There are lots of things to like working with college students. They are often bright, motivated, energetic, and optimistic. They are also, for the most part, young, which probably accounts for some of their motivation, energy, and optimism. It also means, though, that they are just starting out on whatever path their life is going to follow. Those of us who work with college students strive to meet them where they are and help them move forward.

It’s not always easy to meet them where they are and be patient as they move forward. We have high hopes for these young people and would love to send them off after graduation as fully mature people—but that’s not how it works. Confession: I think that at 20, 30, and 40 years old, each time I started a new decade, I felt like I was pretty much fully matured. By the time I turned 50, I finally achieved enough maturity to understand how wrong I had been at 20, 30, and 40.

So, what leadership lessons are possible for our students at their stage of development? I think that, with our help, they can get a good start on two central tasks of leadership development. First, they can deepen their understanding of who they are. For example, we can help students better understand, and perhaps refine, what their personal values are. Given the right conditions, students can also learn more about what assets they bring to leadership. We help in this sort of learning by creating experiences that provide students with rich opportunities to reflect on leadership work they have done.

The second task we can help with is identifying passions. I heard a speaker recently who summed it up nicely. "Without passion," Dustin Lance Black said, "you can be in charge, but you can’t lead." LeaderShape is one of our high-profile leadership development opportunities. During the course of a week in January, between 50 and 60 students develop a vision of a way in which they can improve the world. Later in the semester, I visit with them about their visions and the passion they bring is palpable. Some of them will continue to work on their visions for years to come. Many will find new passions. But the experience we provide at LeaderShape helps them know what that passion feels like and where within them to find it.

So, of course we can’t hope to send our students out into the world as fully mature leaders. But what a joy it is to see them started on their way.

As always, I enjoy hearing from you about your leadership journeys. Looking back, what did you leave the University of Iowa with, and what have you developed since?