Poole Leadership Challenge Enables Poole Students to Build Skills, Track and Share Growth with Recruiters

A new program launched by Poole College this fall makes it easy for undergraduate students to track and manage what they are learning beyond the classroom as they engage in co-curricular activities that help build core leadership-related competencies, said Leigh Shamblin, director of leadership at Poole College. 

“A national survey of employers hiring college graduates shows that they consider these competencies to be as important than a student’s GPA,” Shamblin said. “The Poole Leadership Challenge creates an opportunity for students to easily share their engagement and growth in these competencies with potential employers, should they choose to do so.”

The Poole Leadership Challenge, made available with support from VF Corporation, utilizes the Suitable app to help students document progress toward six core competencies by recording and reflecting on their leadership skill-building activities. 

Poole students register at suitable.co or by using the app from iOS or Android. They use their NCSU.EDU email address to get started.

“The Poole Leadership Challenge also will help students work through the tsunami of opportunities on campus so that they can select activities that will help them develop competencies in the following six core leadership areas,” Shamblin said. This list of core competencies was developed using key competencies identified by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) and the Poole College strategy.

• Leadership and Civic Engagement
  Examples: Attend a Poole Party at the beginning of the semester, participate in the Alternative Spring Break, assume a leadership role in a Poole organization and more.
• Global and Intercultural Engagement
  Examples: Study abroad, attend Heritage Month events, join an organization that celebrates a different culture, earn the Global Perspectives certificate and more.
• Career and Professional Development
  Examples: Meet with your academic advisor, attend a career fair, create your LinkedIn profile, complete an internship or co-op.
• Personal Development and Well-being
  Examples: Complete a counseling session with a financial advisor, serve as a Mental Health Ambassador, lead an exercise class and more
• Interpersonal and Team Dynamics
  Examples: Complete a CliftonStrengths assessment, attend a Design Your Life workshop, manage a classroom project, compete as a team member in the Lulu Egames and more.
• Ethical and Sustainable Business Practices
  Examples: Calculate your Global Footprint, participate in the BCorps clinic, serve as a Social Innovation fellow and more.

The Poole Leadership Challenge is a challenge by choice. “The focus is for each student to build his or her competency in these core leadership areas by engaging in activities that make sense for and resonate with the individual students,” Shamblin said. 

“We want students to understand what leadership means and to develop their own leadership style as they develop the core leadership competencies. Students grow as they earn points and badges by uploading documents, scanning event codes, completing surveys or submitting reflections and assessments of their leadership building activities. 

Completed activities and badges earned are instantly added to the student’s portfolio, which they can make available to recruiters by simply adding a link to their shareable scorecard in their email signature, on a resume or in their LinkedIn profile. Students choose what and how much to share publicly. 

“Based on what’s happening at other universities, we believe that our recruiting employers will use the students’ Suitable portfolios to learn more about them than what appears in their resume.We will be starting conversations with employers about the Poole Leadership Challenge this fall”, Shamblin said.

Participating undergraduate students can also work toward a Leadership Certificate issued by Poole College, that will be recognized at the annual Leadership and Innovation Showcase and noted in the Poole College commencement programs. 

The Poole Leadership Challenge is being rolled out this fall to all Poole College undergraduate students in classes and events, as well as through social media and introduction sessions. Click here for more information.