Customizable memo: Student Leadership Practices Inventory® (Student LPI®) 360
Online
To: [insert name of your manager/supervisor]
From: [insert your name]
Subject: Student Leadership Practices Inventory® (Student LPI®) 360 Online
Study after study finds that the qualities employers most look for in recent college graduates—and don’t feel they always find—are leadership
skills. The National Association of Colleges and Employers’ Job Outlook 2012 survey, in particular, noted that nearly 80 percent of respondents
“said they search for evidence that the potential employee can work in a team, and more than three-quarters indicated they want the résumé to
show the candidate has leadership abilities.”
In addition, leadership is the most frequently noted required learning outcome among disciplinary accreditors. In a study of 25 disciplinary
accreditors who are members of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, Sharp et al. found that “the most frequently noted outcomes
were about management and collaborative leadership… In all, 22 associations referenced competencies germane to this key category through 42
learning outcomes.”
In order to address this need, our leadership [development program/institution] aims to [insert leadership development goals or mission specific to
your program].
In order to help students [insert leadership learning objectives] it is critical for students to understand their own leadership capacity and to
benchmark where their leadership skills are at any given point in their development. The Student Leadership Practices Inventory (Student LPI)
360 Online is a comprehensive leadership development tool created by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner as part of The Student Leadership
Challenge®. This 360-degree inventory, created specifically for students, gives young people an opportunity to measure how frequently they
engage in the 30 behaviors that 30 years of solid research has shown to result in exemplary leadership. A report about effectively measuring
student leadership states that “Of 68 instruments ‘that are supported by technical data…[to measure] a variety of leadership skills and styles’ only
the Student LPI and another have direct application to student populations.” The report also attests to the predictive validity of the Student LPI:
“The more frequently student leaders were perceived as engaging in the five leadership practices, the more positive were their observers about
their organizations, leaders, and effectiveness.”
[Elaborate concretely on your specific purpose for using Student LPI, including any of the following points which will help you make your case.]
In addition to helping students to develop their own leadership behavior, use of this tool—when incorporated into our existing leadership
curriculum—will amplify the effectiveness and results of our program by allowing us to measure students’ development over time.
Specifically, incorporating this tool into our existing leadership curriculum will allow us to:

help students measure, articulate, and improve their own leadership behavior;

give us a common language for leadership across our [program/department/campus];

give students a variety of reports that show their leadership behavior as a snapshot in time, as a comparison of how their leadership
behavior changes over time, and how they fit against international norming data;

compare the leadership behavior of those in a group and how they fit against international norming data;

offer the opportunity for meaningful conversations about leadership that will meet the learning outcomes we have set for our students;

provide a foundation for expanding our curriculum using the Kouzes and Posner Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership® model;

amplify the effectiveness and demonstrate the results of our program with the ability to measure students’ development over time;

give us an evidence-base for our program, thus making our institution more visible and competitive as a development center for
leaders going into the workforce.
Here are some suggested curricula that shows how we can incorporate the Student LPI into our leadership [course or program]:
www.studentleadershipchallenge.com/Resource/resource-curriculum-guide.aspx
Additionally, at $14 per student and with fast and easy online administration, this represents an economical investment in our students’ leadership
development when compared to the corporate version of this and other instruments that often cost $100–$200 per person. [OR: Additionally, with
a total investment of $$ [insert quote from Wiley representative] for the XX [insert number] of students we plan to assess, and with fast and easy
online administration, this represents an economical investment in our students’ leadership development when compared to the corporate version
of this and other instruments that would cost [insert comparative cost].]
Finally, we may be able to obtain funding from [name any grants you may apply for] or [we can build in part of the cost as a student fee].
Here are some thoughts from others who have used the Student LPI:
[Feel free to insert any of the following comments from others who have enjoyed using Student LPI that you find appropriate]
“The Student Leadership Practices Inventory is the best tool I have used to help students assess their leadership effectiveness because it translates
the concept of leadership into actions and relationships. By defining and measuring specific leadership behaviors, the Student LPI allows
students to see how they are doing as leaders and to determine how they can improve.” —Cathy Early, National Interfraternity Conference
“I've been teaching leadership classes for twenty years, and The Five Practices are, hands down, the best tool for helping students see both their
inherent strengths as leaders as well as to further develop their skills.” —Britt Andreatta, University of California, Santa Barbara
Some reviews from students:
“I really liked that it was focused on students, rather than businesspeople and executives. I could relate to what it was asking and telling me to
do.”
“The Student LPI was simple to use and understand—it made sense and gave me a handle for figuring out what leadership is all about.”
If you would like to try the Student LPI yourself, the publisher has offered a complimentary trial, which I can help set up. Thank you for your
consideration. I will await your approval.
Regards,
[Insert your name and title]
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