Student Leadership Competency Advising
The Center for Student Leadership has identified four primary focus areas for helping our students grow as leaders. The programming that we offer, directly through our office or offer indirectly through our internal and external partners, will focus on equipping, educating, and empowering students with the tools and skills to:
- build their confidence,
- improve communication skills,
- make connections, and
- develop critical thinking skills
The Center for Student Leadership identified these four focus areas based on the NACE career readiness competencies, the student leadership competencies identified by Dr. Corey Seemiller in her book, The Student Leadership Competencies Guidebook: Designing Intentional Leadership Learning and Development, the AAC&U’s Intellectual and Practical Skills Essential Learning Outcomes, as well as skills that have been identified as important for helping women overcome the broken rung. To help students grow in these areas, we recommend that students take advantage of CSL programs, as well as resources offered by our partners.
Getting started
To get started, we encourage TWU students to:
- Identify their strength, career, goal, and life competencies by downloading the Student Leadership Competency app from the Apple or Google store on their smart phone. This app not only allows students to rank their competencies, but it provides the definitions of the competencies, as well as reflection questions and suggested activities.
OR
- Assess their proficiency in the eight different leadership competency cluster areas by taking the Student Leadership Competency Inventory. The competency clusters were identified by Dr. Corey Seemiller and are based on her extensive research which is outlined in her book, The Student Leadership Competencies Guidebook: Designing Intentional Leadership Learning and Development. Students are encouraged to regularly assess their proficiency so they can assess their growth. They can do this through personal reflection and evaluations, peer assessments, through courses or by demonstrating their proficiency through special projects.
Below are examples of leadership competencies that can correlate with the four CSL focus areas.
swipe to see the full table⇨
| Confidence | Communication | Critical Thinking | Connections |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advocating for a point of view | Verbal communication | Research | Power dynamics |
| Initiative | Nonverbal communication | Other perspectives | Group development |
| Responsibility for personal behavior | Listening | Reflection and application | Other contributions |
| Positive attitude | Writing | Analysis | Organizational behavior |
| Excellence | Facilitation | Synthesis | Productive relationships |
| Mentoring | Conflict negotiation | Evaluation | Appropriate interaction |
| Motivation | Advocating for a point of view | Idea generation | Helping others |
| Resiliency | Providing feedback | Problem solving | Group dynamics |
| Receiving feedback | Decision making | Interpersonal interaction |
These competencies can be developed through a variety of activities including:
- Joining the Toast with Confidence chapter of Toastmasters
- Attending a Catalyst workshop
- Participating in a networking event
- Completing a research or capstone course
- Participating in LeaderShape
- Completing one of our proposed leadership pathways that can earn a leadership medallion
To get a copy of the Student Leadership Competencies Self-guided Student Workbook which includes the competency definitions or if you want to schedule an advising session to learn more about the competencies and potential activities for growth, please email Lawrencina Mason Oramalu at loramalu@twu.edu.
Page last updated 9:06 AM, July 14, 2023