A Study of Alumni of the'Leveraging Leadership for a Lifetime' Leadership Development Course

Abstract

Over the past two decades there has been abundant discussion, research and subsequent publication about the need for leadership skill development for both newly minted and seasoned engineers. The calls have come from both engineering practice and academic communities, and the expectations have been codified by ABET for engineering academic preparatory programs. But there is a dearth of information about whether, and how, this education has been of value to the graduates and their organizations. This study documents the results of a survey of alumni of several post-graduate engineering degree programs offered at the University of St. Thomas - Minnesota. The survey of alumni from 13 years of the courses' history assessed key instructional processes and intended leadership learning outcomes for experienced engineers: the development, deployment and professional and personal outcomes of core leadership processes; how the alumni have used this learning; the perceived long-term career and personal value of that leadership education experience; and aspects of the curriculum they perceived as most valuable. The key question: has the study of leadership development been of value to the graduates in the years after completing a course, and if so, how? The paper also describes how the leadership course has evolved in response to changing student demographics and a continuous improvement process. Key concepts, processes and outcomes developed during the course sequence include self-assessment and self-awareness, identifying their leader capabilities, developing a lifelong learning plan, authentic leadership, and reflection. The findings of this study suggest that leadership development can be meaningfully facilitated among engineering and technology graduate students through a graduate program course, setting the trajectory for subsequent growth and enduring benefit. This paper primarily fits the Assess strategic initiative of the LEAD division, and the presentation will meet the Inform initiative.