JOLE

From the Editor’s Clipboard
Volume 10, Number 1 - Winter 2011

All Leadership Programs are Not Created Equal

Has the word leadership become trite? Has its meaning become diluted through overuse and misuse? This is a “soapbox” item for me. Here is an example.

A faculty member from another department visited with several leadership faculty in my department last month. He was soliciting our support for a certificate program the dean had tasked him with developing. The certificate was being developed for graduate students seeking a focus in the equine industry. The 15 hour program was titled the Equine Industry Management and Leadership Certificate. It consisted of a core of equine courses, three management electives, and one leadership course. We suggested dropping “leadership” from the title due to the minimal leadership content in the program.

There is a tendency to slap the “leadership” label on programs that are not grounded in leadership theory or leadership development. An example is From The Top’s Arts Leadership Program based in Boston. This program encourages young musicians to” work with community partners to take their music beyond the concert hall, making a difference and inspiring others to do the same.” The Arts Leadership Abilene’s website describes art leadership as:

1. Getting to know other young musicians and creating a connection
2. Sharing your talent and giving back
3. Inspiring others

Another example is the Tending the Fire Leadership Program of the Munsee Delaware Nation. “Course requirements included making fire using flint, fashioning a bow and arrow, and healing work, some of which involves behavioral modification. Traditional ceremonies such as the sweat lodge are part of the culture-based curriculum.”

While these are marvelous programs that help their participants grow and strive towards their potential, they are not “leadership” programs. They contain little or no purposeful effort to develop leadership skills in participants.

Richard Greenwald (2010), Dean of Graduate Studies at Drew University, thinks that part of the problem is that leadership is an amorphous term. As Stogdill noted, "[There are] almost as many definitions of leadership as there are persons who have attempted to define the concept" (1974, p.259). I’m not sure that the plethora of definitions is the issue as much as that many people simply have never tried to define leadership; therefore, any type of self-improvement falls under the leadership umbrella.

Blogger Brian Hendricks (2010) noted that much of the problem is that people use the word leadership when describing management practices. Such was the case of the faculty member seeking support for the equine certificate. When asked what he thought the graduates of his program would be able to do, he described management behaviors such as staffing, planning, and budgeting. Bennis and others have clearly delineated the difference between leadership and management behaviors (Northouse, 2010).

When self-improvement programs use the leadership label, this further dilutes the meaning of the word. With such a dearth of ethical leadership today, there is a need for leadership education/ development programs at every level of society, from youth to business executives. As Whitney and D’Andrea (2007) note, being an effective leader is not something that one arrives at, but is a process that one emerges from. As a leadership profession, what is our role in separating true leadership programs from the wannabes? As authors and reviewers, let us be guardians of the “leadership” label.

References

Greenwald, R. (2010). Today’s Students Need Leadership Training Like Never Before. Chronicle of Higher Education, (online).

Hendricks, B. (2010). Leadership vs. management. Retrieved from http://meggamiracles.com/leadership-versus-management/.

Northouse, P.G. (2010). Leadership: Theory & practice. (5 th ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications.

Whitney, R. & D’Andrea, L.M. (2007). The process of becoming a leader: An individual identity model. Vistas. Retrieved from http://counselingoutfitters.com/vistas/vistas07/Whitney.htm.

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Research and Theory Features

The Intersection Between Soft Skill Development and Leadership Education
Research reported by Christie Brungardt indicates the need for college graduates entering the workforce to have soft skill development such as communication, teamwork and interpersonal skills. A survey of graduates with varying levels of leadership education was conducted to determine soft skill development and the results were compared across groups. Findings indicate the need for further research in this area.

You Are What You Read: Inside Leadership Texts
Leadership texts, both academic and popular culture, were examined in this research presented by Harris, Bruce and Jones. Texts were evaluated, categorized and compared, leading to the finding that academic texts, while more through in content, were more difficult to read than those written for non-academic consumption. Recommendations for leadership educators related to text book selection and teaching style are given.

Learning to Lead at 5, 267 feet: An Empirical Study of Outdoor Management Training and MBA Students’ Leadership Development
Adding an experiential learning component to an MBA class, in this case an outdoor experience, increased participants’ leadership development, as reported by Kass and Grandzol. Students participated in a Leadership On The Edge program where they applied leadership concepts as they climbed a mountain as a team. Students reported the experience as being transformative, implying that adding an experiential component to the classroom can pay great dividends in student learning.

Bridging Brown County: Captivating Social Capital as a Means to Community Change
Rasmussen, Armstrong and Chazdon report on an Extension leadership development program that focused on social and human capital development. A retrospective survey revealed that community members increased their leadership skills and attitudes, as well as built social capital, as a result of the program.

The Overlap Between Emotional Intelligence and Post-Industrial Leadership Capacity: A Construct Validity Analysis
Examining the relationship between the emotional intelligence of undergraduate students with their post-industrial leadership skills is the focus of research presented by Rosch, Joseph and Newman. Results from Emotional Intelligence and Socially Responsible Leadership Scale instruments were compared and found that constructs within each are related, yet distinct.

Idea and Application Briefs

Preparation for Full Time Employment: A Capstone Experience for Students in Leadership Programs
Gifford, Cannon, Stedman, and Telg also present a capstone experience for undergraduate leadership majors. With a focus on career development, in addition to concept and skill assimilation, the course provides students an alternative to the traditional internship capstone experience.

Perception is Reality: Your Strengths Matter
Donna Jackson presents a brief that encourages leaders to look within themselves and to followers’ perceptions to determine their personal strengths. She suggests that knowing personal strengths is important before leaders seek to develop future leaders and will lead to a more authentic approach to leadership.

Leadership for Dummies: A Capstone Project for Leadership Students
A culminating project for undergraduate students in a leadership major is presented by Moore, Odom, and Wied. Based on developing three of Gardner’s “5 minds for the future,” the Leadership for Dummies assignment allows students to showcase three foundational leadership concepts in an applied format. Initial reactions indicate that students are assimilating concepts as a result of the project.

Commentary

Power-Filled Lessons for Leadership Educators from Paulo Freire
Paul Kaak presents the teacher, philosopher and practitioner Paulo Freire in his commentary. Kaak describes Freire’s educational philosophies and how they can be used to teach leadership, based on one’s own personal philosophy of leadership. Examples of this type of teaching are given as well as recommendations for implementation.

The Benefit of Negative Examples: What We Can Learn About Leadership from the Taliban
Douglas Lindsay provides a thought provoking commentary using the Taliban as a negative example of leadership. As an Air Force officer deployed to Afghanistan, Lindsay offers his observations of leadership principles used ineffectively within the Taliban and suggests utilizing his examples as a current event topic in leadership classrooms.