On campus living and leadership development

One of the more common questions I hear from parents, and on occasion from students, is why should someone live on campus? Many people point out the convenience of living on campus, which is true, however, I think the real benefit that it helps develop students into future leaders in a way that few other experiences can. I know many students come to college after serving in a laundry list of leadership positions. In many cases, these positions were more about being responsible for completing a set number of things with close supervision by a teacher/adviser. This is in many cases not leadership, but managing.

Countless books have been written on the difference between leaders and managers. It is in this area where I think on campus living provides a new experience for many students. In the book Start Something That Matters, TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie points out that, “a leader can create a company, but a community creates a movement.” It is in this difference where I feel the real advantage to residence halls can be overlooked. Living on campus is for many students one of their first opportunities of interacting with people who are similar to them in both terms of educational pursuits and stepping out on their own for the first time. This stepping out means the students have to be self-motivated, something that is much easier to avoid when you are in high school and have a teacher or adviser to make sure you are doing what you should.

We have many programs, including several at Southeast that focus on leadership; however, in many cases this focus is more self-focused. While I do not object to this focus on one’s self, my own experience as the leader of my department and other leaders I admire demonstrates to me that successful leaders are not as focused on self-improvement. Successful leaders who want to have a lasting impact work with those around them to build a community to pursue an idea or process.

It this ability to work within a community, to build relationships with people that are deeper than just a class project or being part of some organization you can choose to drop out of when you get bored, that separates the on campus experience from others. Living in a residence hall forces you to become part of a community. It is through this community experience that I think students can really establish the necessary elements of leadership. Leaders have to build with the people and resources they have, not the ones they want. Living on campus is about this same ability to build relationships with the people around you, not just the people you choose. This is why I wish more students opted for a roommate they don’t know. Choosing someone you have known all your life is the safe choice, but with little risk, comes little opportunity for growth.

For me, leadership and building communities are closely connected, but separate experiences. Leadership is critical to one’s success, however, the successful leader is the one who harnesses the value of the community, both in terms of people and resources to accomplish a goal or complete a task. The  leadership then is not a theory, but instead the effort of building a community around a concept or idea. This is the experience on campus living provides. Living in the residence halls (dare I sin and say dorm) is about students’ leading their college experience through, at least in part, the community they help build on their floor and in their residence hall. This community building exercise is the real evidence of leadership, not the certificate that you hang on the wall. 

Thanks to "Leadership is not for you" by Josh Allan Dykstra for the inspiration for this idea.