By: Heather Shea, Director
Last week, I was interviewed by two students in EAD 315, described on the website as “a three-credit, pass/no pass course for undergraduate students. Curriculum topics include leadership theories, leadership skills, self-awareness and efficacy, communication, diversity, interculturalism, ethics, teamwork, and group dynamics.” The two women who reached out to me, I think, were a bit caught off guard when I said “leadership is not a position or a title.”
When I talked with the two students, I talked about the myth of a solo “leader” and how this notion perpetuates a model of leadership steeped in patriarchal, hierarchical, competitive, heroic, and individualistic styles. Some leadership texts perpetuate this idea (as well as our socialization in a society that puts specific emphasis on a “type” of leader.
Instead, I shared my definition based on the work of Susan Komives and others:
I see leadership as a process of people coming together to accomplish a common goal for the common good. I also believe that anyone can be a “leader.”
This belief is at the center of WILD, or the Women*s Initiative for Leadership Development conference. The Conference is coming up on Saturday, November 6, 2021. Our aim is to create a learning environment that centers the belief that all people can develop leadership knowledge, skills, and abilities. Free for MSU students, WILD 2021 will be held in the MSU Union. As a side note, next week, we will announce our keynote speaker, and we promise, you will not want to miss hearing from this extraordinary human! Register here!
The planning committee for WILD, composed of students from a variety of majors at both the undergraduate and graduate level, as well as staff from various units, is a distinctly process-oriented and non-hierarchical space where ideas and shared common goals abound. If you’re interested in joining the 2022 planning committee (we will begin in Spring!) please complete this sign up form. Join us and be a part of the WILD process! WILD 2022 Sign-Up!
Interested in sharing your own "Thought Of The Day" or TOTD? Email us at wss@msu.edu.
Commentaires