Personal Leadership: the missing link in college education?
This is my first diary entry. I am a lecturer in an internationally oriented college in the Netherlands. In the pasts months I have taken the step to co-design a training course called "personal leadership in a professional perspective". This training is aimed at students in their early 20's who are at least a year away from graduating and who seek a space for self-discovery. In this 4-training course we are offering students the opportunity to get in touch with their true passions, their fears and barriers, their ambitions and their strengths. The training methodology is based on the Theory U of Otto Scharmer and the tools used will be interactive, dialogue-based, and self-reflection, all connected to a personal leadership project.
In developing this course together with an associate from the DOC20 project (www.doc20.eu), I have started to discover that our approach has a lot of common links with spirituality and the inner condition of the individual. In the process, we have asked students interested in their course to write a personal motivation and the things expressed in them are intimate, questioning their self-assurance and questioning their future. They acknowledge lack of direction in their choices and they talk about those 'negative' voices that make them doubt their true capabilities and abandon their dreams.
At this moment, we are rounding up the design phase, and are putting together the materials. We want them to get confidence in the process by getting them acquainted with the methodology (the U process and Art of Hosting techniques). We also want them to see the value of personal leadership not only in their student phase but also in their professional future (using business-related articles). Next to that we want to INSPIRE them through exposing them to some philosophical and spiritual literature. At the same time, we want to give them tools that help them pay attention to the way they manage their time and their health, including time-management techniques and tips on how to stay healthy.
In our presentation aimed at recruiting students for this course, one of the potential participants said to us "this is the missing link of our education". That phrase struck a cord in me and my colleague and now I am burning with that same question: is personal leadership the missing link, the blind spot of the educational system? Aren't we trying to cope too much with the demands of skills and competences of the 'labour market'? Aren't we being too passive by not offering them a vision of entrepreneurship or a way to combine their 'non academic' talents to their chosen professional area? Aren't we forgetting that in order to support the professional path of our students we need to give them the confidence that the best tool to lead themselves is themselves?
In my over 10 year experience as an educator, I have always been confronted with this question indirectly. As the world is changing rapidly, we seem to focus too much in rushing and coping with the demands of a world that is going faster than we can actually deliver: the knowledge they receive outdates rapidly, the amount of information they receive through all possible channels seems unmanageable and we seem to assume that students will achieve sustainable professional growth by giving them more and more responsibilities, stressing their 'independence'
In this line of thoughts, I would like to explore more this last area: isn't this 'independence' more about finding the value of interdependence and their place in an increasingly connected world? Isn't it about providing them with a space where they can take a step back and look at the position they hold in the 21st century? Isn't it about supporting them in asserting their strengths and recognising their limitations so that they embrace change and challenge in a more grounded AND spiritual way? Isn't it about our own sense of self, our principles and values and how we connect them to the world we want to live in?
If anybody reads this and recognises my questions, I would love to exchange ideas about the role of college education in enacting and empowering this 'blind spot'. I would like to find individuals who can help me articulate better how this type of training can become a strong pillar and sustainable 'link' to the mission of our modern educational system.
Please free to email me. I am craving for creating connections and find 'buddies' who can aid me in pursuing this. I would love to hear your voice and get familiar with your knowledge and experiences.
RE: Personal leadership
I was recently involved in a meeting with a number of managers who were discussing recruitment. In one part of the meeting, we were talking about the goals of our engineering development program. One of the things we have focused on is not only us showing the program participants what we do, but also developing a session where we get them to show us what they can do. Anyway, as I was talking about this, I mentioned that this is a good time to see if any of the candidates showed any leadership. One of the managers then said, ' we don't want to look for leadership, wait until they have reached senior level before we do that'.
This to my mind is extremely shortsighted. I think that if your programme helps students to develop self confidence, self awareness and leadership, it will be doing them and the companies they end up working for, a power of good. Certainly in our engineer development, we will help them to develop their leadership and personal awareness. If they are really sharp, they may even notice that we are doing this ;-)
Colin.
personal leadership
Leading and motivating yourself is indeed important, particularly in an empowered world where people are expected to be self-driven.
There's a trick in working within a larger company where there are objectives and constraints on you. It's the same as an entrepreneur -- you are never free from constraints. Leading includes knowing the box you're in, perhaps testing the boundaries, and being creative in finding the way forward. Self-leadership includes understanding your personal strengths and limitations, and challenging and working with these.
:Dave
Teaching Personal Leadership vs Taking Personal Leadership
I think it's a great thing to teach college students to become more self-aware and grounded. But I do wonder if it's just an academic exercise if they're not actually taking leadership - experiencing real challenges and managing real complexities. Failing. And getting back up again. Developing confidence and influence. This experiential component seems a necessary part of the learning process to me.Â
Whether it's through Student Body (http://studentlinc.typepad.com/studentlinc/Â is a resource), team sports, clubs, or community leadership, these would add so much to a theoretical and spiritual journey.
My opinion is you become most self-aware when you can see the real outcomes of your behaviors.
student leadership
Good idea to link it to practice, and I think this can be done in most situations, including everyday.
My daughter recently graduated with a M.Sc. in International Management (with distinction). She took many opportunities in this, as well as in her first degree, to practice leadership, and we had many conversations about it. These ranged from arranging social events to leading joint projects with other students. She also managed her lecturers, treating essays as projects and liasing closely with these 'customers' to ensure she followed criteria and got good marks.
This deliberate and self-reflecting practice has stood her in good stead and she is now out there building businesses and leading people with increasing confidence (whilst continuing to reflect and develop, of course).
:D
teaching leadership in a non-academic way
Sheryl, you are spot on!!
This course it's based on recognising their barriers and
finding their strength to embrace the uncertain future - In
order to do so they will go through a dialogue-based
process where they will have the opportunity to recognise
both their limitations and strengths and find their true
passion through connecting to others (letting go as a
condition to let come - in order to do so, they need to
acknowledge 'chaos' as part of the process).
We are inviting them (1) to express their dreams and
challenges in a creative way (a short movie and a narrative
about 'what they stand for' in their personal leadership,
(2)to design a path of action through a personal
leadership project (supported by coaching) and (3) they
will go out the school and speak to other youngsters about
the meaning of finding out what truly matters to them
(through self-organising these activities in small teams).
In the process, we will expose them to the question of how
they can connect their dreams and ambitions to the world
they live in/and want to live in with responsibility and in
a sustainable way.Â
It is a very new thing in my college - The educational
system is so focused in matching hard 'skills' to potential
jobs as a measure of success - My real ambition is to
create a space where students see beyond that "programming"
and dare to explore beyond what the 'system' offers them.Â
It is very experimental - we are not 'lecturing' them
about theories and testing on that kind of knowledge
through exams or academic essays. It is our aim to let
their voice resonate in their own truth and authenticity.
 And they will not get a 'mark' ( a number ) as a measure
for their results.Â
I am a bit nervous about doing this - It is the most
non-academic course I have designed as a teacher - But the
reactions of the students that signed up for this project
are giving us a strong indication that they need something
beyond the academic: the freedom to explore their true
potential.
I really appreciate your question - It summarizes the
whole point of my struggle of introducing this in a system
where the measurements of success lie in other directions
and with different standards.
Like someone said in a talk about 'self-management': "we
cannot demand this generation to form a professional
identity just now. They need experiences and questioning".
 Failures, as you say, is part of the process - And I
believe in their resilience.
Thank you again for your feedback. And I really would like
to know what your experience is in this direction...?
RE: Teaching in a non academic way
One of the most important things that I think they would need, and indeed anyone who wants to study to be, or practise to become a leader, is to be able to see you doing it as well. Not just facilitation, but participation.
And the next course, get another teacher involved, who also participates ! Or better yet, get a student from the previous years class to lead the course, let it become self perpetuating !
Just a sunday afternoon thought.
Colin.
Participation and self-organisation of students
Thank you for the suggestion. Â Being the first time, we are involving some professionals who have a very clear view on the added value of personal leadership in your professional development. Â The dynamics of the course is based on self-organisation, so students will take charge of the dynamics at different stages. Â The idea is that if they don't host conversations, and ask meaningful questions, the content will be empty. Â They are the soul of the programme.Â
We are using some of this www.artofhosting.org methodologies in order to achieve that. Â Myself and the others involved in the course come from this 'art of hosting' community. Â Have you heard about it?
The next step is that after this 'pilot' the management wants to see how this can be replicated every year. Â I suggested that teachers interested join the next training of art of hosting so we can make this a sustainable asset in the school.
The idea of involving students is very good. Â One of the aims is to connect students to this peer-coaching project where other youngster will participate. Â It would be great to see students taking the lead to lead others lead themselves.
 Â
Learning to lead
First, Art of Hosting looks very cool! I'm going to have to look into that further.
I'm glad to hear about the leadership projects and I think David's comments are good ideas for normal high school/college student projects.  My background wasn't as normal, so I'll give you a glimpse into the other side....
I learned experiential leadership the fun way, at West Point :-) While not everyone, (especially either of my teens!) wants that kind of immersive experience, it definitely puts theory into practice. Of course, West Point makes this possible by having cadets carry a 20-21 credit hour /semester load and giving up summers for training and development. And it is measured.  I'm lucky to have had the rare opportunity to have both an academic major and an intense focus on leadership that spans the whole four years. Â
Not only did we take leadership curriculum all four years, we lived in functioning companies of ~120 people comprised of all four classes. We rotated duties that looked like this:
1. Freshman (Plebe) - Learning to lead peers or learning to be led (self-awareness)
2. Sophomore/Squad leader - mainly coaching 2- 3 people
3. Junior/Platoon sergeant - leading / staff duties for 25-120-people
4. Senior - Leading / staff duties from company to Student body -wide,120-1400 people
And there are Army officers watching over it all, serviing as professors, sports coashes, mentors, guidance counselors, and school administrators.
3 takeaways from my experience:
An idea to reapply from this structure and from Colin's comment is that young people do need to see positive leadership modeled. Hopefully you can build that into the leadership projects -- pair them with strong community leaders.Â
Learning leadership is progressive, starting from developing self-awareness and character and expanding to ever wider circles of influence and complexity. How can you plant the seeds that the students can continue to tend?
I believe good leaders are made, and that people in the program will benefit from seeing their progress. So even if they're not getting a formal mark, some sense of progressing from x to y on key leadership traits might be some positive reinforcement. There are loads of traits to choose from! I like Level 5 Leadership from Good to Great, (http://ezinearticles.com/?Pursuit-of-Good-to-Great-Level-Five-Leadership&id=954262) There are so many associated skills that you could whittle down to some age and task-appropriate ones.
Good luck - you're clearly stretching the faculty and the students. How great for everyone!
This is Great stuff, I would love to hear more!
It sounds like an intriguing program. I attempted to pilot a program with MBA students to take them toward experiential leadership development, but was never able to get it off the ground. The concept was to use assessment tools to identify the type of leadership skills they possess, and then work with them to understand is this where they picture going in the future, if so how can they further develop skills they already have. If not, how can this information be used to help them develop their path.
The inspiration was pulled from an observation that many MBA students spend their program time learning technical skills, but very little is spent learning to live reflectively, and how to lead others.
I would be curious, how you help the students identify what areas to target as they are beginning the program.
Great Job
Brent Neilsen