Olowoyo, OlamideCouncil, AustinKaufman, Eric K.2024-07-262024-07-262024-07-14https://hdl.handle.net/10919/120708Leadership has gained prominence over time as a subject of scholarly inquiry. Its evolving nature and dynamism, coupled with different perspectives and views of individuals, call for continuous research. Understanding how individuals perceive leadership particularly students who are future leaders is germane for leadership education in our ever-changing world. This study explores students’ perspectives and definitions of leadership and the implications of these for leadership development. Such insights can help shape leadership education programs to better align with students’ needs and aspirations. The study analyzed 709 responses from undergraduate students who applied to an interdisciplinary leadership minor at Virginia Tech between 2015 and 2022. Employing a qualitative approach, this research explores the diverse definitions and conceptualization of leadership provided by the students. Through a thematic analysis of students' definitions of leadership, the findings reveal support for the four waves of leadership: heroic, relational, pluralistic, and leadership-as-practice. This study highlights the importance of engaging students’ perspectives when developing leadership programs, introducing a class activity for leadership educators to apply the research findings. By aligning leadership development programs with students’ perspectives, leadership educators and educational institutions can promote efficient and relevant leadership experiences that will empower students to be effective future leaders.In CopyrightConference proceedingKaufman, Eric [0000-0001-8009-0066]