Learning by “Leaning In”:An Out-of-Classroom

Leadership Development Initiative

Presented by:Dr. Karen Stock

Dr. Julie Szendrey

In collaboration with:Mrs. Stacy Hilterbrand, Prof. Mary Ann Sponseller, & Prof. Beth Vazzano

The DeVille School of BusinessWalsh University

North Canton, OH

Polling the Audience

• What is the current environment on your campus for women students?

• Do any programs currently exist to specifically develop leadership among women?

The Agenda

• Background• Objectives• Five Sessions• Methodology• Research Hypotheses & Results• Future Considerations• References

Background

• Recognized a need and opportunity– Develop leadership skills within students– Especially undergraduate females

Background

• Presented idea to Business Student Advisory Board

• Began with 5 colleagues and 2 students − “Lean In” themed events− 2013-2014 academic year− www.leanin.org

− Discussion Guide− Video Resources

Objectives

1) Encourage participants, particularly females, to “speak up” in academic/leadership situations,

2) Increase confidence levels (self-efficacy) of participants,

3) Increase social connection and involvement of participants, and

4) Increase initiative in leadership positions of participants

Session 1

September event:

Career Success, Challenges, and Recommendations from a female CFO, opening survey

(37 attendees)

Session 2

November event:

Mid-Level female professionals from the accounting, legal, and engineering

(36 attendees)

Session 3

January event:

Negotiations with Chief Communications Officer and Attorney

(29 attendees)

Session 4 March

event:

Luncheon as part of Walsh “Women Who Rock” week

(15 attendees)

Session 5

April event:

Advice for graduates, “Ban Bossy” campaign, closing survey,

(18 attendees)

Methodology• Test Group

• Attended 2 or more events • n = 17

• Control Group• Attended no events• n = 24

• Survey method• 95% confidence level• Pretest vs. Posttest Means Comparison

• Pretest: Session 1 (Fall 2013)• Posttest: Session 5 (Spring 2014)

Perceptions & Behaviors of Leadership Roles

• Perceptions of Leadership Roles– Scale items from Spralls et al. (2010)

• Q10-Q14 on survey– Overall, how involved are you with activities on

and off campus?– How important is it to be involved on and off

campus?– How would you describe yourself? (Likert:

Shy/Very Outgoing)– How much leadership experience do you have? – How important do you consider leadership skills

to be?

Perceptions & Behaviors of Leadership Roles

• Actual Engagement in Organizations– Zaccardi et al. (2012)

• Q15-Q18 on survey– How many organizations are you involved with?– Do you actively serve in a club leadership role?– Are you a proactive leader in group work?– How many outside organizations do you network

with?

New General Self-Efficacy Scale (NGSE)

• General self-efficacy relates to…“one’s estimate of one’s overall ability to perform successfully in a wide variety of achievement situations, or to how confident one is that she or he can perform effectively across different tasks and situations” (p. 62)

• Chen et al. (2001) eight item scales was used

– Q19-Q26 on survey

Research Hypotheses

• H1: Level of involvement with on and off-campus organizations

• H2: Importance of on and off-campus involvement

• H3: Level of outgoingness • H4: Level of leadership experience • H5: Importance of leadership skills

Research Hypotheses

• H6: Number of organizational involvement

• H7: Number of outside organizations networked with

• H8: Level of self-efficacy • H9: The percentage of individuals serving

in a club leadership role will increase after participating in the Lean In Program

• H10: Participants will become more proactive leaders in group work

Hypotheses Results Pre vs Post Part Pre vs. Post % # of Students Part vs. Control

p-value (one-tail) Mean % Change with Increase p-value (one-tail)

H1: Increased Involvement 0.359 0.02 23.53%

H2: On/off campus Involvement 0.387 -0.01 11.76%

H3: Outgoingness 0.215 0.03 23.53%

H4: Level of Leadership Experience 0.149 0.06 47.06%

H5: Importance of Leadership Skills 0.166 0.02 17.65%

H6: Increase # of Org Involvement 0.068 -0.09 11.76%

H7: Increase # of Outside Orgs Network 0.009 0.36 58.82% 0.068

H8: Level of Self-Efficacy 0.006 0.05 70.59% 0.425

H9: % of Individuals in Club Leader Role 0.400 -0.11 -5.88%

H10: More Proactive Leaders In Groups 0.500 0.00 23.53%

Discussion of Results• Lean In participants reported a higher level of leadership

involvement over the control group for all categories tested– More leadership focused to begin with in general

• For Lean In participants– 8 of the 10 variables tested showed an increase pre vs. post

test– Two of the increases were determined to be statistically

significant • Increase number of outside organizations networked with

(p=.009)• Reported level of self-efficacy (construct) (p=.006)

– Comparing these to change in the control group:• Increased number of outside orgs networked (p=.068, almost stat

signif.)• Reported level of self-efficacy (p=.425, not stat signif.)

• Lean In events increase level of networking• Lean In events positively influenced leadership tendencies

Thank you!• Question and Discussion

– Takeaways?– Suggestions for our research?

• Contact Information– Dr. Julie Szendrey (2 e’s in last name)

Professor of Business Administration

Walsh University2020 East Maple St.North Canton, OH 44720jszendrey@walsh.edu

– Dr. Karen StockAssistant Professor of Business Administration

Walsh University2020 East Maple St.North Canton, OH 44720kstock@walsh.edu

References Chen, G., Gully, S. M., & Eden, D. (2001). Validation of a new general self-efficacy scale.

Organizational Research Methods, 4(1), 62-83.  Kuh, G. (1993). In their own words: What students learn outside the classroom. American

Educational Research Journal, 30(2), 277-304.

Kuh, G. (1995). The other curriculum: Out-of-class experiences associated with student learning and personal development. The Journal of Higher Education, 66(2), 123-155.

 Sandberg, S. (2013). Lean in: Women, work, and the will to lead. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. Sandberg, S. (2014). Lean in for graduates. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. Spralls III, S. A., Garber, M. S., Divine, R. L., & Trotz, H. (2010). Needs assessment of

university leadership programs. Journal of Leadership Studies, 4(1), 20-35.  Zaccardi, M. C., Howard, C. M., & Schnusenberg, O. (2012). Student preparation and personality traits in the job market. Academy of Educational Leadership Journal,

16 (Special Issue), 35-53.