Leadership Development: An Examination of Individual and Programmatic Growth

Abstract

This study focuses on two girls’ experiences in one youth leadership organization over a period of three years. Relying on an embedded case study design, we examine the links between leadership development and programmatic structures and supports. Specifically we analyze the development of leadership capacities along three dimensions: communication and interpersonal skills, analytic and critical reflection, and positive involvement in community affairs. Within the leadership organization, we consider structures that accommodate and validate different styles of youth leadership and different developmental trajectories, focusing on how these structures evolved along with the leaders they were designed to support. We conclude by discussing the relevance of the lessons that the two girls exposed and that the program internalized to adolescent development research and youth development programming.