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The Lifelong Process of Leadership Development

Sherene Awong

Loyola University Chicago

ELPS 419: Leadership in Higher Education

Dr. Darren Pierre

December 1, 2020
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The Lifelong Process of Leadership Development

Throughout this course, we have looked at various theories on leadership and

challenged the stereotypical ideals of what is a real leader. I have learned that leadership

is ongoing, a lifelong process that is dynamic and will change depending on the context.

Leadership requires an individual to work with others to not only meet the goals of the

group but to seek social justice within these goals. The process of leadership and working

through group dynamics is just as important as the objectives. We must also consider that

no one leadership theory is perfect. To have effective leadership, we will take parts from

several types of theories to find the perfect balance for each context.

Domains of Leadership Development

There have been many pre-conceived ideas about leadership especially the debate

about a leader being born or made. Dugan (2017) examines the four leadership domains:

capacity, enactment, motivation, and efficacy and how they all play a role in the usage of

formal theories. In leadership capacity, Dugan (2017) stated, "Just because someone can

do something does not mean that the person will actually do it. Leadership capacity does

not necessarily translate into leadership action" (p. 36). I found this to be a powerful

statement and reminiscent to some of my experiences as an educator. Many of my

colleagues have advanced degrees and yet do not hold major leadership positions at their

schools. There are reasons why a person may not be a leader, but it is up to educational

institutions to offer more leadership opportunities. In both the secondary and higher

education level, I would like to see may programs and initiatives that focus on creating

leadership roles for women and people of color. Leadership enactment is also important

because it shows practice in action. Every person has the capacity to be a leader, but the
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question remains if they will lead. Leadership motivation is critical to the process.

Whether a person enjoys being a leader or see it as a sense of duty, an effective leader

must have a desire to lead. Finally, leadership efficacy will determine success. It will be

up to the leader to find the individual strengths of the group. These domains remind me

of the importance of introducing more leadership programs in higher education and

teaching theories that will encourage students to become leaders while on campus but

also in future jobs.

Management vs. Leadership

Management is a term that I thought could be used interchangeably with

leadership. Over the years, there has been a shift in leading educational institutions like

businesses at both the secondary and higher education levels. Principals are now called

directors. The student is not only a consumer of knowledge but also a client. Most people

do not know how to distinguish the differences between management and leadership.

Northouse (2018) explained, "Management is about seeking order and stability;

leadership is about seeking adaptive and constructive change" (p. 12). While schools

need structure, the educational setting allows educators and students to be creative and

innovative. Leadership and management should work together but it is important to find

the right balance that works toward the goals of the group. In my own personal

experience, I have seen how management becomes the priority for many leaders. Using

theories like authentic leadership, transformational leadership and servant leadership,

educators can do more to bring social justice to their institutions. For example, as more

schools seek diversity and inclusion, leadership will require schools to do more than

increase the number of students from marginalized communities. Colleges and

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universities will have to create spaces for these students and offer leadership courses and

trainings that will show the benefits of having students from these different communities

on campus.

Authentic Leadership

Authenticity has a positive connotation when tied to leadership. Participants want

leaders who are real and honest about who they are. In leadership, these individuals must

demonstrate how their own beliefs can support the group in reaching their goals.

Northouse asserted, (2018) “Authentic leaders understand their own values, place

followers’ needs above their own, and work with followers to align their interests in order

to create a greater common good” (p. 208). Being an authentic leader is not always easy.

Coming to a consensus in some groups can be tricky. Having the skills to be objective,

being self-aware of one's strengths and weaknesses, and finding the true needs of the

group is what an authentic leader does (Dugan, 2017). Along with these skills, the

positive psychological attributes to authentic leadership are confidence, hope, optimism,

and resilience (Dugan, 2017; Northouse, 2018). Being confident that a group or team can

complete their tasks is useful especially when things do not go the right way. Confidence

also allows participants to build trust with their leader. Hope inspires the leader and the

team in accomplishing their goals and to have the willpower to finish the project.

Optimism accepts that failures are a part of the process but that a positive outcome is still

achievable. Resiliency demands that a leader recover from adversity. These are qualities I

want to have when being a leader. As an authentic leader, I want the students and

colleagues that I work with to know what my values are but that I am also aware that I

will not always have all the answer. Working in international higher education, I hope to
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use authentic leadership to build connections with people from all over the world and use

experiences like COVID-19 to show that we can be innovative in our work in bringing

internationalization to students.

Servant Leadership

Servant leadership is the theory that I have used most in my practice. As an

educator, many times I have put the needs of my students first. Dugan (2017) and

Northouse (2018) analyze various behaviors in this theory including emotional healing,

helping followers grow, and creating value for the community. I hope to continue to

support students as they navigate the college campus environment. Students who study

abroad will have challenges and is up to leaders to help students transition to a new

country and offer leadership programs that will teach them more about the new

communities they are living in. One of the major issues with studying abroad and

international programs is that not everyone assimilates well into a new environment. In

our student development course, we read about the struggles of Asian international

students in participating extracurricular activities and forming relationships with students

from the U.S. (Zhao et al., 2005). As a servant leader, my job as an educator is to find

ways to make international students feel more welcomed at on-campus activities while

still respecting their goals of academic achievement. Northouse (2018) affirmed, "Servant

leaders make followers' career development a priority, including mentoring followers and

providing them with support" (p.236). By increasing an international student's network,

we are helping them both academically and professionally. This theory requires us to

empower students as they continue to develop.

Transformational Leadership
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Leadership is intertwined with the theme of social justice. Transformational

leadership emphasizes the importance of promoting ethics and moral values (Northouse,

2018). It advocates the importance of social justice and progress over time. Being a

transformational leader asks that an individual be a role model, motivate others,

encourage intellectual stimulation, and listen to the needs of the followers (Northouse,

2018). I hope to promote critical thinking for students and to challenge the status quo.

Transformational leadership advocates for social justice and can be essential in helping

people who are in marginalized groups. While transformational leadership is necessary, it

is also not a perfect theory. While the Civil Rights Movement has made momentous

changes in American history, politics, and law, there is still more work to be done. As we

currently see in the United States, there are major threats voter rights, racial equality, and

equity in education. This theory can also seem elitist when the people who truly need to

benefit from social justice are only receiving a small portion of equity. Being a

transformational leader is a life-long process as we work to transform the entire system. It

means questioning policies and rules that oppress students. By having more leaders that

are women, people of color, LGBTQ, and people with disabilities, we allow for more

storytelling and the chance to create more social change.

Emotionally Intelligent Leadership and the Social Change Model

Awareness is another key factor in leadership. In the Emotionally Intelligent

Leadership (EIL) theory, the focus is on the awareness of self, others, and context of a

situation (Dugan, 2017). This framework also overlaps with many of the critical values in

the Social Change Model. Both theories discuss the consciousness of self and

congruence. The leader has an awareness of their own beliefs and values. This also ties to
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authentic leadership and having self-control and knowing one's limitations (HERI, 1996).

This type of self-awareness is helpful when thinking about self-reflection and how to

make improvements as a leader. Levy Shankman, Allen, & Haber-Curran (2015)

concluded, "Effective leadership takes commitment and awareness. Effective leadership

requires changing behavior. Effective leadership takes deliberate practice" (p. 9). As a

leader, receiving feedback and critically analyzing it is one of the most important parts of

the development process. We cannot learn and grow and as leaders if we do not ask for

feedback and truly process it. By doing this type of self-reflection, we not only continue

to grow in our skills as a leader, we improve the process of leadership. Consciousness of

others looks at the relationships we build within a team. This ties in collaboration,

controversy with civility and citizenship. In collaboration, we are working towards a

common goal and negotiating ideas. In controversy with civility, we recognize that

conflicts may occur, but it is important to resolve them with respect. Citizenship involves

community engagement and meeting the needs of others. Finally, consciousness of

context looks at the setting or environment. We must look at the common purpose and

make sure goals match up with the needs of the people that we serve. We can also look at

how level of commitment may vary depending on the type of group or situation.

Culturally Relevant Leadership

Discussions about race, gender equality, and LGBTQ rights have become part of

mainstream media and are emerging topics in leadership. Culturally Relevant Leadership

(CRLL) looks at ways to, "... dismantle Eurocentrism in leadership education and replace

it with an intersecting representation of activism and social justice" (Anthony Jr., 2018, p.

42). Many of the leadership theories that we have learned in class focus on leadership
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development for White cisgender men. CRLL pushes back on these hegemonic norms

and calls for leaders to make changes that stop the oppression of marginalized groups.

Leaders must do a self-reflection on their own leadership identity, look at the imbalance

of power in leadership theory and educational institutions, question the quality of

experience for marginalized students, and examine polices within an organization

(Anthony Jr., 2018). I have done some activism work as an educator and participated in

marches about gun violence in Chicago and educational rights for students of color.

There is still more that I can do. Working in higher education, I hope to do more on

getting policies changed to improve inclusion and diversity on college campuses.

According to Guthrie, Osteen, and Jones (2016), "For change to occur in higher

education, the interests of institutions, majority students, and underrepresented students

must converge" (p.10). This statement sends a clear message that there must be

commitment and involvement at every level. Changing policies can be challenging, but it

is necessary. By participating in activism and social justice, we are improving the lives of

students and ourselves.

Black Women and Leadership

As a woman of color, I have only had a small sample of people who look like me

in leadership roles. According to Meriwether (2018), "The importance of developing

Black female student leaders, enhancing the environments in which this development is

happening, as well as considering the world educators are preparing them for, cannot be

understated" (p.98). Not only do we need more initiatives that focus on Black female

leadership, we also must create more leadership positions where their voices can be

heard. At the beginning of this course, I did not see myself as a leader because most of
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the leaders in my life were White men. I have missed leadership opportunities because I

did not see myself in these roles. As I have learned in this course, I must take advantage

of these moments and find ways to tell my story to improve my life and the lives of

others that are oppressed. Meriwether (2018) asserted, "Helping Black female student

leaders navigate environments in which they lead with respect to their race and gender

identities have implications for others' reception, perception, and willingness to follow"

(p. 105). Investing in Black female leadership programs is an investment society as Black

women use their roles as leaders to help others in the community. I am encouraged by the

continuous changes happening in leadership and hope to see more Black women and

other women of color in leadership roles that will make positive changes in social justice.

Conclusion

The myriad of theories presented in this course have helped me to redefine my

definition of leadership. Having authenticity, being transformational, becoming a servant,

acting with emotionally intelligence, and executing cultural relevance are all parts of

leadership. As my journey through leadership continues to evolve, I am willing to take on

the role of a leader as I feel more comfortable in using leadership theories in my practice.

This dynamic process will create social changes on campus and in my professional life.
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References

Anthony Jr., M. (2018). Intersecting Activism and Social Justice Leadership Education.

In K. Guthrie & V. Chunoo (Eds.), Changing the narrative: socially just leadership

education (pp. 41–55). Information Age Publishing, Inc.

Dugan, J. (2017). Leadership theory: Cultivating critical perspectives. Jossey-Bass.

http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/luc/detail.action?docID=4797456

Guthrie, K., Osteen, L., Jones, T. (Eds). (2016). Developing culturally relevant leadership

learning. New directions for student services: No. 152. Jossey-Bass

Higher Education Research Institute (HERI). (1996). A social change model of

leadership development (Version III). University of California, Los Angeles,

Higher Education Research Institute.

Levy Shankman, M., Allen, S., & Haber-Curran, P. (2015). Emotionally intelligent

leadership : a guide for students (2nd ed.). Jossey-Bass.

Meriwether, L. (2018). Getting in formation to lead: Black female student leadership

development. In K. Guthrie & V. Chunoo (Eds.), Changing the Narrative:

Socially just leadership education (pp.109-126). Information Age Publishing.

Northouse, P. (2018). Leadership: Theory and practice, 8th edition. Sage.