The International Leadership Association (ILA) stands as a global platform connecting scholars and practitioners who are shaping the future of leadership worldwide. With a membership spanning countries and cultures, the ILA holds international conferences on a rotating schedule, alternating between the Americas and Europe, fostering a truly global exchange of ideas. Dr. Cris Wildermuth, Associate Professor of Education & Program Director of the B.S. in Organizational Leadership, has engaged with the ILA since 2010 and has actively connected with thought leaders who are redefining the field. This year, she was honored to take part in four enriching events at the ILA conference, each exploring a unique facet of leadership and its evolving challenges.

Walking the Ethical Tightrope: Leadership Education Challenges in the Age of AI

The conference began with a full-day pre-conference workshop she co-presented with experts Mary Tabata, Kevin Bottomley, and Dan Jenkins, focusing on the ethical complexities AI introduces to leadership education. AI, while powerful, presents a “tightrope” for educators: balancing transformative benefits with ethical considerations. This hands-on workshop encouraged participants to delve into the dual role AI plays in advancing student learning while also necessitating strict ethical boundaries. 

Applied Ethics and AI: Using Case Studies to Champion Inclusive Leadership

In a collaborative workshop with Angela Craig, Debby Flickinger, and Monique Herard, she examined how leaders can navigate the ethical challenges posed by AI. With AI’s presence expected to disrupt numerous industries, leaders today face difficult questions on issues like job displacement, workplace surveillance, and bias amplification. Using real-world case studies, they delved into moral dilemmas AI can create and explored how ethical theories provide frameworks for addressing them. The presenters also showed participants how to use AI to enhance ethics case studies and involve students in case study creation. This session underscored the necessity of equipping future leaders with the skills to manage AI’s potential consequences and provided tools for educators to incorporate these scenarios into their curricula.

Playing with a Moral Purpose: Using Games to Enhance Moral Leadership and Followership

As chair of this panel, Dr. Wildermuth facilitated a discussion with panelists Kevin Bottomley, Claire Muselman, and Marguerite Wildermuth on how serious games can enrich ethics education. Games provide a unique avenue for students to engage with ethical concepts, fostering intrinsic motivation and experiential learning. Together, they shared innovative ways of integrating games into leadership and ethics training, particularly for Gen Z and Millennial learners. This discussion underscored the educational power of gamification in making abstract ethical theories more tangible, meaningful, and memorable.

Pop Followership: Developing Effective Followership Practices Through Popular Culture

Serving as panel chair, this event explored how popular culture can illuminate the principles of effective followership. Alongside Aditya Simha, Mariah Yates, Pelin Kohn, and Marguerite Wildermuth, they discussed how TV series, movies, and video games can foster connections with followership concepts, making them relatable to students. This approach leverages common cultural experiences to build discussions and foster practice in leadership development. 

Each of these events underscored the importance of evolving leadership approaches in response to societal and technological changes and reaffirmed the necessity of fostering ethical and forward-thinking leaders prepared to navigate the complex world of tomorrow.