Running head: STUDENT LEADERSHIP INTERVENTION PAPER 1

Student Leadership Intervention Paper

Sarah Creeden

ELPS 419 - Leadership in Higher Education

Loyola University Chicago

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Student Leadership Intervention Paper

Within leadership practice and literature on leadership, women of multiple identities are

often overlooked. This is often because much of the research and facilitation done on leadership

has been heavily based, as most literature in higher education as been, on White cisgender men

that likely come from privileged backgrounds. The leadership program discussed in this essay

will be called Women Emerging in Leadership (WEL) and it will address issues that women are

facing within leadership contexts and explore what they will need to succeed in leadership. The

layout of this program and the strategies that will be utilized for leadership education will be

addressed in this paper.

Leadership Philosophy

Leadership philosophies should be as unique as the person practicing them. Every

individual practicing leadership should create their own leadership philosophy when facilitating,

implementing, or creating leadership programs and they should abide by it. Here is the

leadership statement that I created and will be referencing back to it and drawing from it when

creating my leadership program: A leader is an individual that demonstrates characteristics of a

leader, such as empathy, responsibility, motivated, and more. This individual must recognize that

there is a drastic difference between authority and leadership. This individual should be

interested in furthering their experiences and skills within leadership, they should be as authentic

as possible, and they should be involved in leadership to not only empower themselves, but to

empower their peers and validate their experiences.

Theoretical Framework
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The leadership program will address women in leadership and make an attempt to bridge

the gender gap in leadership. It will do so by utilizing a theoretical framework that was picked to

support women and their progression and development within leadership roles. The theoretical

framework utilized for this leadership program is drawn from literature focusing on defining

leadership, the gender gap in leadership, brave spaces in leadership, and the emotional

intelligence that leadership can create. These subjects were chosen to base the leadership

program from and to help further explain why there is such a need for leadership programs that

are aimed for women. The work from John Dugan (2017) will assist us in defining what

leadership is and how important it is for those participating in leadership to have a good

understanding on what their own definition is. The work from Kathy L. Guthrie and

Vivechkanand S. Chunoo (2018) and Peter G. Northouse (2018) will address the gender gap in

leadership. The work from Guthrie and Chunoo (2018) will address the importance of brave

spaces in leadership and how they can be beneficial in creating a safe and empowering

environment for women pursuing leadership. Lastly, the work of Guthrie and Chunoo (2018)

will address the importance of emotional intelligence within leadership and how it can assist

women, as well as anyone pursuing leadership, in learning what motivates individuals in wanting

to become part of the leadership process.

What is Leadership?

First, I believe it is crucial to explain that there is no singular definition for leadership.

According to Dugan (2017), individuals pursuing leadership should be developing their own

definition from their own lived experiences. Dugan (2017) states that multiple definitions “add

yet another set of terms, another semantic differential to the pantheon of preexisting definitions”

(p. 3). With this in mind, I will not be supplying a singular definition of leadership in an effort to
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assist the participants of this leadership program in developing their own functional definition.

Furthermore, by not choosing to provide a singular definition of leadership for this leadership

program, I am giving opportunity for the participants to have “the agency to author their own

definitions of leadership that arise as an eclectic mix of components from various theories and

their own life experiences” (p. 3).

Gender Differences in Leadership

Today’s society is quite gendered, and it is often overlooked. According to Guthrie and

Chunoo (2018), the messages and expectations that are brought upon us by gender constructs

“are so powerful and ingrained that often we are not aware of them or how they impact our

thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, or our expectations of others” (p. 77). There is often a

perspective on women that are involved in leadership that states that women lead in a feminine

way. This perspective enforces a binary and sets expectations for individuals based on binary

genders (Guthrie and Chunoo, 2018, p. 83). When engaging with gender in leadership, it is

important to note that most of the research done on this subject has solely focused on men.

Guthrie and Chunoo (2018) state that:

“As we advance our understanding of the role of gender in leadership development, with

the goal of promoting social justice, it is important to also ask questions. These questions

should grapple with both research and leadership education practice, about how one’s

gender plays a role in their leadership development” (pp. 83-84).

Northouse (2018) states that “the increasing number of women in leadership positions in

academia brought about dramatic changes in American society have fueled the now robust

scholarly interest in the study of leadership and gender” (p. 403). While women might be more
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prominent now in leadership, there is still a gap in equity within leadership capacities. This is

because of the subconscious gender power structures that are in place within society. However,

in leadership, women and men are “considered to be equally effective leaders, overall, but there

were gender differences such that women and men were more effective in leadership roles that

were more congruent with their gender” (p. 408). This is problematic because it essentially

states that evaluations done on these leadership roles are suggesting that the individuals

completing the evaluations are judging the leaders based from their gender roles versus their

leadership roles.

Northouse (2018) also describes women’s leadership as a labyrinth that consists of

differences in human capital between men and women, prejudice, and more. In order to remove

themselves from this labyrinth, women must, essentially, be raised as men and not as women.

However, this is not plausible. This is another gendered expectation set to change the way

women are acting and living in order for them to further succeed. Instead of asking women to

change, leadership roles and societal roles should be changing to better suit the changing

demographic of women and womanhood.

Brave Spaces in Leadership

Brave spaces were created to acknowledge “the need for courage rather than the illusion

of safety in spaces where diversity and social justice learning occurs” (Guthrie and Chunoo,

2018, p. 213). While there are numerous ways to facilitate a formal or an informal leadership

program, brave spaces will be utilized to expand and encourage the development of critical

consciousness of the students participating in WEL.

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According to Guthrie and Chunoo (2018), there are six stages in which brave spaces

assist with the development of leadership identity. These stages consist of awareness,

exploration and engagement, leader identified, leadership differentiated, and, generativity, lastly,

integration and synthesis. In stage one, awareness, “individuals view leadership as something

separate from self” (p. 221). While in this stage, many students may not even see themselves as

leaders or having any sort of leadership potential. In stage two, exploration and engagement,

“individuals seek engagement with peers in group settings” (p. 222). There is a need for trust

and support in this stage as students are still developing skills and gaining self-confidence. This

is a very vulnerable time in their leadership development. In stage three, leader identified,

“individuals believe leadership is primarily positional” (p. 223). While the students are still in

this stage, leadership educators should explore how relationships can impact a student’s

leadership development, especially relationships that are occurring within the leadership

program. In stage four, leadership differentiated, “individuals see leadership as a process and

disentangle positionality” (p. 224). Within this stage, individuals will start to establish coalitions

within groups that have similar goals and the individuals may not have membership in each

individual group but is impacted by how the groups come together to influence positive change

(Guthrie and Chunoo, 2018, p. 224). In stage five, generativity, “individuals are able to look

beyond themselves and toward the welfare of others” (p. 225). Students will have developed a

social justice lens in this stage. Lastly, in stage six, integration and synthesis, “individuals

determine when their actions are congruent with their beliefs and are able to apply crystallized

lenses into new context and new environments” (pp. 225-226).

Within this cocurricular experience, facilitators will be encouraged to use a brave spaces

framework because it offers a space for women to feel empowered and to assist in empowering
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one another. Brave spaces are important for WEL, as well as similar leadership programs,

because it creates an open space where women can feel free to speak freely, where women can

be as bold or as vulnerable as they wish to be, and it can be a space where women are efficiently

and thoroughly supported by those that have gone through similar experiences. A bold space

within WEL’s framework is crucial to the outcomes and objectives of the program, which will be

listed further on. Women are not always able to have a safe or brave space where they are not

being judged by their gender or their femininity, or the lack thereof. This space will be

beneficial to the development of their leadership throughout the program.

Emotional Intelligence in Leadership

According to Guthrie and Chunoo (2018), “motivation to lead constructs encourage early

development of self-awareness and leadership self-efficacy; both of which involve an awareness

and understanding of emotions” (p. 279). Emotional intelligence is a mental ability that consists

of four branches: (1) managing emotions to attain a goal, (2) understanding emotions, emotional

language, and the signals conveyed by emotions, (3) using emotions to facilitate thinking, and

(4) perceiving emotions accurately in oneself and others (Guthrie and Chunoo, 2018, pp. 279-

280). By incorporating emotional intelligence into WEL, the goal is that participants will be able

to gain a critical understanding of their goals and values as well as being able to realistically

assess their experiences and themselves.

Emotionally intelligent leaders should continue to grow and develop. By practicing

emotionally intelligent leadership and self-efficacy, participants of WEL should be able to

incorporate their own identities and social justice into the work that they are practicing and adapt

to the changes that may occur when interacting with a person of differing salient identities.

Emotional intelligence will give the participants the opportunity to develop and grown on a
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personal level. Furthermore, it will also give them the opportunity to develop on an educational

and professional level as critical assessment of oneself is an important reflection tool.

University Overview

WEL is designed to be facilitated at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU).

SNHU is an institution that is almost equally split between male and female student percentages.

The university hosts a massive online program and a smaller on campus experience.

About the Institution

SNHU is a private, non-profit university in Manchester, New Hampshire. The university

hosts approximately 3,000 students on campus and nearly 100,000 students online (About Us,

2018). SNHU offers programs from certificates to doctoral levels in business, education, liberal

arts, social sciences, and STEM. The university has roughly 50% male students and 50% female

students. According to their website, SNHU’s mission is as follows:

“Southern New Hampshire University transforms the lives of students. Our success is

defined by our students' success. By relentlessly challenging the status quo and providing

the best support in higher education, Southern New Hampshire University expands access

to education by creating high quality, affordable and innovative pathways to meet the

unique needs of each and every student” (About Us, 2018).

According to U.S. World News and World Report, SNHU has been named the number

one most innovative school in the United States for three years in a row. SNHU has also been

name a “Great College to Work For” for ten years in a row by the Chronicle of Higher Education

(About Us, 2018). According to their website, SNHU recently absorbed another institution of
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higher education, Daniel Webster College (DWC), and created programs based from the majors

that DWC offered that SNHU did not initially have, such as aeronautical engineering.

Leadership Opportunities

At SNHU, the Office of Student Involvement hosts most of the leadership programs.

These programs include workshops, semester-long initiatives, and services for clubs,

organizations, or individual groups. SNHU’s Office of Student Involvement encourages students

in club and organizations to attend regional and national leadership conferences if funding has

been provided to their organization (Student Leadership Opportunities, 2018). Major annual

leadership initiatives at SNHU include club presidents training, advisor training, the fall

leadership conference, the spring transition summit, and the annual leadership award banquet

(Student Leadership Opportunities, 2018). SNHU also offers the Signature Leadership Program.

According to their website, Signature is:

“Signature is a selective, holistic experiential leadership program dedicated to developing

well-rounded, socially responsible student leaders. The overarching outcome of the

program is the establishment of an individualized leadership approach and personal

values towards lifelong involvement” (Student Leadership Opportunities, 2018).

Program Outcomes and Objectives

Outcomes

By the end of WEL, students participating in the program should be able to:

1. Create brave spaces within their own communities for their friends, family, and peers.
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2. Engage in self-reflection to effectively use emotional consciousness to deconstruct and

reconstruct societal challenges and influences.

3. Pursue leadership roles with a critical understanding on the importance of leadership

education and practice.

Objectives

The objectives of WEL are as follows:

1. Gain a critical understanding on how women are viewed by society and how gender

constructs are constantly affecting how leadership roles are practiced and maintained for

women.

2. Learn about leadership from an educational approach with socially just standards.

3. Engage in self-reflection and self-understanding in an effort to gain critical consciousness

and emotional intelligence.

Program Design

Women Emerging in Leadership will be designed for female identifying undergraduate

students attending SNHU. WEL will be a semester long program that will be set up into four

sessions. The program will take place during the fall semester of an academic year. If the

program is successful, it can be adapted for a second session in the spring semester. The

students that will participate in this program can be from any academic program or year.

Students from all walks of life will be encouraged to join. At the end of the program, an

assessment process will take place in an effort to establish the credibility and importance of the

program based from the participants’ experiences. Upon the completion of the program,

participants will receive a certificate stating their experiences and successes. In this section, the
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participants will be described, the sessions will be outlines, and the assessment protocol will be

discussed.

Participants

The students participating in WEL will be female identifying undergraduate students.

The program will be available to female identifying students from all majors and programs as

long as they are full-time undergraduate students. Academic year also will not be a requirement

for being a part of WEL. The students participating should be students that are engaged within

the campus community and involved within some capacity. This is because the outcomes and

objectives, that will be stated further on, are meant to be carried on into the campus community

in an effort to create socially just change and create a holistic campus climate.

Additionally, the participants will be set up in a cohort model in an effort to create

community amongst the participants. The cohort will be comprised of approximately ten to

fifteen students. Participants of the cohort will be selected through an application process. In

said application, students will be asked to define what they believe leadership is and where they

see it intersecting in their lives. They will also be asked to describe what they wish their

takeaways from this program to be. With this information, the facilitators of the program will

attempt to incorporate the ideal takeaways of the students into activities and learning modules

that will be utilized during the sessions of the program.

Sessions

Session One. While the first session will be introductory to both the cohort and the

program itself, the main goal is to establish a brave and safe space for the participants to feel

empowered and courageous in their practice. The students will engage in an activity that will be
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utilized to establish connections amongst the participants. In this activity, participants will be

asked to share the identities that they resonate with the most and explain how it affects them in

their day-to-day lives. This activity is meant to establish vulnerability and honesty amongst the

cohort in an effort to create a brave space and to begin the development of critical consciousness.

Following this activity, facilitators will introduce the program expectations, a brief overview of

what each session will look like, and what the desired outcomes are for the participants. The

facilitators will then give an overview as to why women in leadership are so essential and why it

has been such a societal issue due to gendered constructs. Participants will be asked to reflect on

their lived experiences and share where they have seen their gender and leadership intersecting,

in both negative and positive ways. Before the end of the session, the participants will be asked

to reflect on all that was said.

Session Two. The session will begin with a recap of session one. The goal of the second

session is for the participants to gain a critical understanding of how their identities impact their

practice. The facilitators will engage the participants in a lesson on how gender constructs are

embedded into society and how they can deconstruct this and reconstruct it into their own

educational and professional learning. By doing this, the participants will learn how to use

reflection tools to debug societal challenges within their own lives. This will assist in the

development of emotional intelligence. The facilitators will then engage the participants in an

activity where the participants will be asked to create a presentation in which they will be

presenting their own self-awareness from their lived experiences and from what they have

learned in WEL thus far.

Session Three. The session will begin with a recap of sessions one and two. The goal of

the third session is deconstructing sexism and teach participants how they can empower
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themselves even when they are outside of WEL. Another goal of the third session is to teach the

participants how they can empower other women, especially women who may not have been a

part of a program such as WEL and support them in their personal and leadership endeavors.

These goals will be accomplished by discussions and a lesson as well as an activity that will

involve the participants engaging in a mock sketch where they will act out a variety of scenes

that they may run into in their everyday lives. At the end of this session, the participants of WEL

will be asked to create a presentation on their goals, identities, and what they have learned

throughout WEL to present during session four.

Session Four. The session will begin with a recap of sessions one, two, and three. The

goal of the fourth session is to give the participants of WEL a chance to facilitate their own

presentations and share their learning with their facilitators and peers. The majority of this

session will be taken up by presentations from the participants. Before the completion of the

final session, the facilitators will engage their participants in one final reflection and ask them to

complete an assessment, which will be further explained. The participants will receive a

certificate of completion.

Assessment

Throughout the duration of WEL, participants will not be asked to engage in assessment.

However, at the end of the program, students will be asked to contribute to an indirect

summative assessment that will evaluating how they are feeling about their learning after they’ve

completed the program. According to Gavin W. Henning and Darby Roberts (2016), indirect

assessment “typically focuses on students’ perceptions of their learning or other measures that

are tangentially related to learning” (p. 68). Summative assessment “occurs at the end of the

program or time period that includes the overall perspective” (p. 67).
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Indirect and summative assessments were chosen for WEL because it is the goal of the

program to ensure that the participants are feeling strongly and empowered by their learning.

The participants’ feelings towards what they have learned over the four sessions are critical to

establishing either a second cohort to begin in the following fall semester or to create a second

session of the program for the upcoming spring semester so that the participants in the first

cohort can continue their leadership development and learning. Overall, the participants’

thoughts and feelings on the program are critical since their feelings are how their learning is

going to be evaluated.

Limitations

There are few gaps within this program. Some of them have been addressed within the

theoretical frameworks that were previously described. One limitation is society’s impact and

perspective on women and women in leadership. The hard truth is that the participants of WEL,

no matter how much they will learn from this program about what it means to be a woman in

U.S. society and pursuing leadership, they will still face the challenges that womanhood faces

such as gendered oppression and sexism. No matter how much the brave spaces that are created

in the program can empower them, there are not always brave spaces in society and in the “real

world.”
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References

About us (2018). Retrieved from https://www.snhu.edu/about-us

Dugan, J. (2017). Leadership theory: Cultivating critical perspectives. San Francisco,

CA: Jossey-Bass

Guthrie, K., & Chunoo, V. (2018). Changing the narrative: Socially just leadership

education. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing

Henning, G.W., & Roberts, D. (2016). Student affairs assessment: theory to practice. Sterling,

VA: Stylus.

Northouse, P. (2018). Leadership: Theory and practice, 8th edition. Thousand Oaks, CA:

Sage.

SNHU Welcomes Daniel Webster Students (and Programs) to Campus (2017). Retrieved from

https://www.snhu.edu/about-us/news-and-events/2017/01/daniel-webster-students

Southern New Hampshire University (2018). Retrieved from https://www.usnews.com/best-

colleges/southern-new-hampshire-university-2580

Student leadership opportunities (2018). Retrieved from https://www.snhu.edu/student-

experience/campus-experience/student-organizations-and-leadership/student-leadership-

opportunities