A student takes a photo of herself in a large group of students at a leadership development event

About BOLD

Message from the Director + BOLD Framework

Message from the Director

At Belmont every office, college, department and community partner has a hand in student leadership development. The cross-collaborative experiences and opportunities provided both in and outside of the classroom are exactly what each student needs to be equipped to engage and make the world better.

The Belmont Office of Leadership Development (BLD) offers a values-driven, theoretically sound, student-focused, comprehensive, multi-level, competency based leadership development framework and program(s) for all students.

As a Christian institution of learning and service, we seek to follow Jesus’ example of servant leadership as we engage and transform the world. Hebrews 4:16 teaches that we should come boldly to God's throne to receive mercy and grace in times of need. We will certainly need God's help as we serve together each day.

The BOLD values of service, experience, and ethics will guide us as we guide students through the process of collegiate leadership development. We believe that every Belmont student can learn and practice leadership and be transformative servant leaders. In short, every student can be BOLD and we can all help.

It is my hope that every Belmont student will take advantage of the numerous leadership development opportunities afforded to them through BOLD and across this campus. Whether you are a third year student in the College of Architecture, Art and Design or a first year graduate student in the College of Pharmacy, there are countless opportunities for individual growth and development.

Embrace and enjoy the process!

Dr. AdriAnne Sternberg

Associate Dean of Students, Director of Leadership & Engagement

BOLD Leadership Framework

Belmont is committed to preparing and empowering undergraduate and graduate students with a toolbox of leadership skills and experiences through a seamless, integrated, high-impact leadership development presence in both curricular and co-curricular spaces.
The BOLD framework is uniquely Belmont and will ensure that all students have access to leadership development experiences and opportunities.

The framework includes BOLD's Graduate Opportunities in Leadership Development- "The GOLD Experience": customizable leadership development opportunities designed for working professionals or full-time graduate students who have the desire to enhance their capacity to lead and serve ethically.

Program Models and Theories

While there is much to be learned from a variety of leadership theories, the BOLD framework is rooted in Greenleaf’s (1970, 1977) theory of servant leadership and Burns's (1978) and Bass’s (1999) theory of transformational leadership.

Guided by Jesus’ model of servant leadership, the social change model and the relational leadership model each go hand-in-hand to serve as what Dugan (2017) and Gittrell (2006) call reference points for capacity building through the interrelated dimensions of knowing (i.e., knowledge acquisition), being (i.e., attitude and belief formation), and doing (i.e., skills and ability development).

These theories and models have been strategically aligned with the Council for the Advancement of Standards (CAS) in Higher Education and the Belmont mission, vision and values to create the theoretical and philosophical framework for leadership development at Belmont- BOLD.

Competency-based leadership development experiences are offered to all Belmont students.

Students engaged in leadership development will be able to lead, communicate, and serve ethically, resiliently, collaboratively and inclusively. The values-driven, multi-level framework will be used to align leadership development programs and opportunities across campus. Each level of engagement focuses on one or more of the BOLD competencies and will help form diverse leaders of wisdom, character, purpose, and transformational mindset.

BOLD Competency Objectives

  • Upholds and respects the standards of conduct based on socially accepted values of Belmont and society
  • Learns to act in a way that promotes productive functioning and well-being of oneself and others

  • Understands and demonstrates the ability to recover after a setback
  • Embraces feedback and is able to respond positively in the face of ambiguity and change

  • Uses strategies to work with others toward common objectives through sharing and listening to ideas and distributing responsibilities across team members
  • Promotes and values the success of the group over individual recognition
  • Motivates, empowers and trusts others to make meaningful contributions to the team

  • Understands, values, and engages others in roles, processes, and experiences
  • Understands and promotes the importance of having exposure to people from different backgrounds, beliefs and experiences
  • Intentionally creates a welcoming environment for others
  • Encourages and promotes a sense of belonging and/or shared commitment for others

  • Practices strategies to effectively communicate with others, one on one, in groups, and/or in front of a large audience verbally, nonverbally, through listening, writing, facilitation, social media, conflict negotiation, conveying of ideas, and advocating for a point of view
  • Informs, inspires, influences, counsels and negotiates through various delivery methods.

  • Acts in ways that benefit, not detract from the welfare of society and its members
  • Finds and creates meaningful ways to personally and/or professionally participate in service that positively contributes to their community
  • Prioritizes putting others first
  • Maintains a thriving community through servant-leadership, active citizenship, civic engagement, and service-learning