Student Leadership Development: Teaching Ethical Decision-Making - Fatema Haque and Dorine Lawrence-Hughes

Full transcript and show notes: https://www.sharnafabiano.com/2026/07/29/student-leadership-development-teaching-ethical-decision-making-fatema-haque-and-dorine-lawrence-hughes/

Most leadership education focuses on how to become a leader. Fatema Haque and Dorine Lawrence-Hughes explore what happens when students are also taught how to participate responsibly in groups, make independent choices, and hold leaders accountable. Through their work at the University of Michigan, they are introducing students to a broader understanding of leadership that includes agency, critical thinking, and ethical action.

Fatema Haque is Academic Program Manager and LEO Adjunct Lecturer at the Barger Leadership Institute at the University of Michigan. Dorine Lawrence-Hughes is Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Education at the University of Michigan. Together, they are involved in integrating followership education into the Barger Leadership Institute curriculum to prepare students for professional and community environments where collaboration, accountability, and judgment matter.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why leadership programs need to teach students how to question and support decisions
• How student agency changes the way young people approach group work
• What ethical participation looks like before someone holds formal authority
• How universities can prepare students for real-world teamwork and decision-making
• Why students often find the idea of responsible participation surprisingly powerful

Episode Resources 

Barger Leadership Institute, University of Michigan
https://lsa.umich.edu/bli

Barbara Kellerman, Bad Leadership
https://www.amazon.com/Bad-Leadership-Happens-Matters-Common/dp/1591391660

Ira Chaleff, The Courageous Follower
https://www.amazon.com/Courageous-Follower-Standing-Our-Leaders/dp/1605092738

Basil Read, Read & Read Leadership and Management Consultants, LLC
https://www.read-read.com/

Marc and Samantha Hurwitz, Leadership is Half the Story
http://www.teachingfollowerscourage.com

Brazen Communication
https://brazencommunication.com/