Many undergraduates leave business school with solid
résumés, experience from numerous internships,
recommendation letters from respected professors and
unblemished GPAs. But with so many students boasting
similar credentials, how can business majors distinguish
themselves from their peers?
LeaderShape, a six-day program designed to provide
undergraduates with skills to lead with integrity, may
offer an answer. The program allows 65 McCombs
undergraduates to participate in an interactive
leadership conference far removed from the classroom
atmosphere.
Students interested in the program submit a cover letter
and résumé in addition to answering brief essay
questions on an online application.
“You are doing something the entire time,” says
LeaderShape Coordinator Shelly Heinrich in the
Undergraduate Programs Office. “Rather than sit in a
classroom and have someone tell you the top 10 qualities
of a good leader, you do exercises to discover them for
yourself.”
At LeaderShape, students are challenged to develop a
personal vision—a commitment to contribute to or change
the world in a positive way. The students are divided
into “family” clusters, groups of 10 that serve as their
primary reference group and offer support to help
develop and refine each member’s vision.
“The most fun part of LeaderShape is being with your
family,” Heinrich says. “It’s a place to debrief and
talk about your experience in a smaller group.”
The family clusters also offer students a chance to
develop a social network. Because the participants work
closely with their clusters, many form bonds that last
beyond the conference. In fact, students who
participated in last January’s LeaderShape had a
reunion. “It’s definitely a bonding experience,”
Heinrich says.
While the program at McCombs began with just one
conference each year, popular demand caused the school
to add an additional session. One conference sponsored
by Ford Motor Co. takes place during winter break and
another sponsored by PepsiCo is offered during spring
break.
While the timing of these sessions may ask students to
give up their holiday time with family or vacations with
friends, those who participate say the benefits outweigh
the costs.
“Last spring break I had a chance to go to South Padre
Island or LeaderShape,” Cindy Pai, a finance senior,
remembers. “I chose LeaderShape, and I don’t regret it.”
Besides the leadership benefits, LeaderShape offers a
few other incentives for students to forgo their winter
and spring break plans. This year’s programs are held at
Balcones Springs Executive Retreat and Conference
Center, a resort-style setting featuring a 10-acre lake,
gourmet meals and private cabins. The cost of $1,500 for
the week is free to all participants because of
donations by PepsiCo and Ford Motor Co.
While these two sessions are offered exclusively to
McCombs students, LeaderShape is not unique to The
University of Texas at Austin. The program is held at 46
universities around the United States, and by the end of
the year more than 30,000 students will have
participated in the program.
by Andrea Ferdinand
