Leadership Programs, Discourses, and Participants’ True Sense of Self

As the challenges communities and organizations face become increasingly complex and interconnected, leadership has continued to evolve to meet these new needs. This applied research study investigated the norms and assumptions about leadership held by participants in an adult leadership development program. This study also highlights participants’ perceptions of the program’s impact on their own norms and assumptions about leadership. Based on the Western Indicator of Leadership Discourses, participants reported a near-even preference for eco-leader and therapist discourses. A preference for eco-leadership was highly correlated with introversion, while a messiah leadership was highly correlated with extroversion. Participants also placed a high value on relationships with followers, promoting collaborative environments, promoting committed followers, and not relying on positional leaders for answers.