ongoing
Leadership LAB Project
principal investigator / project leader
Ph.D. / Assistant Professor
business psychologist, facilitator, trainer and coach, specializing in management, leadership, effective communication, facilitation and conflict resolution
funding source: SWPS University
discipline: management and quality studies
location: Warsaw
duration: 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
The Leadership LAB was established in 2019, as an initiative of the Acts of Leadership research team working at SWPS University’s International Center for Research on Leadership in Warsaw. It is an interdisciplinary project, comprising three linked modules, including development, education, and research. Leadership LAB is carried out under the auspices of the Department of Management at the Faculty of Social Sciences in Warsaw.
Project objectives
The main goals of the project include:
- Creating a friendly environment for the participants of the project, i.e., new generation leaders, which include young people from the generation “Z” and Millenials, who are mostly students of SWPS University’s Management and Leadership program
- Teaching the concept of Leadership in Action and the Acts of Leadership model as key concepts enabling the participants to undertake grass-roots and leadership initiatives.
- Enabling students to create, develop and present their artistic, research, technological, business, educational and community projects.
Development areas
Thanks to its interdisciplinary character, the Leadership LAB project provides students with an opportunity for development in three key areas:
- Developing personal potential (discovering creative talents and developing leadership potential)
- Expanding and deepening their knowledge related to various aspects of leadership (e.g. learning about the Acts of Leadership Model and the Leadership in Action concept)
- Conducting research experiments (such as testing new ideas and hypothesis, engaging in creative experimentation, formulating assumptions for future research projects as well as developing and implementing ideas for business, social, cross-cultural, educational, creative, and technological projects).
Leadership LAB is based on the fundamentals of democracy, dialogue and values such as openness, diversity, creativity, innovation, respect, supporting each other in development, effective team work, responsibility, and courage in undertaking new challenges.
Implementation phases:
Leadership LAB is an open formula project, comprised of the following phases:
- Getting to know other participants of the project; building relationships based on trust, being open to new experiences, and providing mutual support.
- Sharing knowledge and experience concerning leadership, best practices of studying, and learning the concept of Leadership in Action and the Acts of Leadership model.
- Developing design teams that work on projects and then present them in front of the Leadership LAB participants and at the Final Gala of the Acts of Leadership Awards.
- Conducting research experiments concerning various aspects of leadership, testing new ideas and hypothesis, engaging in creative experimentation, formulating assumptions for future research projects as well as developing and implementing ideas for business, social, cross-cultural, educational, creative, and technological projects.
- Publishing articles, monographs, analysis, and reports. Presenting student projects at various university and other events, such as conferences, symposia, science festivals, etc..
Formats and methods
At Leadership LAB we use different teaching formats ensure the best learning environment for our students. We carry out development workshops (led also by project participants), individual and group mentoring sessions, experimental sessions (for idea testing), and series of open, themed workshops such as “Spread your Wings and Fly”. Our students work in project teams. The key methodology that we employ during workshops is “Experiential Learning”.
Project team
project initiator and supervisor
Participants of the Leadership LAB include mostly students of Zarządzanie i Przywództwo and Management and Leadership programs at SWPS University, and students of other programs, such as Psychology in Business, Design, Cultural Studies, Journalism, Computer and Information studies, English Studies, and Psychology. We also welcome doctoral students from SWPS University’s Doctoral School and students from other universities, who are interested in the topic of leadership. Thanks to such openness, diversity, and interdisciplinary character, the project participants have an opportunity to share knowledge, experience, and support each other in development.
Key projects and initiatives
To learn more about the winners of Acts of Leadership Awards, download a complete list of projects .