My continuing journey of leadership: application of lessons learned

The author is the dean of a School of Nursing and has had to make major leadership decisions throughout her career during her tenure as an administrator. In one of the schools in which she has served, comprehensive examinations were an issue for students, faculty, and administrators. When comprehensive examinations were failed, students were dismissed in accordance with school policy. In several situations regarding appeals of the dismissals, students were given the opportunity to participate in the academic review process. In one instance, the students wrote a letter to the author who relied on the teachings of Project LEAD to evaluate the situation objectively. Based on her evaluation, the author decided the students had valid criticisms. The decision to allow the students to remain enrolled was contrary to the culture of the school, which blamed the students for failure. The author decided to use lessons from Project LEAD to guide her in making a decision.