Concept

The Springfield Emerging Leaders Lab is a collaborative coaching initiative designed to help college students strengthen leadership awareness, communication skills, and practical decision-making abilities as they prepare for professional careers.

Facilitated by two experienced professional coaches with backgrounds in federal leadership, diplomacy, communications, and organizational development, the Lab emphasizes guided coaching conversations, reflection, and real-world leadership scenarios rather than traditional lectures.

The goal is to help students move from academic preparation to real leadership readiness by practicing leadership thinking in a supportive coaching environment.

What Students Gain

Students participate in a guided leadership development experience that helps them:

• develop greater self-awareness about how they lead
• strengthen communication and collaboration skills
• practice navigating team conflict and complex situations
• build confidence in leadership decision-making
• clarify career direction and leadership identity

Students leave the program with a clearer understanding of their leadership strengths and a personal leadership development roadmap.

What Universities Gain

Universities benefit by strengthening leadership development and career readiness for their students.

The coaching lab can support:

• leadership development programs
• honors colleges
• student government leaders
• entrepreneurship programs
• graduate leadership programs
• career readiness initiatives

The program complements academic learning by giving students structured opportunities to apply leadership concepts in real situations.

Pilot Program

Emerging Leaders Coaching Cohort

Participants
8–12 students

Format
Five sessions (90 minutes each)

Delivery
In person or hybrid

Example Session Themes

1. Leadership Identity

2. Motivations & Values

3. Communication & Influence

4. Conflict & Collaboration

5. Personal Leadership Roadmap

Leadership diagnostics such as the Strength Deployment Inventory (SDI) may be incorporated to help students better understand their motivations, relationship dynamics, and leadership tendencies.

Measurable Outcomes

The Emerging Leaders Coaching Lab is designed to produce observable student development outcomes aligned with university leadership and career readiness goals.

Students may demonstrate growth in:

• leadership self-awareness
• communication and collaboration skills
• conflict navigation
• decision-making confidence
• career and leadership clarity

Program impact may be evaluated through

• pre- and post-program reflection surveys
• participant feedback
• leadership self-assessment tools
• facilitator observations
• student leadership action plans

Participating institutions may receive a brief program summary describing key outcomes and leadership themes observed during the cohort.

Potential University Partners

This type of program could be offered to students at institutions such as:

• Missouri State University
• Drury University
• Evangel University
• Ozarks Technical Community College

The initiative could support leadership development programs, honors cohorts, student organizations, and career readiness efforts.

Program Funding Model

Universities often fund leadership development through student leadership offices, honors programs, or career development initiatives.

Example Cohort Model

Participants: 8–12 students
Sessions: 5 sessions (90 minutes each)
Facilitators: Two professional coaches

Example program range:
$3,500 – $5,000 per cohort

This typically includes:

• program facilitation
• leadership diagnostics (if used)
• program preparation and materials
• summary outcomes report for the university

Coaching Team

Mario Ortiz
Founder, The Chestnut Group

Executive coach and former Senior Executive Service leader with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Mario brings decades of leadership experience mentoring professionals, leading complex organizations, and developing leadership communication and decision-making skills.

Ronda Dorsey
Founder, Hellbender Coach

Leadership coach and strategic communicator with more than fifteen years of experience across federal systems, nonprofit leadership, and national leadership development programs. Her work focuses on helping leaders navigate complexity and translate insight into practical action.

Purpose of This Concept

This page serves as a starting point for discussion about collaborating to develop leadership coaching opportunities for university students in the Springfield region.

The goal is to explore how professional coaching can complement existing university leadership and career readiness programs.