Considering that I was still recovering from my Study Abroad Spring Break trip to Colombia, I was unable to make the class on Monday. Spring Break, however, was full of leadership issues though. I took a trip to Cartagena, Colombia with around 19 other students and a professor that we all liked to call "Debbie (Downer)." "Debbie" showed us so many leadership flaws throughout the trip.
The first problem we faced was her outright comment that we could not make any suggestions. She said, "This is not a group of leaders." She told us that we had to do everything she said whether we liked it or not. Everyone was furious. We are not five-year-olds who need our hands held. We are twenty-somethings who have great ideas and will willingly follow if given a good reason to. That comment made us resent her for most of the trip. One time, I just asked her to repeat something so I could be clear on it, and she snapped at me. She did the same thing to other people for simple questions. Followers do not want to be blind and deaf to procedures! Let them in on it for crying out loud!
Another issue arose with "Debbie" giving conflicting commands. She would also tell us that she told us something when she never did. One problem came up with our journals we had to write. One student wrote his on a computer instead of in an actual paper journal. There was never anything that said he could not do that. When she found out, however, she had a fit and told him he could not use it. There was never anything to tell him otherwise though. No syllabus, handout, nothing. Yet she said that she had told us a hundred times that it had to be hand-written. At the same time, none of us remember her saying that. A good leader should communicate more effectively, and when in doubt, write it out.
Our group had the hardest time keeping up with her latest command. Since she kept changing her mind about things, we were never sure what was happening. One issue came up with drinking on the trip. Alcohol in Colombia is a huge part of their culture. It is included in so many events and activities. One such activity was a bus tour of the city at night. In the tour, it includes in the price rum and cokes for a celebration. One of the local trip leaders told us it was an amazing tour and that he would not let us drink too much yet "Debbie" said no. Earlier in the week, however, we had wine at a dinner, a champagne toast when we first arrived at the hotel, and even a happy hour provided by the hotel one night. We were so confused on the policy. We ended up getting to go on the tour if it was on our own instead of a school function. (Side note: everyone decided to go).
The leadership on this trip was so difficult to live with. We would have graciously followed her if she would have given us a reason to. Her conflicting policies, commands, and rudeness turned us off to her leadership throughout the trip. She was so unpredictable that we ended up always being on pins and needles when around her. I almost had a panic attack one day because she was constantly barking orders at us, and we had no idea how to do those orders. I thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Colombia, but the poor leadership added an unfortunate stress to what was supposed to be a lovely Study Abroad trip.
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