How to Develop Youths Into Tomorrows Leaders Dissertation or Thesis Complete

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Fleenor, Atwater, Sturm and McKee (2014) focuses on the need to develop "effective leaders and leadership behavior" that can positively impact organizations (p. 63). Their study provides a meta-analysis of the pertinent literature on the subject from the past quarter century, primarily published in The Leadership Quarterly, a journal of scholarly critique, theory, and research. The researchers note that theories of leadership are relatively new to academia, and that approaches to the development of leaders is still being refined by scholars and professionals across the board. The study focuses primarily on issues (both intrapersonal and interpersonal) that relate to developmental leadership, utilizing "multi-source or 360-degree feedback responses" in order to deepen the current state of understanding regarding how leaders are trained and formed (Day et al., 2014, p. 63).

This study is particularly helpful because of its approach to the need for youth leadership training and development. The subject is identified thrice within the study by Day et al. (2014), which indicates that it is not an issue that has gone unnoticed by other researchers in the past. Day et al. (2014) point to the study by Zacharatos et al. (2000), who approached the issue of youth leadership development from the standpoint of social learning theory to show how youths respond to the examples set for them among their peer groups and by the parental modeling that they receive from their guardians. Day et al. (2014) stress the idea that social learning theory in this context is essential in seeing "how transformational leadership behaviors develop in youths" and, by extension, how youths can be assisted in the process of becoming leaders (p. 66). The study by Zacharatos et al. (2000) is used by Day et al. (2014) as a means of identifying the nature of adolescent response to lessons in leadership. Through a process of utilizing "(a) idealized influence, (b) inspirational motivation, (c) intellectual stimulation, and (d) individualized consideration," a method of transformational leadership can be effectively implemented among adolescents/youths in order to help them reach their potential as young leaders who can grow to become mature, capable adult leaders later in life, as they assume positions of leadership in organizations.

Day et al. (2014) also cite the study by Reichard et al. (2011) which notes that one of the early predictors of leadership qualities in young adults is the personality traits that they display. Extraverted youths/young adults were most associated with being leaders later in life, while "intelligence was only related to non-work leader emergence" -- a finding that the researchers suggest places more significance on a young person's personality and his/her ability to reach out to others and grab their attention than on their intellectual gifts/capacity (Day et al. 2014, p. 75-76).

Transformational leadership and its role in the development of leadership effectiveness and upon management in the future is discussed by Den, Deanne and Belschak (2012) who note that transformational leadership is especially helpful in providing signal strengths and motivational factors to workers. Leaders who provide followers with individualized care and attention are more effective at helping the follower to cultivate and define his or her identity in a more positive light, which in turn can help both leader and follower to accomplish organizational objectives on a routine and consistent basis over long stretches of time. Identity is thus signaled by Den, Deanne and Belschak (2012) as a crucial aspect of development in the leader-follower paradigm and one that youths can be especially susceptible to, as they are in the process of evaluating and forming their own sense of self-worth, values, ideas, skills and assets. Den, Deanne and Belschak (2012) also highlight the need for effective social skills within leadership roles in order for communication between groups, team leaders, and team members to be most efficacious. The study by Den, Deanne and Belschak (2012) utilizes a combination of qualitative and quantitative data to arrive at its conclusions and is helpful in that it reinforces the notion that leadership is developed as a result of a transformational process, much like that of metamorphosis and is something that all leaders experience in terms of growth and development.

Riggio, Riggio, Salinas and Cole (2003) study the role that social/emotional communication skills play in the development of leadership qualities/effectiveness and overall leadership emergence in young persons. The researchers conducted three exercises in which the impact of social and emotional communication skills was measured via the analysis of self-report surveys, observational analysis, and Likert scale ratings systems based on pre-formulated questions that analysts used to measure the effectiveness of the sample -- such as, "Does the leader keep the group focused on the topic of discussion?," "Does the leader make suggestions or contribute to the discussion?," "Does the leader establish rapport with group members?," "Does the leader encourage discussion?," and "Does the leader make an effort to ensure group members' agreement on any final decisions?" (Riggio et al., 2003, p. 94).

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These questions were helpful in guiding the analysis process and for investigating the impact of the social/emotional communication skills on the overall process of leadership, leadership emergence, and development.

The results of the study indicated that only partial-correlation existed between social/emotional communication skills and effective leadership. Leaders who demonstrated skill at communicating were rated by the groups as being most effective; however, in terms of effectiveness as measured in the performance of tasks, leaders with strong social skills did not appear to have any advantage over leaders who lacked obvious social and emotional communication skills. Thus the perception among the individuals rating the leaders was that communication is a sign of effective leadership, but the practical implication of being a strong communicator was not discernible in the overall effectiveness of the group's performance.

This study was helpful, therefore, in the fact that it highlighted how perception differs from reality when it comes to discerning what makes a leader impactful. Emotional Intelligence (EI) and Social Intelligence (SI) may be perceived as valuable by management/leadership theorists but in terms of the parameters of the study by Riggio et al. (2003) there was limited evidence of any actual correlation between EI/SI and leadership effectiveness. The study was limited in terms of gender imbalances, sample size, and participant make-up, and this may be considered as a reason for the results that were gathered. The study overall suggests that more research should be done in this area so as to better understand what actual impact EI/SI and communication skills have on leadership emergence, development and effectiveness, especially as it concerns youths/young adults entering into leadership positions.

The study by Jacqui, Cairncross and Lamont (2014) examines the impact of leadership on Generation Y (millennial) volunteers and how the subjects can be better developed using a strategy of effective/empathetic leadership. One of the ways that appeared most impactful to the researchers was the leader's ability to identify the needs, ensuring they are met, and then utilizing the talents of the young persons and by directing their attention and energy towards the organizational goal. This study essentially showed that younger persons can be developed to take leadership roles in their own ways by ensuring in a kind of Maslovian sense that the requirements of youths are both acknowledged and fulfilled so that the youths can then progress in terms of addressing the project or organizational objective with the fullest capacity.

Jacqui et al. (2014) observe that youths are in need of validation, esteem and social status and that as long as these needs are met, they can grow and develop into effective leaders and workers. The context of the study is in the volunteer organization, so its application may be limited to this sector, but the findings suggest that youths, because of their level of maturation and lack of experience are particularly susceptible to losses of confidence, feelings of insecurity, and confusion about where they truly belong within the overall organizational picture. Ensuring that young persons and young leaders striving to reach their potential are confident in themselves, their place, their abilities and their stature can help to develop them in terms of instilling in them the self-worth they need to identify as a valuable and integral part of the whole.

Gage and Thappa (2012) also study variables that serve as motivators for young persons developing workplace skills and leadership abilities. They find that these variables are associated with the young persons' background, their social life, their home life, their environment and their peers, mentors, and guardians. Similar to the analysis by Day et al. (2014), Gage and Thappa's (2012) study reveals that social learning is a major contributor to the overall aspect/quality of a young person's work ethic, leadership ability, ability to assume responsibility/accountability, and to give of him/herself to an organizational aim. Again, the context here is on young person's who perform volunteer activities, coordination activities and fulfill leadership roles within volunteer groups, but the findings of the study support the notion that one of the biggest impacts and predictors of leadership abilities in youth….....

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