Ross Leaders Academy
Overview
The Ross Leaders Academy (RLA) is the Sanger Leadership Center’s premier leadership development community for select students across campus. During the year-long program, you’ll make leadership development a primary focus of your Michigan experience. You’ll learn from diverse peers, receive 1:1 and group coaching, and engage with 50+ years of robust research advanced by the University of Michigan’s innovative faculty. You’ll emerge from RLA more confident, insightful, and with a vision to fuel your emerging career.
This program is generously sponsored by the Deloitte Foundation.
participants (all-time)
group coaching sessions per academic year
schools & colleges represented across participant pool (all-time)
Skills You’ll Learn
All program skills are connected to the Michigan Model of Leadership, our evidence-based framework for leadership development.
Skills
Meaningful Relationships
I develop meaningful relationships
Through group coaching sessions, table discussions, and experiential activities, you will develop meaningful relationships that enable you to build trust, respect, and understanding with your peers.
Empathy
I show empathy
You will learn the importance of empathy for effective leadership and relationship building, as well as the benefits of expanding your empathetic capacity.
Team Inclusion
I create a shared sense of team belonging
Utilizing evidence-based research, case studies, and group coaching sessions, you will learn how to be an inclusive leader who creates a sense of belonging.
Curiosity
I actively seek to learn and grow
You will learn about your unique identity, values, and individual purpose, and then explore alternative futures.
Resilience
I cope effectively with change and ambiguity
A research-based resilience model will help you learn the key components of resilience to effectively cope with change and ambiguity.
Integrity
I act in alignment with my values
You will identify your core values, which will enable you to make personal and professional values-based decisions.
Influence
I influence others to action
You will learn strategies for enhancing your emotional awareness, self-regulation, and the ability to regulate other’s emotions and influence others to action.
Details & Registration
Details
Application Process
Applications are opened in the summer and are due in September
Select students will then be invited to a community interview
The selection committee releases decisions on the cohort in early October
2024-2025 Academic Year
Application opens: 8/27/2024
Application closes: 9/13/2024
Community interviews: 9/26/2024 & 9/27/2024
Kickoff: 10/25/2024, 12–2 PM @ Zingerman’s Greyline
Session Dates:
Fridays, 10 AM–12:15 PM
2024: 11/1, 11/8, 11/22, 12/6
2025: 1/17, 2/7, 2/21, 3/14, 3/28 (Capstone)
Time Commitment
Sessions are 2.25 hours long and will take place on Friday mornings from 10 AM–12:15 PM. Sessions may require reflection in between each, for a total of about 2 hours per month. 1:1 and group coaching will be scheduled separately based on your availability.
Leadership Coaching
Leadership coaching is available as part of the program experience. To learn more about leadership coaching and how it is integrated into this program, visit our coaching page.
Participant Requirements
Deep interest in leadership development, personal growth, and lifelong learning
Any U-M Student (juniors, seniors, and graduate students)
Ability to attend all sessions
Participation in all sessions is integral to gaining the full benefit of the program. Students who miss more than two sessions will not receive the program completion certificate. We ask that participants bring conflicting dates to our attention during the kickoff event.
Registration
Applications are accepted once per year in September. Ross students will be notified via email when registration opens for the 2025-2026 school year. Non-Ross students are invited to fill out the interest form below to receive the same communication.
Content Areas
FALL
Self-leadership
Identity & Self-Inclusion
Gain a greater understanding of identity dimensions, self-inclusion, and leadership style, and identify ways to co-create environments that engage more of your whole self while inviting others to do the same.
Values
Clearly articulate your core values, and learn why values are important for yourself and a group.
Purpose
Understand the importance and benefits of purpose, craft a purpose statement and be able to explain it to others, and learn how to use your purpose statement to be impactful and achieve concrete results.
Alternative Futures
Use your foresight and purpose statement to think about different paths and possibilities to reach where you want to be. This session will be an opportunity to try on a few of these possibilities to know what it feels like to live your purpose.
Winter
Interpersonal leadership
Empathy
Effective leadership and relationship-building require empathy. This session will touch on the benefits of expanding your empathetic self and provide methods to do so while increasing your ability to shift perspectives.
Inclusive Leadership
Understand the science and practice of inclusive leadership, while increasing your awareness of personal bias and discovering actionable steps to advance inclusion.
Emotional Intelligence
Understand the importance of emotion regulation in the context of leadership, and learn strategies for enhancing your regulation abilities.
Resilience
Understand what resilience means in the context of leadership, and identify key elements and activities you can use to increase your resilience.
Capstone
At the end of the program, you’ll reflect on your RLA journey and the skills you have acquired, solidify your leadership brand, and strategically plan for the future application of your learning.
Testimonials
Samer Charaf, WMBA ’24
Testimonials
“I am profoundly grateful to the exceptional team at the Sanger Leadership Center for their pivotal role in my journey of growth throughout my Ross Leaders Academy experience. Their unique approach, through a series of action-based activities and reflective sessions, empowered me to view the world through the diverse lenses of my peers.”
Ammarnnath Namakkal Vani Gopinat, M.Arch ’24
Testimonials
“Participating in the Ross Leaders Academy was a highlight of my graduate school experience. The program opened my eyes to new ideas and helped me pinpoint my true values and purpose. RLA offered a safe space to connect with a diverse group of peers, learn the importance of vulnerability and empathy in leadership, and understand that it's the insights from our experiences, not just the experiences themselves, that truly shape us.”
Carla Schaefer, MM ’22
Testimonials
"This program has helped me to better understand who I am and who I want to be. It helped me realize what my values and purpose are and how they relate to leadership. RLA is an experience I would not want to miss and something everyone should partake in.”
Jumanah Saadeh, MBA ’24
Testimonials
"RLA was a comprehensive leadership program that directly resulted in me stretching myself to learn and grow so that I could better myself as a leader. It provided me with structure and access to resources to empower myself to explore the path of self-development. RLA challenged me to raise the bar for myself, and I'm so grateful for the challenge set before me to be my best self."
Gallery
Scenes from the Program
News
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