Leading with LA&PS | York University

Leading with LA&PS program, delivered by LA&PS Colleges, is designed to support students in developing their leadership skills. Students will get the chance to attend a variety of workshops building on different skills. This is also a great opportunity for students to connect with like-minded peers and to gain the confidence to get more involved on campus and apply the skills they have learned. The different level of workshops means that there is something for everyone, no matter where you are in your leadership journey.

Quick Links

Certificate of Completion

Whether you’re a student just beginning your journey into leadership skills or looking to expand on your existing knowledge, join us to learn new leadership skills or further develop the ones you already possess. You can start at any level based on your own experience. Workshops are offered throughout the year, allowing students to complete workshops best suited to them! Students will be granted a certificate of completion upon completing 4 different workshops over 2 years.

Leadership Levels

Beginner

Are you a first-year student looking to start building your leadership skills or an upper-year student hoping to get some experience before you graduate? Beginner is the level for you. Start by learning the fundamentals with our beginner workshops. Learn the basics so you can start growing your knowledge and skills!

Intermediate

Are you an upper-year student that already knows the basics or are you looking to start your journey as a leader for a club? Looking to build on the fundamentals that you’ve learned? Go beyond the basics and start applying what you’ve learned. Taking an intermediate workshop is for you! Begin building upon your basic skills and understanding how to best use them.

Advanced

Are you a club leader or upper-year student looking to apply the skills you’ve learned? Want to learn how to go beyond your skills as a leader? Take an Advanced workshop and start building your skills to be applied in different aspects of your life. Begin using your skills in practical settings, and you start by learning them here!

Skills to Build

Leadership

This introductory workshop challenges students to consider what has influenced their idea of leadership and to challenge these ideas. Students will unpack their own understanding of leadership and reflect on their own definition of this idea and qualities they believe to be important to good leaders. Through this workshop, students will gain a new perspective on leadership and being able to identify qualities they already possess that make them an effective leader.

The way we choose to lead is greatly influenced by our core values. They shape the things we prioritize as a leader, the way we behave as a leader and how we react in our environments. Considering its importance in our leadership, its important for students to reflect on their core values and take time to consider how it impacts their own philosophy of leadership and how it effects how they want to be lead.

female staff member helps female student with a problem on his laptop.

Communication

In this workshop, students will have the chance to learn about the basics of communication. Students will investigate what it means to communicate in various settings while enhancing their knowledge on the fundamentals of communicating. Students are also given the chance to learn how to use these communication skills effectively so that they may be able to clearly share ideas, thoughts, opinions, etc.

Whether in a school setting or work setting, you will be asked to do presentations. While presentations can be intimidating, with some strategies and developing some new presentation skills, you will have the confidence to excel in your next presentation! In partnership with Vanier College Productions (VCP), students will have also have the opportunity to practice presenting and will be able to receive some feedback.

In any group or organization, it’s important for the leader to be able to communicate their vision to the team and help motivate the team to work towards the common goal. In addition, it the job of the leader to delegate tasks that provide meaning to each team member and to resolve any conflict that arises. It is recommended that students wanting to take this workshop, have completed the beginner and intermediate level workshops for general leadership and communication. This workshop will combine concepts discussed in those workshops and teach students how to apply those skills in conjunction with one another.

group of students pose for a photo around a table outdoors

Equity, Inclusion and Diversity

In our communities, we are fortunate enough to connect with individuals from varying backgrounds and with different perspectives. This diversity offers ample opportunities to learn from our peers and challenge our ways of thinking. The topic of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) is vastly broad and complicated, but this workshop will provide attendees with an introduction to EDI by providing key definitions and foundational concepts to being your EDI journey.

This workshop will also challenge your way of thinking and how to equip yourself with an EDI lens. Finally, this workshop will help define allyship and how to be a good ally while also encouraging students to critically reflect on the type of allyship they demonstrate in-person and online.

Regardless of our choosing, we bring our social identities into the spaces that we engage with at school, at work and in our communities. Identifying and celebrating our social identities is important because it allows us to share a different perspective and it gives voices to communities that are not represented. On the other hand, acknowledging the privilege our social identities grant us will allow us to be mindful of how we occupy space and how we can use our privilege to amplify the voice of others. In this workshop, we will explore the idea of privilege in an EDI context and how that might effect the interactions we have with others. In addition, we will complete an exercise to reflect on your social identities and give yourselves permission to share our perspectives and empower you use your voice.

As a leader, your job is to create an environment where everyone people feel safe to bring their social identities and to contribute to the group, Sometimes, creating that space is challenging and it takes more than simply announcing this is a “safe space”. Drawing from some of our past EDI workshops, we hope to give you the tools to create this space and how to keep the space inclusive and safe for all.

Calendar of Workshops & Events

Date	Time	Workshop Name	Description	Registration
September 30, 2024 + ongoing	Online (eClass)	Introduction to Effective Communication	In this workshop, students will have the chance to learn about the basics of communication. Students will investigate what it means to communicate in various settings while enhancing their knowledge on the fundamentals of communicating. Students are also given the chance to learn how to use these communication skills effectively so that they may be able to clearly share ideas, thoughts, opinions, etc.	Register Now!
November 5, 2024 + ongoing	Online (eClass)	Understanding Your Leadership	This introductory workshop challenges students to consider what has influenced their idea of leadership and to challenge these ideas. Students will unpack their own understanding of leadership and reflect on their own definition of this idea and qualities they believe to be important to good leaders. Through this workshop, students will gain a new perspective on leadership and being able to identify qualities they already possess that make them an effective leader.	Register Now!
November 13, 2024	12-1:30 p.m.	Present Like a Pro: Designing Impactful Presentations	Elevate your presentation game with strategies for crafting powerful and engaging presentations. This session will take you through the key steps to present confidently and make a lasting impression on your audience. (This workshop can be counted for credit towards the “Presentation Skills” module in the Leading with LA&PS leadership certificate program.).	Register Now!