1. +
Developing Value
Congruence and
Balance to Foster
Student Leadership
Development
Ben Correia ‘01
Project Manager and Research Assistant for the Multi-Institutional
Study of Leadership

2. +
Today’s Overview
 Setting the stage for today
 What is leadership, the Social Change Model of Leadership, and
the Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership
 The power of mentorship
 Centering ourselves through
 Consciousness of self
 Congruence
 Commitment
 Resilience to persist through adversity and promote positive
change

3. +
My Journey & Style
 What led me here…
 I believe that we all see the world and knowledge differently
based on our backgrounds and life experiences.
 I believe we all have truth and wisdom to contribute
 I am not the end all and be all of today’s topics
 Living in the tensions is a theme of my life and work
 This lens will be apparent in some of our conversation today

4. +
Contemplation from the Balcony
 Jesuit ideal of contemplatives in action
 Heifetz analogy of the balcony and the dance floor
 Today we get to enjoy some time in the balcony; in contemplation
 We may have other stressors on our minds, but let’s do our best to
leave these at the door and embrace the opportunity today

5. +The Carrot, Egg, and
Coffee Bean

6. +
What is Leadership?
 Some basic assumptions moving forward:
 Leadership is a process not a person
 Leadership can be taught
 Leadership is values based
 Leadership is predicated upon change

7. +“Leadership is a purposeful,
collaborative, values-based process
that results in positive change.”
Komives, Wagner, & Associates, 2009, p. xii

8. +
Social Change Model of Leadership
Development

9. +
The Multi-Institutional Study of
Leadership
 Started in 2006 by a team of researchers at the University of
Maryland
 Over 300 institutions all over the US have participated in this
study
 Private and public
 Large and small
 Religious and secular
 Ranging from baccalaureate to research-focused
 Approximately 350,000 students have participated in this study

10. +
The Multi-Institutional Study of
Leadership
 Outcomes we study
 Leadership Capacity
 Leadership Efficacy
 Complex Cognitive Skills
 Social Perspective-Taking
 Collective Racial Esteem
 Leadership Aspirations
 Resiliency

11. +
Major Findings about Leadership
Development
 Women have higher capacity for leadership than men but lower
efficacy
 Developmental sequencing is important
 Key factors influencing leadership development
 Socio-cultural conversations
 Community service
 Internships
 Mentoring

12. +
Mentoring Matters
 Can build student leadership efficacy (strongest findings for
mentoring relationships with administrators)
 Through vicarious experiences watching the mentor
 Through encouragement to enact leadership
 Can build leadership capacity (strongest findings for mentoring
relationships with faculty members)
 Through content expertise within respective areas
 Advise for navigating difficult political systems
 Different findings pertained to mentoring relationships with all
groups
 Faculty, staff, community members, employers, family, and peers
 Findings varied by demographics and outcomes

13. +Each of you matter as potential
mentors to students.

14. +
Our mentors
 Think of one or to mentors who have influenced you
 What struck you about them?
 Why do you think you felt a connection to them?
 What did they stand for?
 How did they carry themselves
 Turn to a partner near you and discuss your experiences with
mentors
 What do you find in common about your mentors?

15. +So why can’t we be powerful
mentors to students and each
other?
Can mentoring in and of itself be seen as an
act of leadership?

16. +
Powerful Mentors
 Need to be centered in their authentic selves in order to positively
influence others
 Genuinely seek to understand ourselves
 Understand our deep-seeded values and act in congruence with those
values
 Commit to a vision or cause that gives you some direction and
motivates you to continue forward

17. +
Time to Stretch

18. +
Consciousness of Self
 Awareness of the beliefs, values, attitudes, and emotions that
motivate one to take action (HERI, 1996)
 This is a life-long and cyclical process
 Personality and talents stay relatively consistent
 Life experiences though may change beliefs, values, and attitudes

19. +
Cura Personalis – Care for Self and
Others
 We need to have a clear understanding of ourselves in order to
make decisions to care for ourselves.
 Only when we properly care for ourselves can we properly care for
others
 More and more we see students who are over-extended, over-
scheduled, over-worked
 What example are we setting for them?

20. +
Cura Personalis
 How do you achieve the appropriate work – life balance?
 How do you know when too much is too much at work?
 Work will never feel like sitting on the beach, but it shouldn’t feel
like a torture chamber either.
 How do you find the right balance between feeling challenged and
feeling comfortable at work?
 What are some positive coping mechanisms that you use?
 When the stress is getting to you, what helps you to work through
these times?
 Do you know how to appropriately advocate for yourself in the work
environment?
 This can look very different with different offices and supervisors.
 Understanding yourself and your supervisor can help significantly
in this process.

21. +
Interesting fact
In a recent study, we found that one’s
consciousness of self is significantly
related to one’s resilience.

22. +
Congruence
 Thinking, feeling, and behaving with consistency, genuineness,
authenticity, and honesty towards others; actions are consistent
with most deeply-held beliefs and convictions (HERI, 1996)
 Have you had an experience with someone who has not acted in
congruence with his/her values?
 What were your thoughts of that person?
 We can loose respect and trust of others when we don’t act in
congruence.
 Difficult to mentor others when they don’t respect you
 Difficult to influence others when they don’t trust you

23. +
Values Clarification
 Circle all values that resonate with you the most
 Review which ones you have left to narrow to seven values
 Do some correspond with others you have circled?
 Which ones would be root constructs?
 i.e. Knowledge and Curiosity
 One could say curiosity is the process of seeking new
knowledge

24. +
Values and Action Congruence
 Reflect on some examples of how people may see your top values
reflected in daily action.
 If you know each other well enough, group members may be able to
give examples of how they other members enacting their values.
 What actions may be inconsistent with your values?
 Share with your group based on your comfort level
 How do you think you congruence or incongruence influences the
way you are perceived at work? By students?

25. +
Commitment
 The psychic energy that motivates the individual to serve and that
drives the collective effort; implies passion, intensity, and
duration, and is directed toward both the group activity as well as
its intended outcomes (HERI, 1996)
 What drives you to do the work you?
 You chose this line of work for some reason?
 You chose College of Idaho for some reason?

26. +
Slipping Commitment
 Commitment can easily wane in the midst of daily, mundane
responsibilities and actions.
 Reminds me of Diana Eck’s understanding of the sacred and the
mundane
 Mundane
 Sacred
 So then how do transform the mundane into the sacred? How do
we transform the way we conceptualize our work in order to keep
the larger purpose and value in mind?
 What are practical ways you can help reinvigorate your passion for
your work?
 How do you incorporate reminders to help you see the ultimate
purpose of your work?

27. +
Long Term Commitment
 Committing to a cause or complex change
 Doesn’t happen quickly
 Novelty wears off, new obstacles pop up, competing opportunities
arise
 Reflection Song
 Critical hope
 Understanding the realities of the challenges ahead but maintaining
hope by celebrating the small steps that move us toward the larger
goal.
 We must also understand ourselves and care for ourselves in the
process.
 If we don’t care for ourselves, we can’t care for others

28. +
So what does this all mean?

29. +
Navigating the Tensions
 We all experience internal tensions:
 Talents that don’t match with passions
 Values that conflict in certain cases
 A path toward a commitment that challenges our values
 We all experience external tensions:
 Job expectations that push against our self care or values
 Competing opportunities that challenge our sense of commitment
 Life experiences that cause us to questions previously held values
 That’s when we step up into the balcony
 Time in the balcony looks different for different people

30. +
 When we have a realistic consciousness of self, act in congruence
with our values, and commit to causes that motivate us, we then
live centered and authentic lives that inspire others and allow us
to navigate change.
 We can serve as powerful mentors to others
 We can act with intention
 We can positively impact people around us
 We can make positive change in our communities
 …

31. +
…we can be the coffee bean.