Administrators’ Descriptions of Their Leadership Roles in a Precollege Program

The purpose of this work is to describe how leaders of the Upward Bound (UB) program at a university in the western United States described their leadership roles in the program. It is a qualitative study based on data drawn from interviews, observations, written material, and field observations conducted over two years. Participants described their leadership roles as helper, guide, and protector. These roles highlighted the nurturing part they felt they played in their students’ and program’s success. Participants varied widely in their understanding of leadership and their roles. Most relied on ad hoc or common sense conceptions to guide them in describing their roles. This work suggests that UB leaders and others who often come from non-leadership backgrounds may benefit from formal and informal leadership training.