ACPA and NASPA (2015) say that the leadership competency "addresses the knowledge, skills, and dispositions required of a leader, with or without positional authority" (p. 27). It's important to note that it includes without positional authority. It is not necessary to have a fancy title in order to be a leader. 

 

Just like people, all colleges are not made alike. Of course, there are some fairly basic structures in place - classes are taught by professors, degrees are awarded, etc. On the whole, though, the people making up a college can really create the campus culture. If we as professionals can understand the campus culture, we will do a better job of supporting the needs of our students.

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For example, in my time working at MIT, I have learned that MIT is a vastly different experience than it was for my undergraduate state school experience. MIT is a small campus full of students from around the world. Many of these students have an incredible amount of involvement under their belts before they even step on campus - from instruments they've mastered, sports they've played, internships they've done, volunteer hours they've tallied, and so much more. That isn't even including the grades they've gotten - I would be surprised to learn that an undergraduate at MIT didn't have a near-perfect GPA in high school. Of course, many of these students also have a lot of pressure on them - whether from their families or from themselves. This pressure leads to a lot of mental wellness concerns. MIT's rate of suicide is higher than the national average (Rocheleau, 2015).

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Not only that, but mental health has a very large stigma surrounding it. In many places, those who seek any kind of support or treatment for mental health concerns face prejudice. According to Northouse (2016), "Prejudice is a largely fixed attitude, belief, or emotion held by an individual about another individual or group that is based on faulty or unsubstantiated data" (p. 429). Here at MIT, students have made a huge effort to remove that stigma and fight that prejudice that prevents so many from seeking the help they need. This kind of work is a major part of the campus culture. For example, the movement "Tell Me About Your Day" was created by an MIT sorority woman seeking to better the community and create more support for all MIT students, by encouraging them to reach out to their peers when they're in need (Morell, 2015).

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Northouse (2016) talks about the culture dimension of Institutional Collectivism, and I find that this greatly applies to MIT. Institutional Collectivism is defined as "the degree to which an organization or a society encourages institutional or societal collective action" (Northouse, 2016, p. 432). MIT's initatives - student-run ones such as Tell Me About Your Day, and administrative-backed ones such as MindHandHeart (MindHandHeart, n.d.) - show a collective push to act in the effort to reduce overall stress and to seek support whenever it's needed. I would say that institutional collectivism is a large dimension of MIT's campus culture, considering the effort from all sides to reduce mental illness stigma and collectively support each other.

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I am very candid with students that I work with - I struggle with my own mental illness. I try to normalize it as much as I can, by showing that it is possible to struggle with mental illness and still be successful in life, to still be able to achieve your dreams. Any time a student expresses their stress, whether they tell me verbally or are showing signs, I make sure to let them know that I'm there to listen to them or connect them with any resources they might need. I also encourage them to support each other by creating awareness and programs that they can use to help each other. 

 

I aim to be a leader myself in any way I can. And like any

leader, I have strengths and challenges when it comes to

 being an effective leader. For one, recognizing that I'm not

perfect would be a strength (or at least, I'd like to think so!).

I also seek to solve problems and push others to be the best

they can be. I work hard to find the best in people, and find

ways for them to let that come out and allow them to grow

and succeed in any area they want. 

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I also have challenges. As much as I might push for

mindfulness and compassion, I don't always practice what I

preach. There are often times where I am too wrapped up in

my own work to be mindful to the needs of others. Sometimes

I lose my ability to be compassionate when I'm irritated, and

that can get me into trouble. I work to solve these problems

by taking a step back, though. I also am never afraid to

apologize if I think I've wronged someone. I'm sure that I have

more challenges that I have to work on, but I'm doing my best

to make sure that I work to better myself as a leader.

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One way I better myself as a leader is by attending

conferences. In March, I attended ACPA's Annual Conference

in Columbus, OH, where I had an opportunity to connect with

fellow professionals and attend conferences that were

identified by which ACPA/NASPA competency or competencies

they addressed. To the left is a picture of me with a group of

friends and fellow professionals at ACPA this year, who are

also fans of professional wrestling. Through this Facebook

group, called the SA Kliq, I have had the opportunity to

engage in some great discussion on a variety of topics in

the field of higher education - and many great discussions on

wrestling, of course!

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This virtual community I'm involved in is a great way for me to

engage with fellow professionals in low-stress situations. It is 

full of jokes and laughter, as well as some analyzing of potential WWE storylines and even looking at the WWE through a social justice lens - WWE is very, very bad at social justice. Why is that important to leadership? Because leadership involves building up a community. This could be a community in the sense of a town, or in the sense of a Facebook group, or in the sense of a student organization on a college campus.

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The Leadership competency identifies the ability to describe and apply the basic principles of community building as a foundational outcome. Personally, I believe the best way to build community is by being what Northouse (2016) calls a servant leader. Northouse says that servant leadership "emphasizes that leaders be attentive to the concerns of their followers, empathize with them, and nurture them... put their followers first, empower them, and help them develop their full personal capacities" (p. 225). To me, servant leadership encompasses what the role of a student affairs professional should be. I strive to pay attention to the needs of my students, to help them grow and become the successful people I know they have the potential to be. Would you be surprised to learn that one of my Top 5 Strengths is Developer?

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Using our strengths as leaders is important for building community, and teaching our students to build their own communities.

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References

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• ACPA/NASPA. (2015). Professional Competency Areas for Student Affairs Educators.

• Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2013). Reframing Organizations (5th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

• MindHandHeart. (n.d.). In MindHandHeart. Retrieved April 13, 2017, from https://mindhandheart.mit.edu/

• Morell, N. (2015, May 5). Tell Me About Your Day, MIT. MIT News. Retrieved from http://news.mit.edu/2015/tell-me-about-your-day-mit-0505

• Northouse, P. G. (2017). Leadership: Theory and Practice (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

• Rocheleau, M. (2015, March 17). Suicide rate at MIT higher than national average. The Boston Globe. Retrieved from https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/03/16/suicide-rate-mit-higher-than-national-average/1aGWr7lRjiEyhoD1WIT78I/story.html