2026 Warren Bennis Leadership Experience brings together student, professional leaders
Ninth annual student-run event fosters wide-ranging leadership dialogue
The 2026 Warren Bennis Leadership Experience united student and professional leaders and Warren Bennis Leadership Institute champions and alumni on March 26.
Gathered at Hotel Celare, a short walk from the institute’s headquarters at the University of Cincinnati’s Steger Student Life Center, attendees of the ninth annual Warren Bennis Leadership Experience (WBLE) enjoyed an evening of conversation and connection.
Over dinner, institute facilitators guided small group discussions about what leadership looks like in practice, overlooked leadership qualities and key characteristics possessed by effective leaders.
Attendees connected over leadership-centered, small group discussions.
Participants were encouraged to connect these ideas to their own experiences, reflect on how they show up as leaders and consider personal growth opportunities. The event supplied students with space to engage directly with professionals, hear differing perspectives and take part in meaningful and impactful conversations.
Attendees also heard from Kate Bennis, Warren Bennis’s daughter and chair of the Warren Bennis Leadership Advisory Council.
“Over dinner, my dad would put questions under people’s plates. And they were specifically for them. Tonight, I invite you all to enjoy these questions, and to think about how we can use questions as leaders, and questions and curiosity to lead.”
Student leaders’ crucible moments
Warren Bennis Leadership Institute student fellows, staff, leadership and graduate research assistants.
Anaya Joshi, BBA ’26, president of the institute’s WBLE and Alumni teams, recalled attending her initial Experience in 2023 on the advice of her first-year PACE leader. Joshi touched on how her role as president forced her to face moments of doubt, pressure and reflection.
“I learned that leadership is not about titles or visibility. It is about confronting your uncertainties, making decisions when clarity feels out of reach and growing into responsibility long before you feel fully ready,” Joshi said.
Skylar Lundeen, BBA ’26, vice president of the WBLE and Alumni teams and the institute’s Student Programming Fellow, detailed her first interaction with the institute at a UC Involvement Fair and battling imposter syndrome.
“Every single person in this room has the capacity to lead,” Lundeen said. “Not someday. Not after another class, another role or another title — but right now. The question is not whether you are ready. It’s whether you are willing.”
Featured image: Members of the Warren Bennis Leadership Experience team and Warren Bennis Leadership Institute Alumni team. Photos/Dave Bauer.
Warren Bennis Leadership Institute Student Fellow Nick Steinert contributed to this article.
Join the Warren Bennis Leadership Institute
The Warren Bennis Leadership Institute was founded to offer leadership development opportunities to all UC students through workshops, cohort programs, courses and events. Enhance your development across self-leadership, active followership and leading others.
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