Real Leadership Starts With Knowing Yourself First

Just because someone earns a promotion doesn’t mean they automatically have the skills to lead and manage others. Employees are often promoted because they excel in their roles and demonstrate strong technical expertise. Yet many step into leadership positions without receiving training in how to be an effective leader.

It’s a challenge that Franklin Ellis helps students address through his Transformational Leadership elective course in Furman’s Master of Arts in Advocacy and Social Policy (MAP) program.

Drawing on his background in mental health studies and social psychology, Ellis approaches leadership through the lens of human development and relationships. He shows students how to lead in ways that value employees as people, not just positions on an organizational chart.

“The work isn’t the hard part,” Ellis says. “The hard part is leading and managing people.”

The course explores the principles and practices of transformational leadership in advocacy and social policy. Students learn how to lead effectively and ethically in a variety of organizational and community settings. As part of that work, students also examine leadership frameworks.

Students start the course with a sensory introduction. Instead of a name and major, they describe themselves through their senses, like “I am sweet tea on a hot day.” That small act of vulnerability sets the tone for the whole class. From there, students write a leadership statement built on their gifts, identities, purpose and strengths. They identify what they value at work, then examine whether their leadership actually reflects those values. Following that, they name which leadership style fits them best. By the end of the course, students rewrite their original leadership statement. They reinforce it with concrete examples of who they are as leaders now and where they want to grow.

That progression reflects the leadership style the course is built upon. Unlike transactional leadership, which relies on an exchange of rewards based on performance, transformational leadership doesn’t rely on a simple exchange. Everyone is lifted up together, motivated by a shared, compelling vision.

Even for students who don’t see themselves as transformational leaders, understanding their own leadership style is valuable. It helps them become more intentional with how they interact with others. After all, leadership affects all people. Whether someone leads a team, contributes to an organization or serves within a community, their actions affect the people around them.

Ellis works to make the classroom a safe space for vulnerability. Students are encouraged to be humble and talk through areas holding them back. Rather than viewing leadership in isolation, the course acknowledges that people bring their full selves, including their experiences, strengths and challenges, to their work and relationships. The classroom reflects that same reality. Students come in carrying their own personal struggles and experiences, and they learn to work through them before they can truly lead. Ellis describes this as “real leadership,” where students lead from a place of truth rather than fear.

“I give them permission just to have room to be all of who they are without hesitation, reservation or question,” Ellis says.  “In this space, you get room to be all of yourself.”

Ellis hopes students leave the course with an understanding that leadership impacts people, organizations and communities. That impact occurs regardless of whether the leadership is good, bad or somewhere in the middle. Recognizing that responsibility is central to the course and to the growth students experience throughout it. The lessons students learn in Transformational Leadership extend beyond leadership frameworks and classroom discussions. Its emphasis on self-awareness, empathy and human connection reflects the broader values at the heart of the MAP program.

“The MAP program is vital because it reminds us of the need for community and the need to be good to each other and see people’s humanity,” Ellis says.