columbia university next-gen leaders
LEADERSHIP • EDUCATION
How do you prototype a leader? “As a leader, I pledge to ______.”
That’s how we closed our Design Thinking workshop with international students from Kenya, India, Indonesia, and beyond, at Columbia University’s ISSO GLASS program. After a full day of building empathy, sharing stories of great (and not-so-great) leadership, mapping unmet challenges, and prototyping what Next Generation Leadership could look like, we asked each student to make it personal. Not theoretical. Not performative. Personal.
Using a human-centered design process: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, test, they sketched profiles of future leaders grounded in curiosity, inclusion, cultural intelligence, systems thinking, and courage. Some of the pledges that emerged:
“As a leader, I pledge to stay curious, even when I think I know the answer.”
“As a leader, I pledge to listen before I lead.”
“As a leader, I pledge to create spaces where every voice feels safe to speak.”
“As a leader, I pledge to challenge systems that exclude.”
“As a leader, I pledge to lead with empathy across cultures.” Because leadership isn’t a title. It’s a practice. And it starts with a commitment. So we’ll ask you the same question: 👉 As a leader, I pledge to ______. PS.
If this leadership workshop seems like something your team could use, let’s talk! Results 100% participant engagement through hands-on activities Leadership pledges created by all participants Cross-disciplinary collaboration across global student cohorts Rapid ideation and prototyping completed within one-day session Actionable leadership frameworks participants can apply beyond the workshop.
