Break Away: Leadership For A Sound Mind And Body

This conversation explores the theme of leadership in the context of Greek life, touching on topics such as promoting inclusivity across diverse councils, debunking common misconceptions about fraternity and sorority membership, and contributing to the larger university community. The presidents discuss their experiences and strategies for navigating cultural differences within their organizations, actively working against stereotypes, and the personal growth they've garnered through their positions.

Emily Obert, WMBA ’24, and Annie Maguire, MSW '23, share stories developed at Sanger Leadership Center’s Story Lab. In this podcast, Emily and Annie speak about the challenge and importance of shifting mindsets, driving inclusive change and using storytelling to heal.

What is self-compassion? How do we learn and practice self-compassion? And what challenges can we expect when practicing self-compassion? Rackham's Well-Being Advocate Elizabeth Rohr and the Barger Leadership Institute's Academic Program Manager Fatema Haque discuss the ins and outs of self-compassion, including how social and cultural identities plays into our exercising of self-compassion. They end the conversation with a variety of resources on how to build your own capacity for self-compassion.

Monica Worline, PhD, faculty director of the Center for Positive Organizations (CPO) at the Ross School of Business is interviewed by Sarah Kurtz McKinnon (MBA '18), a senior associate director at CPO, about her research around compassion in organizational contexts. What exactly is compassion? How do you approach someone that might be suffering? How can you be a compassionate leader but not get taken advantage of?

What is the campus climate for student leaders today? What role does diversity and inclusion work play in that climate? This brief episode is a check-in of sorts with two students in the Diversity Peer Educator Program. Together, they reflect on their time in the program, their approaches to building inclusive communities, and share some of their U-M favorites.

You may have encountered land acknowledgements — formal statements that recognize the Indigenous people that originally lived on the land that we now occupy — but sometimes there’s not enough thought put into the words. In this episode, we interviewed two Indigenous voices within your U of M community: U-M Professor of Law and American Culture Matthew Fletcher as well as Heather King, Campus-as-Lab and Student Engagement Manager. Fletcher and King both provided important insights into land acknowledgements in their current form and how to go beyond land acknowledgements into meaningful action! Please check out the resources down below for opportunities to support Indigenous education, activism, and art.

Mikeila McQueston (DMA Composition '26) Christine Taft (WMBA '25), participants of Sanger Leadership Center's Story Lab, speak to the importance of valuing the learning that comes from connections with others, regardless of how brief or unexpected those connections might be.

Leaders of Turn Up Turnout, the University's student-led voter engagement organization discuss the ways they work to sustain a campus culture of voting through peer-to-peer interaction. Maurielle Courtois, BA '25, Hillary Poudeu Tchokothe, BA '26, and Rose Reilly, BA '24 discuss their leadership and how they train, mentor, and encourage new leaders in civic engagement.

This interview was originally published on the Lead & Follow podcast, hosted by Sharna Fabiano, author of the book Lead & Follow: The Dance of Inspired Teamwork. The episode is a conversation about integrated leadership-followership education featuring Fatema Haque, Academic Program Manager & LEO Adjunct Lecturer at the Barger Leadership Institute, and Dorine Lawrence-Hughes, Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Education at the University of Michigan. Fatema and Dorine discuss how they are collaborating to introduce the concept followership to the Barger Leadership Institute curriculum and how reciprocal leadership and followership skills training is preparing students for professional success and positive community change.

Students at the Barger Leadership Institute talk about the art of giving and receiving feedback. They focus specifically on giving feedback with social identities in mind, and how one can prepare themselves to receive feedback.

Yiying Lee, MBA '23, and Larissa Almeida, MBA '23, share stories developed at Sanger Leadership Center's Story Lab. In the podcast, Yiying and Larissa speak to the challenge and importance of choosing authenticity, finding the right mentors, and pushing away naysayers when navigating career decisions.

DeAnthony Foster, an experienced construction management professional, discusses with Christine and Josh how his time in the Michigan Community Scholars Program (MCSP) at the University of Michigan shaped his understanding and approach to leadership in his career. He shares an invaluable perspective on how leadership skills evolve, adapt, and mature over time, shaped by real-world experiences. This is a must-listen for those interested in exploring the connections between one's college experiences and forging one's unique path post-graduation into the world as a leader committed to change.

In this episode, we have the second part of a conversation with current and former staff members of Camp Michigania. The family camp owned and operated by the alumni association of the University of Michigan for over sixty years. In this conversation, the second collection of staff members discuss how to lead your peers in an environment where you work and live for an entire summer.

In today's episode we have part one of a conversation with current and former staff members of Camp Michigania, the family camp owned and operated by the alumni association of the University of Michigan for over sixty years. In this conversation, the staff discuss leading your peers in an environment where you work and live for an entire summer.

In this weeks episode, Mike Erwin a veteran and the co-founder and CEO of the Positivity Project, discusses how we can be better leaders by being better followers. Erwin explores the benefits of tough leadership, caring relationships, and leading from the back. These types of leadership have the ability to benefit everybody. He discusses how leadership is a personal and universal relationship. 

Justin Stoddard, The CEO and Founder of "Climbing the Mountain", discusses how we can build resiliency and how to overcome adversity. Stoddard, a veteran and now a professor at the United States Air Force academy, discusses with three students Eyda Gu, Ananya Mangla, and Saniya Shahid how to lead through example and lift up others around you. Using individual and universal experiences, Stoddard breaks down exactly what it means to be an uplifting and inspiring leader and the importance of building relationships with those that uplift you.

Storytelling can connect, inform and inspire. Storytelling can increase confidence in recruiting, presenting, and motivating teams and organizations. Storytelling can humanize and personalize workplace cultures. At Story Lab, students develop executive-level presence and communication skills through storytelling workshops and events. Powered by the Sanger Leadership Center, Story Lab focuses on teaching participants the art and architecture of story development and delivery as a means toward positive influence and impact. In this episode, Sanger Program Specialist Nick Viviano speaks with Story Lab participants John Regan and Josh T. Ferguson, who share stories about loss, connection and the power of reconnecting with parents in new and unexpected ways.

In this episode, two University of Michigan leadership educators, Fatema Haque and Danyelle Reynolds, talk about the differences between feminine and feminist leadership. While feminine leadership calls for inclusion but relies on traditional feminine traits and behaviors, feminist leadership that works to create equitable environments, upend sexist power structures, and expand limited understandings of leadership practice. Danyelle and Fatema talk about the differences between these approaches to leadership, reflect on some of their experiences, and share how everyone, regardless of gender identity, can become a feminist leader.

What is the legacy of leadership? How do leaders consider their legacy? This episode celebrates the Diversity Peer Educator program's 50th anniversary and legacy of social justice, student empowerment, and campus leadership with two former student leaders, Robert Wilson and Simon Rivers. Together, Robert and Simon reflect on their time as a Diversity Peer Educator and Minority Peer Advisor, the legacy of their leadership, decades of campus causes, and the future of student activism and leadership at the University of Michigan.

Storytelling can connect, inform and inspire. Storytelling can increase confidence in recruiting, presenting, and motivating teams and organizations. Storytelling can humanize and personalize workplace cultures. At Story Lab, students develop executive-level presence and communication skills through storytelling workshops and events. Powered by the Sanger Leadership Center, Story Lab focuses on teaching participants the art and architecture of story development and delivery as a means toward positive influence and impact. In this episode, Sanger Program Coordinator Nick Viviano speaks with Story Lab participants Noelle Powers (BBA ‘26) and Jackson Irwin (MBA ‘24) about their stories of perseverance and connection.

In this episode, hear from our podcast host, and current UMICH student-athlete, Gabby Wilson, and guests Coach Mike Hart, and former student-athlete, Danielle Rauch, for a conversation on servant leadership -- What is it? Why is it important in teams? And, How can we lead through service?

Join Izzy Beshouri and Cheyenne Chapman as they discuss “Leadership Connection”, a leadership program where participants get together with student leaders from different student organizations across the Michigan community. The two take us through the nuts and bolts of this unique opportunity.

Join Neika White, Aliya Hirji, and Michael Goldberg in a conversation about the benefits of LeaderShape, an ethics-based leadership development experience for University of Michigan students. The three showcase how the 5 day, non-stop self-discovery and learning experience changed the way they see and interact with leadership.

Learn about the Office of National Scholarships and Fellowships at U-M. We work with candidates for some of the world's most famous and prestigious awards. Leadership is one of the most common criteria for these awards. Learn about how applying for one of these awards helps candidates articulate their leadership stories. We will be joined by Xalma Palomino who just became U-M's 29th Truman Scholar. Xalma will share her application experience, her future leadership plans, and what she learned from the process.

Steve Bodei hosts a conversation with Askari Rushing, Karishma Collette, Krishna Han, Neeraja Aravamudan about how to be an inclusive leader. During this leadership series discussion, they explore what inclusive leadership looks like in practice, the qualities that define inclusive leadership, and how to cultivate this type of leadership. This episode was recorded as part of the Inclusive Leadership Workshop Series for Graduate Students.

Three Michigan alumna share their stories of success and how they have navigated Michigan and beyond as women in high ranking positions.

Part 2: Ram Mahalingam talks with Rebecca Irby who shares her background on how she discovered her life’s passion and purpose and then used her North Star to found and lead an international NGO that received Special Consultative Status with the United Nations. She offers guidance on how to help you find your North Star and learn how to use that as your guide throughout the rest of your time in school and, most importantly, moving forward in an integrated, fulfilled way. Subtle shifts in our mindset can lead to significant transformation. We hope you walk away from these episodes and the supporting materials with a greater sense of yourself, the world, and how to navigate it.

To be an effective leader — at work, in the community, or in your personal life — you must be able to communicate with impact. Often this means telling stories that are meaningful to you and others, and doing so in the rich language and expressive style of a seasoned storyteller.  At Story Lab, students develop executive-level presence and communication skills through storytelling workshops and events. Offered by the Sanger Leadership Center at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, Story Lab focuses on teaching participants the art and architecture of story development and delivery as a means toward positive influence and impact. At the end of each semester, Story Lab hosts a public showcase inviting some of its workshop participants to take the stage and tell their stories.   In this episode, Sanger Program Coordinator Ben Applebaum-Bauch speaks with MBA student Jessica Liang about her story of advocacy in the face of adversity and the ways her leadership skills have developed since participating in Story Lab.

Ram Mahalingam talks with Rebecca Irby who shares her background on how she discovered her life’s passion and purpose and then used her North Star to found and lead an international NGO that received Special Consultative Status with the United Nations. She offers guidance on how to help you find your North Star and learn how to use that as your guide throughout the rest of your time in school and, most importantly, moving forward in an integrated, fulfilled way. Subtle shifts in our mindset can lead to significant transformation. We hope you walk away from these episodes and the supporting materials with a greater sense of yourself, the world, and how to navigate it.

Based on a counseling tool called "motivational interviewing", Emily Giovanili, Marsha Benz, and Christina Gerazounis discuss how to have productive and compassionate conversations. They share skills and techniques that you can use individually or with your team. "If you've been interested in building dynamic and thoughtful conversations within the organizations you join, with your friends, other team members, then this might be for you!"

Brooke Tayler, Solomon Lucy, and Alexxus Lige take us through a journey of the ins and outs of student leadership at the University of Michigan. The panelists explore how to become a leader on campus and everything that goes with that new responsibility. Under a lens of DEI, the three show exactly how to navigate student life, personal well being, and the national climate.

In this collaboration episode, our host RC communications and outreach specialist Robby Griswold talks with alum Mya Harris and fourth-year student Kaitlyn Colyer about their experiences as students in both the Residential College and the Barger Leadership Institute. Mya and Kaitlyn discuss developing their leadership identities, the importance of practicing cultural humility, and what advice they would offer incoming students.

During this virtual event, we heard from alumni panelists Paul Viera, ’81 and Ryan Mundy, ‘07, as well as  Vice President of Student Life at U-M, Dr. Martino Harmon as they talk about overcoming stigmas of mental health for men of color and how to prioritize your own self care and create balance during a difficult time.

On this collaborative episode between Break Away and Strength in the Midst of Change, features Ram Mahalingam, Barger Leadership Institute Professor of Psychology and the Director of the Barger Leadership Institute, and Doreen Murasky, Interim Associate Director of CEW+. Doreen and Ram talk about the core principles of mindfulness, and how these can be incorporated into your everyday life, work, and relationships to cultivate interconnectedness. Make sure to listen to the end to hear them talk about the importance of being kind to yourself and your imperfections, and extending that same kindness to those around you.

In this episode of Break Away, students Emily Welch, Tejal Patel, and Soumya Kulkarni explore the importance of service leadership in the wider context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Each plays a vital role in their respective service organizations. They share lessons, stories, and techniques on how to build a better team and to be a more understanding and effective leader.

In this episode of “Break Away”, Jacque Young, a senior on the University of Michigan’s women's golf team, interviews Vic Strecher, a visionary leader and expert in the fields of behavior change, digital communication, and wellbeing. He’s Founder & CEO of Kumanu, a next-generation wellbeing company, Professor at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, renowned speaker, and author. The two explore how to find one’s own purpose and how to find meaning in life through the guidance of purpose.

In part two of this episode from the Athletics Leadership Development Team, hear from Head Women’s Soccer Coach Jennifer Klein and two student-athletes- Jacque Young of the Women’s Golf team and Adam Wooten of the Men’s Gymnastics team- on their perspectives and wisdom related to a number of leadership topics in relation to building a championship culture.

In part one of this two-part episode from the Athletics Leadership Development Team, hear from Head Women’s Soccer Coach Jennifer Klein and two student-athletes- Jacque Young of the Women’s Golf team and Adam Wooten of the Men’s Gymnastics team- on their perspectives and wisdom related to a number of leadership topics in relation to building a championship culture.

Undergraduate Abby Richburg, the Director of CAPS In Action, a student mental health organization that is facilitated by CAPS, and Ed Huebner Assistant Director at Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) joins Steve Bodei, Associate Director of M-LEAD to talk about mental health and leadership in our current environment. Tune in to hear what Ed and Abby had to say about challenging narratives related to mental health and leadership, how to maintain your own mental health when facing the challenges of leadership, how to ask for help, and much more!

What is inspiration? How does it help us act with courage and compassion in the face of great obstacles? Barger Leadership Institute Director and Professor of Psychology Ram Mahalingam speaks on inspiration and its relevance for mindful leadership. In a hyperconnected world, Ram draws on his own personal sources of inspiration and how inspiration can transform our lives and help us reconnect to others and our values.

Robin Brewer, Assistant Professor of Information joins Devon Keen, Director of Inclusion, Equity and Outreach at the School of Information for a conversation around leadership and accessibility. Listen to a captivating discussion covering topics and strategies for inclusive leadership, particularly around accessible technology.