Undoubtedly, there are many students who find themselves in leadership positions for the first time in college. Suddenly having responsibility over other people and events can be stressful.
Campus clubs, fraternities and youth groups are all opportunities to grow as a person and learn leadership skills. Unfortunately, experience can be a poor way to learn; since that assumes one will be learning by mistakes.
To promote social responsibility, good decision-making, and management skills ETSU is offering LeadershipPlenty, a free leadership program developed by the nationally renowned Pew Partnership for Civic Change.
LeadershipPlenty is being used across the United States to accelerate community development and give students a head start in the professional world by teaching the necessary social and leadership skills to excel.
“The number one reason people fail at their job is inability to work with others, not because they don’t know what they’re doing,” said Dr. Deborah Harley, assistant vice-president of community engagement and faculty member in charge of LeadershipPlenty.
She also said that most people don’t yet know that there are methods that work and can be used to improve leadership and cooperative skills – the skills needed to succeed in both profit and non-profit organizations.
Rachel Thompson, a leadership house student who has participated in the first meeting of LeadershipPlenty, expressed optimism and hopes to gain even more from the interactive student-faculty seminar.
Harley, who has taken classes for LeadershipPlenty certification, hopes to continue the seminar in future semesters.
Students who attended the first meeting came from a wide variety of campus organizations and backgrounds.
Members of the Residence Hall Association, ROTC and youth group leaders were all in attendance.
Locally, LeadershipPlenty has been used by The University of Knoxville, the Northeast State Student Government Association and the East Tennessee Chamber of Commerce.
The next meeting at ETSU will take place on Feb. 16, and will be held in Dining Room 3 of the Culp Center. The session is free of charge and is titled Managing Groups for Results and Running Successful Meetings.
Students completing all five sessions will receive a certificate from the program.
Interested students can call Harley at 439-5675, or ask about the program at Community Engagement, Learning and Leadership (CELL) on the first floor of the Culp Center.

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