🧡 A front row seat to growth.

Today we spent some time reflecting on our first few weeks of CEO, and I reminded our students of something that’s easy to forget—we haven’t even been together for a month yet.

And already, they can see the difference in themselves.

They shared that they’re becoming more confident and much more comfortable walking into a room, introducing themselves, talking with adults, asking questions, and simply making conversation.

But one of my favorite things to watch has been how they’re beginning to see each other as teammates.

At an age when it can be so easy to criticize, compare, or make fun of someone for putting themselves out there, these students are learning to encourage one another. They’re noticing each other’s strengths. They’re giving compliments. They’re celebrating when someone does something well.

And maybe one of the biggest changes I’ve already witnessed is ownership. Learning to be accountable when something doesn’t go as planned. Being honest and saying, “I didn’t get it done,” or “That was on me,” instead of immediately reaching for an excuse. That may seem like a small thing, but it’s not. Learning to own your choices, learn from them, and do better the next time is a huge part of becoming a leader—and an adult.

To see that shift beginning to happen in such a short amount of time is pretty neat and incredibly special.

Their confidence is growing—not just in what they can do individually, but in what they can do together.

Watching young people become proud of themselves, think outside the box, think about others, take ownership, and rise to expectations that may be different from what they’re used to is one of the greatest joys of being a CEO facilitator.

We aren’t even a month in.

There will be challenges. There will be mistakes. There will be plenty of growing left to do. But getting a front row seat to that growth is pretty special.

This is CEO. 🧡