For the past two years I have had the opportunity to serve in the Institute for Leadership Advancement in the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia. The ILA is a leadership development program that students from several disciplines are taking to better their leadership skills. What I have seen has been students stretched beyond their comfort zone to realize potential the never knew they had. I have witnessed teams pull together to accomplish goals they could not have accomplished as individuals. There have been teams and individuals enter and emerge from the "tunnel of chaos" to become stronger from the experience. Students have been challenged to probe their motivations, their character and their personalities to find their strengths, weaknesses and passions.
In addition to exploring themselves individually and as team members, students are then shown the functionality of businesses and organizations. After students are challenged introspectively they are then shown effective leadership within organizations. They explore effective leadership qualities that help businesses to grow and thrive. Just as situational leadership is important in personal styles, it is also important in businesses as well. Extremely competent leaders in one stage of a company's life cycle may be quite ineffective in the same company entering a different stage of the company life cycle.
The Institute for Leadership Advancement is effectively preparing students to be the leaders that their generation will be looking to. If everything rises and falls on leadership, these students are preparing for their generation to rise, they are preparing for the companies for which they work to rise and they are preparing personally to rise. Be watching for these students in a company near you.
Tim Lehmann - Graduate Assistant
