Cultivating Exceptional Interest in Leadership Programs at Denison University
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Denison University has expanded and improved its leadership programs over the past decade. Participation in programs like LeaderShape has grown from 27 students in 2002 to over 140 applications in recent years. The university cultivates leadership by employing peer-to-peer learning models and student involvement. It assesses programs through reflections, evaluations, and tracking outcomes like increased participation rates and understanding of concepts like power, privilege, and justice.
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Cultivating Exceptional Interest in Leadership Programs at Denison University
- 1. Cultivating Exceptional Interest in the LeaderShape Institute & Other Leadership Programs Presented By: Gary Fleisner, Program Coordinator Campus Leadership & Involvement Center Denison University
- 2. Learning Outcomes • Understand Denison’s strategy to increase leadership programs participation. • Learn to align program and learning outcomes with student involvement model and institutional values. • Design on-going and periodic data collection efforts for purposes of assessment and evaluation of leadership programs.
- 4. Then & Now • 2002 • First Denison LeaderShape Institute with 27 students • 2009 • 70 applicants for LeaderShape • 3-4 leadership programs a year organized by staff • 2014 & 2015 • Average over 140 applications • Hosted two sessions of LeaderShape • 6-8 leadership programs annually organized by students
- 5. Leadership Fellows Structure • Non-positional • Social Change & Relational Leadership Model • Servant Leadership
- 6. Leadership Defined A leader is not necessarily someone who hold some formal position of leadership or who is perceived as a leader by others. Rather, a leader is one who is able to affect positive change for the betterment of others, the community, and society. All people, in other words, are potential leaders. Moreover, the process of leadership cannot be described simply in terms of behavior of an individual; rather leadership involves collaborative relationships that lead to collective action grounded in the shared values of people who work together to affect positive change. -Higher Education Research Institute
- 7. Program Creation • Peer to peer learning • Involvement model • Student Roles
- 9. Participant Recruitment • Posters • Social Media • Info Session • Nominations • Quad Day • T-shirt Day • Outreach
- 10. Assessment • Program evaluation • Reflection • Division of Student Development Outcomes • Organizational Outcomes & Learning
- 11. Reflection Prompt At LeaderShape, you had the opportunity to explore the concepts of power, privilege and justice - particularly during Day 2 (inclusive leadership night), Day 4 (Star Power exercise) and Day 5 (values and integrity). Please reflect on how LeaderShape influenced your understanding of any/all of the following concepts: power and justice, equity, identity, awareness of your own culture, awareness of cultures different than your own and/or your self- awareness.
- 12. Reflection Response “LeaderShape really helped me explore my core values and how my values influence how I view the world. I now understand how my values play an important role when you have power.”
- 13. Outcomes Wheel
- 15. Within Organization • Pre- and post-tests • Portfolio project • Recorded discussion
- 16. “Because we’re non-positional (there’s not a person in charge of us), we really have to work at building consensus and asking for help and collaborating with each other…Everyone’s responsible to collaborate, to work on that one task together. We have to work a lot with each other and develop those meaningful relationships. Sometimes a lot of differences arise, but in the end we have to come to one agreement, which probably make our decision better in the end because everyone’s behind it fully.”
- 17. Post-Programming • Staying in action packet • Staying in action grant • Reunion & Vision Showcase • Cluster reunions • Passive programming
- 18. Involvement in Leadership Programs Class of… Men Women Total 2012 8.2% 20.9% 15.3% 2013 13.0% 28.1% 21.8% 2014 17.3% 33.9% 26.8%
- 19. Contacts Gary Fleisner, Program Coordinator Campus Leadership & Involvement Center fleisnerg@denison.edu
Editor's Notes
- Denison is a small liberal arts college Located outside of Columbus
- The Leadership Fellows are non-positional. This means that there is not a hierarchical structure of leaders within the organization. Found at the core of several of our most frequently used leadership development models, non-positional leadership is practiced by the Leadership Fellows in everything they do. From the “Social Change Model of Leadership Development”(Komives and Wagner), found in D.U. Lead (a first-year leadership program) and the LeaderShape Institute, the organization believes that leadership is a process, not a position. Additionally, from the Relational Leadership Model (Komives, et al), found in the LeaderShape Institute, Inc., the Fellows believe that leadership is vision-driven rather than position-driven. While our organization remains non-positional, there are designated responsibilities given to each Fellow. Minimal buy-in, attraction later, more accountability
- CAS standards, learning outcomes, overall goals, match/teach
- P.O.P.: Power of Positivity—Have you ever wondered how our attitudes can affect our day-to-day lives? P.O.P. is about taking a closer look at how individuals view and make sense of our world. At P.O.P., students will learn how to orient yourself and others toward a positive outlook, increasing effectiveness in leadership as well as providing personal peace of mind. This is an opportunity to consider the advantage that optimism and positivity have to one’s health, happiness, and success as a leader! Signature—Signature is an interactive workshop geared towards addressing, discovering, and developing individual and community identity on campus. This program gives participants the opportunity to brainstorm ideas they can apply towards making campus a better community!
- The Leadership Fellows recruit heavily for LeaderShape and the other leadership programs. For all programs the organization uses the typical advertising methods including posters, banners, mail box stuffers, and social media. Because LeaderShape is a seven day commitment during a highly desirable winter break when there are other opportunities and trips as well, the Leadership Fellows worked hard over the years to increase our participation in LeaderShape and build a culture of leadership and inclusion on campus. The Fellows continued to come up with new innovative ways to increase the number of applications each year. Because of their success, we hosted two LeaderShape sessions in 2014 and 2015. The following are some of the ways the Fellows recruited participants: Info Session—The Fellows and other organizations host a winter break opportunities info session discussing all the trips and experiences students have over winter break. The application deadline and acceptance notifications are coordinated so all organizations are aware of who applied to multiple programs. Nominations—The Fellows collect nominations from past LeaderShape participants, current students, staff, and faculty. The Fellows send personalized nomination emails and notes in their mail box. They also ask past LeaderShapers to send out nominations to help build the LeaderShape community. Quad Day—The organization planned an outdoor event with yard games, food, and music for recent LeaderShape graduates and those interested in applying so students could share their experiences and recruit others to attend. They set up laptop stations so individuals could begin their applications. T-shirt Day—A week or so prior to the deadline a LeaderShape T-shirt day occurs were all the members of the Denison community who participated in LeaderShape are asked to wear their shirt to promote the upcoming deadline. The Fellows set up a table in the student union and take pictures of those wearing their shirt and ask them what they enjoyed about LeaderShape. These photos get posted on social media so prospective participants can connect and see the strong leadership community at Denison. Outreach—The Fellows attend various organization meetings to help spread the word about LeaderShape and recruit participants from organization and communities whose voices were not represented at LeaderShape in past years.
- In addition, the institution wanted to evaluate what the Leadership Fellows were learning as a member of the organization. A couple of years ago Denison embarked on a project to assess the learning from 3 specific types of involvement within CLIC including the Leadership Fellows. To do so, they administered pre and post-tests asking the Fellows to rate their current skills and abilities. Throughout the semester, they were to respond to prompts focused on a specific type of learning (interpersonal, intrapersonal, etc.) and to submit evidence (an email, a poster they designed) related to how they developed a particular skill.
- After LeaderShape and other leadership programs conclude, the Leadership Fellows help participants stay in action and stay connected with one another. For every program, the Leadership Fellows create a Facebook group so students can post messages, advertise upcoming events related to the topics discussed at the program, and act as a support system if needed. For the LeaderShape Institute, the Fellows help graduates stay in action by providing various resources. They compile and send a Staying in Action packet to all the participants the week after the program concludes. The packet contains the names and emails of those who attended this year as well as current students on campus who attended previous years, the particpants’ vision statements, and information regarding the Reunion & Vision Showcase and Staying in Action grant. The Campus Leadership & Involvement Center sponsors a grant of up to $250 that students can apply for funding to help bring their vision to reality. For example, if a student wants to plan a fundraising event related to their vision they can apply for the grant. The Leadership Fellows also organize a Reunion and Vision Showcase a month after the program. At this event, students can reconnect with their family cluster and other participants, discuss about progress on their visions and core values, and create action steps for their vision with other participants who have similar visions. The organization follows this LeaderShape model for various other programs as well. For D.U. Lead, a program for first year students that helps student make their mark on campus, the participants also have a reunion to further discuss how they are going to make their mark on campus and help them get involved in the campus community. For the other programs, the student mentors and facilitators reconnect with their breakout group to help people stay in action and remember the learning that occurred during the program. The Leadership Fellows also plan some passive programming such as putting stickers and messages in the participant mail boxes to remind students of the program and its teachings. The passive programming continues to build a culture leadership and inclusion on campus.