# EDUC 7610 Discussion Question 8 Jethro Jones ## Assignment Directions ## Assignment For this discussion I read Dr. Janet Thirlby’s Dissertation, entitled The Process of Leadership Development: How Leaders Experience Growth Over the Span of Their Careers. She conducted this study as part of her Educational Doctorate work focusing on leadership. As that is a topic I am interested in as well, I’m curious about her process, results, and any gaps that may exist for me to continue her work. She interviewed 17 leaders of companies that showed long-lasting success in their work. These leaders were all based in her area, Rochester, NY, and showed examples of success appreciated by that community/culture. She notes that there is not an “underlying theory” about leader and leadership development. I don’t really know what this means because it seems to me that there are many theories about leadership development out there. One particular interesting result that makes sense to me is the idea that leadership development must be self-directed. Thirlby writes, “Leaders in this study were self-directed learners who easily identified what learning program or support system would address a specific need for growth. Organizations and leader/leadership development practitioners would benefit from having a tool kit of effective learning programs that have been well-vetted for effectiveness. However, practitioners should not lead with suggestions for programming because this has been found to have a negative effect on self-directed learners.” This is something that I have understood for years, and found great value in myself. “Two broad, open ended research questions were shaped by the two themes that characterize phenomenological research: (a) what the participant experienced in terms of the phenomenon [in this case leadership development], and (b) what context or situation influenced the experience of the phenomenon.” To analyze the data she coded their responses and used analytic induction, which basically means that she went through each person’s interview and added and subtracted different themes until she was able to explain each person’s story with the same themes. The themes were: foundational value system, leader development, crucible experience, and leadership development. Her findings can be summarized as follows: Leader/leadership development is a dynamic and interactive process of change. The 17 participants had developed executive function as children, i.e., leaders are made, not born, and that development begins very early in life. Deliberate practice and continuous learning were consistent among these 17 participants. Finally, each participant went through a similar process of leadership development: 1. Foundational values system 2. Leader development in early experiences 3. Crucible event that solidified the values developed early on which continues with further 4. Leadership development Where was the study conducted? (What is the context) How many participants were there? What were the research questions? What were the methods used to answer those questions? What were the findings? What questions do you have about the paper?