How to Successfully Complete the Leadership Program

Three-year program

• Attend seven Leadership Program Events over three years, submit reflection for each
• Complete four unique Leadership Development Activity categories per year, submit reflection for each
• Capstone Choice:  Enroll in MAN 337 Leading for Impact OR write three short essays (see Paper Guidelines tab).

Two-year program

• Attend five Leadership Program Events over two years, submit reflection for each
• Complete four unique Leadership Development Activity categories per year, submit reflection for each
• Capstone Choice:  Enroll in MAN 337  Leading for Impact OR write three short essays (see Paper Guidelines tab).

Reflections – After each LP event and leadership development activity (LDA), you must submit a reflection through the LP Page in Canvas (for students who started the program in 2016 or later) or the tracker system (for students who started in 2015 or before). The reflection must be on par with college-level writing standards and include what you did, what you learned, and how the activity connects to your leadership development and the social change model.  We suggest that you write LP Event and LDA reflections within a week of completing the activity.  Reflections will be reviewed by Leadership Program staff for approval. 3 Reflections (1 LP Event and 2 LDAs) are due on December 1 and the other 3 are due on May 1. If you are a graduating senior, your submission deadline will be in March.

LP Event – The Office of Student Life will coordinate one LP Event per semester to fulfill LP Event credit.  NOTE: If you study abroad during a semester or have an MPA internship and miss an LP mandatory event, your reflection on the abroad experience or MPA internship will count as the LP Event for that semester. 

LP Events include:

• First Semester Theme: Individual – Spring Overnight Retreat and Spring Self-Discovery Workshop
• Second Year Theme: Organizational – Fall Team Build and Spring Social Change Leadership Team Challenge
• Third Year Theme: Communal – Fall Community Issue: Education and Spring Community Issue: Affordability 
• Last Semester Theme: Global – Fall Global Citizenship (optional Global Trip in January)

Leadership Development Activity (LDA) – Leadership Program students are required to complete reflections for four unique LDA’s each year. Each of the four mandatory LDA’s must come from a different category to fulfill the requirement. For example, a student may submit a class, organization, book review, and community service LDA.  The student may not submit a class, an organization and two book reviews.

Categories include:

• Classes - Courses related to leadership, ethics, personal development, conflict-management, social change and/or communication.  Students may also view a list of  Approved LDA Course List.
• Organizations - Active membership for at least one semester in a registered UT Organization.  You may submit reflections for the same organization once per year that you are in the program. 
• Conferences/Retreats – Attendance to a full-day conference related to leadership, ethics, personal development, conflict management, social change and/or communication with at least six hours of participation.
• Book Reviews – Approved books may be checked out from the Office of Student Life Leadership Library (CBA 2.302).  Additional books related to leadership, ethics, social change and other relevant topics may be used.
• Community Service – Volunteer shift must be at least four consecutive hours or be 4 hours over a period of time doing the same activity (e.g. tutoring at the library). Focus on meaningful service projects which avoid administrative dues, such as assisting with registrations or mail-outs.
• Lecture Series – Attend 3 lectures through the McCombs VIP Distinguished Speaker Series, the Ethics and Corporate Responsibility Speakers Series, Student Activities Leadership and Ethics Institute series, MAN 337 (formerly 321L) or other lectures not listed.  
• Other Activity – Examples include a special event hosted by Leadership Program, participation in an internship, work-study or a full-time job.  Please seek pre-approval prior to submitting an “other” activity.

Try to stretch yourself – read a book on leadership for the first time, or participate in a new community service project. Also, keep an eye out for emails from the Leadership Program for opportunities for Leadership Development Activity (LDA) credit.

Student Board

Below is the 2018-2019 LP Student Board, working together to enhance the programming and community within LP.

Jeanna Carlsson, Reflection Development Chair

Hi, everyone! I’m a senior Management & Human Dimensions of Organizations double-major from Coppell, TX. Outside of school, you can usually find me playing with dogs at Zilker, practicing guitar, or exploring Austin’s most delicious dessert spots.  I am filled with so much excitement to be able to give back to LP through the board this year. This program has been the light of my time in McCombs—a place where real growth and honest conversations about ourselves and our world can happen. I can’t wait to help students tap into all they have to offer through LP!

Lisa Nhan, Community Leader Liaison

Hello, my name is Lisa Nhan! I'm a business management junior with a minor in Government from Houston. I love working with people and have been given so many great opportunities to do so with this program. LP has been so transformative for me, as it has given me the tools to be courageous and authentic to myself as I've grown through college. While I knew college would be difficult, my time here has tested me on many unexpected situations, but LP has helped me through it all. It's my goal to help the program do the same for every member. When I'm not working on LP, you'll probably catch me editing new stories for The Daily Texan, baking in my tiny kitchen or planning the next step to complete my goal of visiting every continent (just four more to go). A core belief of mine is that everyone has a story that matters, and I'm always happy to listen to yours. Reach out if you ever have any questions or just want to chat! 

Kaushiki Tewary, Community Development Chair

Hello there! I’m a Junior Finance major with a minor in Marketing from Houston (Katy), Texas. In my free time I love going to the movies, photographing beautiful places, exploring new eats around Austin with friends, and reading books by leaders. Having been a part of the Leadership Program (LP) now since my freshman year, I have seen a tremendous growth in myself. LP has allowed me to step out of my comfort zone, build on strengths I never knew existed, and has given me the tools to become the version of myself that I’ve always wanted to be. As your community development chair, I am super excited to create a network for all LP’ers to become the next generation of leaders in McCombs!

David Young, Reflection Development Chair

Hello everyone! I'm a Junior Finance Major with a Certificate in Public Policy from Sugar Land, Texas. I love dogs, reading as much as I can, and nerding out about jazz music, and Mexican food. LP has really given me a place where I can grow myself through serving others, and I hope to continue to develop while giving all of you the opportunity to experience that same growth of self. I'm excited to meet you all, and hope to help everyone one of you the way so many people have helped me. Get excited, it's gonna be a great year, and Hook 'Em Horns!

Policies

1. Attendance at LP Events - All participants of the program must attend and write reflections for the LP Events offered during their time at McCombs. 

2. Excused Cancellation- In the event you cannot attend a required program or have a last minute cancellation to an already registered event, only the following excused cancellations will be accepted:  religious observances, sudden illness, death in the family or another situation determined on a case by case basis.  Registration for an event means you have committed to attend. Unexcused cancellations or no-shows may affect a student’s continued participation the program.

3. Reflections – Students must submit thoughtful reflections to receive credit for Leadership Development Activities (LDA’s) and Leadership Program Events (LP Events).  The reflections should demonstrate your takeaways, how the activity/event ties into your leadership, and the connection to a “C” category from the Seven C’s of the Social Change Model.  Reflections must be of college-level writing standards. LP Staff will provide feedback on students' reflections and approve them. Examples of some outstanding reflections will give you an idea of the depth of thought and length required to receive credit for your reflection. 

4. Reflection Submission Procedure - All students must upload LDA and LP Event reflections through the LP Page in Canvas (for students who started the program in 2016 or later) or LP Tracker System (for students who started in 2015 or before).  Please upload reflections within a week of completing the LDA or LP Event.  The due date for the 3 fall reflections is December 1 and the 3 spring reflections are due May 1. 

5. Capstone Course – To complete the Leadership Program, students must also complete MAN 337 Leading for Impact taught by Dr. Caroline Bartel. Students will strengthen their leadership skills through a combination of classroom instruction in leadership concepts and frameworks, personal assessments, action planning, peer discussion, and personal reflection and learning. Students will practice applying these learnings by conducting an in-depth analysis of a currently practicing leader. Please contact us with any questions about this course.

6. Study Abroad – If you study abroad during a fall or spring semester, your study abroad experience will count as your LP Event for the semester.  Students will still be required to complete the same amount of LP Events depending on their track in the program.

7. Semester Long Internships – If you are an MPA student and will do your internship in the Spring, or you are involved in another internship program that lasts all semester and is out of Austin, you may count this as an LP event. You should contact us and let us know as soon as you can so we can make accommodations in the tracker. The internship required for graduation as any other major can count as an “other” LDA.

Paper Guidelines

If you are in the final year of LP, you must choose either the capstone course, MAN 337, OR a series of three short essays (12-15 pages total), due throughout the year. The paper will closely mirror the class assignments and will act as a culmination of your LP experiences. You will have the opportunity to engage in self-reflection in addition to talking to people and taking action.

You may write the three essays in any order, keeping in mind that two out of three essays involve either interviewing or working with other people. Each essay includes a checkpoint action item that must be completed by a certain date (listed below).

You will be turning in a final draft of each essay; we will not return the essays unless they require major revisions. If you would like feedback prior to the final due date, feel free to schedule a meeting with the Leadership Program staff. 

Review the requirements for each essay here.

Helpful Resources:

• Sanger Learning and Career Center
• Undergraduate Writing Career

Questions to ask yourself - Reflection as a learning tool

Concrete Experience.  Describe a specific experience that relates to leadership.  What happened?  What details stand out to you?  Describe briefly the situation, what you did and how you felt.

Reflective Observation.   Why did this situation have the outcomes it did?  Explain how this experience added value to your life. What did you learn and how does it apply to your past and current life experiences? How does what you learned shape your values, beliefs, worldview?  What interactions with others worked in the situation?  

Abstract Conceptualization.   What lessons can you draw from this specific experience that could apply more generally?  Given your other life experiences, how would you handle future situations like this?

Active Experimentation.   What opportunities might you seek out that would give you the chance to apply what you have learned here?  How might you test the lessons or guidelines in the future? How does this apply to who you hope to become?

Komives, S.R. (2009).  Leadership for a Better World: Understanding the Social Change Model of Leadership Development. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

As you input your Leadership Development Activities (LDA) and Leadership Program Events (LP Events), you will also reflect on what you learned through the activity or event in relation to the social change model of leadership and your own personal development. The approved reflection is what you will receive credit for – not just completing the activity or attending the event.

To get you in the reflecting mindset, below are a couple of examples of outstanding reflections:

LDA, written by Jamie Hawkins, a 2015 LPer: 

This semester I began working at the Student Activity Center as a Student Ambassador. I work at the hospitality desk giving directions to tourists and occasional tours of the building. I have learned a great deal about the campus since I have been working there, due to questions that I answer and sometimes look up for guests. In addition to learning about the university, I have also learned more about myself. During one weekend, the university hosted an event for children and there were kids all over campus. As expected, the kids were running rampant all over the building. I had to leave my position at the desk several times to get the kids to stop throwing bouncy balls off the balcony on the second floor and the lost and found was full of jackets and random electronics. During all of this, a little boy decides to pull the fire alarm and sets the building into further chaos. I just recently started working when this event took place and had not yet been trained on how to deal with an emergency situation, so I had to wing it. I found the neon backpack, vest, and flag to direct people and got to it. At the time, no one knew that it was a kid who pulled the alarm so all of the guests were nervous and unsure of what to do. I realized when I exited the office that everyone turned to me expectantly and walked towards my direction, so I figured I had to wing it. Apparently it looked as if I knew what I was doing, because they all began following me outside of the building and just stood near me looking for me to tell them that everything was okay. I explained to the kids that we have great workers here who handle emergency situations well and that they didn’t have anything to worry about. My answer satisfied them and everyone visibly relaxed until their teachers and chaperones came to find their scattered students. I learned a few things about myself that day. One was that I really needed to thoroughly read my handbook so that I could be prepared for anything that may happen at work. Two was that I get calm under pressure and have a natural instinct to fake it until I make it. But most importantly I learned that I liked the idea of people looking up to me. I realized that I want people to look to me when they aren’t sure what to do and know that they can depend on me to lead them in the right direction. This has just encouraged me to be an all-around better person. I have been looking for opportunities to explore my strengths and weaknesses, so that I can further develop diverse traits. I never thought that leadership was something that I would pursue, but now I see that I don’t have to have an important title to lead.

LP Event, written by Julie Riess, a 2016 LP Graduate: 

I recently attended the LP event with Gary Hoover, the Entrepreneur in Residence at UT. He spoke with us about his 8 Keys to Creativity and Building Lasting Enterprises and Fulfilling Lives. I was very impressed by Mr. Hoover’s passion for learning and for doing good works. The event impacted me personally by pushing to look inwardly at myself and analyze why I am passionate about what I want to do. The most important point that stood out to me was to be clear. Mr. Hoover explained that our work in a business must be clear, consistent, serving, and unique. The purpose of a business is not to make a profit but to serve people. This purpose relates back to my personal leadership goal of building strong, lasting, and intentional relationships with others. Like a business exists to serve people, leadership is meant to be a way to invest in and relate to other people. To do this, I must be a leader who is humble and puts the needs of others first. This concept relates to the congruence branch of the social change model for me because I must align my goals of serving people with the way I lead, the purpose of my work, and the mission of the company where I work. Mr. Hoover referred back to the leaders and CEO’s of the several companies he used in his examples and how they would make or break company success. From this I took away that the successful leaders must have congruent personal leadership goals that are consistent with the ultimate goal of the company. This led me to consider whether my goals are consistent across my leadership roles, my goals in school, my career goals, and my goals in my personal life. I decided that I must commit my goals in each of those areas to be about serving other people and living on mission for others to make a positive impact with my life. Practically, I need to remind myself daily to care more about other people and invest in them to understand their needs. I can do this by striking up more meaningful conversations with my classmates, roommates, and friends in my organizations. By learning the importance of investing in other people now, I can one day carry this goal into the organization I work for in order to help my company be successful and stay around for a long time.

Leadership Library List

A Leader’s Legacy
A Simpler Way
All the President’s Men
Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People
Autobiography of Malcolm X
Awakening the Leader Within: A Story of Transformation
Barbara Jordan: An American Hero
Breaking The Glass Ceiling: Sexism and Racism in Corporate America: The Myths, The Realities & the Solutions
Building a Company: Roy Disney and The Creation of an Entertainment Empire
Class Matters
Daring Greatly
Deeper Learning in Leadership: Helping College Students Find the Potential Within
Defining Moments: When Managers Must Choose Between Right and Right
Designing Dynamic Organizations: A Hands-on Guide for Leaders at All Levels
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
Ethics for the New Millennium
Executive
Exploring Leadership: For College Students Who Want to Make a Difference
Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success at Work and in Life One Conversation at a Time
Finding Your Voice: Learning to Lead . . . Anywhere You Want to Make a Difference
First In His Class: A Biography Of Bill
From Worst to First: Behind the Scenes of Continental's Remarkable Comeback
Game of Queens
Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In
Good Business: Leadership, Flow, and the Making of Meaning
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...and Others Don't
How: Why How We Do Anything Means Everything…in Business and in Life
How Good People Make Tough Choices: Resolving the Dilemmas of Ethical Living
Invitation to Lead: Guidance for Emerging Asian American Leaders
It Doesn’t Take a Hero: The Autobiography of General H. Norman Schwarzkopf
Jack: Straight for the Gut
Leadership and the New Science: Learning About Organization from an Orderly Universe
Leadership and Self-Deception
Leading Change
Leading Teams: Setting the Stage for Great Performance
Leading Through Conflict: How Successful Leaders Transform Differences into Opportunities
Like a Hurricane: The Indian Movement from Alcatraz to Wounded Knee
Madam Secretary: A Memoire
Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Some Don’t
Making Gay History: The Half Century Fight for Lesbian and Gay Equal Rights
Making Strategy Work: Leading Effective Execution and Change
Masterful Coaching
Mother Teresa: A Complete Authorized Biography
Only the Paranoid Survive
Organizational Culture and Leadership
Power: Why Some People Have It and Others Don't
Primal Leadership: Learning to Lead with Emotional Intelligence
Rising Strong
Salsa, Soul, and Spirit: Leadership for a Multicultural Age
Servant: A Simple Story about the True Essence of Leadership
Servants of the People: The 1960s Legacy of African American Leadership
Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron
Steve Jobs
Stewardship: Choosing Service Over Self Interest
The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life
The Conscience of the Campus: Case Studies in Moral Reasoning Among Today’s College Students
The Essential Gandhi: An Anthology of His Writings on His Life, Work, and Ideas
The Exception Presenter: A Proven Formula to Open Up and Own the Room
The Female Advantage
The G Quotient: Why Gay Executives are Excelling as Leaders… And What Every Manager Needs to Know
The Leadership Challenge, 4th Edition
The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn’t
The One Thing You Need to Know
The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business
The Practice of Adaptive Leadership: Tools and Tactics for Changing Your Organization and the World
The Servant: A Simple Story about the True Essence of Leadership
The Wizard and the Warrior: Leading with Passion and Power
The World Cafe: Shaping Our Futures Through Conversations That Matter
The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century
Thinking, Fast and Slow
Tribal Leadership: Leveraging Natural Groups to Build a Thriving Organization
Turning to One Another: Simple Conversations to Restore Hope to the Future
Voices of Diversity
Virtual Teams: Reaching Across Space, Time, and Organizations With Technology
Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement
What Got You Here Won't Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful
Why CEO’s Fail: The 11 Behaviors That Can Derail Your Climb to the Top and How to Manage Them

Leadership Development Activities Resources

If you need assistance finding your Leadership Development Activities, please see the links below:

Book Review

The Office of Student Life offers the Leadership Library: 

Classes

Please see our list of approved courses

Community Service 

Volunteer shift must be at least four hours.

• Visit The Longhorn Center for Community Engagement
• Volunteer Match (nationwide search engine)

Conferences and Retreats

The Office of Student Life will send email notices about upcoming student conferences. If you have any suggestions of conferences, please email us.

Organizations

• UT Student Organization Database
• McCombs Student Organizations

Study Abroad

Students who study abroad can reflect on their experience as an LDA. If the student misses a mandatory LP event in the fall or spring semester due to studying abroad, they must reflect on the experience in lieu of the LP event reflection, and it will count for the missed event. 

Lecture Series

Attend three lectures through the many UT and McCombs Lecture Series available. Check the UT Events Calendar, VIP Distinguished Speaker Series page, or the Leadership and Ethics Institute Series. 

Other

Other LDA activities include internships, study abroad experiences, jobs, special lectures/activities presented by the LP Staff. LP staff will email upcoming LDA opportunities.

LP on your Résumé

As a member of LP, you can expect that recruiters will ask about your experiences and the values you've gained through the program. Your résumé and contact information will also be provided to LP's corporate sponsors. It is important that you list the Leadership Program on your résumé and keep it updated. Below is an example of what a current LPer has on theirs:

McCombs Leadership Program- Goal Group Leader, UT-Austin                                                    Aug 2015- Present

• Develop self-awareness and learned how to build a cohesive team at retreats and workshops each semester
• Examined a social issue using the 5 Why’s in the Social Change Leadership Challenge in spring 2017 with a team of 4
• Facilitate a Goal Group composed of 4 sophomore students to teach them time management and self-management
• Served as the Master of Ceremonies at a welcome event with 700 freshmen in the Class of 2020 in attendance
• Selected as 1 of the 2 students in the cohort to attend the Wakonse Undergraduate Leadership Conference in 2016

If you are a first-year student in LP or are not in any leadership roles in LP, these are some examples of what you might write:

• Develop understanding of leadership qualities and practices through reflective writing, group discussion, and seminars led by industry experts
• Support leadership growth of fellow cohort members through small group discussions and leadership activities
• Analyze personal leadership strengths and experiences using the StrengthsQuest assessment
• Engage in leadership development activities and projects to further self-development

If you ever have questions about your résumé, please contact BBA Career Management.