Laurier team places third in Collegiate Leadership Competition Global Finals

June 4, 2024

Re-creating a mural of a parrot by memory using Post-it notes. Building a free-standing structure out of Oreos and Pringles. Deciphering a list of 100 emojis that, when listed together, create meaning.

These are just some of the challenges Wilfrid Laurier University’s Collegiate Leadership Competition (CLC) team faced on its way to a third-place finish at the CLC Global Finals this spring. It was the highest showing ever for Laurier’s team and the fourth consecutive year it has been the top Canadian team among a field of 20 six-person teams from across North America.

The CLC tests leadership, communication, problem-solving and decision-making skills by challenging teams to complete six activities in 40-minute increments. The competition serves as a practice field for students learning about leadership and followership styles, creative problem solving, conflict resolution and teamwork.

“Learning leadership theories and frameworks is an important step, but the real test of that knowledge is the ability to apply it outside the classroom,“ says Lisa Kuron, assistant professor in Laurier’s Leadership program. “The CLC creates space for students to practice leading, following, and working together to achieve goals, and helps them develop the confidence in themselves, and their colleagues, to tackle any challenge they face.”

The third-place finish at the CLC Global Finals comes on the heels of a second-place finish for Laurier’s Waterloo CLC team and a third-place finish for Laurier’s Brantford CLC team at the Canadian Invitational Scrimmage, which was held on Laurier’s Brantford campus in March. The Waterloo team then proceeded to the Global Finals.

At Laurier, training for CLC is part of OL401, Leadership Skills: Practice and Application, a fourth-year course in Laurier’s Leadership program offered in Waterloo and Brantford. The course curriculum is modelled on the CLC’s leadership skills curriculum and includes a strong focus on deliberate practice and experiential learning.

“We teach students to be collaborative, innovative and creative,” says Kris Gerhardt, associate professor in the Leadership program. “These are qualities that will serve them well beyond academia and for the rest of their lives.”

Learn more about Laurier’s participation in the Collegiate Leadership Competition.

Learn more about Laurier’s Leadership program.