Framework for Student Leadership Development
The Haas Center connects academic study with community and public service to strengthen communities and develop effective public leaders. Student leadership development is a key component of the Center’s mission for several reasons:
- Leadership is an important area for student learning while at Stanford. Through involvement in community service projects and student organizations, students learn about various models and forms of leadership, skills involved in effective leadership (e.g., organizational structure and dynamics, strategic planning), and ethics of leadership in the context of community service. Students are encouraged to develop their own model of leadership, become more self-aware, and develop skills for future leadership.
- Students assume leadership roles in many service projects and programs (e.g., Stanford in Government, Alternative Spring Break, and community service student groups) and are responsible for planning and implementing services for community partners. Service will be better if the student group delivering it is well organized, offers training to its volunteers, has consistent volunteer participation, and an infrastructure that supports continuity of strong leadership. Student-led groups suffer when their leadership is weak, and the quality, reliability, and relevance of the service will also be weak. Student groups with strong leaders deliver better service to communities.
Stanford students are creative and talented, and will be in positions of leadership or in positions where they can exercise leadership in public and community service if they have the will and confidence. Ensuring that our students are as well equipped as possible to step up to leadership roles—formal and informal—throughout their lives, and for the public good, is an important aspect of all the Center’s work.
Core Principles of Leadership Development at the Haas Center
The Haas Center employs an approach to leadership development based on the following principles:
- Vision: a shared vision behind our leadership development work
- The vision behind our work in developing students as leaders is to develop thoughtful, skilled and reflective practitioners equipped to effect positive social change. Everyone has the potential to exercise leadership, whether in formal positions or not. Our goal is to have students understand what is involved in ethical and effective leadership, and to assess and develop their own abilities so that they are more confident and able to provide leadership when in situations requiring it.
- Practices: the five practices and ten commitments of leadership embedded in the Kouzes and Posner’s Leadership Challenge model
- Values: the principles of ethical and effective service-learning generated by those involved in community service and service-learning at Stanford
- Program Elements: six components that we believe contribute to a well-rounded approach to leadership development programming
For more on the model, see Kouzes, James M. and Posner, Barry Z., The Leadership Challenge, 3rd ed., San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2002.
Vision
The vision behind our work in developing students as leaders is to develop thoughtful, skilled and reflective practitioners equipped to effect positive social change. Everyone has the potential to exercise leadership, whether in formal positions or not. Our goal is to have students understand what is involved in ethical and effective leadership, and to assess and develop their own abilities so that they are more confident and able to provide leadership when in situations requiring it.
Practices
Our approach to leadership development includes attempting to teach students a set of practices (or skills) that James Kouzes and Barry Posner, authors of the acclaimed book, The Leadership Challenge, refer to as the “five practices of exemplary leadership" and corresponding ten commitments.
Model the Way
- Find your voice by clarifying your personal values.
- Set the example by aligning actions with shared values.
Inspire a Shared Vision
- Envision the future by imagining exciting and ennobling possibilities.
- Enlist others in a common vision by appealing to shared aspirations.
Challenge the Process
- Search for opportunities by seeking innovative ways to change, grow and improve.
- Experiment and take risks by constantly generating small wins and learning from mistakes.
Enable Others to Act
- Foster collaboration by promoting cooperative goals and building trust.
- Strengthen others by sharing power and discretion.
Encourage the Heart
- Recognize contributions by showing appreciation for individual excellence.
- Celebrate the values and victories by creating a spirit of community.
We chose the “Leadership Challenge" model because it is based on empirical research, and it is easy to understand and internalize. There is an assessment instrument, The Leadership Practices Inventory, which has a student version, thus facilitating a process of assessment and program planning to teach students the relevant practices.
Values
The values which underlie our work with students in leadership development are based on those articulated by Stanford constituencies in the Principles of Ethical and Effective Service-Learning . These basic values reflect similar sentiments to much of what is embodied in the nationally-known Social Change Model of Leadership (also developed to teach leadership in the context of public and community service). Following are the core values/principles in which we would ground our teaching about leadership in a service context:
- reciprocity through partnership
- self-awareness
- humility
- respect for diversity
- commitment
- collaboration
View a complete list of our Principles of Ethical and Effective Service.
For more information on this model, see Bonous-Hammarth, M., "Developing Social Change Agents: Leadership Development for the 1990s and Beyond," in Outcalt, C.L. et al., Developing Non-hierarchical Leadership in Companies, Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2001.
Program Elements
In addition to the vision, practices and values guiding the Haas Center’s leadership development efforts, we have identified six key elements that we believe contribute to a well-rounded approach to leadership development programming:
- Knowledge: appreciation of leadership development as a field of study as well as comprehension of select leadership models, practices and values in the context of public service
- Observation: exposure to individuals who can serve as model leaders in public service
- Practice: involvement in public service to provide a context and “laboratory" for developing personal leadership skills and philosophy
- Feedback: opportunities for others to assist with self-assessment through regular dialogue and use of tools such as individual learning plans or the Kouzes and Posner Leadership Practices Inventory
- Reflection: structured opportunities, both verbal and written, for student to assess their own leadership experiences and to determine what public service leadership means to them on a personal level
- Community: ensuring that at least part of the leadership development experience is shared within a community of students who can teach and learn from one another while gaining greater appreciation of diverse perspectives and approaches to leadership. This community might be created through a course, a structured program, or a weekend retreat.
