PRINCIPLES OF LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

When thinking about developing your leadership capacities at Miami, it is important to always ask the question: Leadership for What? Consider your efforts as more than opportunities for private gain. At Miami, you can take ownership of your education and, at the same time, tackle pressing problems addressing our world.

Below are some principles to ponder as you put leadership into practice:

• Create free space for discussions of the key issues of the day.
• Ground your discussions in the values and purposes you believe in.
• Be inclusive of all voices.
• Think critically and test claims about values, ethical content, and the impact of your courses of action.
• The tendency within groups to make all voices conform to a prevailing group norm reduces the likelihood of diverse voices being heard. Recognize that useful critiques can help the group flourish and the society with which it interacts.
• Encourage constructive critiques through democratic practices and then apply them in public discussions.
• Cultivate an excellent grasp of pertinent subject matter as well as clear thought, effective communication skills, and a highly honed reasoning capability.
• Never shy from taking unpopular stances after focused study of an issue.
• Leadership is sometimes, above all else, about having the courage to endure the many personal agonies associated with difficult discussions.
• Engage others to help you refine and deepen your ideas. This will enhance your prospects for success as well as build broader support for what you advocate.
• Link your out-of-class experiences with your coursework.
• Find a few outlets for deeper levels of involvement, rather than involving yourself minimally in multiple organizations, clubs or endeavors.
• Recognize that leadership is more about integrity than securing authority or positions. To develop your emotional strength, empathy for others, and sense of values, look for opportunities to follow or serve others.

A final note on leadership: We need people who stand up in the middle of meetings and forums and provide reasoned but often direct critiques of existing practice on behalf of a big, important and powerful idea. Only then is positive change possible, especially against constellations of power that are against it.