Leadership, Engagement & Community

Student receiving award at the SL Honors Awards Ceremony in spring of 2025

Mission: Our mission is to empower Purdue students to lead lives of purpose and integrity by fostering community, leadership development, personal responsibility and involvement. We collectively support student growth, promote ethical decision-making and empower students to make meaningful contributions at Purdue and beyond.

Students will: receive intentional opportunities for leadership development focused on
cultivating self-awareness, communication skills, collaboration, critical thinking and their strengths.

Competencies: Leadership competencies

student communicating about a challenge course.

Communication: Listen & Observe, Nonverbal Communication, Summarize & Distill Information, Verbal/Sign Communication, Written Communication

Young person participating in the high ropes course.

Self-Awareness: Continuous Learning, Initiative & Follow Through, Personal Responsibility, Resiliency, Self-Understanding

Students participating in a group activity.

Collaboration: Appropriate & Productive Relationships, Cultural Awareness, Helping Others & Working Together, Organizational Behavior, Service

Students working together to improve their environment for the greater good.

Ways of Thinking: Decision-Making & Problem-Solving, Ethics, Idea Generation, Reflection & Analytical Reasoning, Systems, Thinking & Planning

Level 1

Level 1 Leadership Competencies
	Communication	Self-Awareness	Collaboration	Ways of Thinking
	Listen and Observe Written Communication	Self-Understanding Personal Responsibility	Helping Others & Working Together Cultural Awareness	Idea Generation
Core Skills:	Observe nonverbal cues to prevent miscommunication; Gather and process feedback; Share information with others in a clear, concise, and persuasive manner.	Understand beliefs, values, culture, actions, personality, strengths and weaknesses; Accept ownership for not meeting expectations or achieving desired outcomes; Receive feedback to increase competency and effectiveness.	Recognize the importance of teamwork; Understand the feelings of others to build trust and rapport; Understand how varied perspectives and experiences can enhance a group's effectiveness.	Use novel ideas and creative processes to address issues and lead change; Generate multiple solutions or possibilities from a single point of origin; Arrange thoughts and ideas in ways that enable others to explore connections and allow testing and refining.

Level 2

Level 2 Leadership Competencies
	Communication	Self-Awareness	Collaboration	Ways of Thinking
	Verbal/Sign Communication	Resiliency	Effective & Productive Relationships	Decision Making & Problem Solving, Ethics
Core Skills:	Develop language skills to share information with others in a clear, concise, and persuasive manner in multiple types of settings; Use narrative techniques to make messages more engaging and memorable; Adjust presentation style based on setting.	Respond to adversity and major setbacks to learn and adapt to the next challenge; Adjust to change with flexibility; Create and adapt goals that respond to changing environments.	Establish connection or associations with others that contribute positively to the well-being of those involved; Value others' opinions, boundaries, and contributions.	Define problems, their causes and identify possible solutions by using critical thinking skills; Understand standards and expectations for personal and professional behaviors; Understand the impact of actions to strive to hold one's self to a higher standard.

Level 3

Level 3 Leadership Competencies
	Communication	Self-Awareness	Collaboration	Ways of Thinking
	Nonverbal Communication	Initiative and Follow Through	Organizational Behavior	Reflection and Analytical Reasoning
Core Skills:	Effective use of body language to support the conveyance of meaning; Interpret posture, tone and gestures; Align verbal and nonverbal messages to avoid confusion.	Take charge of a situation to fill a need; Complete tasks with consistency; Stay committed in order to accomplish tasks at hand.	Understand how groups develop; Manage and resolve conflicts and disputes; Evaluate group strengths to determine the best course of action to accomplish a goal.	Learn from past successes and failures; Understand the context of situations from multiple perspectives; Synthesize information and consider multiple possible solutions.

Beyond

Beyond Leadership Competencies
	Communication	Self-Awareness	Collaboration	Ways of Thinking
	Summarize & Distill Information	Continuous Learning	Service	Systems Thinking & Planning
Core Skills:	Distill information in order to understand facts, concepts and processes; Increase comprehension to convey information in a concise and coherent manner; Express ideas in a straightforward way.	Adopt continuous learning strategies; Seek feedback and hone skills to continue to build capacity and knowledge.	Contribute to the greater good through responsible decision making and ethical actions; Serve without seeking recognition or reward; Make decisions that consider others and adjust based on the situation.	Manage multiple tasks and deadlines to achieve desired goals; Assess networks through interconnections and interactions; Navigate the impact of decisions on a larger network or system.