The relationships among students' reports of learning outcomes based on leadership experiences in various types of student organizations and various roles within organizations were investigated. Relationships between demographic variables (i.e., ethnicity, gender, age, and type of housing) and type of organization, role within an organization, and learning outcomes, were also examined. A new instrument, the Student Leadership Learning Outcomes Assessment (SLLOA), was created to measure student generated learning outcomes; it has good internal consistency and validity. The SLLOA was completed by 328 student leaders at a private southeastern university. SLLOA scores indicated student leaders in cultural and service groups reported learning more than student leaders in sports/athletic groups. Vice Presidents and Presidents reported learning more from the leadership experience than Treasurers. Female student leaders reported learning more than male. Relationships were found between ethnicity of student leaders and type of organization and between type of housing (i.e., on campus, off campus without parents/parental figures, off campus with parents/parental figures) and type of organization. There was no relationship between type of organization and leaders' gender and age, or between the role held and leaders' gender, ethnicity, and type of housing. The results revealed no relationship between ethnicity and SLLOA scores.

The aim was to study personal and organizational conditions for first-line nurse managers and to identify and assess the skills and abilities important for leadership and management. Interviews were conducted with 5 first-line nurse managers, 5 registered nurses, 5 assistant nurses and one head of department delineating their perceptions of current and ideal roles of first-line nurse managers. Factor analysis was conducted to estimate validity and reliability of the Leadership and Management Inventory, developed in the context of this thesis, in one sample of 149 registered nurses and one sample of 197 health care personnel. Interviews and questionnaires to study expectations, experiences and outcomes of two different development programmes for 13 first-line nurse managers in a Training Programme, 14 in a Leadership Development Programme and 14 in a Comparison group were conducted. Letters and questionnaires from 32 former first-line nurse managers were analysed to describe their reasons for leaving their posts. First-line nurse managers, registered nurses and assistant nurses’ descriptions of the first-line nurse manager’s role were corresponding; the main focus was on service on the ward. The head of department described the first-line nurse manager’s responsibility towards the staff with focus on development and co-operation. Analysis of the Leadership and Management Inventory resulted in three factors: “interpersonal skills and group management”, “achievement orientation” and “overall organizational view and political savvy”. Validity and reliability were considered acceptable. Expectations concerning the development programmes were generally met; improvements corresponding to the content of the programmes were reported. Reasons to leave were personal, organizational and linked to the relationship with the head of department. Conclusion: The first-line nurse managers’ individual experiences, skills, abilities and ambitions are important, but so are the conditions in which she/he practices her/his leadership and management. It is important that the interplay between person and organization functions well.

In today’s tough business environment the need for good and efficient leaders are becoming more and more important. The businesses are in constant change, the world is more unpredictable and the competences of the employees are much greater today, which also calls for a new type of leader, a leader who not only is authoritarian, but also possesses soft skills. In this environment where there is this greater focus on leaders, leadership developments have emerged and increased in number over the last ten to twenty years. They try to develop leaders in all domains of their life, both professional and personal and the model we work with in this paper is Total Leadership, this model implies that you try to accomplish being a better leader throughout your whole life as a leader, to be whole, genuine and innovative, no matter career or position in life. The purpose with this essay is to investigate the outcome of leadership developments and see whether or not these leaders feel that they have become more efficient leaders. This was done by a qualitative research where we interviewed twelve leaders who had undergone a leadership development at a leadership development company called GestaltPartner. We reached the conclusions that all informants have had great value of the development and feel that they have reached a greater personal development that also reflects on their professional skills that in the end makes them more efficient leaders.

My analysis consists of an in-depth study of the experience of a group of development programme participants who were exposed to the use of art and artistic work in organisation and leadership development, resulting in positive effects. My starting point is creativity as a concept according to paediatrician and psychoanalyst DW Winnicott who stresses how important playing and creativity is for us, even as an adult, for us to utilise our full potential. He believes that we have a psychological space – a crossover area – where the outer, objective reality and the inner, subjective reality meet. Playing, creative development and experiences occur in this space. The purpose of my paper is to investigate art and artistic creation to determine if it can be used in the work environment as a means to provide individuals access to the crossover space, thereby developing creativity and the creative power. Risks have also been addressed within my paper. Art and culture can be brought down to a level where its use is only justifiable in those instances where value and economic benefits can be shown. In my opinion, this risk must be taken seriously. This does not mean, however, that one should not work across borders. This is about letting art and culture provide value in the leadership and organisation development by concurrently complementing logical and rationale methods, plans, and decision-making with the goal of striving to maintain the integrity and autonomy of the artistic endeavours.

Today’s youth are tomorrow’s leaders’, and for that reason, it is considered important by researchers and practitioners alike to understand how to develop effective leadership skills and characteristics. The purpose of this research was to explore concepts of leadership including leadership development (LD) within an international development through sport context. The Commonwealth Games Association of Canada’s (CGC) International Development through Sport (IDS) administration team created a program called the Capacity Support Program (CSP). The CSP is an internship program offered to recent university graduates to assist in various initiatives intended on building sporting capacity within partnering Commonwealth countries. Participants also known as Capacity Support Officer’s (CSO’s) were immersed within an international environment with a host sport organization (e.g., Barbados National Olympic Committee) for approximately fourteen-months. In this study, interviews were conducted with IDS administrators to clarify and provide further detailed information about the program. In addition, archival material (e.g., pre-departure training manual, website articles, DVDs), interviews with CSO’s, and a debrief focus group session with the CSO’s which discussed their experiences and the various concepts of leadership and LD within an international development through sport context was conducted. Data was recorded and transcribed verbatim. A grounded theory approach, specifically the inductive coding technique was utilized throughout the content analysis procedure. Findings showed that concepts of leadership and LD were 1) a fundamental component of the program and 2) linked to various existing literature on leadership theories (e.g., authentic leadership). Further, findings demonstrated the program design and training were significant components of LD and that the cross-cultural context accelerated LD. These findings and others will culminate in a discussion regarding future studies of leadership and LD.

In this thesis, in which I use the stand-alone paper format, I employ a Foucauldian lens to examine Alberta’s Future Leaders (AFL), an Aboriginal youth leadership development program. In the first paper, I identify how power relations shape AFL, including its ambitions and struggles towards developing sustainable programming. In the second paper, I examine AFL’s cross-cultural approach to mentorship and the ways in which failing to address issues of culture (re)produces colonial relations of power. Overall, my findings highlight the importance of recognizing and problematizing the power relations at work within Aboriginal youth leadership development initiatives.

Some school divisions find themselves with a limited number of qualified applicants for administration positions. Aspirants require suggestions of and guidance toward effective leadership training programs and supports. A clear understanding of essential leadership skills may create an incentive for classroom teachers to apply for administration positions and potentially decrease the strain on school divisions. Selection and suitability of qualified candidates applying for vacancies will diminish school boards struggles to fill administrative vacancies. <p>The purpose of this case study was to describe what administrative personnel superintendents, principals, and vice principals in one Saskatchewan urban school division consider essential skills for classroom teachers to develop as a means to position themselves as future school administrators. Furthermore, the case study set out to identify appropriate leadership development programs and supports to assist aspiring administrators in leadership development. This study aspired to isolate programs that practicing administrators in the school division posited as most useful in their own skill acquisition and development.<p>A mixed-methods survey questionnaire was administered to 117 administrators of one Saskatchewan urban school division. The administrators insights and expertise as to the essential skills required to be an effective administrator will assist classroom teachers prepare for the potential of becoming formal leaders. Forty percent of this group responded to the survey. Data from this case study were compared to a similar case study conducted by John Daresh (1994) in the United States.<p>Participants believed aspiring administrators must develop self-awareness skills to be effective educational leaders and must be offered appropriate leadership programs and supports through which aspirants could develop essential leadership skills. Even though the majority of respondents suggested self-awareness skills were essential to develop for effective leadership, they posited the importance of also developing technical and social skills. This case study found that while a commonality of skills were identified by participants as essential, it was extremely important for aspiring administrators, with the assistance of their school board, to build on their own personal leadership strengths.

Every year, the Chief Executive Group compiles a list of "Best Companies for Leadership Development" that measures corporations against a variety of leadership criteria. Though some organizations move on or off the list from year to year, a handful has consistently ranked in the top 10 for several consecutive years. Coincidentally, these companies also happen to be among the most respected and most profitable. Research has shown that workforce commitment, innovation, and engagement are driving factors in productivity and profitability. More recent research has shown that effective management and strong leaders are the driving factors in an engaged and productive workforce. In light of this, the purpose of this literature review is to draw connections between leadership, an effective workforce, and profitability. General Electric and Procter & Gamble are two organizations that have consistently ranked in the top of a wide variety of lists. As giants of leadership development, these two corporations are analyzed in order to better understand the specific, innovative practices employed to foster a strong leadership pool. Furthermore, this review investigates how the effective leaders build a culture of worker engagement and commitment.

Today’s youth are tomorrow’s leaders’, and for that reason, it is considered important by researchers and practitioners alike to understand how to develop effective leadership skills and characteristics. The purpose of this research was to explore concepts of leadership including leadership development (LD) within an international development through sport context. The Commonwealth Games Association of Canada’s (CGC) International Development through Sport (IDS) administration team created a program called the Capacity Support Program (CSP). The CSP is an internship program offered to recent university graduates to assist in various initiatives intended on building sporting capacity within partnering Commonwealth countries. Participants also known as Capacity Support Officer’s (CSO’s) were immersed within an international environment with a host sport organization (e.g., Barbados National Olympic Committee) for approximately fourteen-months. In this study, interviews were conducted with IDS administrators to clarify and provide further detailed information about the program. In addition, archival material (e.g., pre-departure training manual, website articles, DVDs), interviews with CSO’s, and a debrief focus group session with the CSO’s which discussed their experiences and the various concepts of leadership and LD within an international development through sport context was conducted. Data was recorded and transcribed verbatim. A grounded theory approach, specifically the inductive coding technique was utilized throughout the content analysis procedure. Findings showed that concepts of leadership and LD were 1) a fundamental component of the program and 2) linked to various existing literature on leadership theories (e.g., authentic leadership). Further, findings demonstrated the program design and training were significant components of LD and that the cross-cultural context accelerated LD. These findings and others will culminate in a discussion regarding future studies of leadership and LD.

An adoption model was proposed to examine the influence of four types of organizational factors- organizational capacity, organizational structure, operating environment and grantmaking orientation- on the adoption of four effectiveness best practices, formal evaluation, knowledge management, leadership development and operating grants in philanthropic foundations. Data were collected from a national survey of foundations and the Foundation Center database. The results indicate that the grantmaking orientation of a foundation is the greatest indicator of adoptive behavior. Furthermore, capacity constraints are most relevant to the adoption decision when the adopting practice requires significant investments of time, money and expertise. Given the social and political context in which the effectiveness best practices are associated, this dissertation research has broad relevance for the ways in which foundation behavior is perceived and the means by which that behavior is shaped through policy and practice.