Leadership is...

Leadership is...

The Office of Student Success, Leadership, and Engagement (SSLE) approaches leadership through a clear and intentional frame: Leadership Is…

Leadership is not defined by title, position, or personality. Instead, it is understood as a set of practices enacted in relationship with others and oriented toward purpose.

At UMB, where learning occurs in laboratories, clinics, classrooms, communities, and complex systems that have tangible impact, leadership must be practical, ethical, and grounded in context. SSLE’s approach emphasizes leadership as an active process, one that students engage through action, reflection, and collaboration, rather than a status to be conferred or achieved.

Leadership is... Collaborative

SSLE understands leadership as fundamentally collaborative. Effective leadership emerges through relationships, shared responsibility, and the ability to work productively with others across difference, roles, and perspectives.

Rather than centering authority or individual control, a collaborative approach to leadership prioritizes mutual influence, trust, and collective learning. This orientation reflects the realities of professional and civic life, where progress depends on coordination, communication, and interdependence.

Dialogue

Dialogue is a core leadership practice. It involves purposeful listening, thoughtful inquiry, and a willingness to engage complexity without defaulting to debate or persuasion.

Through dialogue, leaders surface assumptions, deepen understanding, and navigate disagreement in ways that strengthen relationships and decision-making. In academic, clinical, and community contexts, dialogue supports ethical action and shared meaning-making.

Courageous Followership - (Chaleff, 1995)

Collaborative leadership also requires effective followership. Courageous followership recognizes that leadership is a shared process and that responsibility does not rest solely with those in formal roles.

Practicing courageous followership includes supporting leadership aligned with shared values, offering principled challenge when necessary, and taking ownership of collective outcomes. Within SSLE’s framework, followership is understood as an essential dimension of leadership practice.

Leadership is... a Process

Leadership is not a static set of traits or a singular achievement. It is a developmental process that unfolds over time through experience, reflection, and adaptation.

This process-oriented view is grounded in leadership scholarship including Kolb's (1984) Experiential Learning Theory that emphasizes learning, relationships, and context rather than fixed characteristics or traits. From this perspective, leadership capacity is developed through:

• Ongoing practice and experiential learning

• Reflection that connects action to meaning and values

• Feedback and learning from both success and failure

• Adaptation to changing environments and systems

SSLE’s programs are designed to support students at different stages of this process, recognizing that leadership development is iterative, non-linear, and shaped by context.

Leadership is... for Social Change

Leadership is ultimately oriented toward impact. At UMB, leadership development is grounded in the belief that leadership should contribute to positive change within communities, institutions, and systems. Aligned with UMB's mission, "to improve the human condition and serve the public good of Maryland and society at-large through education, research, clinical care, and service," leadership and leadership development serves to make a positive social impact in our local, national, and international communities.

SSLE draws on the Social Change Model of Leadership Development (1996), which frames leadership as a purposeful, values-based, and collaborative process that seeks to advance the common good.

The Social Change Model emphasizes:

• Individual values, such as self-awareness, integrity, and commitment

• Group values, including collaboration, shared purpose, and respectful engagement

• Community values, centered on citizenship, responsibility, and social responsibility

This approach shifts the focus from individual leaders to collective action, asking not who holds authority, but how people work together to address complex challenges and create meaningful change.