Through my experiences, I have discovered that it is important to lead by example. Leaders who follow the "Do as I say not as I do" mantra tend to have unproductive work environments where everyone is walking on eggshells trying not to upset each other. As a leader, building connections with everyone is one of, if not, the most important parts of the job. You should build a relationship of respect not only with your staff but also with everyone in your journalism program. As an Editor-in-Chief, I try to lead a tight community that can joke around with each other and have fun while also producing quality content.

Life is stressful. However, the room that you lead does not have to be. On my staff, we have "Fun Fridays" where half of our class hour is dedicated to playing games and team bonding. During this time, we give out a staffer of the week award that celebrates someone who did great work that week and deserves recognition.  It helps keep the room fun and exciting while also giving us dedicated time every week to debrief. 

 Every month, we have a big event that we shut the room down for. It is just time to build connections with each other. For example, every October we paint pumpkins that everyone votes on based on a multitude of categories. Another big activity we do is "Light Wars". During this event, we cover our entire room in Christmas lights. Everyone brings food and enjoys each other’s company. Events like these help keep the room fun and allow everyone to build a connection with the people they are working with every day.

"Chase is always there to offer help to everyone with no complaints. He never fails to make me laugh or cheer me up whenever journalism or life in general made me stressed."

- Staffer Alayna Lohaus

Making sure everyone on my staff knows the weekly plan is super important to me. This helps to ensure nobody feels left behind. Every Sunday night, I send out a brief bullet-pointed list of key topics that we will be working on in class that coming week. This keeps everyone updated in case they are not in class or need to check in on their deadlines.  I also made a staff calendar at the beginning of the year that went over our day-to-day plan for the upcoming semester so people could look ahead if they wanted to. 

Having a plan for the week pre-made and sent out before school starts on Monday helps keep me organized which in turn helps keep my staff organized. My organization matters because if I am not organized, my staff will not be either.

"Throughout my time working with Chase he has always been a positive coaching voice through any of the roadblocks I might of had. He definitely has played a huge role in my development as a journalist."

- Staffer Braeden Kettinger

Awarding people when they are on track or finish a deadline is a must in my publications room. Showing my staffers that I care about their success helps build a sense of community. It makes journalism seem more like a team effort because if everyone does not pull their weight, our product will not be as strong. Every time a WEB story goes into finals or we win a best of SNO award, I make a big deal about it in our class to show people that their work is important to not only the class but to me. I also had the honor of announcing to my program that we were a gold crown-placing newspaper/website for the 2023 school year. I have learned that highlighting all the awards that our entire program and the individuals within it earn helps motivate people to think to themselves "Hey, maybe one day Chase will be saying my name for one of those."

"Chase always keeps the energy up in the room and he's always there joking around to help make the room feel a lot more light hearted and fun. He makes sure everyone is doing ok at all times and if someone needs help or is falling behind in class he is always there to make sure they can catch up."

- Staffer Patricia Fechter

As a leader, it is important to remember that not everyone will know what you know. You must take the time to teach people what they need to know or they might never learn. Class time is limited so I tend to make educational videos on a website called Loom that staffers can watch outside of class. However, sometimes lessons need to happen in class and that is why I come prepared anytime it is my lesson day. I made a Do's and Don'ts of copy presentation for my staff hour last year because the copy was lacking a bit. That one lesson exponentially increased the quality of writing moving forward. I have learned that if you want quality work, you have to put in quality care.