YOUR LDP EXPERIENCE
EXAMPLE OUTCOMES
Every student who participates in our Leadership Development Program (LDP) reaches different outcomes—which is by design. Our program is intended to provide a process that can be tailored to your unique personal needs and goals. Here are actual examples of what student outcomes can look like:
Manage Stress
I totally stress myself out. As part of LDP, I spent my first year learning how to manage my stress level better and building techniques to help me manage through the stress. With the help of the Leadership Development Program and my shared approach group, I learned there were three things I always had to do each week to help me better manage my stress–exercise, do something social with people outside of Owen, and get what’s in my head out on paper. I also gained insight into my “tells” or warning signs that my stress levels were elevating, so I could be more proactive versus reactive in how I manage my stress. I continued to do this throughout my second year and am now doing it as I start my new job.
Find My Voice
I don’t speak up. My fear of saying something stupid, being wrong, or lacking confidence as compared to the other “experts” in my classes kept me from raising my hand or contributing to my full potential. I was challenged by my coach to raise my hand at least one time a week in class as a starting point. As I grew in confidence, it grew to once per class. I asked a friend in class to hold me accountable. I also asked my team members to hold me accountable to speaking up in group meetings. This helped me grow my confidence, find my voice and, ultimately, get over the fear of being wrong. I was just recently named the CEO of a financial services organization.
Tame the Self-Critic
I’m really hard on myself. I ignore good feedback and focus only on the negative. The very first thing I was told to do for homework was to write down three things I did well every day. It sounded ridiculous to me, but I agreed to do it for two weeks. At first, I wrote things like, “I walked my dog today” and “I took out the garbage” as it was very hard to recognize and acknowledge my strengths. But after two weeks, the items in my log started to have more meaning. Things like “I was able to clearly articulate my thoughts during the marketing presentation” and “I received an SP on the strategy homework” started to surface. The positives started to calibrate and even out my negatives, which gave me more confidence. I have now started my full-time consulting job and continue to write in my journal every day.
Suspend Judgement
During my coaching conversations, I realized I have a tendency to write people off who I assume are stupid or don’t add value. I got feedback that my quick judgments of people were felt by those around me, which affected my ability to work effectively in teams. So, I worked hard to suspend judgment and give people the benefit of the doubt. I learned to “take a back seat” from time to time during team meetings to allow my teammates to lead and contribute. I quickly learned others on the team were more capable than I thought they were, and I had been making snap judgments that weren’t always right. I also realized the outcomes of the team were better than if I’d done it alone AND I ended up with less work to do when I relied on others more and wasn’t taking everything on myself.
Manage Through Conflict
I HATE conflict!! As a result, I’ll back down in a team meeting if people don’t agree with my idea, even if I know I’m right. I avoid delivering a tough message or feedback, even if it needs saying, as I don’t want to make anyone mad. I realized through the course of LDP that what I viewed as conflict wasn’t always really conflict to everyone else. My coach had me observe what situations existed when I found myself holding back or avoiding a difficult conversation. I was able to better understand my tendencies and be more intentional about speaking up and stepping into those situations. Funny thing was, after about one to two times, I realized no one got mad and the conflict I anticipated was only in my head, which made it easier to continue the new habit to great result.
5 KEYS TO LDP SUCCESS
The common theme for students with successful outcomes, regardless of the leadership topics they tackle, is a personal investment.
Your job is to be a good steward of the Leadership Development Program resources by fully engaging the process, honoring and prioritizing your commitments to your goals, and discussing any issues or challenges.
Based on feedback from former students, here are five key things you can do to ensure your expectations about your development are met:
- Be open in all your conversations with the leadership development team and your coach. The more honest and transparent you are (especially with yourself) the more you will learn and be able to grow, so don’t hold back.
- Be observant of your own actions/reactions to a situation, of others’ perspectives and perceptions of you, and when something isn’t going the way you would like. In other words, listen and learn from every experience.
- Be committed to taking action and driving incremental change over the next two years. Development happens only if you are committed to learning and doing something better or different.
- Speak up. The only way someone will know if you want to be pushed more, challenged less, or understand what you want to focus on is if you let the person know.
- Stretch yourself. Take risks and be open to new ideas and trying new things. This is a safe environment, so experiment. Speak up more or speak up less depending on how you are wired, present even when you are afraid, put yourself in ambiguous situations, etc. Stretching will look different to each of you.
