When director of residential life Michele Rosenthal asks hall presidents to reflect on their leadership experiences, they say, "I haven't necessarily thought of myself as a leader!" Rosenthal believes that's because many students have a narrow definition of leadership.
When asked about their memories of leadership, she says students most often describe white men who used a "command and control" leadership style. Her own view of leadership is more expansive, embracing a participatory blend of traditional male and female interaction styles and preferences based on the theoretical work of psychologist Carol Gilligan, scholar Judy B. Rosener, and others.
The "command and control" approach teaches that leaders ought to be cool, aloof, analytical, and unemotional. "Yet when leaders discuss what they are proudest of, they describe feelings of inspiration, passion, elation, challenge, and care," she notes. A participatory leadership style focuses on relationship development, and much recent research about leadership styles supports fostering a climate of shared power, personal interaction, empowerment, and collaboration. Participatory leadership principles can be embraced by both men and women, though women's socialization suggests that this approach focuses on positive female characteristics.
Rosenthal sees values clarification, self-esteem building, developing strategies for managing time and stress, and taking care of yourself as bedrock skills for effective leaders because "Creating good relationships with others requires having a good relationship with yourself first."
The next level of leadership training involves practicing skills needed in leadership positions, such as conflict resolution, communication, public speaking, delegation, assertiveness, cultivating diversity, and networking. How do you decide which are most important? "Develop relationships with women you respect and ask questions about their career paths," Rosenthal suggests. "Ask women in positions you aspire to what parts of themselves they needed to develop to get there." Inspirational leaders may not always be obvious, Rosenthal adds. "A leader isn't necessarily the person in the forefront. It's the person that others in a group look to."
Most students already have more leadership attributes than they realize, Rosenthal says. But they need to think about "what leadership is, what skills are needed, and how to acquire the ones they don't already have. With coaching and encouragement, students really come into their own as leaders."
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