Developing the Whole Student in Higher Education

Education and training is seen within particular context. Educators often view specific objectives as the total learning process but fail to accept the whole person within that process. A paper by Carter & Donohue (2012) focuses on the total development of the person across the spectrum of scholarship, strategy and service.  The implications are more important for leadership development that must consider the person within his or her environment. 

Scholarship affords the opportunity to understand the foundational knowledge and theory related to particular societal issues. It is the academic process of gaining information through reading, studying, reflecting and understanding. 

Academic knowledge is only part of the solution. One could understand the theory but have no idea of how to apply it within the environment. The application of academic knowledge is based on strategic considerations that come from experience. 

To know how to apply a theory to the environment requires considerable experience that comes from working within and understanding that environment. Strategy is a critical thinking process that weighs and balances the outcomes through understanding how a process works.

Service is a process of having a focal point for actions. Students that have a purpose and focus are often more motivated than students who don’t. Offering a chance to work toward some goal in service can help them integrate the pieces of academic knowledge and strategy. 

Learning doesn’t only come from a textbook and entails the whole person within the environment in which he or she exists. Formal knowledge is important in raising the standard of total understanding so that the strategy can be applied to an activity for greater integration. Without considering the total person within the educational or training environment there is only partial development. 

Vincent, C. & Donohue, M. (2012). Whole person learning: embedding ethical enterprise leadership in business education. American Journal of Business Education, 5 (6).

Developing the Next Wave of Leaders

Leadership in the military is an important concept that helps to push the envelope to achieve higher objectives. According to the author Douglas Crissman, leadership includes enhancing decision-making skills, confidence and problem solving to reach new heights. Without developing these skills leaders may have limited ability to handle difficult problems. 

The Center for Army Leadership Annual Survey of Army Leadership (CASAL) assesses the attitudes and perceptions of leadership development. The lowest rated competence for the fifth year in the row is developing others. A total of 59% of Army leaders were regarded as effective at developing their subordinates. A quarter of all units indicated a low or very low priority on leadership development activities. 

Improving consistency and ability of unit level leadership includes:

-Increased awareness about leadership development as a process versus a single event. Training should be seen as the totality of its program versus individual stand alone elements. As each element is mastered it creates a sequence of learning that leads to higher level learning. 

-Enhance current leadership at the battalion and brigade level to ensure that they are focused on developing future leaders. Each higher level position should be developing the people below to create a funnel of leadership development. 

-Expand current senior administration accountability to include leadership development programs. Refocusing on leadership development in each of the unit level positions creates better grooming grounds. 

The goal is to create instructional operated leadership that develops a lifelong synthesis of education, training and experience.  It is helpful to connect all the leadership development activities together to create a flowing and ongoing process of development that allows people to reach their highest state of development.  Experiences can be linked and reinforced to create developmental opportunities that eventually impact behavior. Training occurs primarily on the job and should ensure leadership learning occurs simultaneously with skill development. Leaders should learn more about how to think rather than indoctrination into what to think. Future leaders will need these abilities to overcome new challenges that are yet unseen.

Crissman, D. (2013). Improving the leader development experience in army units. Military Review, 93 (3)

Servant Leadership and Change

“Opportunity dances with those who are already on the dance floor.”

- H. Jackson Brown

 

The ability to adapt and bend is important when addressing change in this fast-paced marketplace.  As H. Jackson Brown, the author who wrote many of those Life's Little Instruction Books, said: "Opportunity dances with those who are already on the dance floor."  For those businesses that are out there in the mix of the chaos, it is easier for them to move to another partner or change the beat...so to speak. 

The role and style of leadership is particularly critical when facilitating change.  A leader shares the “vision of what could be and speaks a new organizational future into existence” (Lloyd & Maguire, 2002). Purposeful dialogue, courage and vision allow for change to manifest and for those changes to remain sustainable (Quy Nguyen & Mintzberg, 2003).  A leader must be virtuous also.  According to Cameron (2006), “when people are exposed to virtuous acts, they are attracted to them and elevated by them."

Servant Leader and Change

The servant leader is compassionate, shows integrity, is trusting, yet, and has a vision.  A servant leader promotes and encourages change by taking the time to understand and serve the needs of others (Cameron, 2006).  As the servant leader puts the subordinate first, change is promoted and encouraged through understanding and encouragement (Pajunen, 2006).  The sustainability of change is dependent on the relationship between leader and follower (Pajunen, 2006).

Stewardship is foremost in the change process as a servant leader wants to impact the lives of those they serve.  By doing so, this impacts the corporation or organization (Blanchard, 2010).  The values of the organization and its stakeholders need to be aligned in order to effectively and efficiently respond to change. It is this authentic, valued and trusted relationship cultivated by the servant leader that allows for stable and effective change.

Author: Andree C. Swanson, EdD

References

Blanchard, K. (2010). Leading at a higher level. Upper Saddle River, NJ. FT Press.

Cameron, K. (2006, May). Leading change. Leadership Excellence. p. 19.

Lloyd, M., & Maguire, S. (2002). The possibility horizon. Journal of Change Management, 3(2), 149.

Munduate, L., & Medina, F.J. (2004). Power, authority and leadership. In Encyclopedia of Applied Psychology. 

Pajunen, K. (2006). Stakeholder Influences in Organizational Survival. Journal of Management Studies, 43(6), 1261-1288. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6486.2006.00624.x

Quy Nguyen, H., & Mintzberg, H. (2003). The Rhythm of Change. MIT Sloan Management Review, 44(4), 79-84.