So this is the first blog I’ve ever done so just bear with me as I learn what works and what doesn’t.  If any of you have any suggestions I would love to hear them. So my topic this week is on fostering student leadership.  With this being a wide open topic that most of us in the field are interested in I wasn’t really sure where to start.  I finally settled on a topic for today so here goes… I hope you enjoy!

 

 

A number of us have leadership courses for students on our campuses and those of us who don’t are probably looking to start some.  The question is, where do we start? 

 

What do we include in these courses?

When teaching a leadership course you have to decide what approach to take.  Do you want to do a more theory-based course and use a book by Maxwell or Kouzes and Posner as your text or do you want to do a more experiential course and include activities such as a ropes course and guest presenters?  You can always try to incorporate the two into your course as well. Kouzes and Posner wrote a great leadership book titled The Leadership Challenge which walks the reader through “five practices of exemplary leadership”: modeling the way, inspiring a shared vision, challenging the process, enabling others to act, and encouraging the heart.  This book is great for freshmen and sophomore level students who have leadership potential that you wish to foster.  Another great book to use is John Maxwell’s 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.  Maxwell takes the reader through the 21 qualities a leader should develop to be successful and effective.  Both of these books also have supplemental materials such as the Leadership Practices Inventory by Kouzes and Posner and the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership Workbook by John Maxwell.  There are a number of other great leadership books out there that can be used as a text. I would recommend that the person teaching the course read some of these books and determine what would work best for their audience and their institution. 

 

Guest speakers are a great way to vary the content of your course.  One idea is to bring in presenters who are or were student leaders during their collegiate career.  This gives the students a feel for what they can become if they capitalize on their leadership experience while in college.  Various speakers will also likely keep the students engaged because each presenter is going to have a different style that may appeal to various students in the class.  If you plan to incorporate guest speakers and a text in your course I would also recommend sending them a copy of the text, or at least the chapter you are studying at that moment, and ask them to make sure they incorporate the book in their presentation.

 

What year should we start teaching leadership courses?

We all know leadership courses can serve as a bridge to those leadership positions we all have on our campus, and can help those students who are already leaders improve their leadership skills.  So do we start with first-year students and use the course as a pool from which to recruit new student leaders?  Do we teach to upperclassmen to help them refine their leadership skills?  Or, do we open it up for anyone and let first-year students and upperclassmen, who are most likely at two very different leadership stages, take the course together.  The answer to these questions can vary depending on what it is you want your students to learn. 

 

Many institutions offer emerging leadership courses to their students.  The University of Kentucky has an Emerging Leaders Institute offered only to students in their first two years of college.  The students who wish to take this course must apply for admission and get accepted; although students do not receive any university credit for this course.  Once accepted, students are taught leadership theories and how to put those theories into practice.  Often these students are used as a pool from which to recruit student leaders.  Many of UK’s student government officers, programming board members, and Greek life leaders complete the Emerging Leaders Institute prior to their role as a leader on campus.  This is just one example of how one institution handles the concern of when to start teaching students leadership courses.

 

The University of South Carolina Aiken does it very differently however.  USCA allows any student to take their Emerging Leaders course.  There are four sections taught in the fall semester and two in the spring and any student can register for the course.  Students receive two credits upon completion of the course.  Throughout the semester guest speakers visit and present to each class.  These speakers are campus faculty and staff who discuss with the students different areas and topics of leadership such as service, communication, ethics and power, empathy training, and a number of other leadership related topics. 

 

No matter how your institution selects students for a first-year student leadership experience, the focus should be on developing a well rounded and effective leader.

 

Expansion

An introductory leadership course is just the beginning of teaching leadership to students.  The University of South Carolina Aiken offers a second leadership course focused on service titled Citizen Leadership.  This course is for students at or above the sophomore level and is a follow up to Emerging Leaders (although Emerging Leaders is not a prerequisite for this course).  Many campuses have leadership minors where students can take a program of leadership courses and receive a minor in leadership.  Some institutions have a leadership program or fellowship that students can participate in.  These students have to partake in a number of leadership initiatives such as workshops, courses and events to complete the leadership programs.  The options are wide open in regards to where you go to help continue with leadership development on campus.  There are a number of different institutions across the nation that have various leadership programs incorporated to suit their campus.  The key is to figure out what it is you want your students to learn and what will work for your campus.

 

 

I hope some of you who read this and have various leadership courses on your campus will share with us your ideas and successes.  I look forward to hearing back about what you all think about my first blog!

 

Angel