Leadership Development

Stamford Student Activities is proud to offer a variety of leadership development opportunities for all students. Whether you're already a student leader, looking to boost your resume by attending a workshop or conference, or are interested in scheduling a session for your group - we've got plenty of options to choose from! Specifically our department focuses on three key areas:

  1. Leadership Certificate Series: a series of four modules, each occurring over a 9 week period throughout the semester. This series is in partnership with UConn Storrs Student Activities Leadership Certificate Series and carries with students who campus change.
  2. Leadership Workshops: Smaller one-off workshops offered throughout the semester and as requested by various departments/organizations.
  3. Leadership Conference: Occurs in January around MLK Day, providing the opportunity for student leaders to attend a variety of workshops and trainings throughout the day.

    Leadership Certificate Series

    UConn Stamford Student Activities is proud to offer a collaborative experience with UConn's Leadership Certificate Series, aimed to support the individual leadership development of our UConn community. Students can begin the certificate series during any semester, and will receive a certificate for successful completion of the program (all 4 modules). Students have the opportunity to complete this program at Storrs or Stamford! Check out our module descriptions below. Please note not all modules are offered each semester as we aim to meet the needs of student interests.

    Discovery

    This nine-week program will introduce students to opportunities for leadership at UConn and beyond. Students will develop their leadership competencies through self-reflection, experiential learning, exploration of team dynamics, communication, and cultural competence. As a result of this experience, UConn Discovery Students will understand the basic concepts and principles of leadership, explore, define, and develop personal values, and begin to take an active role in positively influencing the university community and beyond.

    Successful completion of the program consists of:

    • Attendance to and participation in all Discovery workshops and activities
    • Completion of all reflection activities

    As a participant of Discovery leadership, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge of:

    • Your personality style in relation to True Colors
    • Your leadership style
    • Your individual values
    • How an individual's personality impacts communication methods
    • The connections between power and privilege

    Impact Delta

    Ever wondered how you, as an individual, can have a large, positive impact on your community and be a catalyst for sustained social change? This nine-week program will introduce participants to the Social Change Model of Leadership and the "Seven C’s of Change". The program will develop participants’ leadership and cultural competencies through self-identity and social identity activities, experiential learning, capstone presentations, self-reflection, cross-cultural dialogue, and community commitment.

    Successful completion of the program consists of:

    • Attendance to and participation in all Impact Delta workshops and activities
    • Completion of all reflection activities

    As a participant of Impact Delta, you will be able to demonstrate an understanding of:

    • One's positive impact on others
    • Practices designed to work towards building justice across race, ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, ability, and/or religion
    • Civic engagement/service learning opportunities in the greater community
    • The connection between civic engagement and social justice
    • The Social Change Model of leadership development

    Emotional Intelligence Leadership

    The Emotionally Intelligent Leadership (EIL) Workshop Series is a nine-week program designed to introduce students to the components of emotionally intelligent leadership. EIL allows an individual to identify and understand their own emotions and those of others, then appropriately manage and channel those emotions into interactions within a particular leadership context.

    Successful completion of the program consists of:

    • Attendance to and participation in all EIL workshops and activities.
    • Completion of all reflection activities.

    As a participant of EIL, you will be able to demonstrate an understanding of:

    • Your personal strengths in relation to your leadership style
    • Effective methods for managing emotions
    • Techniques for giving feedback (positive and negative) to others
    • How to apply personal perspective taking to one's leadership role
    • The leadership theory, Emotionally Intelligent Leadership

    Student Leadership Challenge

    This nine-week program will introduce participants to the five exemplary leadership practices (identified by Kouzes and Posner). Participants will develop their leadership skills by learning how to Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to Act, and Encourage the Heart. The program will develop participants’ leadership competencies in these five areas through self-reflection, peer discussion, application of theory to current practice, and the ability to project approaches to future leadership opportunities.

    Successful completion of the program consists of:

    • Attendance to and participation in all Challenge workshops and activities
    • Completion of all reflection activities

    As a participant of The Student Leadership Challenge, you will be able to demonstrate an understanding of:

    • Your organization’s values
    • The importance of a shared vision within an organization
    • The importance of recognizing others within an organization
    • How to apply creative thinking techniques in leadership or group roles
    • Personal applications of being a role model as a leader

    Spring 2025 Leadership Certificate Series registration will open on January 6th, 2025.

    For the upcoming semester, our Leadership Certificate Series modules will be delivered mostly through in-person modules with an option of one online module run out of Storrs. We recognize the importance of building our leadership identities in community with one another and will also do our best to ensure social distancing guidelines to protect the safety of our community. Students can register for our modules through our Registration Form. Registration for Storrs/Virtual online program is available on their Workshop Registration page.

    Fall Offerings - Stamford Campus:

    • Discovery (Tuesdays 12:00pm-1:00pm)
    • Student Challenge (Thursdays 9:30am-10:30am)
    • Impact Delta (Thursdays 11:00am-12:00pm)

    Each module runs for 9 weeks, starting the week of September 9th.

    Spring Offerings - Stamford Campus:

    • Discovery (Tuesdays 11:00am-12:00pm)
    • Student Challenge (Thursdays 9:30am-10:30am)
    • Impact Delta (Thursdays 11:00am-12:00pm)

    Each module runs for 9 weeks, starting the week of February 3rd.

    Leadership Workshops

    Student Activities Leadership 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 at the Stamford Campus. Additionally, our staff is happy to consult with you in developing a customized experience. We look forward to helping you realize your leadership potential. Please see a selection of our offerings below. The workshop request button is at the top of the page. 

    Leadership Topics

    Ethical Decision Making

    • Suggested Time:1 hour-1.5 hours
    • Description: 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

    Financial Literacy

    • Suggested Time: 45min - 1 hour
    • Description: Using interactive platforms, participants will explore managing finances within real life situations and the difficult decisions they may be faced with. Emphasis will be placed on the value of decisions and how implementing a budget can mitigate risk. The workshop will conclude with each individual establishing a current budget or budget based on their future career path

    Introduction to Leadership (What is Leadership?) 

    • Suggested Time: 45 minutes-1 hour
    • Description: 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

    Personal Values 

    • Suggested Time:1 hour-1.5 hours
    • Description: 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

      Self-Awareness, Personality and Leadership Inventories

      True Colors

      • Suggested Time: 1 hour
      • Ideal Group Size: 15-30 participants (larger groups can be accommodated)
      • Description: 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 interaction with

        Experiential Activities

        Virtual Team-Building Activities

        • Suggested Time: 1-2 hours
        • Ideal Group Size: 15-30 participants
        • Description: 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.

        Team-Building Activities

        • Suggested Time: 1-2 hours
        • Ideal Group Size: 15-60 participants
        • Description: Through a series of teambuilding initiatives and elements, participants will foster collaboration, communication, goal-setting, and community building. Facilitators can focus on particular challenges in the group or can create experiences designed based on the level of comfort and relationships within the

          Leadership Conference

          Each January around MLK Day, Stamford Activities partners with a multitude of departments across UConn to offer students the opportunity to partake in a Leadership Development Conference. Students can select from a variety of options that best suit their needs and goals. Professional and Student Organization training is also provided through Student Activities SOLID program and the Center for Career Development Staff.

          Be sure to take a glimpse at what the conference looks like and check back for registration!