A Longitudinal Evaluation of Change Leadership within a Leadership Development Program Context Open Access

The need for individuals capable of leading change has become pronounced based on the changes occurring within the higher education system. The purpose of this study was to examine if participation in the LEAD21 leadership development program, a national leadership program for faculty emerging as leaders in the land-grant university system, changed participant levels of change leadership. The longitudinal analysis included comparisons across members of three classes in the LEAD21 program, as well as the aggregated data from all three years. Results indicated overall level of change leadership rose by an average of 28.8%. Additionally, the study established benchmarks for pre-program and post-program levels of change leadership. Leadership educators can use the results to inform future leadership education initiatives. Furthermore, the study presents a Leading Change Scale that may be appropriate for future leadership program evaluations. Ongoing evaluations of leadership programs are encouraged.