become involved in a political process that is so toxic? That's where you have to really have a good sense of basically what people want to be involved with. And you want to tailor a particular student's leadership needs to what they want to get involved with. If there's a business program that they're wanting to get into, obviously create a business program for them to exceed with and to excel in. Therefore, if it's political, you want to give them the right clubs and show them, hey, this student government opportunity is open. There's a way for you to get elected. There's a way for you to serve your fellow students. You know, what is it that drives you? Where is your ambition? And that's what's great about it is that you can focus and tailor the specific needs of the student and what they want to get involved with. And this program is there for them. That's, so it sounds like you would individually tailor either A to a specific segment of the community, say an elementary school or a particular student club, but you would also tailor the learning experiences for scholarship holders and others to meet their specific interests and needs. Does that sound accurate? Absolutely. And it's actually a three-part focus. We have its leadership. Number one, two would be designing and leading effective teams. And then three would be organizational culture. It's actually to help others be successful and to develop the leaders within the classroom and beyond, so. Well, Todd, we only have one minute left. And so in that minute, I would like you to tell our viewers two things that they can do right now to support future leaders in developing the skills they need to be successful. So look into the camera and tell us what we need to do. The number one opportunity out there for students to get involved is within the classroom. Number two would be extracurricular. That would be intramural sports teams or some kind of way for them to demonstrate leadership on the field or even within the library. So it's a way for them to participate. It's a way to encourage them to not only get off of the video games and say, hey, it's time for you to do some studying or it's time for you to go to the library and be active in the books. And I think that's where it starts. It really has to be outside of the house. And most of the time outside of the classroom is where you get the best experience. Yeah, that's true. There are some things books simply cannot teach you. And with that, let's agree that you will come back sometime very soon to tell us how you're doing and how the foundation is going. Thank you all for joining us. I'm Cheryl Perzigarcia. Thank you for tuning in to Working Together on Think Tech Hawaii. I'll see you in two weeks.