The #IlliniLeader's Digest

A digital space for ILC stakeholders to learn and voice their perspectives about leadership...

In this post, Aditya shares his experiences as an ILC employee from his data analyst position and his outreach position, and his work in the (dis)ability Design Studio alongside Dr. Deana McDonagh. Through his involvement in these jobs, he's realized that leadership is less of a role and more a mindset. Leadership is awareness, honesty, and a willingness to connect with others. 

In this reflection for the “What is Leadership?” series, Sofia Kanda shares how her experience as a Podcast Intern at the Illinois Leadership Center reshaped her understanding of leadership. Rather than a formula or title, she defines leadership as balance - between listening and speaking, responsibility and empathy, confidence and humility, to action and reflection. Read on to explore how leadership lives in the space between tension and intention.

Leadership is not always about confidence or vision, it’s about how we respond when challenges arise. In this blog post, Saloni explores the quiet responsibility that leaders carry of managing emotions and encouraging others even on the most difficult days.

In this blog post, Saachi explores a common question: "We've all met someone who assumes leadership roles and carries them out with grace, as if they were meant to from birth. Is leadership something we can learn and develop, or are some people just dealt a winning hand?"

In this post, Sydney discusses how true leadership means pushing through systemic barriers, using Shirley Chisholm's groundbreaking political career as a powerful example. 

This post explores the importance of self-knowledge in leadership, and how routine introspection can make a significant improvement in leadership ability. 

In this post Tim Chen speaks on how efficiency is key to all bodies, and how the role of a leader is to "manage" and establish systematic processes and automation.

This post explains the importance of self-leadership and goes into some topics regarding self-leadership. 

This post details on the importance of being a trustworthy leader and provides a piece of advice on people who are just about to start their leadership role, using soccer as an example.

This post goes into detail about what the Social Change Model of Leadership is and how we can use it in our every day lives with relation to leadership. 

Since October is Emotional Intelligence Awareness Month, this post goes into detail on the importance of emotional intelligence and how to effectively use it in leadership. 

Through a campus-wide initiative involving faculty, staff, and student participants, the ILC developed The Illinois Model of Leadership Education. Learn more about this framework used to inform and shape the practice of the leadership education at Illinois. 

I go into detail on what I believe is the true definition of leadership and how this reflects all the good leaders in our lives. I also give my perspective on the definition of leadership.