Crafting a compelling, impactful story is no easy feat. Doing so requires intentionality, reflection, and practice. Over the course of the past few months, Sanger’s managing director, Jeff Domagala, provided storytelling coaching to several student participants of this year’s VETx event at Michigan Ross. Domagala met with the students one on one to help them craft their narratives, with the goal of being compelling, yet vulnerable and authentic at the same time. During rehearsals, Domagala leaned into his theater background to provide direction on the stage, sharing tips on how to build ..read more

During spring break, 50 students from across the U-M community came together to learn about leadership at the Michigan LeaderShape® Institute. A counter-narrative to the warm, beachy vacations that many expect from spring break, students journeyed north to Camp Michigania in Boyne City, Michigan and engaged in self-discovery, learning, and activities that built leadership concepts and abilities.  “To be honest, I didn’t know what I was getting myself into when I first signed up,” said Nick Viviano, Sanger Program Specialist and LeaderShape® facilitator. “But I was excited to dive i ..read more

How can students grow the skill of influential storytelling? To be an effective leader — at work, in the community, or in your personal life — you must be able to communicate with impact. Often this means telling stories that are meaningful to you and others and doing so in the rich language and expressive style of a seasoned storyteller. At Story Lab, offered by the Sanger Leadership Center, students develop executive-level presence and communication skills through storytelling workshops and events. Story Lab focuses on teaching participants the art and architecture of story developme ..read more

I was almost blown off of Bassett Peak. That’s what it felt like, at least. We summited this peak for a 360-degree sunrise hike. It was the most spectacular sunrise I’d ever witnessed. We sat on a rocky outcropping, staring at the horizon, before the sun came into view. The winds were so harsh on my cheeks that it would appear as if I had been sunburnt. The winds were so powerful it felt like a great force was trying to pick us up. Yet, there was nowhere to duck—just knee-high manzanitas and scrub oaks. As the sun rose, we remembered that you’re not supposed to look directly into it. Ha ..read more

On March 16, the Sanger Leadership Center closed out its premier year-long leadership development community, the Ross Leaders Academy (RLA). RLA is an intensive leadership program sponsored by the Deloitte Foundation where students from across U-M learn from a diverse group of peers, receive 1:1 and group coaching, and engage with 30+ years of robust research advanced by the University of Michigan’s innovative faculty. The community is designed to help students develop the skills and mindset necessary to become effective leaders in their communities and beyond. One of the key themes of ..read more

As a woman of color in a leadership position, Christina Weiberg, MBA ’22, feels a responsibility to make the most of her opportunities.  “I feel a lot of pressure to make sure that I’m always fighting for diversity, equity, and inclusion, and that I’m always putting the best foot forward,” said Christina. Upon graduating from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, she accepted a position at Amazon working with maintenance and engineering teams that build the company’s fulfillment centers. “As a Latina, we represent the lowest number of leadership positions in corporate ..read more

On March 22, the Sanger Leadership Center’s faculty director Lindy Greer was a featured guest on Michigan Ross’ Working for the Weekend podcast. In episode #508, Connecting with Your Inner Leader, Greer joined host Leslie Beverley to discuss the meaning of leadership, address some common misconceptions, and provide thoughtful advice on how listeners can improve their leadership skills. “It’s not like you’re born with it or you’re not,” Greer comments in the podcast. “It takes intentionality, it takes practice, it takes coaching, it takes support. It’s a lifelong growth journey that requ ..read more

This past February, a world-class university and one of the leading firms in human capital consulting came together to discuss the importance of resilience with 50 students who are poised to be future leaders. Eight Deloitte employees joined the Sanger Leadership Center to present a working session on resilience to the students in the Ross Leaders Academy (RLA). RLA is a premier year-long leadership community at Sanger that serves to develop and hone leadership skills by providing students from across the University of Michigan with opportunities to learn alongside a diverse group of pe ..read more

Becoming a leader is a journey that requires significant effort, determination, and self-belief. However, many tend to believe that leaders are born, not made. They think that leadership is an innate talent that some people possess and others don’t.  In a recent article published in Entrepreneur, Associate Professor of Management and Organizations and Sanger Faculty Champion, Julia Lee Cunningham, emphasized the importance of self-belief in leadership. She explains that leadership is not a talent or a gift that only a few people possess. Rather, leadership is a set of skills that c ..read more

As Michigan Ross MBAs resume classes this Fall, a new offering from Sanger is now available to them: our micro-credential in leadership, the Michigan Ross Leader Endorsement. This micro-credential is unique among business schools in Poets&Quants’ Top 25; only two other schools offer something similar, and Michigan is the only public university to offer it. “The Leader Endorsement was created for students who engage in leadership during graduate school in a number of ways: through our programs, through intentional reflection and growth, and through positional leadership roles,” said ..read more