• Home
• Programs
• Professional Competencies
• Leadership
•  

Leadership

The Leadership competency area addresses the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required of a leader, whether it be a positional leader or a member of the staff, in both an individual capacity and within a process of how individuals work together effectively to envision, plan, effect change in organizations, and respond to internal and external constituencies and issues.

Basic

One should be able to

• describe how one's personal values, beliefs, histories, and perspectives inform one's view of oneself as an effective leader;
• identify one's strengths and weaknesses as a leader and seek opportunities to develop one's leadership skills;
• identify various constructs of leadership and leadership styles that include but are not limited to symbolic, expert, relational, and inspirational;
• 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;
• use technology to support the leadership process (e.g., seeking input or feedback, sharing decisions, posting data that support decisions, using group-support website tools);
• understand campus cultures (e.g., academic cultures, student cultures) and collaborative relationships, applying that understanding to one's work;
• articulate the vision and mission of the primary work unit, the division, and the institution;
• explain the values and processes that lead to organizational improvement;
• identify institutional traditions, mores, and organizational structures (e.g., hierarchy, networks, governing groups, nature of power, policies, goals, agendas and resource allocation processes) and how they influence others to act in the organization;
• explain the advantages and disadvantages of different types of decision-making processes (e.g., consensus, majority vote, and decision by authority);
• think critically and creatively, and imagine possibilities for solutions that do not currently exist or are not apparent;
• identify and then effectively consult with key stakeholders and those with diverse perspectives to make informed decisions;
• explain the effect of decisions on diverse groups of people, other units, and sustainable practices;
• articulate the logic used in making decisions to all interested parties;
• exhibit informed confidence in the capacity of ordinary people to pull together and take practical action to transform their communities and world; and
• identify and introduce conversations on potential issues and developing trends into appropriate venues such as staff meetings.

 
Intermediate

One should be able to

• compare, critique, and apply appropriate leadership models to various situations in organizational life;
• recognize the interdependence of members within organizational units;
• plan and organize a unit's resources in the support of unit, divisional, or institutional goals and objectives;
• identify potential obstacles or points of resistance when designing a change process;
• advocate for change within the division that would remove barriers to student and staff success;
• facilitate consensus processes where wide support is needed;
• intentionally include diverse others and their perspectives to inform decision making and reconcile diverse viewpoints;
• share data used to inform key decisions in transparent and accessible ways using appropriate technology;
• seek entrepreneurial perspectives when planning for change;
• 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); and
• willingly engage in campus governance in a manner that exemplifies responsible campus citizenry.

 
Advanced

One should be able to

• lead, motivate, influence, inspire, and enable others to contribute toward the effectiveness and success of the organization;
• display authenticity and congruence between one's true self and one's positional roles;
• promote, facilitate, and assess the effectiveness of collaborative initiatives and team-building efforts, using technology as appropriate to support such work;
• develop and promote a shared vision that drives unit, divisional, and institutional short- and long-term planning and the ongoing organizing of work;
• facilitate ongoing development, implementation and assessment of goal attainment at the unit and/or institutional level that is congruent with institutional mission and strategic plans;
• implement divisional strategies that account for ongoing changes in the cultural landscape, political landscape, global perspectives, and sustainability issues;
• take responsibility for unit and divisional decisions;
• establish systems to provide leadership opportunities for employees in such entities as committees, task forces, internships, and cross-functional roles;
• create a culture that advocates the appropriate and effective use of feedback systems (e.g., 360 feedback processes) for improving individual leadership and team performance;
• establish and sustain systems of mentoring to ensure students and professionals receive the support needed;
• convene appropriate personnel to identify and act on solutions to potential issues; and
• inform other units about issues that may affect their work.