As the new academic year begins, it’s the perfect time to explore how you can develop and refine your leadership skills. The Michigan Model of Leadership (MMoL) is a powerful framework that offers practical tools and insights to help you grow as a leader. Whether you’re navigating group projects, leading a student organization, seeking a promotion at work, or simply looking to improve your personal effectiveness, the MMoL equips you with the skills and confidence to succeed.
Sanger Leadership Center team members use the MMoL in our personal and professional lives. We hope our stories offer valuable insights into how you, too, can leverage this model to become a more effective leader.
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Michelle Austin, Assistant Director of Programs and Partnerships
This past spring, I coached my daughter’s soccer team alongside my husband. Motivating, teaching, and leading a group of 5-6 year olds was both challenging and rewarding. The Michigan Model of Leadership helped guide a lot of the behaviors I needed as a leader to our enthusiastic yet inexperienced team. For example, we often needed to flex into the “Collaborate” quadrant to build trust and meaningful relationships. We did this by checking in with the kids and relating to them by inviting them to name our drills or the “go” word with their favorite characters from books or movies. Across the model, we wanted to also “Drive Results,” which to us, didn’t just mean winning, but ensuring the kids learned something about soccer, moved their bodies, and learned how to work in a team. While sometimes our team wanted to linger on chatting about their days or being silly together (yellow quadrant), we gently moved them to action through skill-building activities, scrimmages, and our weekly games (blue quadrant). Team sports can help us understand the tensions of the model, but I think it can also help us think about how we interact with our children and families, too!
Jeff Domagala, Managing Director
When I coach new professionals or mid-level managers, I always showcase the tensions within the model and how, when a client is experiencing frustration, it is a completely normal part of organizational complexities. Having an understanding of where our strengths are and where we have the opportunity to grow both as individuals and on teams is a big part of self-awareness. I love that the MMoL can be incorporated into everyday life!
Megan Guest, Marketing Manager
I use the MMoL to better understand my leadership style and how my strengths can improve my effectiveness. One of my strengths is providing structure (red), which can be at odds with innovation (green). I love organizing and designing processes and find that more ambiguous projects require an intentional mindset shift. Equipped with this understanding, I take action to allow myself to flex into a more creative space. When beginning a “green” project, I like to switch things up and find a new space to ideate in. I love being outdoors and find that I’m better able to tap into my creative side while in nature.
Erica Haughton, Associate Director of Integrative Experiences
My husband and I bought a fixer-upper in 2018 and have been slowly renovating most of it ourselves. I have a bias to action and can be impatient when it comes to renovation projects; I tend to adopt a “I’ll figure it out as I go” mindset. Therefore, I often need to force myself to slow down, talk to some experts, watch tutorials, and do plenty of research before I start a new project that I haven’t done previously. Once I get started, I allow myself plenty of opportunities to experiment and make mistakes along the way. I’ve learned through many DIY projects to focus on learning and mastering a new skill vs. pushing for immediate results. I find I’m happier with the end result and I make fewer mistakes.
Brooke Johnson, Program Coordinator
I use the MMoL to help define and focus my professional learning. When I identify skills or aspects of my work that I can grow in, I always ask myself, “What MMoL quadrant is this?” That gives me direction and clarity when finding resources for myself to learn and grow. I love using the online leadership behavior encyclopedia because you can search resources by MMoL quadrants!
Rafa Marques, Program Coordinator
I turn to the MMoL to pinpoint where I need to grow and how I can maximize my efforts to become more effective and improve my skills. While I aim to build a solid foundation across all four quadrants, focusing on specific areas helps me identify where to invest more time. I see the MMoL as my compass, guiding me through each phase of my professional journey, with its unique set of strengths and growth opportunities, as I strive to become a well-rounded leader.
Suzy Skrtic, Program Specialist
I use the Michigan Model of Leadership and the tools/resources associated with it to identify my strengths, areas of growth, and next steps for leadership development. I reference it when developing both personal and professional goals. It pushes me to think about how I can be a more well-rounded leader, developing my skills in all four quadrants.
Nick Viviano, Program Specialist
I use the MMoL to understand tensions that exist within teams I lead. The MMoL has equipped me with language I can use to navigate conversations and better understand my coworkers. I feel most energized when I am in spaces of innovation with forward-thinking and inspiring colleagues, because it’s empowering to think expansively where nothing is impossible. Lean into the messiness and ambiguity that arises from being “green,” but embed accountability markers throughout the project to balance innovation processes with “red” structures to keep your project on track.
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As you embark on this new academic year, take the self-assessment and consider how you can apply the MMoL in your own life, whether in the classroom, in extracurricular activities, or for personal growth. By embracing the model’s principles, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a more effective, well-rounded leader.
