Leadership Development Initiative

Leading in a time of crisis. Influencing people to succeed in achieving a common goal. Knowing how to tap into the strengths of others. Today’s leaders are facing a range of new leadership challenges.

At Stern, we are preparing students to meet these challenges by cultivating six core competencies that are fundamental to great leadership:

• Emotional Intelligence
• Inspiration & Empowerment
• Stakeholder Alignment
• Conflict & Change Management
• Responsible Leadership
• Global Perspective

The Stern Leadership Development Initiative helps students understand their leadership skills and abilities, practice the core leadership competencies through targeted workshops and activities, and apply what they’ve learned to real leadership experiences such as internships, the Stern Consulting Corps, and club leadership positions.

Incoming Stern students opt into the Leadership Development Initiative and begin work before they arrive on campus, gathering developmental feedback from previous supervisors, colleagues, customers and direct reports through a tailored 360 assessment tool. This process arms participants with important information about their strengths and areas for growth from day one.

Based on feedback from the 360 assessment, and with the support of one-on-one coaching, participants create an Individual Development Plan that serves as a road map for the rest of their Stern experience and beyond. The Individual Development Plan helps students make personalized, meaningful choices about how to prioritize and make the most of the different leadership opportunities at Stern.

All Leadership Development Initiative participants also take part in:

• Targeted workshops on core leadership competencies led by Stern faculty, providing students with the tools they need to develop the skills that are essential for extraordinary leadership
• Leadership Luncheon Series, featuring CEOs from a range of industries who candidly share their own leadership challenges and successes
• A global experience, either by spending a semester abroad, participating in Stern’s renowned Doing Business in... (DBi) class, or participating in a club trek to another country
• The Responsible Leadership Project (RLP), which gives students the opportunity to shape their sense of social responsibility and hone their business skills in order to make a meaningful and lasting impact on the local and/or global community