Customizable memo: Student Leadership Challenge®: Self-Paced Foundation Course™

To: [insert name of your manager/supervisor]

From: [insert your name]

Subject: Student Leadership Challenge®: Self-Paced Foundation Course™

Study after study finds that the qualities employers most look for in recent college graduates—and don’t feel they always find—are leadership skills. The National Association of Colleges and Employers’ Job Outlook 2012 survey, in particular, noted that nearly 80 percent of respondents “said they search for evidence that the potential employee can work in a team, and more than three-quarters indicated they want the résumé to show the candidate has leadership abilities.”

In addition, leadership is the most frequently noted required learning outcome among disciplinary accreditors. In a study of 25 disciplinary accreditors who are members of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, Sharp et al. found that “the most frequently noted outcomes were about management and collaborative leadership… In all, 22 associations referenced competencies germane to this key category through 42 learning outcomes.”

In order to address this need, our [leadership development program/institution] aims to [insert leadership development goals or mission specific to your program]. I feel I can further these goals by learning from The Student Leadership Challenge: Self-Paced Foundation Course.

The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership®, the breakthrough model by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner which is the basis of The Student Leadership Challenge, turns the abstract concept of leadership into something that can be reliably taught and learned. It’s an evidence-based path—based on 30 years of solid research—that enables all students to achieve extraordinary things as young leaders.

Participating in the Self-Paced Foundation Course offers a depth of understanding and guidance in delivering The Student Leadership Challenge content, including working with student leaders using The Five Practices model and the Student Leadership Practices Inventory® (Student LPI®).

Purchasing this training, which consists of three hours of video-based, on-demand content that I can watch at my convenience online, will give me some specific knowledge and tools to enhance our student leadership development offerings and further our institutional mission.

[Elaborate concretely on your need for this course, including any of the following points which will help you make your case.]

Specifically, I will:

  • learn and understand The Student Leadership Challenge concept and The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership model in greater depth than possible through reading the book alone;
  • receive concrete guidance and tips on teaching The Five Practices and the 30 Behaviors of Exemplary Leadership to our students in a relevant way that will help them reflect and improve their own leadership understanding and abilities;
  • learn how to use the Student LPI to help our students measure their leadership behaviors over time;
  • receive a Student LPI 360 Online token so that I can assess my own leadership behaviors and learn how to administer the instrument to our student leaders.

I am going to learn about [insert list of best practices] that I can adapt for our campus.

Additionally, I am going to look for a solution for[insert problem].

Through this online course, I’ll be adding to the base knowledge and value of [name of organization]’s staff. [If multiple colleagues are making the case to purchase the training, identify who those people are and how you plan to collaborate afterward.] [Offer to prepare a report or deliver a short training session to those unable to attend in order to share what you learned.]

The course fee is $350, though we can receive a discount if purchased for multiple people. A benefit of this training is that it is entirely online, so there will be no travel or hotel costs to the institution. [You might also demonstrate the training’s value by offering to share in the cost of course.]

Here are some comments from others who have benefited from learning about The Student Leadership Challenge: [use any of the below that you find appropriate]

“After learning [The Student Leadership Challenge], it’s really helped to influence my life because I have a different way of looking at things now.Now that I’ve learned it and I’m aware of the leadership qualities and what it gave to me, I can see when it’s applied, when people are using it, and I can then use it and practice it in my life.”—Jeff Winkle, Senior at Marmion Academy, Aurora, IL

“We understand the need for building strong character for our future leaders and we are accomplishing this by integrating The Student Leadership curriculum into each high school on our island.”—Mason Chock, Leadership Kauai

I believe this will be a great investment for [insert organization name] and a worthwhile use of my time. Thank you for your consideration. I will await your approval.

Regards,

[Insert your name]

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