The Student Leadership Challenge

Student Workbook and Personal Leadership Journal

James M. Kouzes, Barry Z. Posner, Beth High, Gary M. Morgan

• Editore: Jossey-Bass
• Anno: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781118599679
• Edizione: 3
• Argomento: Education
• Categoria: Student Life

Designed to be used with the The Student Leadership Challenge or the Student Leadership Practices Inventory, this workbook will help students go deeper into the actual practice of leadership, guiding them in better understanding and embodying The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership in a meaningful and relevant way. It includes activities and worksheets; a unit on taking, digesting, and understanding the Student Leadership Practices Inventory; and a section that helps students commit to and work on their leadership development in an ongoing way.

Module 1

Introduction

CORE PHILOSOPHY OF THE STUDENT LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE

We have found that students struggle with thinking of themselves as leaders. What do you think? Are you are a leader? We believe the answer is a resounding “Yes!” Think back to one of your own personal-best leadership experiences. We believe you will see that you already know what it takes to lead others. But knowing is not enough; to become the best leader you can be, you need to practice deliberately and often. Here are eight key concepts that The Leadership Challenge research reveals are true about leadership.

1. Leadership Is Everyone’s Business

Being an effective leader is not limited to a few charismatic young people. It is not a gene or an inheritance. The theory that only a select few can lead others to greatness is just plain wrong. Leadership is not a position or rank, but a responsibility people choose to embrace throughout their lives.

One question that frequently comes up from students is: “If everyone is a leader, then how can everyone be a leader at once? Shouldn’t there be just one leader?” We believe that everyone can be a leader, but that people will make a choice about when they step up to lead based on the values they hold. Commonly there is only one positional leader at a time, but this doesn’t prevent others from taking a leadership role within their area of influence. For example, you might not be the president of your fraternity or sorority, but you certainly can choose to demonstrate leadership behaviors on the committees and groups that are part of that larger organization. You may not be an officer in student government or the captain of a team, but you can take the initiative to start a campaign that will improve the quality of student life. There are also many facets of your life. Your position as head of an organization is not the only place where you can act as a leader. You have opportunities to lead in many different situations: in your home, your school, and your community.

2. Leadership Is Learned

Leadership is a process that ordinary people use when they are bringing out the best in themselves and others. It is an identifiable set of skills and abilities that is available to everyone.

3. Leadership Is a Relationship

At the heart of leadership is the ability to connect with others, understand their hopes and dreams, and engage them in pulling together for a shared dream of the future. Leaders understand that every relationship contributes to their ability to be successful.

4. Leadership Development Is Self-Development

Engineers have computers, painters have brushes and paints, musicians have instruments. Leaders have only themselves: that is their instrument. Committing to liberating the leader within is a personal commitment. The journey begins with an exploration of who you are from the inside out.

5. Learning to Lead Is an Ongoing Process

Learning to lead is a journey, not a single event or destination. You may occupy many leadership roles throughout your life. Each will deepen your understanding of what it takes to engage others and what it takes to inspire others to make extraordinary things happen with people in your life. The context in which you lead will change, and with each change comes deeper learning. The best leaders are the best learners.

6. Leadership Requires Deliberate Practice

Excellence in anything—whether it’s music, sports, or academics—requires deliberate practice. Leadership is no exception. You will need to devote time every day to becoming the best leader you can be.

7. Leadership Is an Aspiration and a Choice

Leaders have countless chances to make a difference. If a person wants to lead others and is willing to do the work, he or she can lead. It is a deeply personal choice and a lifetime commitment.

8. Leadership Makes a Difference

All leadership is based on one fundamental assumption: that you matter. We know from The Leadership Challenge research that every leader can make a profound difference in the lives of others. To do that, you have to believe in yourself and in your capacity to have a positive influence on others. And we also know that to those who are following you, you are the most important leader to them at that moment. It’s not some other leader. It’s you. You are the person whom group members will most likely go to for examples of how to tackle challenging goals, respond to difficult situations, handle crises, or deal with setbacks. We say a little more about this in the final section of this workbook “Onward!”

A Definition of Leadership

In the academic literature, there are hundreds of different definitions of leadership. The research that resulted in The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership led to the following definition of leadership, which incorporates what the evidence revealed:

Leadership is the art of mobilizing others to want to struggle for shared aspirations.

What words stand out to you in this definition?

ACTIVITY 1.1

Your Personal-Best Leadership Experience

The research to discover what exemplary leaders do when they are at their personal best began by collecting thousands of stories from ordinary people—from students to executives in all types of organizations around the globe—about the experiences they recalled when asked to think of a peak leadership experience, that is, what they did when they were at their personal best as a leader. The collection effort continues, and the stories continue to offer compelling examples of what leaders do when making extraordinary things happen. As you begin to explore The Student Leadership Challenge and The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership, we ask you to respond to some of the same questions asked of those involved in the original research. It’s called the personal-best leadership experience, and we believe it will provide you with an inspiring view of the leader within you.

Begin by thinking about a time when you performed at your very best as a leader. A personal-best experience is an event (or a series of events) that you believe to be your individual standard of excellence. It’s your own record-setting performance—a time when you achieved significant success while working with others. It is something against which you can measure yourself to determine whether you are performing as a leader at levels you know to be possible.

Your personal-best experience may have happened when you had no official authority but chose to play a leadership role within a group, organization, class project, or even a family situation. Focus on one specific experience.

Step 1

On a separate sheet of paper, describe this leadership experience by answering the following questions:

• When did it happen? How long did it last?
• What was your role? Who else was involved?
• What feelings did you have prior to and during the experience?
• Did you initiate the experience? If someone else initiated it, how did you emerge as the leader?
• What were the results of the experience?

Step 2

With relation to this experience, on a separate sheet of paper, list the actions you took as a leader that made a difference, and answer the following questions:

• What actions did you take?
• How did you get others to go beyond the ordinary levels of performance?
• What did you do to demonstrate your own commitment to the project or undertaking?
• What did you do to make sure everyone understood the purpose or goal?
• What did you or others do to overcome any major challenges or setbacks?
• What did you do to engage others and get them to participate fully?
• Based on what you did or said, what other extraordinary actions did your team or group members take?
• Summarize what you consider to be the five to seven most important actions you took as a leader who made a difference.

Step 3

Review the responses from the questions in steps 1 and 2. What three to five major lessons did you learn about leadership from this experience? (These are lessons you might share as advice to others about them being or becoming a great leader.) Write them here:

Lesson 1:

Lesson 2:

Lesson 3:

Lesson 4:

Lesson 5:

Step 4

From the lessons you identified in step 3:

• What single piece of advice would you give to another individual on how to make extraordinary things happen in their organization based on your experience?

Step 5

Follow your instructor’s directions on how to share your story with others (using the notes you took here). Hearing other personal-best experiences will deepen your perspective on the limitless opportunities for demonstrating excellence in leadership. As you listen to others’ stories, look for common qualities you see in the stories—for example, excellent communication, focus, or doing more than what was expected.

THE FIVE PRACTICES OF EXEMPLARY LEADERSHIP MODEL

This workbook has its origins in a research project begun more than thirty years ago. To learn what people did when they were at their personal best in leading others, we interviewed hundreds of people ...