Leadership Workshops and Experiences
Student Activities Leadership and Organizational Development is dedicated to offering high quality workshops and experiences that invite and challenge participants to explore and further develop their leadership potential as individuals and members of an organization.
Outlined below are our current available workshops that can be requested. Additionally, our staff is happy to consult with you in developing a customized experience. We look forward to helping you realize your leadership potential.
Our content is offered virtually and in specific small scale circumstances in person while aligning with safe gathering guidelines in place at the University.
Leadership Topics
Leadership (What is Leadership?)
Suggested Time: 45 minutes- 1 hour
Explore the commonalities and differences between individual definitions and characteristics of leadership and work to create a common definition of leadership. Discussions will include personal and group collaboration and a critical analysis of the perception of leadership in society.
Effective Facilitation
Suggested Time: 1 - 1.5 hours
Participants will learn about the "3 S's" of facilitation: style, substance, student. Opportunities will be given for students to learn about facilitating activities, reflections, and discussions as well as practice their knowledge. Recommended for students that will be peer mentoring or leading group activities or discussions.
Ethical Decision Making
Suggested Time: 1 - 1.5 hours
Participants will explore the idea of ethical decision making through a series of facilitated discussions and scenarios that ask participants to challenge their ideas around values, ethics and decision-making. Emphasis will be placed on developing moral courage for future use.
Communication (Group Communication)
Suggested Time: 1 hours
Through the use of experiential and facilitated activities, participants will explore the concept of communication= active listening and active speaking; non-verbal communication, and/or group communication.
Leadership Myths
Suggested Time: 45 minutes - 1 hour
Using an interactive activity, explore the common “myths” of leadership (e.g. “Are Leaders born or made? Do you need charisma to be a leader?”) and be led through a facilitated discussion on the definition of leadership and characteristics of successful leaders.
Personal Values
Suggested Time: 1 hours - 1.5 hours
Participants will explore their personal values, and identify what is important to them (e.g. honesty, integrity; family ; success). They will begin to understand how their core values may affect their decisions and future leadership plans.
Personal Leadership Plan
Suggested Time: 45 minutes - 1.5 hours
Through a series of introspective activities aimed at helping participants to determine a short and long-term personal leadership development plan, they will explore their own values, role models, future academic and career goals, and develop a personal mission statement.
Self-Awareness, Personality and Leadership Inventories
MBTI – Myers Briggs Type Indicator
Suggested Time: 1 - 1.5 hours (or can be expanded to multiple sessions)
Ideal Group Size: 15 - 25 participants (larger groups can be accommodated)
Participants will complete the Meyers Briggs Typology Indicator which is based upon Jungian psychological personality types. The MBTI sorts some of these psychological differences into four opposite pairs with a resulting 16 possible psychological types. The workshop includes discussion of these personality differences and meaning of typologies (Introvert vs. Extrovert; Sensing vs. Intuitive; Thinking vs. Feeling; Judging vs. Perceiving) as well as interactive activities designed to showcase the unique perspectives of each pair. Please note costs may be associated with this workshop.
There may be a small per person cost associated with the instrument
StrengthsQuest
Suggested Time: 1 - 1.5 hours (or can be expanded to multiple sessions)
Ideal Group Size: around 25 participants or established group of 5-30. This workshop can be designed for individual needs OR established groups (organizations, staff and/or teams).
Participants will complete the Gallup StrengthsFinder Instrument that will provide insight into their top 5 strenghts, explore their personal talents, and how investments of time and knowledge into talents can create strengths. They will begin to understand the philosophy of StrenghtsQuest and the power being StrengthsBased Leadership.
There may be a small per person cost associated with the instrument
True Colors
Suggested Time: 1 hour
Ideal Group Size: 15 - 30 participants (larger groups can be accommodated)
Through the use of experiential activities, the workshop will explore the effects of personality differences in group dynamics, communication, and conflict. Participants will complete the True Colors personality assessment that will provide insight about their personal style of leadership (Blue, Gold, Green or Orange) and how that style affects their interactions with others.
Experiential Programs
Virtual Team Building Activities
Suggested Time: 1 - 3 hours
Ideal Group Size: 9 - 30 participants
Through virtual interactions participants will foster collaboration, communication, goal-setting, and community building. Facilitators can focus on particular challenges in the group or can design experiences based on the level of comfort and relationships within the group.
High and Low Ropes Challenge Course
Suggested Time: 3 - 6 hours
Ideal Group Size: 9 - 30 participants (can accommodate other varying sizes on case by case basis)
Groups will be guided through customized intentionally designed experiences leveraging our low and high ropes course elements. More information about the ropes course can be found here - https://fourarrows.uconn.edu/about-the-course/. All of the activities will require group problem solving and communication with built in reflections.
COVID does provide limitations but we are taking many precautions to host in-person programming.