Strengths into Action: Alumni Strengths-Based Leadership Memo Exercise

A strengths-based memo assignment is successfully used in a leadership skills development course and would work well in all types of class deliveries/sizes. Student teams interview School alumni and a direct report or peer to identify alumni leadership strengths. Teams then write a memo to the alumni connecting strengths to course theory and leadership research. A scaffolding approach to the assignment allows students to first interview another teammate, receive feedback from their professor, and strengthen their process and deliverable for the final assignment. Identifying leaders’ strengths helps students identify how to put their own strengths into immediate and future action.