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During my spring semester of my first year as a graduate student I facilitated a seven-week Leadership In Residence course for first-year students.  Based upon Kouzes and Posner’s (2008) Student Leadership Challenge: Five Practices for Exemplary Leaders, each week a student resident advisor and myself would facilitate an hour and a half long session based on one of the five exemplary leadership practices.  Each session provided students an opportunity to build awareness and understanding of the practices in combination with active learning experiences.  Students were empowered to teach a portion of each class session as a way to actively develop their own leadership skills. 

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Teaching this non-credit course provided me an opportunity to develop my own leadership skills as well as those of the students.  Prior to the teaching of this course, I was unaware of the five practices identified by Kouzes and Posner.  Through the teaching of the practices, I was able to develop my own understanding and begin implementing the practices into my own practice.  For example, through facilitation I honed my ability to create an inclusive environment that fosters community development as well as encourages students to develop their potential as future leaders.  As such, through this experience I expanded my leadership ability while also practicing leadership skills by mentoring students.

Student Staff Development at Cornell University

ACPA & NASPA Professional Competencies Snapshot

• Identify basic fundamentals of teamwork and teambuilding in one’s work setting and communities of practice.
• Describe and apply the basic principles of community building.
• Articulate the vision and mission of the primary work unit, the division, and the institution.
• Exhibit informed confidence in the capacity of ordinary people to pull together and take practical action to transform their communities and world.
• Identify and introduce conversations on potential issues and developing trends into appropriate venues such as staff meetings.
• Intentionally include diverse others and their perspectives to inform decision making and reconcile diverse viewpoints.
• Give appropriate feedback to colleagues and students on skills they may seek to become more effective leaders.

• Serve as a mentor for students, new professionals, or those new to the organizational unit.
 

• Create environments that encourage students to view themselves as having the potential to make meaningful contributions to their communities and be civically engaged in their communities (residence hall, campus, local, state, or national).
• Lead, motivate, influence, inspire, and enable others to contribute toward the effectiveness and success of the organization.



In addition to learning and implementing my own leadership skills through the LIR course, I also helped develop the leadership skills of my Resident Community Advisors (RCA) at Cornell University.  Supervising a new staff of RCAs for two months, I created a mentoring relationship where I intentionally provided my students opportunities to emerge as leaders.  I provided my staff with experiences to help them develop teamwork, community, and begin working towards a “shared vision.”  During RCA training, my students completed a continuum activity that helped them identify strengths, attitudes, values, and beliefs of each other to inform how they will function within a team.  They were also introduced to the hall vision of family and were asked to work together to define family and how it would inform their practice as student leaders.  Through these activities I strived to role model effective leadership skills and ability.

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Additionally, I always sought my staff's viewpoints and perspectives when making decisions that would affect the hall.  However, there was one situation where I failed to do this, which became a learning experience for me.  As Head Resident, I was asked to inform my staff of a new office hours requirement.  My staff was not prepared for this situation and I did not have time to ask for their input prior to the decision.  As a result of their negative reception of the new requirement, I asked that they prepare a proposal on how to best meet the requirements of office hours in a more appropriate manner.  The students drafted a proposal and as a result the requirement was modified.  Although I was unable to seek their opinion prior to this decision, I ensured that they had a voice in the process and helped develop new guidelines.  

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Moreover, my commitment to the development of their leadership skills is exemplified through the end-of-summer staff evaluations, where I provided my RCAs with feedback on their strengths and areas of improvement.  Throughout the summer session I provided my students with feedback on their leadership and discussed areas of improvement.  This all-encompassing approach helped me build an effective and dynamic group of student leaders.  Ultimately, through my LIR and Cornell experiences I have continued to develop my skill as a leader as well as develop leadership qualities within the students I advise and supervise.