Leadership mail bag with Susan Komives (NASPA Leadership Podcast)

NASPA Leadership Podcast, hosted by Myles Surrett
Episode 29:  Q&A with Dr. Susan Komives

While Susan Komives may have retired from teaching and stepped down from her role as PI in the MSL, she continues to advance leadership scholarship and build the case for evidence-based practice through many channels, including the editorship of New Directions for Student Leadership and by joining Myles Surrett for a special Q & A episode.

There’s something for everyone in this installment, featuring a dozen listener-submitted questions from specific questions on the Social Change Model (SCM) to broad questions about what significant changes Susan has witnessed in the field of higher ed.

A growth area on many college campuses is leadership development within academic programs. Susan cites the MSL data showing that engagement in academic clubs and honor societies is the second most common activity after intramural/recreational sports. This provides an opportunity to develop student leadership in the context of future career paths, and leadership educators are positioned to facilitate this with our knowledge of leadership development and supporting data from the MSL.

Many listeners had questions for Susan about ways to teach the SCM to various audiences and in different contexts. She recommends the activities, video clips, and other tools found in the Social Change Model: Facilitating Leadership Development guide released in February. She also discusses ways to diagnose a successful campus change initiative, and having the SCM evolve out of this process.

Understanding the language and context that would appeal to a particular audience is also crucial. For example, student athletes, Greek life, and working students will each have unique opportunities for addressing specific leadership outcomes or competencies relevant to their situation.

To hear more about Susan’s views on the seeming contradiction of shared leadership, using rubrics to assess skills efficacy, advice for aspiring student leadership practitioners and more, tune in to the NASPA Student Leadership Programs podcasts, hosted by Myles Surrett, at iTunes or SoundCloud.