Terrapin Leadership Institute

[Fall Only] Foundational (6 weeks): Participants will explore and develop foundational leadership skills such as leadership styles, ethics, identity, collaboration, and communication . Perfect for emerging leaders who want to discover and/or refine their leadership philosophy and practice! No prior formal leadership experience necessary.

1. Leadership Introduction & Ethics

• Identify salient values that guide their behaviors and decision-making and
• Reflect on how they live out their values, particularly when faced with dilemmas or obstacles and
• Understand the complexity of considerations made in the ethical decision-making process and
• Examine the relationship between ethics and values-based leadership.

2. Leadership Styles & Strengths

• Gain a meaningful framework to understand their individual leadership styles.
• Practice balancing their strengths and weaknesses to be effective leaders and
• Recognize tenets of a growth mindset and how it can be applied to their leadership development.

3. Leadership & Identity

• Identify marginalized and dominant aspects of their identity and
• Recognize the relationship between their identities and their leadership style and
• Interrogate how their identities bias their practice and interpretation of leadership and
• Understand the importance of challenging stereotypes in effective leadership.

4. Communication

• Recognize the importance of active listening in communication and
• Understand the requirements of effective communication practices and
• Practice effective communication in a variety of situations and
• Articulate the importance of communication in effective leadership.

5. Collaboration

• Reflect on the significance of flexibility and adaptability in effective collaboration efforts and
• Recognize how their working styles influence their role and contributions to the group process and
• Demonstrate their ability to work effectively in group settings to accomplish shared goals.

6. Goal Setting & Philosophy

• Evaluate and reflect on their leadership development over the course of the TLI Foundations program.
• Assess personal leadership capacities through the Aspen Index and
• Establish one's personal leadership SMART goals and philosophy

*sessions are subject to change*

[Spring Only] Organizational Leadership (5 weeks) In collaboration with the Student Organization Resource Center, this track is designed specifically for students involved in student organizations on campus. Students will participate in hands-on activities and critical dialogue with a small group of peers. This track focuses on organizational dynamics and development centered around structural, relational, and cultural aspects of student organizations. Perfect for student organization leaders looking to lead and develop their organization

1. Evaluation and Assessment

• Meet students across different student organizations on campus and
• Articulate the purpose, structure, and benefits of participating in the TLI Organizational Leadership track and
• Evaluate the current state of their organization, and begin to craft a plan of organizational improvements. 

2. Organization Communication and Structural Tensions

• Explore communication systems and factors that either help or harm their intergroup communication processes and 
• Identify the benefits and drawbacks of their group’s organizational structure and  
• Describe how structural tensions can contribute both negatively and positively to a group’s organizational structure.

3. Member Motivation and Team Contribution

• Understand the characteristics of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and
• Implement at least one new technique for motivating members in their student organization and  
• Identify the four different styles of contribution in a team setting and 
• Recognize how different styles of contribution manifest within and affect their student organization.

4. Organization Conflict and Delegation

• Determine where their organization falls on the conflict continuum and 
• Learn strategies for engaging in healthy conflict to promote effective decision-making and  
• Practice delegating tasks and assignments to their peers.

5. Organization Culture and Mission/Vision Workshop

• Recognize the influence of culture on individuals’ actions and
• Distinguish the ways in which culture plays a role in organizations and
• Differentiate between the influence of cultural competency in leadership and in organizational culture 
• Uncover hidden components of participants’ organizational culture and translate those into the mission statement. 
• Registration opens January 17th
  • Closes February 22nd
• Track begins week of February 27th