Pi Gamma Mu Leadership Development Program Review.

• Author: Redelicia, Romeo J.
• Position: Article 17

This year, the Pi Gamma Mu Triennial Convention was held completely online, allowing our honor society to reach further international heights. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, we have learned to technologically adapt to our circumstances, and we are now able to reach even more people. As a participant from the Philippines, it was well worth adjusting to the twelve-hour time zone difference and enjoying the conference as the sun was rising. With an amazing set of speakers, paper presentations, and social activities, there were plenty of highlights to this year's convention, however one part of the program particularly stands out. The Leadership Development Program led by Dr. Allison Knox, is an additional part of our convention featuring leadership lessons and skills in various contexts. This was first launched at our previous convention in Kansas City and returned this year in a fully virtual set-up.

The program offered lessons on Leadership in Literature, Leadership in Academia, Leadership in Special Circumstances, along with a virtual tour from the National Museum of the Marine Corps. Participants of the program were met with a variety of leadership concepts, values, and strategies that were accompanied by real life examples. The discussions gave a taste of what has been published in the area of leadership studies and showed the traits that the United States Marine Corps instills in their officers. These leadership concepts were coupled with stories of leadership in exceptional situations, such as in overseas combat or inside a rushing ambulance. In the context of academia, leadership of faculty during the Covid-19 crisis and editorial leadership of this very academic journal were discussed. Each session offered eye opening insights from challenging circumstances that demanded competent and creative leadership.

Sessions were not simply lectures like so many of our (occasionally boring) webinars have become during this time of pandemic. The speakers at the program were not merely downloading leadership information into the participants but they created an interactive learning experience. Breakout rooms allowed us to meet new people and exchange different ideas and experiences about leadership. Some of these breakout sessions were skillfully led by facilitators while others allowed the participants to freely lead our own discussions. We got to learn about leadership in different contexts not just from the speaker presentations but also from the...