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This paper discusses a model for teaching leadership to first-year students as part of a learning community. It outlines the purpose and structure of the course and presents ideas for how different disciplines could be combined with leadership in learning communities. Teaching leadership to first-year students as part of a learning community instead of a stand-alone course has two distinct advantages. First, when leadership is taught at the freshman level, the early introduction of the topic allows for the possibility of repetition and reinforcements of the concepts, both of which are essential to learning. Second, by teaching leadership in a learning community, instructors and students are able to apply and integrate the concepts of leadership with other areas, thereby increasing learning and retention.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to compare and contrast the leadership major in identified programs from universities in the United States. This was done in an attempt to develop a foundation for the leadership discipline. Utilizing interviews, surveys, websites, and evaluation of school materials as data sources, an initial list of 70 schools was narrowed to 15 upon examination of their academic curricula. A thorough evaluation of these 15 leadership degree programs was then conducted. Noticeable differences included varied school sizes, host departments, and credit hour requirements. Other inconsistencies included the focus of the program, the major scholars evident within the curricula, and the disparity between theory versus skill development. Recommendations include further study of other leadership programs across the nation, examination of leadership graduates in the workforce, and collaboration among leadership programs nationwide.

In the fast pace of the 21^st century there is a demand for effective leaders capable of handling the internal and external changes occurring in our organizations. This paper seeks to inform the reader because change is natural; it is constant; it is inevitable. But, what constitutes effective leadership is the question? The main purpose of this paper is to offer 10 recommendations toward effective leadership that are outcomes of an eclectic leadership approach – Facilitative Social Change Leadership Theory (FSCL). The FSCL approach is a melding of Social Change Theory, Social Change Leadership Theory, and Transformational Leadership Theory as well as the work of Tichy and DeVanna.

This article focuses on the empirical effects of cognitive differentiation and persuasive skills on transformational, transaction, and laissez-faire leadership. Subjects (N = 294) completed measures of independent and dependent variables. Findings confirmed prior findings, however findings some reflected differences. Cognitive differentiation was positively related to transformation leadership (r = .16, p = .038), unrelated to transactional leadership (r = -.02, ns), and negatively related to laissez-faire leadership (r = -.22, p = .002). Findings were nearly identical for the persuasive skills variable showing a positive relationship with transformational leadership (r = .19, p = .021), no relationship with transactional leadership (r = -.007, ns), and negatively related to laissez-faire leadership (r = -.27, p = .001). In a regression analysis cognitive differentiation and persuasive skills accounted for 5.4% of the unique variance of transformation leadership (F = 4.02, df = 2,139, p = .02). Implications to leadership educators were discussed.

The primary purpose of this paper is to call leadership educators to intentionally engage in a conversation regarding how we ensure participants of our programs are learning what we hope they learn. To achieve this principal aim, this paper will (a) briefly examine pressures compelling our discipline to engage in intentional conversations regarding assessment and (b) provide an overview of ways and means of assessment activities.

This paper explores the implications of using Apple co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs as a “paradigm case” of transformational leadership by comparing the practical metadiscourse of remembrances published at the time of his passing to the theoretical metadiscourse of transformational leadership. The authors report the frequency of transformational leadership characteristics that appeared in characterizations of Jobs in the months after his passing in October 2011. Results show that people do remember Jobs as a leader, and as one who possessed three key personal characteristics of a transformational leader: creative, passionate, and visionary. People also remembered Jobs as an innovator, which is not typically associated with transformational leadership but which does reflect the discourse of the consumer electronics industries upon which he had an impact. However, the results also show that two important interpersonal characteristics of a transformational leader were absent in the remembrance discourse: empowering and interactive. The authors discuss the implications of the two missing terms for pedagogy and theorizing, including how problematizing Jobs as a paradigm case might lead to fruitful discussions about the importance of a transformational leader’s engagement with followers.

This study examined the relationship of soft skills gained to the amount of leadership education completed by graduates from the Department of Leadership studies at a Midwestern regional university. Those who received no leadership education were compared with those who received a leadership certificate and those who received a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Leadership. The study provided insight into whether academic leadership education enhances graduate’s soft skill development and assessed the impact this had on their perception of teamwork proficiency. Results indicate that a bachelor’s degree in leadership does make limited significant changes in graduates’ soft skill proficiency as compared with graduates who received a leadership certificate. Multiple significant changes were found in graduates with bachelor’s degrees as compared with graduates who received no leadership coursework.

This study was conducted to explore the motives and experiences of founders of community based nonprofit organizations. The information collected in this study will be useful to extension leadership educators as they work with the leaders in developing and sustaining these organizations that address needs unmet by government or other organizations. The results show these founders have strong motivation influenced by early experiences. They were confident and were able to handle both obstacles and opportunities. They clearly perceived themselves as leaders. The findings of this study will be used to develop a more comprehensive profile of community leaders that start community based nonprofit organizations. Extension leadership educators have an opportunity and a challenge to work with these emerging leaders.

This study examined the relationship of adult 4-H volunteers’ perceived leadership styles of 4-H Youth Development Educators to the adult 4-H volunteer sense of empowerment. There were 498 Oregon adult 4-H volunteers randomly selected to participate. Participants rated the leadership style of their 4-H Youth Development Educator (YDE) using Bass and Avoilio’s (1990) Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire and self assessed their sense of empowerment using Spreitzer’s (19915) Psychological Empowerment Instrument. In the structural model, transformational leadership style was shown to have a significant positive relationship ( = 0.031) to adult 4-H volunteer sense of empowerment. The 4-H YDEs who were rated as using transformational leadership were very likely to be empowering adult 4-H volunteers.