Concepts & Connections - A Publication for Leadership Educators

Leadership Competencies

A Publication for Leadership Educators

CONCEPTS &CONNECTIONS

Volume 20, Issue 2 2014

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INSIDE THIS ISSUEFeature: Leadership Resilience: Employing Constructivism and Connectivism in Cross-Cultural Leadership Development by Dr. Linda D. Grooms and Dr. Kathaleen Reid-Martinez

Feature: The Resilient Leader by Dr. Jeff Zimmerman

Learning by Design: Positive Perspectives and Strengths Development: Keys to Leadership Resilience by Dr. Laurie A. Schreiner and Dr. Karen A. Longman

Program Spotlight: Building Resilience through Experiential Education by Sadhana Hall, Adam Goodman, and Gama Perruci

Scholarship and Research Updates: Leadership and Resilience by Brenda McKenzie

NCLP STAFF

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Director Dr. Craig SlackConcepts & Connections Editor Michelle L. KuselMembership Services Alice BishopScholarship & Research Editor Dr. John DuganNCLP Scholar Dr. Susan Komives

National Clearinghouse for Leadership Programs0110 Adele H. Stamp Student Union Center for Campus Life University of Maryland College Park, MDnclp.umd.edu

2National Clearinghouse for Leadership Programs

When I was in high school, I attended a retreat where we received

letters from loved ones. One of these letters was read out loud. As

an introvert, this was an absolutely miserable experience for me.

But that is a topic for a different issue of Concepts & Connections.

I remember my teacher proclaiming one line in my letter very clear-

ly: “If I were to choose one word to describe you, it would be

resilient, like a diamond.”

Admittedly, my vocabulary was not (and still is not) very large,

so after the weekend I went home and looked up what resilient

meant. Webster gave me a pretty good idea, but I believe that my

lived experiences brought my definition to a higher level and gave

my diamond a new sparkle. I hope this issue of Concepts and

Connections provides answers but also new questions around lead-

ership resiliency allowing you to see your diamond with brand new

sparkle. Editing this edition of Concepts & Connections allowed

me time to reflect on how I have grown and how resiliency exists in

leadership and my life. I hope this piece is as timely for you as it was

for me and we hope you enjoy, reflect, and learn from this edition

of Concepts & Connections.

Connections from the Editorby Michelle L. Kusel

Follow us on Twitter@ed_lead

Connect on Facebook:National Clearinghouse for Leadership Programs

Renew your membership now. It’s never been a better time to join NCLP. Get discounts on publications, subscribe to the NCLP listserv, and benefit from discounted conference registration. Join or renew now at www.nclp.umd.edu!


Whether one considers resilience to be “a class of phenomena characterized by good outcomes in spite of serious threats” (Masten, 2001, p. 228), “the ability to spring or bounce back” (Freeman, Hirschhorn, & Maltz, 2004, p. 77), a form of “psychologic capital” (Froman, 2010, p. 62), a positive response to stress (Hind, Frost, & Rowley, 1996), or even the ability to be stress-resistant (Luthar & Zigler, 1991), all tend to agree that resilience is “the human capacity to deal with, overcome, learn from, or even be transformed by the inevitable adversi-ties of life” (Grotberg, 2003, p. 1). Without resilience, especially in today’s complex cross-cultural environ-ment, leaders come and go, fail and fall, but with it, they not only survive but thrive with remarkable success and sustainability.

The future of many around the globe depends upon the proliferation of effective, resilient, and sus-tainable leaders; thus, the role of leadership education has never been more critical. This demands that educators must be ever-cognizant of the implications that arise as we train cross-cultural leaders to interact and engage with society in the 21st century. As we prepare these leaders, three questions surface: Can resilience be facilitated? If so, what type of education is needed for such leadership development and how do educators help unfold, unveil, and reveal resilience in their learners?

Based on our experience, resilient and sustainable leadership can evolve from carefully orchestrated lead-ership education programs. Regardless of the ven-ue--traditional face-to-face, hybrid, or online--we have found that using the right educational methods can pro-duce resilient leaders, particularly in the cross-cultural environment. This intentional structuring of the learn-ing experience facilitates continuous leadership growth, signifying that the development of leadership resilience represents a process, not an end state.

Two basic approaches to learning have dominat-ed the halls of academe: the traditional and the con-structivist. While many still adhere to the traditional,

we have found connec-tivism (Siemans, 1995) coupled with social constructivism (Berger & Luckmann, 1967; Vy-gotsky, 1978) particular-ly effective to facilitate both resilience and suc-cess as we have trained cross-cultural leaders. With roots in our earli-er work (e.g., Grooms, 2000; Reid-Martinez, Grooms, & Bocarnea, 2009) and falling into three basic catego-ries--professor, learner, and learning/content delivery--13 key differ-ences distinguish these learning approaches.

When examining the role of today’s professors, con-

Feature: Leadership Resilience: Employing Constructivism and Connectivism in Cross-Cultural Leadership Developmentby Linda D. Grooms, Ph.D. and Kathaleen Reid-Martinez

“The learner in turn is required to become an active participant in the educational process. No longer can he or she simply passively receive and remain dependent upon the professor.”


temporary higher education recognizes their primary function as one of content facilitator. No longer is it essential for the professor to be the primary reservoir of information or the sole decision-maker for the learning process; rather, he or she serves as one who guides, sup-ports, and develops the learner.

The learner in turn is required to become an active participant in the educational process. No longer can he or she simply passively receive and remain depen-dent upon the professor. Instead, today’s empowered learners help determine not only when and how they will learn, but also how they will interact with and shape the information and knowledge they receive in light of the context in which they are operating.

While traditional learning focuses on fact gathering for knowledge and understanding, today’s learner must negotiate and generate meaning through constructivist and connectivist approaches. This suggests that knowl-edge is no longer a fixed object to be obtained but rather it is a fluid process of gathering information and then shaping it to bring meaning and credence to problem solving within the context in which the learners must function. Thus, the knowledge and understanding of the traditional leadership development program must

shift to the levels of application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation: the higher order in Bloom’s (1956) taxono-my.

With so many vectors needed to solve the complex problems of today, the learning environment is often open and chaotic, and a simple deductive approach may no longer be appropriate. The structures of the past of-ten result in too great of a constraint to the complexities the learners will face in today’s cross-cultural leadership environment. This new learning environment requires that the primary resources move beyond the text and the individual professor into the realm of multiple resources from multiple sources through multiple channels. The traditional lecture, which is primarily a one-way meth-od of learning, becomes too passive and inadequately interactive to produce the synthesis and evaluation re-quired of contemporary leaders. This passive approach must be replaced with active processes of learning that require full engagement of the learner who will no lon-ger look only to the printed sources of the academy but more often to resources such as peers and global experts through multiple and blended media: from the life all around them. Because of this proliferation and melding of resources, the key for the professor as facilitator is to help the learner negotiate, mediate, and mitigate the

Traditional Constructivist / ConnectivistRole & External Demeanor Content Provider Content Facilitator

Sage on the Stage Guide on the SideRole & Internal State Passive Recipient Active Participant

Dependence EmpowermentLearning Focus Fact Gathering Negotiate & Construct meaning

through multiple networksKnowledge & Understanding Application, Analysis, Synthesis, &

EvaluationKnowledge Fixed Object Fluid ProcessLearning Environment Ordered & Structured Open & Often Chaotic

Deductive InductivePrimary Resources Text & Professor Multiple SourcesMethod Lecture Active ProcessMedia Print BlendedCommunication Uni-directional Multi-directionalFormat Individal Silos Collaborative & Connected Teams

Individual Informational Expert Collective WisdomActivities Goal-oriented Problem-centeredAssessment Recall Alternative AssessmentCommunity Educational Institution Integrated with Life


multiple inputs with which they engage.

Communication in such a learning environment will no longer be uni-directional; rather it will be multi-direc-tional. Communication structures will be flattened. Con-versations will flow freely up and down the hierarchy and across the aisles as many grapple with finding solutions. Learners will no longer be able to operate in individual silos of growing expertise, but rather they must learn and operate within team initiatives. Learning activities become problem-centered and not goal-oriented simply to meet the expectations of a given professor. No lon-ger is learning limited to the receipt of a grade, but the learner’s ideas must withstand community engagement, just as any leader’s initiative must withstand their orga-nizational context. This new connected community of praxis provides feedback, creates dialogue, and contains an accountability factor with learners negotiating their way through these teams of people so that together they create a col-lective wisdom of the crowd (Surow-iecki, 2004). When placed within the connectivist arena, leadership capacity moves beyond the traditional mod-el; it is further en-hanced, and more importantly, it is expanded. This type of commu-nity engagement is inherent in any leader’s world, and, thus, its facilitation is critical within our leadership develop-ment programs.

Such complex learning environ-ments also demand alternative forms of assessments and not simply the recall of what the professor deems appropriate. This approach means that learning is no longer confined to an educational institution, rather it is integrated with the life. In this way, the learner is engaged with the commu-

nity responding to community needs as an active partic-ipant in that community rather than a passive recipient of information in one educational institution.

Coutu (2002) defines “resilience as a reflex, a way of facing and understanding the world that is deeply etched into a person’s mind and soul” (p. 55). The construc-tivist and connectivist learning process becomes the means by which resilience is etched within the learner. In our work with a cross-cultural leadership program, we found that as learners “negotiated and generated meaning through shared understanding and experienc-es filtered by their axiological screens” (Grooms & Re-id-Martinez, 2011, p. 425), they were empowered with the ability to replicate, which gave them the capacity to build resilience. The empowered construction of mean-ing resulted in empowered problem solvers, which is a major role of leaders. As active participants, the learn-

ers remained engaged problem solvers as they constructed meaning through multiple net-works and hierarchies across both the academic and cultural terrain. No longer were they bounded by an educational institution; instead, they were empowered with critical think-ing skills that enabled them in their larger capacity as leaders. They now have transferable ca-pacity and that is what makes resilience.

REFERENCESBerger, P. L., & Luckmann,

T. (1967). The social construc-tion of reality: A treatise in the sociology of knowledge. Gar-den City, NY: Anchor Books.

Bloom, B. S. (Ed.). (1956). Taxonomy of educational ob-jectives. Handbook 1: Cogni-tive domain. New York, NY: David McKay.

Coutu, D. L. (2002). How resilience works. Harvard Business Review, 80(5), 46-55.

Freeman, S. F., Hirschhorn, L., & Maltz, M. (2004). The power of moral purpose: Sandler O’Neill & Part-

“No longer is it essential for the professor to be the primary reservoir of information or the sole decision-maker for the learning process; rather, he or she serves as one who guides, supports, and develops the learner.”


ners in the aftermath of September 11th, 2001. Organi-zational Development Journal, 22(4), 69-81.

Froman, L. (2010). Positive psychology in the work-place. Journal of Adult Development, 17, 59-69. doi: 10.1007/s10804-009-9080-0

Grooms, L. D. (2000). Interaction in the comput-er-mediated adult distance learning environment: Lead-ership development through online education. Disser-tation Abstracts International, 61(12), 4692A.

Grooms, L. D., & Reid-Martinez, K. (2011). Sus-tainable leadership development: A conceptual model of a cross-cultural blending learning program. Interna-tional Journal of Leadership Studies 6(3), 412-429.

Grotberg, E. H. (2003). What is resilience? How do you promote it? How do you use it? In E. H. Grot-berg (Ed.), Resilience for today: Gaining strength from adversity (pp. 1-29). Westport, CT: Praeger.

Hind, P., Frost, M., & Rowley, S. (1996). The re-silience audit and the psychological contract. Jour-nal of Managerial Psychology,11(7), 18-29. doi: 10.1108/02683949610148838

Luthar, S. S., & Zigler, E. (1991). Vulnerability and competence: A review of research on resilience in child-hood. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 61(1), 6-22.

Masten, A. S. (2001). Ordinary magic: Resilience processes in development. American Psychologist 56(3). 227-238. doi: 10.1037//0003-066X.56.3.227

Reid-Martinez, K., Grooms, L. D., & Bocarnea, M. C. (2009). Constructivism in online distance education. In Encyclopedia of information science and technolo-gy: Vol. 2 (2nd ed., pp. 701-707). Hershey, PA: Idea Group.

Siemans, G. (2005). Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age. International Journal of In-structional Technology and Distance Learning, 2(1). Retrieved from http://www.itdl.org/Journal/Jan_05/article01.htm

Surowiecki, J. (2004). The wisdom of crowds: Why the many are smarter than the few and how collective wisdom shapes business, economies, societies, and na-tions. New York, NY: Doubleday.

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The devel-opment of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Dr. Linda Grooms is an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership in the School of Educa-tion at Regent University. In addition to her university teaching, she conducts leadership training both nation-ally and internationally, while continuing her longitu-dinal research in online learning and pedagogy, com-puter-mediated communication, and virtual leadership development.

Dr. Kathaleen Reid-Martinez currently serves as Provost at Oral Roberts University. With research, presentations, and consultancy opportunities that have spanned five continents, she’s noted for her capacity to lead multinational teams to bring democrat-ic values into the best practices of leadership develop-ment in globally diverse settings.

The Center for Leadership (CFL) at Florida International University is pleased to sponsor the Alvah H. Chapman Jr. Outstanding Dissertation Award in partnership with the Network of Leadership Scholars (NLS). http://lead.fiu.edu/research/award/


It is difficult to argue that some of our most ef-fective leaders were effective or leaders simply because they were lucky, wealthy, intelligent, attractive, humble, or powerful. Indeed, many of our greatest leaders could be characterized as having one or more of these factors. However, while these factors can certainly heighten a leader’s influence (a key component of the leadership process), these factors alone do not make a leader effec-tive. The reality is that leadership is more complex than this simplified train of thinking. Leadership is “a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal” (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2013, p.462). As such a process of influence, one of the most endearing qualities of an effective leader is their ability to show resilience in the most trying of situations.

A closer look at some of the most revered leaders of the modern era highlights the impact that resilience has on effective leaders. At the pinnacle of his life, Nel-son Mandela was as pow-erful as Oprah Winfrey is wealthy today. And yet power and wealth do not make a leader (they barely come close to being the pre-requisites). Success in academic endeavors does not make a leader either. Winston Churchill (the former Prime Minister of Great Britain during World War II) is admired in the history books as a leader who stood up to the tyranny of Nazi Ger-many, and yet he was at the bottom of his class in school (Stobaugh, 2012, p.231). A closer look at Mandela and Winfrey reveals that neither was born into wealth or priv-ilege [Mandela was born to an illiterate father

(Mandela, 1994, p.5); Winfrey was sexually abused and raped by her own father (Kelley, 2010, p.5)], nor did they stumble upon their success at leading others. The same can be said of Churchill. All of them do, however, have one very important thing in common: their stories are rife with instances of resilience. Yes, resilience, oth-erwise known as “the capability of individuals to cope successfully in the face of significant change, adversity, or risk” (Roberts-Levine, 2003, p.1000).

In German it is called Ausdauer, while in French it is called ressort. The word “resilience” actually stems from the Latin word “resilire” (to recoil or leap back). Re-gardless of the language, resilience has been and still is a key ingredient to effective leadership across the spec-trum of society (regional, national, and international). It is clear that millions of people around the world hold Mandela, Winfrey, Churchill and other leaders in such high-esteem in part because of the resilience they have

shown on their remark-able journeys.

While it may be diffi-cult to mention ourselves in the same sentence as Mandela, Winfrey, Chur-chill or others, the one thing that we have in common with them is the fact that we are af-forded the ability to prac-tice resilience.

I arrived at this or-dinary conclusion be-cause few would argue that Nelson Mandela’s resilience (aka: his abil-ity to overcome the ha-tred and intolerance that landed him in prison for 27 years and emerge and forgive those who placed him there) did not have a significant impact on his

Feature: The Resilient Leaderby Jeff Zimmerman, PhD

“While it may be difficult to mention ourselves in the same sentence as Mandela, Winfrey, Churchill or others, the one thing that we have in common with them is the fact that we are afforded the ability to practice resilience.”


appeal or ability to influence others. The reality is that his resilience is the subject of our admiration, which is as powerful as it is influential. As a matter of fact, if we were to delete from his already impressive resume his long struggle with Apartheid in South Africa, his in-fluence over others would likely be diminished because of what his struggle meant to millions of other human beings. His triumph over hatred and suppression is ad-mired not only for its significance as a turning point in South African history, but also because such resilience is often elusive to so many of us.

Resilience is one of those rare occurrences that can inspire others to move mountains and cross oceans…even from within the walls of a prison. There is per-haps an important lesson in studying the life of Man-dela and other effective leaders. And this lesson crosses time, continents and differences. The lesson is that we do not have to be Nelson Mandela to exhibit resilience and improve the lives of others. We can (and perhaps

should) start simply by recognizing that we can practice resilience in our everyday lives. Yes, it may not be on as grand a stage as the one on which Mandela’s work was played out; however, our everyday lives offer a steady flow of opportunities to show resilience. And while we may not face the same type of hatred and intolerance thrown at Nelson Mandela, we certainly have our fair share of challenges that we can use as springboards of resilience to inspire and motivate those following us: our students, our employees, our neighbors, our fellow hu-man beings, etc. Whether it is from working hard each day at our jobs, to keeping our promises when we of-fer them, to remaining honest when the temptation to deceive is strong, these are the everyday examples of

resilience that can move a classroom, a company, a com-munity, a nation, and even a world. Because we may be the world to our students, our employees, our neighbors, and our fellow human beings, it is safe to say that the world may be watching us. And the reason these in-stances of resilience are moving is simply because they are the exception in today’s society (and not the norm). Far too often we are bombarded by the media with ex-amples of corruption, inequality, and hatred. Not every-one has the opportunity to work, and even if they do, some choose not to work hard; not everyone keeps their promises; not everyone is honest. Not all systems of justice or codes of law are fair. The fact that these sim-ple acts of resilience are the exception is precisely what makes them noteworthy, memorable, and influential.

We also have to remember that for every Nelson Mandela, Oprah Winfrey, or Winston Churchill who ap-peared to have a significant level of influence at a partic-ular time and place, there are hundreds (even thousands) of others who were equally influential in their own right (parents, teachers, public officials, private citizens, etc.). Furthermore, the faster our world spins the more chaot-ic our everyday lives become, and the greater the need is for practicing resilience because it is those watching us who will benefit from our resilience (our children, our students, our employees, our neighbors, and our fellow human beings).

Again, the presence of resilience among so many prolific leaders ought to serve as a reminder for us that even the most ordinary of leaders (teachers, parents, managers, etc.) can use resilience to their advantage (similar to the way more visible leaders have used re-silience to their own advantage). And it starts with rec-ognizing the opportunities to practice resilience in our everyday lives.

We, therefore, owe it to ourselves to take a step back when we feel as if our plates are full, our backs are against the wall, there is not enough time, not enough money, or there are not enough resources to complete whatever task we have set out to complete. But as Man-dela and others have already proven, we do have the power to choose what actions we take (even when those actions seem impossible). And while it may never be easy, showing resilience is fruitful for the effective lead-er in the long run.

“One of the most endearing qualities of an effective leader is their ability to show resilience in the most trying of situations.”


REFERENCESKelley, K. (2005). Oprah: A Biography. New York,

NY: Three Rivers Press.

Kreitner, R. & Kinicki, A. (2013). Organizational Behavior. (10th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Ir-win.

Mandela, N. (1994). Long Walk to Freedom. Bos-ton, MA: Little, Brown and Company.

Roberts-Levine, E. (2003). Glossary. In: A. Roberts & K. Yeager (Eds.), Evidenced-Based Practice Manual: Research and Outcome Measures in Health and Human Services (pp.971-1008). New York, NY: Oxford Univer-sity Press.

Stobaugh, J. (2012). British History: Observations and Assessments from Early Culture to Today. Green Forest, AR: Master Books.

Jeff Zimmerman is assistant professor of or-ganizational leadership at Northern Kentucky Univer-sity (United States). His research focuses on expatriate adjustment to foreign cultures, ethics, trust, resilience, leadership development, and organizational change. He earned a PhD in organizational development/group dynamics and an MBA from the University of Klagen-furt (Austria). Prior to this, he worked in the shipping and insurance industries. He has served as an interpret-er for the World Choir Games (2012) and for Cincin-nati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. He has taught at the University of Cincinnati and the University of Klagenfurt (Austria) and belongs to the International Leadership Association. [email protected].

The 9th Annual Tobias Leadership Conference

April 24-26, 2014

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Much has been written about the ever-increasing challenges faced by those holding leadership roles in to-day’s complex and global context. For example, after surveying U.S. higher education regarding the state of leadership development programming, Fusch and Mrig (2011) challenged colleges and universities to prepare future leaders who are diagnostic and creative systemic thinkers, adept at cross-boundary collaboration and will-ing to take measured risks. Similarly, Kellerman (2013), in The End of Leadership has outlined how the expec-tations of both leaders and followers have changed in recent years, including the significant impact of technol-ogy on both.

The next generation of leaders thus faces a new sce-nario for leadership beyond the heavy demands on the shoulders of those from previous generations. Resil-ience, the focus of this issue of Concepts and Connec-tions, is increasingly recognized as being critical to long-term leadership effectiveness. According to Avolio and Luthans (2006), resilience is “exhibited by those who are hit hard by a particular problem or challenge but still find some way to keep moving ahead” (p. 155). With-out doubt, leaders are expected to model this “bounce back” approach to life’s challenges rather than joining the chorus that simply bemoans the problems.

In The High Impact Leader, Avolio and Luthans (2007) identify resilience as one of four essential lead-ership constructs (in addition to hope, optimism, and self-efficacy) that combine to form Psychological Capi-tal (PsyCap). Substantial research confirms that each of these four constructs can be developed not only within leaders themselves, but within followers, as well; in fact, Avolio and Luthans maintain that a high impact leader is one who builds the psychological capital of his or her followers. Thus, aspiring leaders and those carrying the responsibilities of leadership benefit themselves and the

places they serve by knowing the literature about resil-ience and taking steps to develop a mindset similar to that popularly attributed to Winston Churchill: “When you’re going through hell, keep going!”

Resilient leaders are those who are able not only to bounce back from adversity, but to do so with renewed vigor and commitment. Bennis and Thomas (2007), who examined the lives of exemplary leaders across generations, concluded that the way in which leaders find meaning in negative events and learn from the chal-lenges they face is one of the best predictors of their leadership effectiveness. They described the “alchemy of leadership” (p. 121) as including the ability to em-brace and learn from the large and small “crucibles”—trials and challenges that test one’s leadership and result in deep reflection about one’s values, assumptions, and judgments. Effective leaders, according to Bennis and Thomas, display a remarkable sense of “adaptive ca-pacity” (p. 91) in navigating difficult situations, allowing them to land sure-footed and thus be better prepared to meet the next challenge. In short, whether or not a leader responds to crucible experiences with resilience, self-efficacy, and optimism defines the trajectory of both life and leadership.

This article draws from a chapter entitled “The Role of Resilience and Relationships” (Schreiner, 2012) in Thriving in Leadership (Longman, 2012) to illustrate two dimensions of resilience that can contribute to a leader’s effectiveness when challenges are encountered: (1) the “power of perspective” (p. 40)—and positive perspective in particular, and (2) the ability to recog-nize and develop not only one’s own strengths, but the strengths of others.

by Laurie A. Schreiner, PhD & Karen A. Longman, PhD

Learning by Design: Positive Perspectives and Strengths Development: Keys to Leadership Resilience


THE POWER OF POSITIVE PERSPECTIVE IN BUILDING RESILIENCE

The importance of an individual’s mental maps for processing events in constructive ways has been well established in the literature, whether in Dweck’s (2006) articulation of the importance of having a “growth” rather than “fixed” mindset, Bolman and Deal’s (2008) emphasis on the skill of “reframing” to understand alternative perspectives, or the “positive perspective” (Keyes & Haidt, 2003) advocated by scholars in the field of positive psychology. In their book Flourishing: Positive Psychology and the Life Well-lived, Keyes and Haidt describe how individuals who are engaged in their work and experiencing healthy relationships exemplify the concept of flourishing –moving beyond surviving (in life or leadership) to thriving. According to these au-thors, flourishing individuals are by nature resilient; they have learned how to rise to the challenges of life rather than being beaten down by them, embracing the growth opportunities that life’s adversities bring.

When going through difficult circumstances, resil-ient leaders take a “balcony view” (Heifetz & Linsky, 2002, p. 51) that allows them to rise above the fray, ap-preciate the perspectives of others, and consider the long-term implications of potential actions and deci-sions. The alternative, evident all too often in conten-tious situations, is key players being reactionary and self-serving in their personalized emotional responses. Clearly, taking a balcony view and embracing a positive perspective contributes not only to personal resilience but also to leading teams toward a more positive out-come and organizational climate.

Resilience is a learned response to life events rather than an inborn trait (Reivich & Shatte, 2003), although certain personality characteristics may predispose some people to be more resilient than others. Similarly, each of the constructs that comprise Psychological Capital—hope, self-efficacy, resilience, and optimism—can be learned and developed in individuals in ways that allow them to more effectively face challenges (Avolio & Lu-thans, 2006). Key to enlarging one’s capacity for resil-ience is what psychologists refer to as one’s explanatory style—“the habitual way you explain the good and bad things that happen to you” (Reivich & Shatte, 2003, p. 42). Resilient leaders tend to approach life with an op-timistic explanatory style, perceiving adverse events as temporary and situational. In contrast, those likely to

be overwhelmed by similar adversities typically reflect an explanatory style that is rooted in pessimism, viewing difficulties as personal, long-term, and pervasive. Reiv-ich and Shatte refer to this kind of pessimistic thinking as the primary roadblock to resilience.

Teaching student leaders how to reframe negative events is thus a key component to fostering their resil-ience. Southwick and Charney (2012) have established, for instance, that teaching such cognitive reappraisal skills alters brain functioning such that people recover more quickly from such negative emotions as anger or fear. Thus, providing opportunities for student leaders to take multiple perspectives, to articulate what they have learned from challenging experiences, and to view failures as temporary setbacks are the specific elements that are likely to build resilience (Schreiner, 2012).

THE POTENTIAL OF STRENGTHS DEVELOPMENT IN BUILDING RESILIENCE

Another key to resilience when moving through the challenges of leadership is having an internal confidence in one’s areas of strength as well as a mindset that val-ues the strengths of others. Resilient leaders are self-aware: they know their strengths and the environments that tend to bring out their best, but they also are aware of their limitations that may interfere with their effec-tiveness (Reivich & Shatte, 2002). This self-awareness grounds them during challenges and provides a reser-voir from which to draw during difficult times. Shifting one’s focus from deficits to strengths not only enables leaders to experience a greater sense of self-efficacy, but also creates an environment where others are more like-ly to feel valued (Buckingham & Coffman 1999; Rath & Conchie, 2008). In such an environment where people “feel heard, validated, and cared for … they are more willing to be active partners in a shared leadership vi-sion” (Schreiner, 2012, p. 50).

British psychologist Alex Linley (2008) calls this recognition of strengths in others strengths-spotting and emphasizes that it results in a more positive work environment and builds resilience in leaders and fol-lowers alike. Linley’s work within the United Kingdom has complemented the “strengths revolution” (Clifton & Harter, 2003) launched by The Gallup Organization and its CEO Donald O. Clifton that gained momentum through the development of the Clifton StrengthsFind-


er (The Gallup Organization, 1999). This web-based instrument has been used to assess themes of talent in over 8.5 million people worldwide, primarily influencing senior leadership in corporations worldwide. In addi-tion, over 700 colleges and universities have adopted a strengths-based approach that helps students to identify, develop, and apply their strengths in the university set-ting (Louis, 2009).

Identifying individuals’ strengths through the use of an instrument such as the Clifton StrengthsFinder can contribute to self-efficacy and career well-being (Rath & Harter, 2010); strengths awareness can also aid the development of teams and workplaces that identify and apply talents in constructive ways. But awareness is only the beginning; strengths development, in which leaders learn to apply their talents to the challenges they face, is the key to long-term success (Louis & Schreiner, 2012). Teaching student leaders to identify and develop their strengths as well as the strengths of others can foster resilience because it encourages the perspective-taking that is foundational to the cognitive style that epitomiz-es resilient leaders. In short, strengths development represents an orientation to work and life that contrib-utes to emotional well-being and enhanced resilience. Leaders who “spot talent” and reinforce the potential they see in colleagues have a way of identifying and cel-ebrating patterns of excellence, bolstering resilience in themselves and their peers in the process.

CONCLUSIONResilient leaders often see the world through a dif-

ferent lens, viewing both people and events from a pos-itive perspective that enables them to see the big picture and the potential in others, and as a result recover from adversity and conflict with renewed energy and com-mitment. By teaching student leaders to reframe neg-ative events, while also becoming aware of how their strengths interact with the strengths of others, we can prepare the next generation of leaders for the level of creative and collaborative problem solving that will be required in an increasingly complex world.

REFERENCESAvolio, B. J., and Luthans, F. (2006). The high im-

pact leader. New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2008). Reframing or-

ganizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership. San Fran-cisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Buckingham, M. & Coffman, C. (1999). First break all the rules: What the world’s greatest managers do dif-ferently. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.

Clifton, D. O., & Harter, J. K. (2003). Investing in strengths. In K.S. Cameron, J. E. Dutton, & R. E. Quinn (Eds.), Positive organizational scholarship (pp. 111-121). San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler.

Dweck, C.S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York, NY: Random House.

Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emo-tions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56, 218-216.

Fredrickson, B. L. (2003). The value of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 91, 330-335.

Fusch, D., & Mrig, A. (2011, June). Rethinking higher education’s leadership crisis. Higher Ed Impact: Monthly Diagnostic. Retrieved from http://www.aca-demicimpressions.com/hei_resources/0611-diagnostic.pdf

Heifetz, R. A., & Linsky, M. (2002). Leadership on the line. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

“Resilient leaders take a “balcony view” that allows them to rise above the fray, appreciate the perspectives of others, and consider the long-term implications of potential actions and decisions.”


Kellerman, B. (2012). The end of leadership. New York, NY: HarperCollins.

Keyes, C. L. M., & Haidt, J. (2003). Flourishing: Positive psychology and the life well-lived. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.

Lindley, A. (2008). Average to A+: Realising strengths in yourself and others. Warwick, England: CAPP Press.

Longman, K. (2012). (Ed.) Thriving in leadership: Strategies for making a difference in Christian higher education (pp. 39-58). Abilene, TX: Abilene Christian University Press.

Louis, M. C. (2009). A summary and critique of ex-isting strengths-based educational research utilizing the Clifton StrengthsFinder. Omaha, NE: The Gallup Or-ganization.

Louis, M. C., & Schreiner, L. A. (2012). Helping stu-dents thrive: A strengths development model. In L. A. Schreiner, M. C. Louis, & D. D. Nelson (Eds.), Thriving in transitions: A research-based approach to college stu-dent success (pp. 19-40). Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina, National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition.

Rath, T., & Conchie, B. (2008). Great leaders, teams, and why people follow: Strengths-based leadership. New York, NY: Gallup Press.

Rath, T., & Harter, J. (2010). Well being: The five essential elements. New York: Gallup Press.

Schreiner, L. A. (2012). Thriving as a leader: The role of resilience and relationships. In K. Longman (Ed.) Thriving in leadership: Strategies for making a difference in Christian higher education (pp. 39-58). Abilene, TX: Abilene Christian University Press.

Southwick, S. M. & Charney, D.C. (2012). Resilience: The art of mastering life’s greatest challenges: Cam-bridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Laurie A. Schreiner and Karen A. Longman are professors in the Department of Higher Education at Azusa Pacific University. In addition to preparing 100+ doctoral students for careers in higher education leadership through “scholarship that makes a differ-ence,” the authors are involved with leadership devel-opment and research related to strengths and thriving. The contents of this article were initially presented at the October 2013 annual conference of the Interna-tional Leadership Association in Montreal, Quebec. The authors also co-edit the journal Christian Higher Education: An International Journal of Research, The-ory, and Practice.

Council for the Advancement for Standards in Higher

Education (CAS), Leadership Program Standards

www.cas.edu/index.php/standards

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How do individuals develop resilience? Does build-ing resilience happen naturally or can the process be intentionally promoted? Based on our experiences as educators, we suggest that colleges and universities can offer students the opportunity to build resilience. Pro-grams focused on developing students’ management and leadership skills can instill confidence in students, encouraging them to take risks and learn from failure in safe, open environments. Undergraduate leadership programs in which students learn experientially can pro-mote resilience building.

What do we mean by building resilience, and why is doing so important for our students? Building resil-ience has three components. First, resilience is not an exclusive, unique trait; all students are capable of devel-oping and exercising resilience through a combination of personal skills and behaviors. Second, building resil-ience centers on a student’s actions and reactions during a period of adversity. The degree of resilience a stu-dent exhibits depends on his or her ability to withstand stress. Third, we associate resilience building with a pos-itive outcome, such as creating success from adversity. Simply stated, we want our student leaders to withstand stress, learn from the stressful experience, and grow in the process (Heifetz, 1994).

When students arrive on any campus, there may be forces working against the students’ development of re-silience. First, students often expect college life to be an extension of their previously experienced lifestyles, if not better. Competition among institutions, for in-stance, has upped the ante on luxurious dormitory ame-nities, creating a “club-med” effect. As such, modern campus life is not designed to be a lesson in stressful living (Selingo, 2013). Second, students—the millenni-als—are often risk-averse. Many have grown up with very structured lives (e.g., highly organized youth sports)

in a period of relative affluence and incredible techno-logical advances (Howe & Strauss, 2000). Because mil-lennials face a competitive job market, they might avoid stressful experiences during college that could adversely impact their future job prospects (such as taking diffi-cult electives that may hurt their grade point averages). Third, society often tells millennials that failing is bad (Schulz, 2010). As a result, millennials may avoid experi-ences that could increase the probability of failure.

It is within this context that educators create pro-grams aimed at building resilience and helping students develop into authentic leaders. Because the real world does not shelter recent college graduates, it is the re-sponsibility of colleges and universities to prepare stu-dents for an uncertain, potentially stressful future.

Our institutions offer programs that help students understand self-awareness, how they operate within teams, how they contribute to their institution’s mission, and how they ensure the congruence of their values and actions (George & Sims, 2007). These factors help stu-dents become more resilient when faced with adversity.

The Center for Leadership at Northwestern Univer-sity was founded in 1990 through a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The Center helps students and faculty understand the nature of leadership, preparing students to become leaders. While the Center offers its own programs for undergraduate students, most of its work is in partnership with other university courses and programs that involve over 50 faculty and 800 students annually. Each year, approximately 120 undergraduate students participate in individual leadership coaching, 300 conduct a 360-degree leadership assessment, 700 conduct teamwork assessments as part of another fac-ulty member’s course, 90 students enroll in a leadership course, and 25 complete an academic certificate pro-gram. Notably, resilience is a central pedagogy in the

by Sadhana Hall, Adam Goodman, and Gama Perruci

Program Spotlight: Building Resilience through Experiential Education


Center’s partnerships and programs and is one of six assets measured by the leadership assessment (http://lead.northwestern.edu/).

The McDonough Leadership Center at Mariet-ta College in Ohio was established in 1986 through a generous gift from Alma McDonough, the widow of industri-alist and entrepreneur Bernard P. McDonough, and the McDonough Foundation. The Center offers a comprehensive undergraduate leader-ship program with five possible tracks: Interna-tional Leadership Studies Major; Minor in Leader-ship Studies; Certificate in Leadership Studies; Teacher Leadership Cer-tificate; and Engineer-ing Leadership Certif-icate. These tracks are organized around three components: knowledge (leadership education – curricular content); action (leadership train-ing – skill-building); and growth (leadership devel-opment through self-as-sessment and coaching sessions). The “action” component is based on an experiential education model, which includes workshops, service proj-ects, internships, and study-abroad (http://mcdonough.marietta.edu).

The Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth College was founded in 1983 to commemorate the civic contribu-tions of Nelson A. Rockefeller ‘30. The Rockefeller Center’s mission is to educate, train, and inspire the next generation of public policy leaders in all fields of endeavor. The Center seeks to connect undergraduate student experiences in and out of the classroom, on and off campus, throughout students’ four years.

The curricular offerings of the Rockefeller Center allow students to engage with public policy in their areas of interest. Students can enroll in public policy courses and complete a Public Policy minor, enabling students

to explore the public pol-icy process and conduct policy. The Center offers the Policy Research Shop, a student-staffed, fac-ulty-mentored research program in which stu-dents conduct research and testify their findings at the request of New Hampshire and Vermont state legislatures. Oth-er programs include an exchange program with Keble College at Oxford University, a fellowship through the Center for the Study of the Presi-dency and Congress, and grants for students’ hon-ors theses in the social sciences.

Outside the class-room, the Center uses Kolb’s learning cycle and provides students with structured, ro-bust co-curricular pro-grams designed to build on students’ leadership skills and capacities. Student-led discussion groups (VoxMasters, RBEL, and PoliTalk), the First-Year Fellows Pro-gram in Washington, DC,

funding for off-campus internships, the Management and Leadership Development Program, a Mini-Grants program for supporting special student-initiated proj-ects, Create Your Path, Rockefeller Global Leadership Program, and the Rockefeller Leadership Fellows Pro-gram help students develop self-awareness, reflect upon their strengths, and assess their capacities to work in teams within organizational settings (http://rockefeller.dartmouth.edu/studentopps/).

“These resilience-building programs … are rigorous, link theory and practice, create opportunities for reflection, provide students with feedback, build community, allow students to assess their own skills and capabilities in addressing adversity, and provide tools for routine learning from future adversity.”


These resilience-building programs share the fol-lowing characteristics: they are rigorous, link theory and practice, create opportunities for reflection, provide stu-dents with feedback, build community, allow students to assess their own skills and capabilities in addressing adversity, and provide tools for routine learning from future adversity.

Adverse experienc-es teach and shape peo-ple more than successful experiences do. In this article, we provide an example of an effective tool for documenting and discussing “leader-ship crucibles.” Crucibles are those “transformative experiences” that enable students, particularly stu-dent leaders, to “exam-ine their values, question their assumptions, and hone their judgments” (Thomas, 2008, p. 5-6). Crucibles allow student leaders to come “face-to-face with” themselves and recognize that life is “about far more than being a hero.” Following an analy-sis of their crucibles, student leaders can then recognize how they came to be leaders (George, McLean, & Craig, 2008, p. 36-37). If properly documented, these crucible moments can help reveal a student leader’s core values. Furthermore, routinely doing reflective work around crucible experiences can build resilience.

We now outline the process by which student lead-ers can reflect upon their crucible moments via a 7-step process (Goodman, 2008):

1. Students begin by recalling a transformative in-cident, describing the crucible in narrative form. At this point in the exercise, students should refrain from draw-ing conclusions about their crucible.

2. Next, students describe the backstory, such as the events that led to the crucible.

3. Students then describe how this crucible has af-fected their leadership capability. Crucibles typically af-fect a student leader’s choices.

4. Students then describe their insights. For exam-ple, students may ask themselves what does the crucible reveal about their leadership styles and realities.

5. Students then consider the values present in

their narrative, identifying their most prioritized value. This activity challenges students to be honest about their values and behaviors.

6. Next, students identify the key lessons gleaned from their crucibles.

7. Students conclude the exercise by organizing their crucibles into brief stories, allowing them to fo-

cus on the essence of the crucible (Goodman, 2008b).

Hundreds of lead-ers, students and adults, have used the aforemen-tioned process (Good-man, Wolff, Bocken-feld, Tiedeman, & Kim, 2010) and a compan-ion discussion guide (Goodman, 2008b) to explore past failures and challenges. In doing so,

student leaders can learn from their crucible moments and improve their roles as leaders by applying their newfound insights to future challenges. In addition, a student leader can build resilience by refining his or her ability to detect crucible moments in a timely man-ner. Understanding their crucible moments, what they learned from their transformative experiences, and why their experiences have made them who they are today will allow student leaders to navigate future stressful sit-uations.

REFERENCESGeorge, B., & Sims, P. (2007). True North: Discover

Your Authentic Leadership. San Francisco,

CA: Jossey-Bass/John Wiley & Sons.

George, B., McLean, A., & Craig, N. (2008). Finding Your True North: A Personal Guide. San

Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass/John Wiley & Sons.

Goodman, A. (2008). Leadership Crucible Work-sheet. Unpublished worksheet. Evanston, IL: Center for Leadership, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL.

Goodman, A. (2008b). Leadership Crucible Work-sheet. Worksheet. Evanston, IL: Center for

Leadership. Northwestern University.

“Adverse experiences teach and shape people more than successful experiences do.”


Goodman, A., Wolff, A., Bockenfeld, D., Tiedeman, B., & Kim, M. (2010). Leadership Portal

(Version 1.0). Evanston, IL: Center for Leadership, Northwestern University. Retrieved

from <http://lead.northwestern.edu/pages/por-tal>.

Heifetz, R. (1994). Leadership Without Easy An-swers. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of

Harvard University Press.

Howe, N., & Strauss, B. (2000). Millennials Rising: The Next Great Generation. New York, NY:

Vintage Books.

Schulz, K. (2010). Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error. New York, NY: Ecco.

Selingo, J. J. (2013). College (Un)Bound: The Future of Higher Education and What It Means

for Students. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Har-court.

Thomas, R. J. (2008). Crucibles of Leadership: How

to Learn from Experience to Become a

Great Leader. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Re-view Press.

Sadhana Hall is the Deputy Director of the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for Public Policy and the Social Sciences. Prof. Adam Goodman directs Northwest-ern University’s Center for Leadership and is a faculty member in the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science. Dr. Gama Perruci is Dean of the Mc-Donough Leadership Center and the McCoy Professor of Leadership Studies at Marietta College. Special thanks to Nikki Sachdeva ’15 (Dart-mouth College) for editing assistance.

The 16th Annual ILA Global ConferenceConscious Leading for Global Change: Emergence of our Collective Realities

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Think of a difficult experience in your life. What got you through it? Was it a state of mind? A skill set? An attitude? At the base of how you handled the diffi-culty was the concept of resilience.

Research on resilience began in the 1970’s in the fields of psychology and psychiatry to understand “…the phenomenon of resilience in children at risk for psychopathology and problems in development due to genetic and experiential circumstances” (Masten, 2001, p. 227). Since that time, resilience has been studied in fields as varied as human development, change manage-ment, medicine, and nursing (Ledesma, 2013).

DEFINING RESILIENCEMany definitions of resilience exist but they most

commonly boil down to having the ability to overcome difficult situations or to persevere through challenges. Masten (2001) defines resilience as “…a class of phe-nomena characterized by good outcomes in spite of serious threats to adaptation or development” (p. 228). Bonanno (2004) defines resilience as protective psycho-logical risk factors that foster positive outcomes. Resil-ience has also been defined as the ability to bounce back and to withstand hardship by repairing oneself (Hig-gins, 1994 and Wolin & Wolin, 1993 as cited in Ledes-ma, 2013); as the ability to cope with challenges while maintaining an integrated sense of self (Garmezy & Masten, 1986); the ability to successfully cope with ad-versity (Werner & Smith, 2001); and the ability to thrive in difficult situations (Geocaris, 2004).

Frankl (1984) has identified several themes regard-ing resilience, including that unavoidable suffering is a hidden opportunity for human achievement. In other words, as humans we “get through” our suffering not “get over it” and come out the other side stronger for it. Barbour (2013), in her International Leadership Associ-ation presentation, identified four individual features of

resilience from the scholarship: accepting reality, find-ing meaning, having a broad perspective, and building relationships. Resilience is less a trait, and is more man-ifested in one’s behavior (Masten & Powell, n.d.).

In addition to individuals, resilience is relevant at or-ganizational and ecological levels as well. Resilience, at an organization level, can be defined as “the adaptation of a system [that] has been threatened by experiences capable of disrupting or destroying the successful oper-ation of the system” (Masten & Obradovic, 2006, p. 14). At an ecological level, resilience is about the stability of an ecosystem and the capability of a system to tolerate disturbance and then restore itself to maintain function (Folke, Carpenter, Elmqvist, Gunderson, Holling, & Walker, 2002).

RESILIENCE = SUCCESSResearch on the effectiveness of school adminis-

trators has identified resilience as a factor contribut-ing to leadership success (Maulding, Peters, Roberts, Leonard, & Sparkman, 2012; Christman & McClellan, 2008). Maulding et al (2012) found that resilience of school leaders may positively or negatively impact the organization’s culture. Relationship building skills were identified as key to resilience for leaders (Maulding et al, 2012; Christman & McClellan, 2008). Leaders able to communicate, listen, and build trust have the capability to weather adversity. Having supportive relationships contributes to a leaders’ ability to overcome adversity.

Similar concepts are found in research on college students (Komives, Longerbeam, Owen, Marnella, & Osteen, 2006; Jackson, Smith, & Hill, 2003; Pizzolato, 2003). The Leadership Identity Development research conducted by Komives et al (2006) has aspects of resil-ience reflected in Stages Four, Five, and Six. At Stage Four, students begin to be committed to the concept of interdependence and the need to develop trust. In Stage

by Brenda McKenzie

Scholarship and Research Updates: Leadership and Resilience


Five, students express concern for the sustainability of their groups (organizational resilience). In Stage Six, as students encounter new situations, they are able to as-sess and find their fit.

Research on the persistence of at-risk college stu-dents can also provide insight on individual resilience. Jackson et al (2003) identified Native American students’ confidence in their ability to succeed to be of great im-portance to their persistence. Their research identified conflicting pressures of family support for succeeding and maintaining their Native American community identity, incidents of racism (subtle and overt), and the nonlinear path many of the students took to completing their education (i.e. stopping out, transferring multiple times) as major roadblocks to the persistence of Native American students. The students in this study demon-strated an innate ability to develop the resilience to suc-ceed. The ability to take advantage of opportunities on campus, “…the ability to adapt to a different culture, and the ability to effectively deal with racism may be due to personal attributes…” (Jackson et al, 2003, p. 561). Similar findings can be found in other studies (Clauss-Ehlers & Wibrowski, 2007, for example).

RESILIENCE RELATED TO LEADERSHIPAs Heifitz and Linsky (2004) note, leadership often

“…requires helping groups make difficult choices and give up something they value on behalf of something they care about more…” (p. 33). Adaptive (and resil-ient) leaders solve these kind of challenges by changing

people’s values, habits, or ways of life (Heifitz & Linsky, 2004). To do this requires establishing relationships, involving others (even naysayers), and accepting one’s own responsibility for the situation. As Ledesma (2013) states, “The biggest challenge that leaders face today is accepting the responsibility for doing whatever it takes to move ahead in the face of adversity” (p. 15). It takes resilience!

Research is lacking on leadership and resilience, how leaders overcome challenges and develop resilience, how leaders use the concepts of organizational resilience in their work, and how leadership educators could guide college students in the development of their resilience. Leadership educators in higher education can take their cues from the research conducted in the social sciences, business, and the medical arena to conduct research in this area.

CONCLUSION“Resilience appears to be a common phenomenon

arising from ordinary human adaptive processes” (Mas-ten, 2001, p. 234). Resilience can grow from seemingly negative life experiences. Resilience has moved from being thought of as a trait to being a process and now as an innate force within us. So back to the question posed

at the beginning – how did you get through the diffi-cult situation you identified? How can you now use this knowledge in future challenging situations as a leader?

“Many definitions of resilience exist but they most commonly boil down to having the ability to overcome difficult situations or to persevere through challenges.”

“It is our intent that programs and services will function as a history of connected learning opportunities rather than a series of isolated activities.”


REFERENCESBarbour, J. D. (2013). Resilience theory applied:

Synopsis for organizations and leaders. Paper

presented at International Leadership Association, Montreal, Canada.

Bonanno, G. A. (2004). Loss, trauma, and human resilience. American Psychologist, 59(1), 20-

28.

Clauss-Ehlers, C. S., & Wibrowski, C. R. (2007). Building educational resilience and social

support: The effects of the educational opportunity fund program among first and second-generation col-lege students. Journal of College Student Development, 48(5), 574-594.

Christman, D., & McClellan, R. (2008). “Living on barbed wire”: Resilient women

administrators in educational leadership programs. Educational Administration Quarterly, 44(1), 3-29. doi: 10.1177/0013161X07309744

Folke, C, Carpenter, S., Elmqvist, T., Gunderson, L., Holling, C. S., & Walker, B. (2002).

Resilience and sustainable development: Building adaptive capacity in a world of transformations. Ambio, 31(5), 437-440.

Frankl, V. E. (1984). Man’s search for meaning. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Garmazy, N., & Masten, A. S. (1986). Stress, com-petence, and resilience: Common frontiers for

therapist and psychopathologist. Behavior Therapy, 17, 500-521.

Geocaris, C. M. (2004). The evolving role of the principalship: Critical insights for a new

paradigm (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL. UMI Pro-Quest Digital Dissertations, AAT 3132422.

Heifetz, R. A., & Linsky, M. (2004). When leader-ship spells danger. Educational Leadership,

33-37.

Higgins, G. O. (1994). Resilient adults: Overcoming a cruel past. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Jackson, A. P., Smith, S. A., & Hill, C. L. (2003). Ac-ademic persistence among Native

American college students. Journal of College Stu-dent Development, 44(4), 548-565.

Komives, S. R., Longerbeam, S. D., Owen, J. E., Mainella, F. C., & Osteen, L. (2006). A

leadership identity development model: Appli-cations from a grounded theory. Journal of College Student Development, 47(4), 401-418. doi: 10.1353/csd.2006.0048

Ledesma, J. (2013). Conceptual frameworks and re-search models on resilience in leadership.

Paper presented at International Leadership Associ-ation, Montreal, Canada.

Masten, A. S. (2001). Ordinary magic: Resilience processes in development. American

Psychologist, 56(3), 227-238. Doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.56.3.227

Masten, A. S., & Obradovic, J. (2006). Competence and resilience in development. Annals New

York Academy of Sciences, 1094, 13-27. doi: 10.1196/annals.1376.003

Masten, A. S., & Powell, J. L. (n.d.). A resilience framework for research, policy, and practice.

Retrieved from http://www.langtoninfo.com/web_content/9780521807012_excerpt.pdf

Maulding, W. S., Peters, G. B., Roberts, J., Leonard, E., & Sparkman, L. (2012). Emotional

intelligence and resilience as predictors of leader-ship in school administrators. Journal of Leadership Studies, 5, 20-29. doi: 10.1002/jls.20240

Pizzolato, J. E. (2003). Developing self-authorship: Exploring the experiences at high-risk

college students. Journal of College Student Devel-opment, 44(6), 797-812.

Werner, E. E., & Smith, R. S. (2001). Journeys from childhood to midlife: Risk resilience and

recovery. New York: Cornell University Press.

Wolin, S. J., & Wolin, S. (1993). The resilient self: How survivors of troubled families rise

above adversity. New York: Villard Books.


Brenda McKenzie is currently a second year doc-toral student in the Higher Education Administration program at Kent State University. Her current research interest is women and leadership. She has 20+ years of higher education experience, most recently at Kent State working with leadership development, Greek life, and snt activities. Her other professional experience in-cluded working with student organizations, new student programs, non-traditional adult students, and residence life.

Renew your membership now. It’s never been a better time to join NCLP. Get discounts on publications, subscribe to the NCLP listserv, and benefit from discounted conference registration. Join or renew now at www.nclp.umd.edu!

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UPCOMING EVENTS

2014 National Leadership Symposium:Leadership Competencies from Research toResults

July 14 - 17, University of Tampa, FL

A formal meeting at which several specialists deliver short ad-dresses on a topic or on related topics; participants engaging in a collection of opinions, dialogue and idea exchange.

About the Symposium and the Learner Community The National Leadership Symposium is a professional development experience designed for faculty members, student affairs professionals, and other educators involved with promoting leadership education at colleges and universities. The program is coordinated by the National Association for Campus Activities (NACA) and the National Clearinghouse for Leadership Programs (NCLP). The Symposium includes a variety of formats, exercises, and conversations to engage different learning styles and pref-erences, both introverted and extroverted. Given the immersive learning environment of the Symposium, it is advised that participants have significant professional experience in leadership education. In order to fully engage in the Symposium learner commu-nity, participants are expected to have read several selected read-ings in advance of the arriving for the NLS experience. The Na-tional Leadership Symposium is designed for an intimate collegial learning environment of 50 participants. Your engagement will involve intense periods for learning in the large community, small group, and individual levels.

Symposium 2014 Focus As student leadership development professionals, the task of assisting students in the development of their leadership com-petencies seems to be a much harder task than the theoretical framework we base our craft on. What leadership competencies are most critical for students to develop? How do we create mean-ingful experiences to assist students in developing those compe-


tencies? And how will we know they have developed the intended competencies? This symposium will introduce participants to the world of leadership competencies; how they are conceptualized, utilized, and evaluated. In addition symposium participants will work together to explore the following issues in regard to leader-ship competencies:

• What exactly is a competency? What are the foundational tenets and the historical context of competency-based learning? • What competency-based models currently exist? If I were to create a competency-based model, how would I do that? Where do I start?• What is the process for creating a competency-based leadership curriculum? How do I determine what competencies to focus on for students at my individual institution?• Can competencies be developed or mastered? How would one know? What kind of assessment and reflective techniques assist in measuring competency development?

As in the past, this year’s National Leadership Symposium will provide a framework for theory to practice in delving into these and other questions.

Association of Leadership Educators 2014 An-nual Conference

July 13-16, 2014 | San Antonio, TX

The Association of Leadership Educators (ALE) invites you to join us at our annual professional conference in San An-tonio. This year’s conference theme, “Visions of Leadership - Reflecting on the Past, Focusing on the Future,” emphasizes the dynamic nature of leadership education and the ALE. ALE recognizes that leadership education is about providing learners and practitioners with knowledge and skills for growth, change, and forward movement. This year we will focus on honoring our tradition while exploring future opportunities for leadership edu-cation. Participants will be invited to step outside of their comfort zone and participate in activities and sessions aimed at creating an


exciting future full of opportunities and innovation for those we serve.

Please see our organization website for more information, includ-ing the 2014 Call for Proposals: www.leadershipeducators.org/NextConference. Please note that registration for the conference will be available in January of 2014.

Concepts & Connections - A Publication for Leadership Educators

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