Leadership Development
The John Martinson Honors College empowers students to enact meaningful leadership in their time on campus and prepares them to become successful, ever-evolving leaders after graduation. Through leadership development, students forge the confidence they need to take responsibility for something bigger than themselves. They learn how to lead teams and communities forward, with efficacy and equitability. They discover how to lead together in order to lead further. They gain skills that employers seek as well as a deeper understanding of who they are and what matters most to them. Through leadership development, Honors College students not only ready themselves for the world, they ready themselves to change it.
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Student Leader Testimonials
Leadership Development Opportunities
The John Martinson Honors College provides students with a healthy variety of leadership development opportunities. This allows students to access opportunities that align with their interests and values and that are designed to accelerate their leadership development. This includes about a dozen leadership roles within the college, each of which has a meaningful impact on our community. It includes a number of exciting courses that will further inspire and instruct students to excel as leaders. Students will also have access to numerous leadership resources, such as videos and information about upcoming events like the Teamwork Game Labs and the Lead Forward Luminaries speaker series. Students can engage these opportunities as they choose or through more intentional pathways that culminate in one of our two leadership credentials: Lead Forward and Leadership Praxis.
Five Principles of Leadership Development
These are the five key principles of Leadership Development in the John Martinson Honors College.
- Developmental. Leadership is not an inborn trait but a set of skills that are cultivated through practice and learning. Everyone has leadership potential and strengths they can start honing now.
- Relational & Inclusive. Leadership is a process performed in collaboration with others, motivated by shared commitments and working toward shared goals.
- Social Responsibility. Cultivating social awareness, cultural intelligence, and a commitment to the greater good are essential to developing a leadership approach that is inclusive, equitable, and leads to ethical outcomes.
- Theory & Practice. Leadership development happens best through a combination of instruction and practice, allowing students to enact a cycle of knowledge acquisition, application, reflection, and deeper learning.
- Transformational. Great leadership is not simply about reaching the goal; it is also about transforming everyone involved along the way. Through a transformational approach, Honors student leaders empower others and become part of the collective mission to develop leadership in the John Martinson Honors College.
Through these five principles, students are able to take their leadership further by leading together. They discover their own unique leadership style, how to leverage it effectively and ethically in a variety of contexts, and how to have a meaningful impact on other students and the world at large.
