Cynthia Gibson co-edits book on leadership education

Leadership is changing.  The leaders of the 21st century are moving away from the traditional top-down approach to embrace a more collaborative, transparent, globally-focused and results-driven world.  This changing landscape is going to require a new approach to leadership education—one focused less on the individual and “position” and more on collaboration.  This is the notion behind From Command to Community: A New Approach to Leadership Education in Colleges, a recently published book edited by Nicholas V. Longo and TPI's Cynthia Gibson.

Given the role that higher education has played in helping to advance new forms of education, the book calls on these institutions to start thinking differently about leadership and to create opportunities for young people to apply their leadership models in organizations and communities across the country.  The book also highlights examples of how some   campuses are incorporating these new approaches to leadership education, which emphasize relationship over position and public action over attainment. 

In short, these institutions are advancing a view of leadership that’s less about command and more about community.

The book grew out of a national symposia funded by the McCormick Foundation in 2008.  Nearly 50 participants—students, professors, and program directors—from 13 colleges and universities, as well as leaders of state/national nonprofit organizations that are developing youth leadership, civic engagement, and civic learning.   

The book includes chapter contributions from Paul Light (New York University); Carol Bellamy (World Learning); Ira Harkavy (University of Pennsylvania); Peter Levine, Jon Zaff, and Liz Hollander (Tufts University); Kathy Kretman (Georgetown University); Alma Blout (Duke University); Decker Ngongang (formerly with Mobilize.org); Edward Zlotkowski (Bentley University) and many others, including student participants from the universities represented at the conference.