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The Student Leadership Challenge - Student Workbook and Personal Leadership Journal Tips
The Student Leadership Challenge - Student Workbook and Personal Leadership Journal Tips
Copyright
2013
by
John
Wiley
&
Sons,
Inc.
The
following
is
an
excerpt
from
The
Student
Leadership
Challenge:
Student
Workbook
and
Personal
Leadership
Journal
by
James
Kouzes
and
Barry
Posner.
This
material
is
reproduced
with
permission
of
John
Wiley
&
Sons,
Inc.
To
find
the
complete
book,
visit
www.josseybass.com/highereducation
APPENDIX B
180
We asked students and leadership coaches to share with us their best learning practices
for becoming a better leader. We combined their observations with our own and others
research and summarized these lessons into the following ten tips. Think about how these
apply to your own leadership development journey.
TIP 1: BE SELF-AWARE
The best leaders are highly aware of whats going on inside of them as they are leading.
Theyre also very aware of the impact theyre having on others. Think about it this way.
Lets say you start falling behind in a class. You tell yourself you can catch up easily, so you
ignore a couple of low grades on spot quizzes. Then one day you realize that the midterm
is coming up and you havent cracked a book in weeks. That you ignored the work for so
long is going to cost you a lot in terms of time and grades.
The same is true in leading. Self-awareness gives you clues about whats going on
inside you and in your environment. If you ignore those clues, you might find it difficult
or impossible to catch up.
Your feelings are messages that are trying to teach you something. So, listen and
learn, take time to reflect on your experiences, and keep a journal. As you go through
your developmental experiences, look within yourself and pay attention to how youre
feeling.
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The best leaders ask for feedback from othersfeedback not only about what theyre doing
well but about what theyre not doing well. Thats one reason why managing your emotions
is so important. No one is going to give you negative feedback if youre likely to get angry.
Let people know that you genuinely want their feedback, and then do something with
the feedback they give you. Afterward, ask, Howd I do? Have a conversation. Then say
thanks.
APPENDIX B
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APPENDIX B
182
and in others set achievable stretch goalsgoals that are high but not so far out of reach
that people give up even before they start.
Its also important to make your goals public. You will work harder to improve when
youve told others what youre trying to accomplish.
Once youve set goals, make a plan. There may be several ways to get from where you
are to where you want to be, just as there are several routes you could take to travel across
the country. Pick the one that best suits your needs.
When you make your plan, remember that journeys are completed one step at a time.
Its the same with leadership development. You may have a strong desire to improve in
three of The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership and in ten of the thirty behaviors.
Thats terrific, but dont try to do everything at once. Take it bit by bit. There is no such
thing as overnight success in becoming an exemplary leader.
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APPENDIX B
out by keeping a log. A self-monitoring system can include asking for feedback. Another
way to monitor your progress is to take the Student LPI more than once.
Connect your performance to rewards. Its nice when others recognize you for your efforts,
but that doesnt always happen. So along with the goals that you set and the measurement
system that you put in place, create some ways to reward yourself for achieving your goals.
Give yourself a night off to go to a movie or a party with a friend. Buy yourself something
youd like; it doesnt have to be expensive. Mark the achievement in red pen on your
calendar. Brag about it.
You can also schedule rewards when you reach milestones. Having a learning buddy is
much like how endurance sports training program Team in Training helps people prepare
to run marathons and triathlons to raise money for blood cancers.
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