Cornerstone

The Centre for Leadership will create leader and leadership development programs that inform, inspire, and ignite growth in individuals and change in organizations. 

The Centre for Leadership will support the development of authentic leaders who choose to practice a sustainable, collective, and socially responsible form of leadership. We envisage leadership as facilitating the creative exchange of multiple perspectives by fostering a deep commitment to mutually empowering and respectful relationships. This leadership seeks to stimulate strength, courage, and passion within individuals while promoting a culture of creativity and respect for diversity of expression.

Developed and delivered by outstanding faculty, Brescia's leader development programs, including undergraduate studies, micro-credentials, and workshops, will provide participants with the tools and skills they need to be influential and high-achieving leaders and support organizational and community goals. Leadership development programs will build the leadership capacity of organizations. 

To develop both individual leaders and organizational leadership, we focus on knowing, doing, and being leaders. Understanding intersectionality (the discrimination or disadvantage of the whole of one’s various social identities – gender, race, religion, age, ability, etc.) is integral to promoting diversity and eliminating inequity in the workplace. 

Through our programming, we will:

• Strengthen individual leader character alongside leader competency development
• Develop individual capacity to lead collectively within a team and organization
• Build leadership capacity within all levels in organizations including boards
• Deliver Micro-credentials, Diploma, and Certificates to understand intersectionality and promote diversity in leadership
• Convene speaker’s series and conferences to advance knowledge about gender, intersectionality, and leadership
• Expand Brescia’s recognized Francolini Leadership Experience as well as other opportunities for work integrated learning

The Centre for Leadership will conduct research that delivers a deeper understanding of leader character; effective leadership within organizations; and equity, diversity, inclusion, and decolonization in leadership. 

Diverse women are vastly underrepresented in organizational leadership; a deeper understanding is needed of the organizational practices that allow inequities to persist. Research projects within the Centre will identify which organizational practices and approaches are most effective in addressing and removing barriers to organizational leadership for those facing discrimination, based on their multiple and intersecting individual social identities such as gender identity, race, religion, culture, social class and disabilities (known as intersectionality).

Only by understanding the barriers to effective and inclusive leadership can we transform the traditional power structures that keep diverse leaders from boardrooms, senior management roles, and governments. 

We will:

• Produce relevant research that addresses current leadership problems and influences the practice of leadership in all sectors (government, nonprofit, business) and industries
• Create trustworthy research that is rigorous in its diverse methods and acknowledges diverse ways of knowing (e.g., indigenous, arts-based)
• Conduct community-based partnership research that focuses on the most pressing leadership issues for organizations and society and engages those organizations to co-create and execute the research as well as disseminate its findings (e.g., the lived experiences of discrimination in organizational leadership)
• Submit tri-council (government) and other grant applications and seek organizational contributions to fund research projects
• Share results with organizations, funders, and governments, for example how to advance and embed Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Decolonization in organizational leadership

The Centre for Leadership will create, gather, and share resources, and advocate for systemic change.

This work will focus on mobilizing knowledge, policy recommendations, and resources that support advocacy and change. Collaboration builds support and addresses gender inequity, diversity and inclusion, decolonization and reconciliation, and the empowerment of diverse women leaders. 

By sharing knowledge and resources, we have the potential to show boards and careholders how to lead organizations to achieve clear purpose and critical outcomes within a framework of wisdom, justice, compassion, and inclusion.

As a university, Brescia has a responsibility to generate, secure, and share knowledge for present and future generations. 

We will:

• Develop a Learning Network for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion-Decolonization in Organizational Leadership
• Create and gather actionable resources for leader and leadership development
• Serve as a repository to highlight research, statistics, and resources for education and organizations for leader and leadership development that will be accessible to scholars and community leaders alike.
• Advocate systemic changes, including policy recommendations to various governments and agencies, and organizations.