The Student Organization Research Center has luncheons to encourage students to be leaders and develop leadership skills. Students can come and enjoy a free lunch while listening to a variety of speakers address a certain topic that pertains to leadership.

On Thursday, Oct. 16, SOuRCe held a Leadership Luncheon in the Student Union Ballrooms. The luncheon was lead by Assistant Director of Residence Life and Housing Brandon Mikulski. The luncheon was about understanding appreciation, what we can do to show others we appreciate them, and how we like to be appreciated.

Mikulski presented a PowerPoint titled “Six Things We Didn’t Know About Employee Appreciation.” The PowerPoint focused on the do’s and don’ts on how to make an employee feel appreciated. Mikulski also focused on Leader’s Greatest Concerns, such as lack of encouragement from employees, exhaustion, being overwhelmed and losing the positive feel in the workplace.

As Mikulski continued to explain how, he showed the group a PowerPoint called “Five Languages of Appreciation.” Those five languages are: words of affirmation, quality time, acts of service [and] lending a helping hand, tangible gifts and [appropriate] physical touch. “Each person you come across is different, so you have to decide which language a certain person appreciates the most and feels most comfortable with,” said Mikulski.

He also focused on the group and helped them decide which language of appreciation we are most comfortable with by giving a test. He showed which language was the most comfortable for that particular person. Towards the end of the Luncheon, Mikulski handed out a list of the “Top Ten Easiest Ways to Express Appreciation to Almost Anyone” The list consisted of points such as verbal complements, an email, doing a small task for someone spontaneously, greeting a colleague warmly with a smile and handshake, and so on.

SOuRCe’s Leadership Luncheon was great for those who want to be head of a business and be the best manager possible for their employees. But it was also great for those who want to just learn how to be a better person by showing their loved ones that they appreciate them and everything that they do for them.

There is another Leadership Luncheons held by SOuRCe on Wednesday, Nov. 12 at the Student Union Ballrooms and is free for students to attend.