The Efficacy of Leadership Training: A Case Study of the Sullivan Foundation\u27s INSPIRED Leadership Workshop

All too often, leaders are raised up without the proper training for the job. Although a variety of different leadership training methods have been implemented over the last few decades, the efficacy of these training methods are still in question. Therefore, this thesis serves to examine the efficacy of leadership training programs by examining a leadership workshop, conducted by the Sullivan Foundation on two separate occasions, in order to understand if leadership training improves one’s leadership ability. In order to measure the efficacy of the Sullivan Foundation’s Leadership workshop, this thesis utilized a case study approach to examine the workshop as it was administered first in the spring of 2022 at the University of Mississippi (Workshop #1) and again during the summer of 2022 in Strasbourg, France, as a part of a study abroad program (Workshop #2). Workshop #1 provided secondary data through pre-survey, post-survey, and focus group data collected by the Center for Research Evaluation at the University of Mississippi while Workshop #2 provided primary data through post-workshop interviews. Together, these workshops provided the means for a multifaceted approach to understanding the efficacy of the Sullivan Foundation’s leadership workshop. At the conclusion of these workshops, the data revealed that there was positive improvement in nearly all of the post-survey items in Workshop #1 and that the interviewees expressed satisfaction with their experience in the workshop. By analyzing these findings alongside pre-existing literature, the data also provided insight into effective practices for conducting leadership training, such as self-reflection tools and experience based learning opportunities. Therefore, the results of this research not only revealed ample information on the benefits of certain leadership training tactics, but the findings also supported the efficacy of leadership training