A Brief Summary of the Program:
The SPA Leadership Program is a 15-credit certificate program that utilizes interdisciplinary studies to teach leadership theories and skills. In the first-year of the program, students are placed into a small issue group that will work together on a research project and social action project. Throughout the first semester, students work with their issue group to develop a research question and conduct a research project. Simultaneously, students take a course on leadership theories. Then, in the second semester, students engage in a social action project based on the research project. Additionally, the course work for that semester focuses on practical applications of leadership. In the second year of the program, students conduct the same type of project, but instead of working with a small group, every students conducts their own individual project. Additionally, students take two courses expanding their leadership knowledge and understanding. Finally, in the last two years of the program, students complete an internship course based on an internship in the DMV and a Leadership Capstone course. The Capstone Course brings together the entire leadership experience and reflects on each students leadership understanding.
Essay on How the Program Changed My View of Leadership:
The SPA Leadership Program changed my view of leadership by highlighting that everyone can be a leader. A leader is not always the person who the most vocal or outspoken person. This person could be someone with clear vision for the future or an individual willing to work hard for the benefit of the group. For instance, in my leadership experience with the AU Club Swim Team, I was not comfortable being the voice for the team and advocating for various policy changes. However, I was comfortable leading the team and improving the swimming technique of individual swimmers. Therefore, I took on a leadership role of head coach instead of president so that I could use my strengths to help the team. Overall, the leadership program taught me that leadership is about using your strengths and collaborating with others for the benefit of everyone.
Key Takeaway:
My key takeaway from the SPA Leadership Program was that leadership is process not a position. The Program was the best example of how leadership is a process of continuous learning. For example, the program is cumulative and you can’t receive all the benefits without going through the whole program. Additionally, it was important to remember that it was not just a class, but a program. This clearly highlighted how leadership is a process, not just a role or position.
Essay on Leadership Growth:
Throughout my experience in the SPA Leadership Program, I have invaluable skills and increased my deep understanding of leadership. When I first arrived at AU, my understanding of leadership was very narrow and mainly consisted of thinking that a leader was the person who took charge over a situation. I always viewed a leader as the individual with the most power who was placed in charge of making decisions or running a situation. However, throughout my time in the SPA Leadership Program, my understanding of leadership has become much broader, and I now have a more expanded definition of leadership. First, I have come to learn that a leader can be an extrovert or an introvert, meaning that a leader is not always the face of a situation. Some leaders lead outside of the spotlight and work within an organization to make a difference. For example, in politics, some leaders are the elected officials who have been chosen to lead the government. However, there are also extremely important leaders who work as staff members for these same spotlight leaders. Overall, leadership is a vast concept that explains how some individuals inspire and guide other individuals towards change or to achieve a goal.
Through the SPA Leadership Program, I have come to understand myself as a leader much better. I have discovered that I am not a lion always fighting to have my voice heard. However, I am more passive and lead through individual actions and personal connections. For example, in my role as an Interclass and Community Coordinator, I was not comfortable standing up in big crowds of people and giving a speech to everyone who attended. In fact, I wasn’t completely comfortable with talking on Zoom to a small group of people who can to study sessions. But the other ICC members were very comfortable with public speaking and engagement. Therefore, I would do a lot of the planning work, which highlighted my best abilities, and my fellow coordinators would use their strengths during the event. This was one of the greatest examples of leadership because we were working together as a team, collaborating, and using our strengths to make ICC events as positive and successful as possible.
During my time in the Program, I have built my theoretical and practical leadership skills through academic and professional experiences. Through the coursework in the program, I have learned leadership theories that will serve me well throughout my professional career. For instance, we learned extensively about adaptive leadership, which is very important for the time we live in. Through the social action projects and other professional experiences, I have learned practical leadership skills. First, I learned how to be collaborative and work with a group through the first-year project. Then, I learned more individual leadership skills through the second-year social action project. Finally, during my internship experiences, I witnessed leadership in action. I repeatedly observed various leadership styles used within the office. I also witnessed how every individual uses a different leadership style and staff members can often be a leader and follower within an organization. One of the most common leadership styles I witnessed in my internships was situational leadership. There were many times when I saw individuals serving as leaders for me but being followers in other situations.
Overall, the SPA Leadership Program has taught me that being a leader is not a position, but it is a lifelong, internal process. The program taught me that people can learn to be leaders and that even the lowest ranking individuals in a company can still be leaders. However, the journey through leadership takes time, dedication, and hard work. Therefore, it is essential to work every day on becoming a stronger leader and working towards making positive changes in the world.