Bold New Directions for an Increasingly Uncertain World
1 Introduction
In today's rapidly changing world, leadership identity, capacity, and efficacy are critical to student success (Guthrie et al. 2021). The global workforce demands leadership competencies (Association of American Colleges and Universities 2011), leading to the expansion of undergraduate programs that integrate leadership theory, organizational development, and data-driven decision-making. Leadership educators bear the significant responsibility of preparing students for an increasingly complex and global era by fostering an understanding of leadership's adaptive and international dimensions (Guthrie and Jenkins 2018). This preparation is essential to equip future leaders to navigate and address the uncertain future they will face within the continuously evolving landscape of higher education and beyond.
Historically, leadership development in higher education has often been confined to extracurricular activities (Dugan 2011). However, a more integrated approach is increasingly recognized as necessary. Various methods and contexts contribute to student leadership growth. For instance, academic advising, often overlooked, can serve as a powerful avenue for fostering leadership skills (Werner 2022). Studies show peer tutoring and mentoring interventions can significantly enhance leadership abilities (Malik et al. 2021). Experiential learning is a key component, often involving specialized projects or immersive experiences that allow students to apply skills (Kolb 1984). Effective learning activities should include watching, doing, reflecting, and practicing (Peterson and Kolb 2017), with methods like reflection papers commonly used (Volpe White 2012). Workshops focusing on themes such as positive communication and teamwork are also valuable in developing practical skills.
To truly prepare students for the complexities of the modern world, leadership education must intentionally address cultural contexts and adopt critical perspectives. Culturally relevant leadership learning is paramount (Beatty and Guthrie 2021). Given how leadership edcation has historically been dominated by Western perspectives, a critical examination of this dominance is necessary (Ladkin and Patrick 2022; Stein 2021). Suggestions for moving forward include decolonizing our minds, relating with others, and reimagining leadership (Liu 2021; Sicka and Hou 2023; Smith 2021). This involves reflecting on who is traditionally viewed as having leadership potential and becoming aware of personal biases (Mahoney 2016; Osula and Irvin 2009).
Incorporating critical leadership perspectives that examine power, coloniality, and systemic exclusion provides a deeper understanding (Alvesson and Spicer 2014; Collinson et al. 2018). Practical strategies include diversifying content and perspectives by featuring scholarship from international authors and ensuring cultural, racial, and geographical diversity in materials (Sicka and Hou 2023). Implementing intercultural development content helps students critically examine their own assumptions and biases about different leadership practices (Bennett 1986).
However, external factors like anti-DEI legislation can present significant challenges (Chronicle Staff 2024), restricting the explicit use of language around power, oppression, and identity (Guthrie et al. 2021; Liu 2021). In such environments, educators must stay informed on legal boundaries while adapting content toward neutrality, using broadly interpretable terms like student achievement, workforce development, student engagement, mentorship, sense of belonging, and institutional affinity. Even without explicit DEI terminology, educators can still facilitate reflection on influence, relationships, voice, and the capacity to influence others (Peterson and Kolb 2017; Volpe White et al. 2019).
Effective leadership learning is supported by robust research and evaluation. Studies employ diverse methods, including multi-method approaches with both quantitative and qualitative components. Qualitative data is often analyzed using techniques like thematic analysis and content analysis, sometimes guided by grounded theory methods (Saldaña 2016; Shetty 2020). Data analysis is crucial for identifying patterns, trends, and areas of strength or weakness. Methodological challenges, such as small sample sizes, can limit the power of analyses. Program evaluation frameworks are utilized to assess the impact of these initiatives (Patton 2008; Rossi et al. 2019). Given the complex nature of leadership development and organizational change, collecting comprehensive data is essential for understanding the nuanced dynamics involved.
This year's open call, which has become a New Directions for Student Leadership tradition, once again elevates brave mapmakers as they chart new courses in the ever-changing sea of leadership learning. While as diverse and varied as ever, a few major themes have arisen from their contributions. In this issue, you can expect commentary on intercultural communication within mentoring, new horizons in leadership identity and capacity development, as well as the impact of our perceptions of leadership and the influence of our social networks, among other topics. The remarkable work of these visionaries, more sharply than ever, highlights our path toward bold new directions for student leadership.
2 Bold Maps Require Brave Mapmakers
2.1 Challenges and Nuances in Intercultural Communication Within Mentoring
One significant challenge for leadership educators continues to be effective communication within intercultural mentoring relationships. In Investigating the Perceived Link Between Intercultural Mentoring and Cultural Competence Among Graduate Students and Faculty, Adebayo and Sunderman highlight how differences in language, views, and goals can create obstacles to impactful leadership learning. They underscore the need for cultural competence and a deeper understanding of diverse communication styles to foster successful intercultural mentoring.
2.2 The Dynamic Nature of Leadership Identity Development
Several of this year's contributions touch upon the development of leadership identity. Cortez's leadership identity development-based inquiry, Understanding the Leadership Identity of First-Year University Students, did not find significant links between constructive development and leadership identity, suggesting the complexity of this process and the need for further exploration. Additionally, Understanding How Leader Identity Shapes our Leadership by Whitney and McElravy even more deeply explores the concept of leaderness as rooted in leader reflection and sense-making.
2.3 Factors Influencing Leadership Identity and Capacity
- Experiential Learning: Algier, Floom, Magee, and Lull, in Making the Case for Leadership Experiential Learning in Athletics, suggest how hands-on experiences, such as those in athletic programs, are valuable for leadership development.
- Cultural Background and Identity: Shetty (re)introduces the Black Undergraduate Women Leader Identity (BUWLI) model. In Using a Black Undergraduate Women Leader Identity Model in an Anti-DEI Landscape, she emphasizes the unique journey of Black undergraduate women in developing their leader identity. This model incorporates contextual influences such as oppression, discrimination, microaggressions, mothering, and racial identity development.
- Social Exchange: In “We Struggle to Get a Voice Heard”: The Experiences of Student Leaders, Rosales, Smith, and Marin discuss social exchange theory, including how positive exchanges involving shared power and justice between groups contribute to beneficial social relations. This concept is applied to the interactions between student leaders and the division of student affairs (DSA) staff and administrators.
2.4 The Role of Others and Social Networks
- Peer Support: Vaughn demonstrates how a social network of peers can provide crucial support for individuals taking on leadership roles, contributing to their sense of efficacy in Creating Space for International Students in Leadership Education.
- Mentoring: Friesen and Martinez demonstrate how the mentoring experience nurtures ethical and personal responsibility while fostering leadership efficacy in their article, “Literally showing that I care about them”: A Peer Mentor Leadership Model. Similarly, van der Merwe and colleagues, in Empowered to Lead: The Effect of Mentoring and Tutoring on Peer Tutor Leadership Development, specifically examine the impact of a mentoring and tutoring intervention on the leadership skills of peer tutors.
2.5 Strategies and Models for Leadership Development
- Design Thinking: Juarez, Pernier, and Devies's Organizational Change Framework: Navigating Change for Individuals & Organizations emphasizes design thinking as an impactful approach to leadership learning.
- Internationalizing Curriculum: In Internationalizing the Academic Leadership Curriculum Witt and Harris advocate for the intentional incorporation of internationalization in academic leadership course curriculum to expand students' global perspectives. Their study found that students strongly agreed with statements related to the international and intercultural dimensions of their focal curriculum.
- Artificial and Indigenous Intelligence: Yang and Jimenez-Luque astutely frame the rise of artificial intelligence in student leadership as both an ethical and epistemological dilemma in The Leadership Tree Model: A Global and AI-Enhanced Framework for Leadership Development. They recommend returning to indigenous and human intelligences to overcome “cognitive imperialism” and a “leadership tree metaphor” to guide our way forward.
2.6 Understanding Perceptions of Leadership
In Channeling her superpower: Undergraduate women's leadership efficacy development, Devies provides powerful insights into how undergraduate women perceive leadership. While recognizing the importance of formal positions and experiences, her participants also emphasized a more intrinsic understanding of leadership rooted in trust and having a positive perspective. These perceptions highlight the importance of acknowledging diverse forms of leadership beyond traditional (gendered) roles.
2.7 The Value of Leadership Education Programs
The Pier et al. team makes note of the critical perception of a graduate leadership education program's value by enrolled students, suggesting the importance of effective program design and delivery, in their article, Fostering Student Agency: Strategies for Online Graduate Leadership Education Programs. Finally, in Building, Flying, and Assessing a New Academic Program in Leadership, Smith and Davis describe the process of developing and measuring a leadership program, emphasizing data collection to understand student demographics, involvement, and potential for future challenges.
3 Conclusion
Leadership development and organizational change are inherently complex processes. Intentional experiential learning experiences and supportive mentoring are key to fostering forward-facing leadership (Mahoney 2016; Miller 2007; Rhodes 2002). While progress is being made in areas like internationalization and cultural relevance, opportunities for enhancement remain across these dimensions. Leadership education must continue to be intentional, critically engaged, and adaptable. Our bold new directions will better equip students with the essential leadership learning required to thrive in dynamic and interdisciplinary environments while addressing the pressing needs of an increasingly uncertain, unpredictable, and volatile world.
