PUTTING RESEARCH INTO PRACTICE
For Advisors
Beyond the Leadership Title identified patterns in the experiences of student leaders and offers 12 recommendations for strengthening student leadership. This page looks at what those findings and recommendations could mean for teachers, coaches, club advisors, and other adults who work directly with student leaders.
The answers draw on the student and advisor surveys, the leadership programs and resources we reviewed for the report, and our own experience in student leadership and school and district governance. Some questions go beyond what the research directly examined, so we’ve tried to distinguish between what the research found and practical ideas advisors might consider.
Two Questions for Advisors
Do my student leaders have a foundation of support?
Think about whether students understand their responsibilities, have practical ways to plan and keep track of work, get help with delegation and accountability, and receive the guidance they need from you and from previous student leaders.
Am I giving students meaningful opportunities to lead?
Look at what students actually get to do. Are they taking responsibility, making decisions, solving problems, leading other students, learning from mistakes, and gradually taking on more?
Questions & Answers
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One question I think advisors can ask is: What would happen if I didn’t step in?
If the issue involves safety, school policy, finances, or something students can’t handle on their own, then an advisor probably needs to get involved. But if the likely result is that a meeting doesn’t go very well, an event needs to be adjusted, or students have to fix a problem they helped create, it may be worth letting them work through it.
That doesn’t mean leaving students completely on their own. An advisor can ask questions, help students think through their options, or point out something they may not have considered without making the decision for them.
One thing I took away from this research is that sometimes a less-than-perfect solution that students come up with themselves can be a better leadership experience than a perfect solution an adult gives them.
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I think it makes sense to start with responsibilities a student is ready to handle and then give them opportunities to take on more over time. A new leader might begin by running part of a meeting or taking responsibility for one project. As they gain experience, they might plan the project themselves, coordinate other students, make decisions, or eventually lead the entire meeting.
The goal doesn’t have to be giving students as much independence as possible right away. What seems more important is that their responsibilities grow with their experience. Students need the chance to try something, learn from it, and then take on something a little more challenging.
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Before taking the work back, it may help to have a conversation about what’s getting in the way. The student may have misunderstood what was expected, taken on too much, forgotten a deadline, or simply not followed through.
From there, the advisor and student can figure out what happens next. That might mean identifying a smaller next step, changing a deadline, asking someone else for help, or deciding how to recover from something that was missed.
One thing I think advisors should be careful about is routinely stepping in and finishing work for students. If that keeps happening, students may start to assume that the adult will ultimately make sure everything gets done. When the situation allows it, having students figure out how to recover from a missed commitment may teach them more than quietly fixing the problem for them.
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One question an advisor can ask before taking something over is: Does an adult need to do this, or would it simply be easier for me to do it?
There will always be tasks that require an adult. But if students can reasonably plan the agenda, contact members, organize an event, solve a scheduling problem, or lead a discussion, doing those things themselves may be part of the leadership experience—even if the result isn’t exactly how the advisor would have done it.
One thing this research made me think about is the difference between getting something done as efficiently as possible and giving students the chance to lead. Those two goals won’t always point toward the same choice.
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I think it helps when feedback is a normal part of the experience rather than something students receive only when something goes wrong.
After a meeting, event, or project, even a short conversation can give students a chance to reflect: What worked? What was harder than you expected? What would you do differently next time? Is there anything you want help with before the next one?
Feedback also doesn’t have to mean evaluating everything a student did. A few specific observations and good questions can help students recognize what they’re learning, think about what they might do differently, and decide what they want to work on next.
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It can be tempting to give even more work to the students you know will get it done, but that doesn’t really solve the problem.
One thing that may help is making the workload visible. Student leaders can identify what needs to happen, who’s responsible for each part, and when it needs to be completed. If something isn’t getting done, the student leaders can be the ones to follow up, with the advisor helping when needed.
This can also be a leadership challenge for the students who tend to take on the most. Their next step may not be learning how to do even more themselves. It may be learning how to delegate, set expectations, check on progress, and help other people contribute.
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One way to think about growth is to look at what students can handle without as much help from you.
Are they coming to you with possible solutions instead of only problems? Are they planning further ahead? Are they distributing work instead of doing everything themselves? Can they have difficult conversations with other students? Do they recover more effectively when something goes wrong? Are they starting to anticipate questions you used to have to raise?
I don’t think a successful year necessarily means that everything went smoothly. One of the clearest signs of growth may be that, by the end of the year, students can handle situations on their own that would have required much more help from their advisor at the beginning.
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I don’t think improving student leadership has to start with a major new program. A good first step may simply be understanding what students are experiencing now.
Schools can look across their student organizations and ask a few basic questions: What leadership roles do students have? What are they actually responsible for? What kind of guidance or training do they receive? Where do students seem to need more support? Looking across organizations may reveal a few gaps or opportunities that show up more than once.
From there, a school can choose one or two things to work on and see what difference they make. After a semester or a year, ask students and advisors what improved and what still needs attention. The goal isn’t to fix everything at once, but to keep learning what helps students have stronger leadership experiences.
A Practical Place to Start
You don't need to change everything about how you advise student leaders at once. Start by thinking about the students you work with now. Identify one place where they could use more support or take on more meaningful responsibility, and choose one small change to try.