360 Degrees is an ongoing series about Volunteer Leadership written by Group 134 TESS volunteer, Bradford Reszel. Bradford would love to hear from you about your experiences with leadership throughout this series. You can contact him at bradford.reszel@gmail.com.
Bradford Reszel, 134 TESS
Writer’s note: I use capitalization and lower case for the word “Volunteer” to differentiate between a Peace Corps Volunteer (Capital) and general volunteer.
Volunteer is synonymous with leader. A volunteer gives their time, effort, and commitment to the cause and does so humbly with the goal always being about the service. As Peace Corps Volunteers, we get to represent our country as we give ourselves to a foreign land and its people. True, we may not always be at the forefront of our work, but volunteers, and therefore leaders, do not always have to be out front.
Over the next several months I have been given the opportunity to share with you my views and opinions on leadership and service as I see it in my role as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Thailand. In this, the introductory article, I want to give a background on how I view leadership as a concept and foreshadow how I will approach the series ahead. First, let me start by sharing a belief about how leaders identify themselves.
Leaders come in all forms, not just titles. People are leaders regardless of their position in an organization, their ability to speak in front of crowds, or their pursuit of recognition. Leaders are people who listen with intention, share openly, and learn from their mistakes. Instead of saying, “I am an XYZ” they state, “I serve as ABC”. Stating that service is the mission without using a title as a crutch is a powerful way to view life. I am proud to serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer amongst so many leaders here in Thailand.
My fellow Volunteers here have likely heard me talk about 360 degree leadership. The concept, developed by John C. Maxwell, is the foundation of my belief in everyone being a leader. In short, a leader leads in all directions. Leading down is how we typically think of leaders – people we look up to who drive us and the mission forward. Leading across, or side-to-side, is leading to your peers. Coworkers, teammates, and friends all fulfill this type of leadership role in our lives and this is often where we think of the phrase “Leading by example”. Finally, leading up gives leaders the opportunity to communicate to those above them in the hierarchy of the system. Leading up comes in many forms: suggestion boxes, conversations with bosses about the direction of the department, or even protests demanding action from leaders with titles. Leading up is often difficult if an organization does not provide a mechanism for feedback or if the leaders with titles are not open to the ideas and criticisms of those below them.
Service drives leaders and leaders are volunteers. In the Peace Corps, Volunteers are leaders in every direction all the time. It is a privilege of the position to serve in this capacity and give ourselves to our communities with the goal of building both skills and bonds. I have been told, and feel this myself with just less than a year of service left, that Volunteers often feel we get more than we give while serving. Again, I believe that is the effect of leadership being given to us and being from us.
Next time, I will focus on leading down and how I view that aspect of leadership here in Thailand. I hope you will follow along with this series and think about how you are a leader in your own life. If you are a current PCV, an RPCV, or a reader of our publication outside the realm of Peace Corps, I would be honored to hear from you about your experiences with leadership, your thoughts on my perspective, and any stories of leaders you want to share. Please feel free to reach out to me personally at bradford.reszel@gmail.com. I look forward to going on this introspective process about volunteering and leadership with all of you.
Sincerely,
Bradford Reszel
Sticky Rice 
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