University Design Institute™ launches the 12th cohort of the ASU Leadership Academy
This cohort welcomes 34 ASU leaders.
As the Fall 2024 semester at Arizona State University (ASU) kicks off, so does a new cohort of the Leadership Academy, which seeks to nurture and empower 34 ASU leaders this year.
This is the 12th cohort of the Leadership Academy at ASU. The Academy is one of three leadership development programs managed by the University Design Institute, including the Advanced Leadership Initiative and the Launching Leaders Program. To date, these programs have supported the professional development of more than 600 leaders from across Arizona State University.
The Leadership Academy aims to build capacity in ASU faculty and staff leaders to support the charter and the design of the institution through a year-long experience. The program focuses on expanding understanding of ASU and its enterprise model, building and strengthening leadership skills and creating a university-wide network for participants.
The latest cohort of Leadership Academy participants has 34 leaders including professors, directors and deans. Each of these participants was nominated by ASU’s senior leadership to participate in the program.
Core components of the program include three off-site workshops, each spanning two days, featuring sessions covering topics relevant to leadership at the individual, team, and enterprise levels. Cohort XII kicked off their Leadership Academy journey in August 2024, where they took an introspective approach to leadership, honing in on their individual leadership capabilities, outlining their leadership aspirations, and coming up with a game plan for how to get there.
During the first workshop, participants explored ASU’s values through discussions around the Charter and Design Aspirations, their personal values, how to stay true to them, and how to actualize them in their work. Individuals worked on the nine-dimensions of leadership at ASU, evaluating opportunities to strengthen their expression of these dimensions. Cohort members spent time individually digesting their 360 report, where peers, direct reports, and supervisors provided constructive feedback along leadership dimensions. In addition, they formed their peer coaching groups. Composed of three to four cohort members, peer groups serve as support along their leadership journey. The workshop concluded with each participant creating a leadership game plan, with action sprints for the next year.
The second workshop, scheduled for January, will focus on leading within a team setting. Participants will engage in sessions on leading change, facing challenges, and setting up the team for success, among other topics. Emphasizing leadership at the enterprise level during the third workshop in May, participants will focus on mapping individual and university networks and learn how to leverage these networks to navigate ASU as leaders.
Finally, participants anchor their learning to a leadership activity that is designed in partnership with their supervisors and unit leadership. The activity matures and grows as a result of the learning, networking, and overall development that occurs during the year. Many leadership activities have gone on to produce a variety of incredible impacts at multiple levels of the university.
Read more about each of the participants of Cohort XII below, and stay tuned for more updates on their program!
