Joining us for ASI provides the opportunity to be part of a unified living and learning experience. Themes of sustainability and food systems permeate every part of this program: from your interactions with peers and professors, to the housing, to the courses, to the field trips, to farm work, to communal meals, to the culture of the place. This thing is all-inclusive, all rolled into one - a true living-learning community!

Community Meeting Leadership discussion guide

This guide was designed by Tom Hartzell to be used with the following texts:

Conchie, B. and Rath, T. (2008). Strengths Based Leadership: Great Leaders, Teams, and Why People Follow. New York: Gallup Press.

Kouzes, J. and Posner, B. (2010). The Truth about Leadership: The no-fads, heart-of-the-matter facts you need to know. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Text Context

• The key aspects of a good leader were discerned by reviewing decades of Gallup data, which included more than 50,000 in-depth interviews with senior leaders, studies of more than one million work teams, and 50 years of polls on the world’s most admired leaders. That was followed by a study of 10,000 followers around the world. Led to three key findings:

1. The most effective leaders are always investing in strengths.

2. The most effective leaders surround themselves with the right people and then maximize their team.

3. The most effective leaders understand their followers’ needs.

• The ten “truths” are a result of Kouzes and Posner’s Leadership Practices Inventory, which surveyed over 1 million respondents from over 70 countries. The diversity of the data set allows the authors to declare these as universal leadership truths.

Suggested Sequence for Community Meetings

1. Week 1

   1. Focus on making connections

   2. Start with an introductory activity like What’s in a Name

   3. Clarify the purpose of these weekly meetings

   4. Continuum Dialogue, with questions going from silly to serious

   5. Norms Construction, preceded by Attributes of a Learning Community (if time allows)

2. Week 2

   1. Focus on helping students see themselves as a potential leader

   2. K&P Truth 1: You Matter

• Read

  • P. 1, first three paragraphs

  • P. 7, first paragraph

  • P. 13, The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership

  • P. 14, final paragraph

• Ask

  • [re-read the Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership]

  • How are you most inclined to act as a leader? Or, which of those are easiest for you to put into practice?

  • Which of those is most challenging for you?

  • What makes each of those effective?

• Homework!

  • Send code for CliftonStrengths to be completed by end of week.

3. Week 3

   1. Focus on exploring individuals’ unique strengths.

   2. Share students’ results in a spreadsheet like this.

• Ask

  • What do you notice?

  • Where is our group particularly strong? How might we leverage those strengths this semester?

  • What gaps do we have? In light of that, what should we be more intentional about?

• Explain

  • C&R (p. 13) Nearing the end of his life Don Clifton was asked what is greatest discovery was in the realm of leadership. He said, “What great leaders have in common is that each truly knows his or her strengths - and can call on the right strength at the right time.”

  • In future weeks, we will highlight you all individually, offering affirmations for the ways we see your strengths on display, and giving opportunities for you to set goals for your own development.

4. Week 4

   1. Focus on foundational principles of good leadership

   2. K&P Truth 2: Credibility is the Foundation of Leadership

• Read

  • P. 15, to first sentence of third paragraph

  • Pp. 17-18, describe table, explain top four qualities: honest, forward-looking, inspiring, competent

  • Pp. 19-20, first sentence of paragraphs that start with Being…

  • P. 24, First Law of Leadership

  • P. 28, Second Law of Leadership, final paragraph

• Ask

  • Honest, forward-looking, inspiring, and competent came in as the top leadership qualities. What other characteristics are important to you in a leader?

  • What does the First Law of Leadership have to do with sustainability work?

5. Week 5

   1. Focus on the strengths of the team

   2. Display/hand out Strengths spreadsheet

• Read (C&R)

  • Pp. 22-23, final paragraph of 22, ending on 23

  • P. 23, paragraph under Domains of Leadership Strength box

  • Pp. 24-26, final paragraph of 24 to end of third paragraph on 26

• Ask

  • How well-rounded is our team?

  • In light of this, how can we maximize our team?

• Spotlight a couple students and ask everyone to look up their specific strengths.

  • Offer affirmations to those students; highlight times you’ve seen their strengths on display.

  • Ask the students to set an intention to utilize or build on their strengths in a specific way.

6. Week 6

   1. Focus on students’ values

   2. K&P Truth 3: Values Drive Commitment

• Read

  • P. 31, third paragraph

  • P. 33, second paragraph

  • P. 35, second paragraph

  • P. 41, final paragraph (finishing sentence on p. 42)

  • P. 43, final paragraph

• Ask

  • What values brought you here to this program?

  • How have your values been impacted during your time here so far?

7. Week 7

   1. Focus on the needs of a team

   2. Display/hand out Strengths spreadsheet

   3. Lead the group in answering the questions at the end of page 80 and beginning of page 81 (C&R).

• Read

  • P. 82, first two paragraphs

• Ask

  • Why do you think these rose to the top? Why are they so important to the health and success of a team?

• Spotlight a couple students and ask everyone to look up their specific strengths.

  • Offer affirmations to those students; highlight times you’ve seen their strengths contributing to the health and/or success of this community.

  • Ask the students to set an intention to utilize their strengths to benefit the community in a specific way.

8. Week 8

   1. Focus on challenge and subsequent growth

   2. K&P Truth Seven: Challenge is the Crucible for Greatness

• Read

  • P. 93, explain that K&P asked people for their personal best leadership experiences, then read second and third paragraph

  • Pp. 97-8, final two paragraphs on p. 98, finishing first paragraph on p. 98

  • Pp. 99-100, final two paragraphs on p. 99, finishing first paragraph on p. 100

  • P. 101, second paragraph

  • P. 102, second paragraph

  • P. 104, final paragraph

• Ask

  • When have you learned from failure? What was the lesson?

  • How has this program been challenging for you? How are you/might you grow from that challenge?

9. Week 9

   1. Focus on learning in leadership

   2. Display/hand out Strengths spreadsheet

   3. K&P Truth Nine: The Best Leaders are the Best Learners

• Read

  • Pp. 119-21, first paragraph on p. 119, through first paragraph on p. 121

  • Pp. 124-5, second paragraph on p. 124, through second paragraph on p. 125

  • Pp. 128-30, explain that growing leadership skills requires “deliberate practice”, then read the italicized Five Elements of Deliberate Practice

  • P. 133, final paragraph

• Spotlight a couple students and ask everyone to look up their specific strengths.

  • Offer affirmations to those students; highlight times you’ve seen their strengths contributing to learning in this community.

  • Ask the students to set an intention to learn to grow their strengths in a specific way.

10. Week 10

    1. Focus on leadership in the future

    2. K&P Epilogue: Leaders Say Yes

• Read

  • P. 153, first paragraph

  • Pp. 161-2, fourth paragraph and note on p. 161, first paragraph on p. 162

• Ask

  • About what do you want to be the someone who will do something?

  • What’s a hopeful vision you have for the person to your right?

Reading and Discussion guides to the other K&P Truths:

K&P Truth Four: Focusing on the Future Sets Leaders Apart

• Read

  • P. 45, first paragraph

  • P. 46, third paragraph

  • P. 51, second paragraph

  • Pp. 57-9, final paragraph on p. 57 to the end of p. 59

• Ask

  • How to balance the need to “spend time in the future” with the immediate demands of the present?

  • What’s a personal BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) you have?

K&P Truth Five: You Can’t Do It Alone

• Read

  • P. 61, first paragraph plus bold sentence

  • P. 63, first paragraph

  • Pp. 64-5, final paragraph on p. 64 to end of 4th paragraph on p. 65

  • Pp. 67-8, final paragraph on p. 67, first paragraph on p. 68

  • Pp. 73-4, final paragraph on p. 73, finishing on p. 74

• Ask

  • Tell us about a time when you have learned this to be true.

  • You can’t do this community alone, either. What is something you really appreciate and admire about the person to your left?

K&P Truth Six: Trust Rules

• Read

  • P. 76, final paragraph

  • P. 79, second paragraph

  • P. 80, first paragraph, skip first sentence

  • Pp. 84-5, read bold sentences of the four trustworthy actions

  • Pp. 88-9, final paragraph on p. 88 through end of p. 89

• Ask

  • How have the ASI faculty and staff built trust with you? Have they done anything to lose it?

  • What things do you do intentionally to build trust with others?

K&P Truth Eight: You Either Lead by Example or You Don’t Lead At All

• Read

  • Pp. 106-7, final paragraph on p. 106, through second paragraph on p. 107

  • P. 114, first paragraph

  • Pp. 115-6, fourth paragraph on p. 115, through first sentence of second paragraph on p. 116

  • P. 118, final paragraph

• Ask

  • What makes DWYSYWD such a powerful leadership tool? (requires absolutely no knowledge or skill!)

  • If you feel safe, ask the group for feedback - what are you doing that helps the community, and what could you do better? Then, if appropriate, follow the steps of reconciliation: admit mistake, apologize, take action (or state intended action), attend to reactions (check to see if that action would solve the issue)

  • Invite students to go through the same feedback practice if they feel safe.

K&P Truth Nine: The Best Leaders are the Best Learners

• Read

  • Pp. 119-21, first paragraph on p. 119, through first paragraph on p. 121

  • Pp. 124-5, second paragraph on p. 124, through second paragraph on p. 125

  • Pp. 128-30, explain that growing leadership skills requires “deliberate practice”, then read the italicized Five Elements of Deliberate Practice

  • P. 133, final paragraph

• Ask

  • What has this book helped you realize about yourself as a leader?

  • What’s a specific way you want to grow as a leader?

K&P Truth Ten: Leadership is an Affair of the Heart

• Read

  • P. 136, second and third paragraphs

  • Pp. 137-8, final paragraph on 137, finishing on p. 138

  • P. 139, first paragraph

  • P. 140-1, second and third paragraphs on p. 140, finishing on p. 141

  • Pp. 140-4, paraphrase the ways to “Show Them That You Care”: pay attention, give recognition (formal or informal, as long as it’s personal), storytelling (share successes of organization and individuals), just hang out!

  • P. 149, second and third paragraphs

  • P. 152, final paragraph

• Ask

  • What have you fallen in love with during ASI?

  • Share a story about this community from the summer.