LEADERSHIP CAN BE TAUGHT

摘要

In the last 10 years, there has been a considerable and growing interest in the study of OrganizationalrnLeadership. More educators have concluded that leadership can be taught and many prestigiousrnuniversities have established programs specializing in this field. Business luminaries such as JackrnWelch, former CEO of General Electric, has personified the new business leader who is able to providernleadership to a vast organization and move it forward in different directions in times of change. MostrnCEOs recognize the need for leadership in their organizations and surveys of experienced studentsrnenrolled in MBA programs show that students also recognize the need for study of leadership.rnHistorically, it was commonly believed that leadership skills could not be acquired through classroomrninstruction, that leaders were born with leadership qualities or acquired them primarily throughrnexperience. Recently, however, organizational leadership has evolved as an academic discipline withrnover 10,000 books on the subject, a major journal and several master's and Ph.D. programs.rnThe authors of this paper have established master's programs in organizational leadership at threerninstitutions of higher learning. They discuss their experiences with curriculum development, collegernadministration, college politics, and share examples of their students' successes. They show how thernprogram is differentiated from an MBA program. They provide examples of model curricula and revealrntheir secrets in developing and marketing successful programs. They urge others to consider developingrntheir own leadership programs or risk being left out of a hot field of study.