Student Leader Roundtable

Student Leader Roundtable

Student Leader Roundtable is a space for community and campus leaders to come together and learn from each other's approaches. As a semester-long signature experience, students collaborate to address issues they have faced in their clubs and organizations. The goal of the experience is for each leader to walk away with a new perspective on leadership and be better equipped to lead in their lives.

Experience Summary

Student Leader Roundtable is a semester-long, pre-approved experience that brings students together to learn from one another about leadership. A signature offering from the program, it allows leaders, both on and off campus, to share lessons learned and insights from their experiences with their peers, prompting reflection and discussion. I completed the program during the spring semester of my second year, and our small group met biweekly for an hour. At each meeting, we would listen to a student presentation on a leadership-related topic, such as imposter syndrome. Each meeting would also feature an activity selected by the student presenter that relates to the topic, fostering greater discussion among the group and providing real-world applications. The program was facilitated by a student who had already completed it and guided the sessions to ensure we got the most out of our time. After each session, the facilitator would send out a reflection prompt — all of those, along with my responses, are featured in the "Weekly Reflection Prompt Responses" section below.

This experience gave me the opportunity not only to reflect on my success as a leader but also to gain valuable insights from my peers on how to approach complex problems in my leadership roles. Meeting weekly with individuals from different majors, walks of life, and outlooks altered my perspective on what being a leader can and should look like. It also made me realize that many problems prevalent in my organization are also common issues in other groups. Not only did it make me feel less isolated, but it also taught me helpful strategies for solving my own problems. The connection we formed as a group throughout the semester was super special, and while we are unlikely to cross paths outside the experience, I had an amazing time getting to know them and learning from them this spring.

Work Sample

Click through the slides of the presentation that guided our week three session, focused on networking strategies and how to host engaging meetings for your club or organization

Weekly Reflection Prompt Responses

Prompt #1: What are your goals and expectations from the SLRT? What are you hoping to bring back to your student organization(s)?

My goal for my Student Leader Roundtable experience is to learn something valuable from each of my peers that I can apply to my own clubs and organizations. Each of us in SLRT has a very different background, ideas, and approach, and I believe we could all benefit from sharing our leadership styles with one another. As for my expectations, I hope to connect with my peers and my facilitator and build an accepting community within the experience. I expect everyone to be respectful of our different leadership styles and ideas, and to be open to suggestions and new approaches. I hope to learn most about how to navigate leadership roles and lead a group confidently, effectively, and creatively. If I can understand how to be a strong leader based on what has worked for my peers, I can then adjust my own approach and take that back to my own organizations.

Prompt #2: What strategies can leaders use to combat imposter syndrome while staying authentic to their identities?

There are many strategies that leaders can use to combat feeling like an imposter while staying true to their personality and identity. One is by challenging your inner critic and using positive thinking patterns to build confidence regarding your leadership position. When you feel like you do not belong in a position because you are underqualified, remind yourself that someone believed in your abilities enough to give you the role in the first place. By challenging these negative thoughts, we can feel more comfortable in our leadership roles and feel confident in our abilities. Furthermore, you can ask your peers and mentors for advice when you feel like you might be an imposter. Other people feel like imposters too, and can share ways that they have overcame those feelings while staying true to themselves to guide your work. To maintain authenticity, combat stereotypes and identities that might be projected onto you by yourself or others. Remain confident in your abilities, beliefs, ideas, and morals, and you will be able to counter any negative thoughts or feelings that imposter syndrome might throw your way.

Prompt #3: How can you utilize your communication style to maintain member engagement in meetings?

Personally, I use a very clear, concise communication style. I need everything to be extremely straightforward in my communications, and I value quick and clear responses to ensure efficiency, which I believe is an important aspect of being a leader. While this communication style is desirable for many aspects of leadership, it is not always the strongest way to create engagement within meetings. It can come across as blunt and a bit boring in meetings meant to create an engaging atmosphere. However, I believe that clear and blunt communication can lead to important business being conveyed quickly and make it more likely that members understand expectations, which can allow more time in meetings for members to engage one-on-one with their peers and executive board members, which I think allows for greater engagement than a large group discussion. By using a blunt, concise communication style to complete less-exciting portions of a meeting more quickly, you can create more time for members to engage in different ways that make them feel more engaged on a personal level.

Prompt #4: Can a leader successfully combine different leadership styles depending on the situation? Provide an example to support your answer.

Yes, I believe that a leader can successfully combine different leadership styles to adapt to different situations. While we all have a primary style of leadership that comes naturally to us, that style may not be the right fit for every situation. For me, I use a democratic leadership style, meaning I value others' input and prefer to make decisions as a group. However, in situations where time constrains decision-making, or members are divided on an issue, the democratic style may not be the best approach. As an example, let's say that I am the president of a club that competes at regional conferences. The day before the conference, a member of the selected participant group unexpectedly drops out. A replacement is needed; three executive board members want to bring their friend, who is relatively new and inexperienced. However, you and another executive believe you should take a different member with more experience, despite not sharing a close relationship with them. In this situation, while the majority wants the friend to come along, it is important to prioritize the group's shared goals: winning competitions and building connections. Knowing this, I would have to adopt a more autocratic style and overrule the three executive members to ensure the best chances of winning, and allow any member to participate, not just those with whom we are friends. By adopting a different leadership style, I would be able to further the group's goals and create a welcoming environment for all members. This example clearly shows that yes, leaders can combine different leadership styles to approach different situations.

Prompt #5: What are the biggest sources of stress in my life right now, and how do I respond to them? What boundary do I need to set to protect my well-being? What activity reliably helps me recharge and brings me joy?

The biggest sources of stress in my life right now are my school work and my student organization obligations. During the spring semester, everything usually ramps up in intensity around the same time, which can make it hard to balance everything that needs to get done. While it is difficult to keep on top of everything, I respond to these stresses by staying organized and setting aside time in my schedule to rest or hang out with my friends, which helps reduce my stress. By keeping my calendar up to date with everything I need to do, I feel more comfortable and confident in my ability to complete my tasks. To protect my well-being, I set boundaries with both myself and my friends. This could mean letting them know that I do not have time to hang out because I should focus on my schoolwork, or, at other times, allowing myself to take a break and forget my stress with friends. Activities that help me recharge and bring me joy are napping, listening to music, calling my family, and playing video games. With friends, I enjoy shopping or playing board games. These activities often help take my mind off my stresses and help me prioritize my well-being and balance.

Final Prompt: Outline your personal goals. Consider how your personal goals might affect your organization(s). Identify at least two different resources/networks you should consider when facing challenges. Distinguish the measure of your success and impact.

My personal goal going into the Student Leader Roundtable experience was to learn something valuable from each of my peers that I could apply to my own clubs and organizations. Outside of SLRT, one of my goals now is to balance my work, academic, and personal life to ensure my own happiness and mental health. Over the course of my time in the SLRT program, I have not only learned so much from each of my peers, but also learned a lot about myself along the way, helping me achieve my goal of balance.

My goals have had an effect on the way that I interact with my clubs and organizations, and will continue to shape my experiences going forward. My goal of wanting to learn something valuable from each of my peers in SLRT has reshaped how I view leadership in my organization. I have learned about how to avoid burnout, how to be a collaborative leader, and so much more from my peers' presentations. Now, I see my role in my organizations as much more impactful, which has led me to be more hands-on and thoughtful in my work with my clubs. Furthermore, my goal of balancing all my obligations will shape my level of involvement in my organizations in the coming semesters.

Two resources that I can turn to when facing challenges are CAPS and the Center for Student Involvement. CAPS is helpful when a lot of stress is building up in your life, especially when you are balancing a variety of obligations and find yourself caught in the middle. Their services help with stress management and allow students the opportunity to work through problems with an expert. They are a great resource when you need an outlet during times of high stress and emotions. On the other hand, the Center for Student Involvement is a great resource for administrative issues related to the inner workings of clubs and organizations. They have many helpful, easily accessible documents that offer advice on common situations that arise in student groups. Their staff is also extremely friendly and willing to work with struggling students. I have turned to both of these resources previously when I needed help with various issues.

My success and impact within these groups have increased over the course of the year and the semester, especially due to the skills that I have gained through SLRT. As an executive board member in various clubs, I used to give a lot of myself to these groups while not feeling confident in my work. Now, I have increased my impact and success by taking on fewer obligations, doing a better job on my tasks, and building my confidence through engagement at club meetings. I have focused on my own well-being and set boundaries to ensure that I am doing enough work for my club to make a genuine impact, but not so much that I overwhelm myself or get bogged down. Now, my impact has been much larger, and I have been able to create content and run meetings for my organization. Through the skills I have learned from my peers in SLRT, I have been able to maximize my impact in my various groups and obligations.