Examining the Relationship Between Role Models and Leadership Growth During the Transition to Adulthood

Abstract

Leadership and developmental scholars have highlighted the need to enhance youth leadership skills. Yet, research that explains youths’ perceptions of how and when role models influences their leadership growth processes is limited. To address these gaps and begin to develop an understanding of youths’ perspectives, we employed a qualitative, grounded theory design and interviewed emerging adults (N = 23) about their perceptions of their own leadership development. Our analysis resulted in a role model–driven framework for youth leadership development. This framework illustrates participants’ descriptions of the leadership growth process between adolescence and emerging adulthood, including the ways in which youths’ motivation to lead was facilitated by the qualities of relational role models, their knowledge of opportunities, the relational role models’ beliefs in youths potential, and the fact that they were inspired by positional role models.

Keywords

leadership development role models mentors adolescents emerging adults leadership growth

Adolescents and emerging adults are the future leaders of our communities and organizations, and longstanding concerns about the availability and efficacy of good leadership among youth and adults in the United States have continued seemingly unabated (Ashford & DeRue, 2012; Rosenthal, 2012; Schwab, 2007). Adults have criticized contemporary youth (adolescents and emerging adults) for lacking leadership qualities, or those that facilitate academic or occupational successes (e.g., by exhibiting poor interpersonal skills, such as selfishness, or professional work ethic, such as laziness; Arnett, 2007). At the same time, scholars have, paradoxically, highlighted the critical role of adult role models in youths’ leadership development (Astin, 1993; Campbell, Smith, Dugan, & Komives, 2012; Dugan & Komives, 2007; McNeill, 2010). In this study, we define role models as adults, or more experienced peers, who empower youth to develop as leaders by exhibiting certain qualities, behaviors, or successes. It is possible that how they have been mentored, who their role models are, and the characteristics of the role models contribute to youths’ leadership deficiencies as highlighted by adults. Research that helps us to understand the process by which role models influence leadership development among youth is limited. Furthermore, the vast majority of the leadership literature focuses on adults’ perspectives. Less is known about youths’ perspectives of the leadership growth process when, in fact, youths’ voices may provide considerable insight into the ways in which adults can define, teach, and mentor youth to grow as outstanding leaders in their field. To address these gaps, we interviewed emerging adults about their perceptions of their own leadership development between adolescence (i.e., experiences in high school) and emerging adulthood (i.e., experiences in college) and how their role models aided their development. The purpose of this article was to gain a better understanding of how emerging adults describe their own leadership growth and the processes by which role models facilitate or constrain their leadership development.

Leadership Defined

Contemporary society calls almost all individuals to take on the responsibilities of leadership in some context (Northouse, 2009), yet it has been argued that “there are almost as many different definitions of leadership as there are persons who have attempted to define it” (Bass, 1990, p. 11). Many observers admit that they cannot clearly articulate a definition of leadership, but nonetheless know it when they see it (Rosch & Kuzel, 2010).

Social structures and work practices have shifted their focus from the industrial paradigm of leadership that emphasizes hierarchy and control to a more relationship-oriented focus that emphasizes trust, networks, and ethics (Kezar, Carducci, & Contreras-McGavin, 2006; Komives, Lucas, & McMahon, 2007; Rost, 1993). Furthermore, popular models have focused on the emotional competencies required for creating effective relationships (Goleman, Boyatzis, & McKee, 2002), described how leaders work with groups to create adaptive change in organizations and society (Heifetz, Grashow, & Linksy, 2009), and emphasized leader authenticity and integrity (Avolio & Gardner, 2005). Still, there are some arguments about whether leadership is a trait (Kirkpatrick & Locke, 1991; Stogdill, 1974), a skill (Mumford, Marks, Connelly, Zaccaro, & Reiter-Palmon, 2000), a behavior (McGregor, 1960), or the development of an influence-based relationship (Graen & Uhl-Bien, 1995). Nonetheless, relationships seem to be a common denominator across the current leadership literature regardless of how scholars are conceptualizing leadership.

Even when not clearly defined, many of the outcomes in the leadership literature parallel the goals of educational systems (i.e., high school and college), such that outcomes often surround academic performance, occupational attainment, or success in adult roles. For example, research has shown that the development of leadership and team-oriented competencies can help adolescents and emerging adults to succeed in their communities and professional work settings after graduation (Astin & Astin, 2000). In addition, employers wish universities spent more time educating their students on issues of problem-solving, relationship development, communication skills for teams, and ethical behavior (National Association of Colleges and Employers, 2013). Based on the links between leadership traits, skills, behaviors, and outcomes related to community engagement and gainful employment in adulthood, we operationalized leadership when interviewing the study participants as the skills, behaviors, or qualities that foster relationships and achievements for individuals in positions of influence in community and or occupational roles.

Youth as Primary Targets for Leadership Training

Individuals in late adolescence (approximately 17-18 years old) and emerging adulthood (18-25 years old) are often the target population for leadership training programs as they are at pivotal points for establishing their own community engagement and occupational trajectories. Concurrently, research has shown rising rates of unemployment among this age group (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010) and lower retention rates among first-time college students (United States Department of Education, 2010). In addition, some adults critique adolescents and emerging adults for appearing selfish, lazy, unambitious, and entitled (Arnett, 2007; Sacred Heart University, 2006), although these are some of the personal and professional skills that are least valued in educational and occupational settings. As the professional environment increasingly calls for adults who can practice influence from any position within an organization and build trusting and interdependent relationships with diverse others (Seidman, 2007), navigating the transition to adulthood from this perspective of leadership development is paramount.

Role Models

In apparent response to the need for leadership education, leadership education efforts at colleges and universities have doubled, with more than 1,000 colleges and universities offering leadership education in some form (Riggio et al., 2003), yet leadership is not always explicitly taught. Some research has shown that leadership behaviors are more commonly learned by observing and listening to others (Avolio, Reichard, Hannah, Walumbwa, & Chan, 2009). Yet, such growth is often dependent on how individuals engage with learning opportunities within their environment over time.

Some leadership scholars assert that individuals develop as leaders when they are in empowering environments, where adults and more experienced leaders allow space for youth to mature and practice new skills (Komives, Longerbeam, Owen, Mainella, & Osteen, 2006). Leadership role models, therefore, are individuals in youths’ environments who might provide guidance and mentoring to adolescents and emerging adults in the leadership growth process and or facilitate an empowering environment. Researchers have found significant predictive relationships between university students’ leadership capacity and their ability to engage in a mentorship process with professionals on their campus (Campbell et al., 2012). In fact, two types of role modeling in relation to mentorship that have been central in the leadership literature include psychosocial (instilling a sense of competence, fostering a healthy identity development, or providing guidance toward achievement in some capacity) and career (e.g., vocational coaching or job skills; Daloz, 1999; Kram, 1985). At the same time, less is known about the qualities of role models that facilitate leadership development or the processes by which the relationship with the role model facilitates leadership development between adolescence and emerging adulthood. Some research has shown that deficiencies in mentor relational skills play a role in the demise of the youth-role model relationship (Spencer, 2007). At the same time, more research is needed that examines role model characteristics in relation to youths’ leadership pathways.

Goals of the Present Study

The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of how and when relationships between youth and their role models influence the ways in which they grow as leaders between adolescence and emerging adulthood. We chose emerging adults who were in leadership positions as our target sample because emerging adults who were in positions to lead could speak on their experiences as adolescents and discuss their leadership growth and the conditions that facilitated it between adolescence and emerging adulthood. To address the gaps in the literature, we employed qualitative, grounded theory research to address the following questions:

Research Question 1: What are youths’ perceptions of the processes by which role models influence leadership development between adolescence and emerging adulthood?

Research Question 2: What are the conditions that facilitate the leadership growth process?

Method

To address these questions, data were collected through qualitative research, and the overall aim was to contribute to a comprehensive, grounded theory about role models, youth, and leadership development. The present research design was based on the work of Strauss and Corbin (1990), who have asserted that theory evolves from the data, research questions largely focus on process, and the research design becomes more focused throughout the data collection process. Grounded theorists believe that coding involves the proposition of categories and the various links between them, and a validation of the information through constant comparisons, thus “moving between inductive and deductive thinking” (Strauss & Corbin, 1990, p. 111). Through this process, researchers highlight concepts and group them into common categories and subcategories, or properties of the categories. Each of these stages of analysis are described in detail in this section.

Data Collection and Analysis

Data were collected from a diverse sample of emerging adults who were enrolled at a large, research-intensive university in the Midwestern United States. We chose to interview emerging adults who were in college, so they could speak about leadership growth experiences during adolescence and the years in college that followed. Participants were involved by participating in interviews (n = 23) and completing member checks (n = 11) where they reviewed a four-paragraph summary of the results. Initial, open coding began immediately after the first interviews. Following Strauss and Corbin’s (1990) grounded theory model, we used axial coding and selective coding to analyze each category further. Saturation occurred when we were confident that more interviews or information from the participants would not provide additional insights into the results of this study. This study involved simultaneous data collection and analysis.

Participant recruitment

Participants were matriculated students who were initially recruited through academic courses or student organizations that included a spread of emerging adults across all undergraduate class standings (freshman through senior). Many youth do not even recognize their own potential to employ leadership behaviors (Shertzer & Schuh, 2004). As such, to explore the processes by which youth come to view certain adults as role models who have influenced their leadership development between adolescence and emerging adulthood, we employed purposeful sampling and interviewed emerging adults who had been in positions to lead in college; purposeful sampling is a way to ensure information-rich cases are included in the data (Patton, 2002). We intentionally chose to include students who were actively involved in student organizations because we wanted to explore the leadership growth process among emerging adults who could recognize and articulate their leadership growth, potential, behaviors, and the influence of role models. By selecting students who were in positions to lead, we knew we could discuss these experiences in the interviews if students struggled to recognize their own leadership development. Purposeful, theoretical sampling is important to the grounded theory process as grounded theory scholars believe that theoretical sampling and the iterative process involved is important in developing a meaningful understanding of all of the facets related to a category or concept (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). We conducted interviews with all students who were actively involved in student organizations and volunteered to participate. Initial interviews with students from other countries or rural areas indicated the potential for individual differences, so we purposefully recruited four more students who were either from rural areas or who were international students.

Incentives

Participants in this study were offered a $5 gift card to a food establishment of their choice if they participated in initial interviews. Those who completed member checks (n = 11) were presented with a $10 gift certificate to Amazon.

Data management

All interviews were audio-taped and transcribed by a transcription company. The third author cross-checked the transcriptions and assigned each participant a pseudonym (that they chose); these pseudonyms were used in transcripts, memos, and written reports. All other identifying information was removed. All transcriptions were uploaded into NVivo, a software tool for managing qualitative data.

Sample Description

The college students (N = 23) who initially agreed to participate in initial interviews included freshman (n = 3), sophomores (n = 6), juniors (n = 9), and seniors (n = 5) from a variety of disciplines (i.e., biology; economics; engineering; business; psychology; food science; health; Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender [LGBT]/queer studies; secondary education; and environmental sustainability). The study not only consisted of young women (n = 11) and men (n = 12) who were largely U.S. citizens (n = 18) but also included 5 who identified as international students from India (n = 4) or China (n = 1). Of those who were U.S. citizens, the majority not only identified as White or Caucasian (n = 13) but also included students who identified as Asian American (n = 4) and African American (n = 1).

Stages of analysis

The 60- to 120-minute interviews were appropriate for the grounded theory methodology proposed here as they allow for rich insight, discovery, and flexibility at the same time. In general, it is recommended that 20 to 30 participants are required for interviews in a grounded theory study (Creswell, 2005; Onwuegbuzie & Leech, 2007), although the sample in this study relied on theoretical saturation.

Questions that we asked participants focused on how they had developed as leaders since high school (e.g., Describe the role that others have had in your own leadership growth since high school), their motivation to lead (e.g., How are you motivated to lead compared with your friends or others you know?), and the qualities of good or bad leaders that influenced them (e.g., Identify someone who you believe is a good leader; describe how you know them and why you believe that individual is a good leader). Initial, open coding began immediately after the initial interviews. In addition, the interviewer wrote memos after each interview that included observations, potential bias, and ideas about the interview and interviewee.

Data collection, memo writing, and coding occurred simultaneously. The first and third authors were involved in the flexible open coding that occurred during initial analysis of interviews. The second author provided feedback and assisted coders with coming to agreements on categories and definitions when there were discrepancies. Then, the categories that emerged and their definitions allowed for axial coding, which began after we had completed 10 interviews. Axial coding is a detailed form of coding, which allows researchers to analyze phenomena that arise from open coding and provide a conceptual explanation for some process surrounding the phenomena; with axial coding, “the grounded theorist selects one open coding category, positions it at the center of the process being explored (as the core phenomenon, and then relates other categories to it” (Creswell, 2005, p. 298). Following Strauss and Corbin’s (1990) model, we used axial coding to link multiple categories and subcategories that were identified during open coding, labeling possible causal conditions (events that lead to the development of the phenomenon), context (set of properties that pertain to the phenomenon), intervening conditions (condition that facilitate or constrain action strategies), action/interaction strategies (devised to respond to a phenomenon), and consequences (outcomes) that surrounded each phenomenon. The axial coding stage is where the researcher begins to analyze the process, discovering a paradigm model. In this study, we identified links between emerging adults’ backgrounds, experiences with role models, and how they grew (or did not grow) as leaders. For an example of our initial categories, see Table 1.

Table 1.

Example of an Initial Axial Coding Table During Coding for this Study.

Term	Examples
Causal conditions	Youths’ role models define success and leadership and the opportunities that will help emerging adults to achieve success and leadership.
Phenomenon	Youth are influenced by relational and or positional role models.
Context	The number of role models emerging adults are influenced by; opportunities for involvement; number of people they are competing with; college status (e.g., freshman, sophomore, junior, senior), knowledge, and experience of role models—What their role models know (or knowledge of role models) and the experiences of their role models, who their role models are and what they stand for?
Intervening conditions	Role models define leadership and success, and they display good or bad interpersonal skills, character traits, work ethic, risk-taking behaviors, control, or ethics, and youth find them credible or not based on these characteristics.
Action/interaction	Youth are motivated by role models they believe are credible and/or they experience barriers because of their role models’ actions, characteristics, interpersonal skills, work ethic, risk-taking behaviors, control, or ethics.
Consequences	Youth grow as leaders; those who had leaders who inspired them with good characteristics experience the most positive changes in thoughts and actions related to leadership or gain confidence in their own leadership skills and recognize leadership as a process; those who experienced the most barriers with role models were not motivated to change or did not understand how.

Then, we continued open and axial coding, but also began selective coding, including more details and validating or discounting cases. For example, participants described positive qualities and negative qualities of adults with whom they had interacted. Initially, we had subcategories for a variety of positive or negative role model qualities. However, as our analysis became more refined, we did not consider an observation of one negative or positive action by an adult as characteristic of a role model; rather, we focused on participants’ definitions of role models and their explanations as to why or why not they considered these adults to be their role models along with the nature of the relationship itself. Finally, we conducted formal member checks, at which time participants who responded to the third authors’ emails (n = 11) clicked on the link to review a four-paragraph summary of our analysis. Researchers believe that the quality of the data improves through the member checking process; even if participants disagree with the initial report of research findings, this process helps the researchers to understand participants’ perspectives (Taylor & Bogdan, 1998).

Results

Our central research questions were designed for us to gain a better understanding of the processes by which role models influence youths’ leadership development, specifically youths’ perceptions of the process between adolescence and emerging adulthood. Furthermore, we wanted to explore the conditions that facilitated the leadership growth process. We include participants’ quotes from the interviews and member checks in this section to provide examples of how the categories and subcategories were derived through the analysis. We conclude with a section on the data derived from the member checks. We begin with the description of a conceptual model that emerged from the data and depicts youths’ perceptions of the ways in which role models influenced their leadership development between adolescence and emerging adulthood.

A Role Model–Driven Framework for Youth Leadership Development

The data revealed that their role models influenced how participants defined leadership and success, their knowledge of growth opportunities, their individual awareness of their potential to become leaders, how they are inspired to become leaders, their pursuit of opportunities, and their levels of involvement. The analysis provided insight into the ways in which relational role models (i.e., parents, friends, family, high school teachers, coaches, professors, or other mentors with which they have a personal relationship) provided the foundation for their leadership development by displaying good leadership qualities. As the relational role models displayed good leadership qualities, youth were motivated to develop as leaders. The relational role models helped youth by providing them with knowledge of opportunities for leadership development, as well as a belief in their own potential as leaders. As participants became knowledgeable and believed in their own potential, they got involved in leadership roles and were often inspired by positional role models (i.e., college professors; institutional, organizational, community, and world leaders that they learn from but with whom they do not have a relationship). See Figure 1 for a graphic representation of the nature of participants’ leadership growth.

Figure 1.

A role model–driven framework for youth leadership development.

According to participants, they trusted, respected, learned, and listened most to role models who displayed professional work ethic (e.g., initiative, drive, persistence), good interpersonal skills (e.g., communicating with confidence, listening), and positive character traits (e.g., respectful, responsible, positive attitude, tolerant). Although some participants viewed role models’ “weaknesses as a learning opportunity” (Britney), many acknowledged getting frustrated and discouraged by role models who did not exhibit qualities that youth perceive to be those representative of good leadership. Ben said that he and others his age often “struggle with role models who lack certain characteristics [because] we want someone who can influence us to be better than who we already are.” Thus, the personal qualities that the role model employs are critical to the influence the role model had on youths’ leadership growth. These qualities are, in essence, what makes role models credible and trustworthy leaders through the eyes of youth. Eve summarized the words of others when she stated, “if role models want successful young adults, they must realize their success is a reflection of their guidance.”

Professional work ethic

Professional work ethic was the most commonly coded subcategory within relational role models’ qualities. Many participants’ echoed Ingrid who stated, “Nobody will be inspired by someone who has no work ethic or professional skills, so I don’t think these types of people will be role models in the first place.” Hana said,

Anyone can be complacent, not showing any initiative, working hard, etc. . . . no one admires this because it’s often in the natural state. However, when we see what can be accomplished with good work ethic, [ . . . ] people want to work equally hard.

Many participants viewed hard work and initiative as minimal requirements of a good leader. Participants said, “as a leader you have to take on . . . you’re willing to take on more responsibilities” (Allison), “show more involvement” (Britney), “take initiative” (Cassie), and “take on more than the rest, have your workload be a little bit more” (Peter).

Interpersonal skills

Participants in this study also discussed interpersonal skills when asked to think about someone they know and what makes them a good leader. For example, Cassie stated that individuals trust leaders who are empathetic, such as those who are able to problem solve, as well as “read a group and know how they work” and listen to their ideas. She emphasized the importance of knowing your audience and being able to adapt. Similarly, Abe said that “being charismatic . . . and working well with people” in addition to “being empathetic and seeing [things] through your subordinates eyes” is important. Listening skills played a key role for participants. For example, Peter stated that one of his role models was “always trying to listen to people, not just say what’s on his mind. He’ll listen first, absorb what they’re trying to say, and then say something back.” Displaying good interpersonal skills was a quality that youth valued in their role models and others whom they viewed as leaders.

Positive character traits

There were several character traits that participants discussed as important to the influence of the relational role model or the formation of the relationship between youth and role models with whom they did not already have a relationship. For example, good leaders “have positive personalities” (Gail), “have respect for us” (Ben), “consider themselves equal to the people they’re leading, but just have to take more responsibility” (Cassie), and “cover everyone equally” (Ben). Some of the character traits were mentioned because they were motivated by a role model who displayed such traits. For example, Gail was inspired by a high school teacher who influenced her students to do their best. She said that this teacher was confident and listened, but she was also positive and respectful to all people and subsequently, people turned to her when they had a problem. Youth may fear rejection and thus, a role model with a positive attitude may help increase comfort and confidence when deciding to approach them. Ingrid said, “It is important to have a mentor who you can go to for help when you are feeling discouraged, and that person should be someone who has a positive attitude and will help you get back on track.”

Eve said,

if students receive positive feedback from someone they trust, they’ll thrive. And if you work very hard with a role model, but they’re negative or don’t acknowledge your work, you feel very dejected and are probably less likely to perform at your full aptitude from that point forward.

Again, many participants also respected mentors who lead by example. If their role models, for example, considered it a sign of disrespect to be late for a class, they expected the teacher or professor to give them the same respect. For example, Ben said that if a class started at 8:30 and the professor expects everyone to be there by 8:30 (if not before), then, he or she should not come walking in at 8:35.

Such focus on respect was evident in each discussion with participants who mentioned this as an important leadership quality. Sometimes, respect was earned by giving it and other times, participants discussed the respect they had for role models who displayed other positive character traits, such as positivity and tolerance.

The foundations that the relational role models provided for participants’ leadership development were often indirect, such that they did not say, “here’s how to be a leader.” Instead, they modeled traits that led youth to incorporate learned values and behaviors. For example, Hana said, “While they [my parents] did not directly inspire me to be a leader, they did teach me to behave positively and to work hard.”

Relational role models influence youth’s motivation for leadership development

As the role model displayed good leadership qualities, role models with whom youth had a relationship influenced youths’ motivation for leadership development. The data revealed the significance of a personal relationship between youth and their role models in helping youth to define leadership and boosting their desire for leadership development. For example, Ingrid said, “I don’t personally learn well from people who I am not closely connected to . . . mentors who I have close relationships with have shaped me and influenced my motivation and goals.” Many other participants in this study echoed Britney’s comments. She stated,

I would not have grown as a leader if I wasn’t encouraged by my own teachers, friends’ parents, and my own parents. Their belief in me as a leader also helped them provide me with more opportunities to develop as a leader.

Because some youth talked about their parents or family members as most influential on their leadership growth process and others discussed the qualities that influenced the relationship between youth and their leadership role models, we believe that it may be the combination of the youths’ perspectives of leadership qualities displayed by the role model and the relationship itself that supported the leadership development process for the youth in this study. Nonetheless, the relational aspect appeared to be a critical component of the leadership growth process. Thus, we believed that it was important to distinguish these roles models from those with whom youth did not have a relationship. As such, we defined relational role models as parents, friends, family, high school teachers, coaches, professors, or other mentors with whom they had a personal relationship.

According to participants in this study, relational role models provided the foundation for their leadership abilities. For example, Jake talked about his dad and said, “my father was by far the biggest influence on my leadership development.” Others, such as Britney, Abe, and Cassie described high school teachers or coaches as role models who played an essential role on their leadership development. Some participants mentioned relational role models they had had in college (e.g., professors or those who were officers of a student organization in which they were involved). For example, Curt discussed being influenced by a friend, who had more leadership experience as the leadership chair for a university service fraternity for which he was involved. The relationship with the role model(s) facilitated youths’ knowledge of leadership qualities, opportunities, and their belief in their own abilities to follow suit.

Knowledge is gained of opportunities and belief in their own potential

For participants to learn about opportunities and believe in their own potential as leaders, they had at least one (and sometimes many) relational role models who facilitated such knowledge and beliefs. For example, Hana said, “my greatest time of growth was when I surrounded myself with people whom I considered to be good leaders. These people motivated me, helped me find my intrinsic motivation, and encouraged me to keep up with them.” As such, participants’ knowledge of opportunities and belief in their own potential flourished or was constrained by a variety of individual and contextual factors (e.g., ethnicity, gender, where they grew up, their college status). For example, Mike said, “If one is a minority, then he has the stigma engrained into him from birth that he must work harder than others to prove himself. That is how it was for me.” Although some participants considered themselves advantaged because they were a part of a dominant group, a few others acknowledged stereotypes that might make it difficult for others. For example, Ben who grew up in a rural area said most of his role models were men. He said, “When I was younger, I can remember thinking about who would be considered ‘in charge’ and it was always a male.” As such, Ben’s capacity for leadership may have been influenced by social policies that encouraged him as a young man, and it is possible that his female peers may not have been encouraged in the same manner.

Some participants had opportunities to be influenced by a number of relational role models, yet others persevered because they had just one relational role model who inspired their knowledge of opportunities and belief in their own potential. For example, Gail was raised by a single mother who immigrated to the United States and did not have a college education and thus, Gail experienced barriers to leadership development surrounding class and family structure. She was a first-generation college student and although she viewed her mother as a role model, the knowledge that her mother could provide about leadership opportunities was limited. Yet, she went on to pursue college and leadership opportunities at college because she had a cousin who went to optometry school. Her career path modeled that of her cousin’s and she said he gave her hope that she was capable and she was “impressed and motivated by his success and hard work.”

Indeed, the data revealed that participant’s awareness of leadership opportunities and their own potential were often dependent on the intersection between their relational role models and individual and contextual factors. It was often the case that the knowledge and beliefs of the role models in a given culture or area influenced participants’ own knowledge and beliefs. Even those that did not discuss their own advantages or disadvantages with respect to knowledge of opportunities and belief in their own potential described their perceptions of how such differences influenced others’ leadership growth. For example, Eve said,

Everyone likes to hear a good success story because it makes them feel less guilty about the huge gap in educational quality and opportunities for those of less privileged genders, races, and socio-economic backgrounds. I don’t think less privileged kids are any less inspired by their own personal leadership role models. But, the quality of that role model greatly varies from demographic to demographic.

Youth is inspired by positional role models and actively pursue opportunities

The relational role models with good leadership qualities facilitated participants’ own knowledge and beliefs, yet the data in this study revealed that to grow, youth become inspired by positional role models as they actively pursue opportunities for involvement. Based on participants’ descriptions of individuals who they considered role models but they did not necessarily know personally, we defined positional role models as college professors, institutional, organizational, community, and world leaders that they learn from but with whom they do not have a relationship. Jake articulated this when asked specifically about differences between his relational and positional role models in the member checks phase of this study. He said,

I think that relational role models have the greater impact on our willingness and ability to serve as a leader, but positional role models provide the inspiration for us to strive for higher levels of leadership and greater levels of success within our positions.

Some participants believed that their transition from learning from relational models to closely observing positional role models occurs over time and possibly, with age. In essence, their relational models were still considered important influences, but less so as they “grow out” of them or observe positional role models more closely aligned with their aspirations in life. For example, Eve said,

Growing up, I always idolized my teachers and parents. But when you get older, you realize that they’re a little out of touch and their magic fades. By the time I was 18, I think all of my major sources of inspiration were people that I had never met. While I do look up to my parent, teachers, and professors for advice and guidance, I don’t look to them for leadership inspiration. They will always be a great tool in getting leadership advice, but in terms of the people that I would want to mold my personal leadership trajectory off of, I would look up more to Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and other people that were once normal and unimportant like me. That’s way more inspiring than my parents telling me that I’m great.

In summary, the data revealed that the relationship between youth and their relational role models provided the foundation for their growth. The relationship and its influence on participants’ motivation for leadership growth were facilitated by the qualities that the role models exhibited (i.e., professional work ethic, interpersonal skills, and positive character traits). Once participants learned of opportunities to get involved and believed in their own potential, they actively pursued those opportunities. As they got more involved, many participants were also inspired by positional role models, who had qualities, behaviors, or outcomes that they believed extended the capabilities of their relational role models. As such, the relationships that youth have with role models helped to define leadership and success and set the stage for further development. From there, leadership skills are “continuously evolving” (Britney).

Member Checks

In this study, we emailed a link to a four-paragraph summary of the results and asked participants to validate or refine our interpretations. Many of the participants, who completed the member checks (n = 11) provided feedback, such as “I agree with the above statement because . . . ” or “I completely agree with this” and “I find this to be very true” with descriptions and explanations in the comments sections below each paragraph. Participants’ favorable responses to the one page summary and their additional comments provided the validation for the constructs. Of the few that discounted any of our interpretations, their disagreements surrounded the significance of individual and contextual factors in relation to the opportunities the emerging leader learns about from his or her role model(s). Yet, many participants agreed with the information in this section and elaborated or included examples to provide further validation. As such, we did not refine our interpretations in this area, and we believe participants’ own perceptions are limited to their unique experiences. These experiences and unique leadership pathways deserve more attention in the literature (e.g., similarities and differences in social norms, expectations, opportunities, and role models in various geographic locations or cultures). Regardless, no new properties or dimensions emerged from member checks, and we became even more confident that the data analysis included enough details, yet was comprehensive enough that it accounted for much of the possible variability among participants’ responses. We, therefore, determined after completing member checks that we had reached theoretical saturation and no new data needed to be collected.

Discussion and Implications

Our study focused on youth leadership growth processes, youths’ perceptions of how their role models came to be their leadership-oriented role models, and the ways in which certain role models influenced their leadership development between adolescence and emerging adulthood. We interviewed emerging adults who described their leadership growth between adolescence and emerging adulthood. A role model–driven framework for youth leadership development emerged from data, and this model can be used to discriminate the influence of relational role models and positional role models. According to the emerging adult participants, relational role models seem to provide a foundation of confidence within the youth, and aid in recognizing the potential for engagement in student or service organizations. Once such a foundation is created, inspiration from positional role models may then provide energy and momentum toward increased engagement and growth beyond what relational role models often provide. Perhaps most critical to the youth-role model relationship for emerging adults in this study were the positive leadership behaviors and traits possessed by relational role models. Indeed, these findings indicate that youth learn best from and listen to role models who display positive characteristics (i.e., professional work ethic, interpersonal skills, and positive character traits), and the positive leadership qualities exhibited by these role models provide the foundation for the youth-role model relationship. Moreover, some participants attributed their motivation for leadership development to their role models. It is possible that the qualities their role models possessed facilitated youths’ intrinsic motivation to develop as leaders, such that youths’ role models provided informational support that, in turn, facilitated self-determination and competence as leaders, rather than control over the youth, which has been found to lower self-determination and undermine intrinsic motivation (Deci, Koestner, & Ryan, 2001). We provide implications for research and provide practical suggestions for role models, school or university administrators, or those who work in organized youth programs by focusing here on leading by example and motivating youth, as well as individual and contextual factors that should be considered in future research and practice.

Leading by Example and Motivating Youth

The findings from this study possess several important implications for those involved in youth development programs and invested in youths’ futures. First, the data revealed that positive leadership qualities displayed by individuals who are in positions to lead youth (e.g., program staff, faculty, interns, coaches, or volunteers) are a key to the youth-role model relationship and, subsequently, youth leadership development. Adults in positions of influence who lack initiative, interpersonal skills, and positive character traits may impede youth’s knowledge of opportunities, or their confidence to try out various leadership positions. As such, it is especially important for adults to display positive leadership qualities that they wish to see in youth before youth will learn to develop as leaders with those qualities. To ensure that those who work with youth are displaying positive leadership qualities and leading by example, leaders, themselves, may need explicit leadership training (e.g., by requiring staff or volunteers who are in direct service positions to read a book or attend a workshop on leadership qualities that they are expected to exhibit). Administrators may falsely assume that their organizations’ leaders will exhibit such qualities. With more explicit leadership training for staff and volunteers, however, youths’ potential role models could become aware of their strengths and areas for potential growth. Moreover, such training could facilitate a culture of leadership within organizations or institutions that serve youth (e.g., through common leadership-focused language or naturally occurring accountability that occurs as a result of awareness of one’s own leadership styles, as well as organizational expectations).

Second, developmental scholars have found that the development of initiative plays a critical role in positive youth development, and opportunities for such growth often occur in the context of organized youth activities or school (Larson, 2000). Larson believes that within these contexts, youth learn when they experience a combination of intrinsic motivation and concentration. It is possible that the qualities displayed by role models with whom emerging adults could potentially have a relationship can facilitate or constrain their initiative, intrinsic motivation, and ability to pay attention. This could be tested in quantitative studies that examine the association between role model characteristics, motivation, and the youth-role model relationship, and such research could inform curricula and training for youth program leaders.

Finally, leadership and developmental scholars assert that the contemporary work force requires skills such as collaboration, strategic thinking, organization, and others that are not measured in many westernized countries in a way that influence youths’ work or college pathways (Larson, Wilson, & Mortimer, 2002). If youth are expected to exhibit good leadership qualities and such qualities often dictate their ability to obtain or maintain employment, perhaps evidence of the development of leadership skills could be more explicitly taught and utilized as measures of potential future success.

Considering Individual and Contextual Factors

Our findings also indicate that various individual and contextual factors (e.g., ethnicity, gender, college status, geographic location of where they grew up) may influence role models’ knowledge and beliefs about leadership and, subsequently, knowledge and opportunities for youth. For example, the analysis revealed that young men in this study who grew up in rural areas may be at an advantage when compared with the young women because of the social policies that reinforce gendered behaviors. As such, young women in rural areas may benefit from female role models who have knowledge of opportunities for young women to get involved, or have, themselves, sought positions or careers that facilitate leadership growth. More research, however, is needed on these factors. Through quantitative research and a larger sample of youth, researchers could better address individual differences as a function of gender, region, social class, and culture. Practitioners could, subsequently, refine leadership training practices or develop programs to help specific populations. For example, young women in rural areas may benefit from structured mentoring systems while they are in high school.

Limitations

We are able to provide a role model–driven framework for youth leadership development and several implications based on our work with emerging adults, yet our study was not without limitations. Our grounded theory was based on the values and beliefs of the 23 emerging adults who participated, and while this group was diverse, it should not be seen as necessarily representative of the broad demographic of emerging adults in contemporary society. We intentionally chose a sample of youth who were leaders in some capacity, so that they could discuss their experiences about their leadership development. Further research that includes a broader representation of emerging adults in regards to demography and geography is warranted. The inclusion of younger adolescents, who might be currently developing relationship with potential mentors, could provide for a more refined model as well, especially if this research could be combined with longitudinal analysis of youth leadership through their elementary, high school, and college years. Although exploratory, our findings surrounding individual and contextual diversity highlight a need to include individual differences in studies of leadership growth. Moreover, our results were informed by college students who have already succeeded in some ways by simply being enrolled in an institution of higher education. As such, future research should examine the role model–driven framework and the influence of youth-role model relationships on non-university populations.

Conclusion

This research provides an understanding of youth leadership growth processes and contributes to the developmental and leadership literature by highlighting the ways that role models influenced the leadership development of emerging adults in this study. Our analysis resulted in a role model–driven framework for the leadership growth process between adolescence and emerging adulthood, emphasizing the importance of relational role models in youths’ knowledge of opportunities and belief in their potential. Additionally, positional role models inspired youth to actively pursue opportunities that enhanced their leadership growth. This research can be used in future efforts involving leadership training for emerging adults, as well as adults who work with youth to ensure more congruity between employers’ and other adults’ expectations and emerging adults’ knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors surrounding leadership.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Author Biographies

Jill R. Bowers is a researcher in the Family Resiliency Center in the Department of Human and Community Development at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. Her research focuses on online program development and evaluation, specifically online positive youth development programs for adolescents and emerging adults.

David M. Rosch serves as an assistant professor in the College of Agriculture, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences (ACES) at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. His particular areas of interest include programmatic training in youth leadership development and the accurate assessment of leadership effectiveness. He earned his doctorate in higher education administration from Syracuse University, a master’s in student affairs in higher education from Colorado State University, and a bachelor’s degree from Binghamton University, NY.

Daniel A. Collier is a graduate student in the Education Policy, Organization and Leadership doctoral program. He is particularly interested in student leadership development, ethical leadership practices of administration, and evaluation of educational workplace policy, and currently serves as a research assistant in the Illinois Leadership Laboratory through the Agriculture Education Department.

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