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Развитие на лидерството: предистория и триизмерен модел
Д-р Янив Шенав, Yanivshenhav@gmail.com, ЮЗУ „Неофит Рилски"
In recent years, several researchers have engaged in identifying factors which predict the emergence of a leader. The attempt has mainly been channeled to identify objective criteria which were intended to predict the probability and emergence of leadership. Apparently, however, only a few researches have been conducted, and there are little comprehensive conclusions as for such criteria. Also, databases have been established, based upon information regarding hundreds and thousands of international leaders, in an attempt to anticipate their nature of behavior and success, among other things, in the context of war and peace policy.
Leadership Development
While the matter was addressed by the various approaches regarding leadership, theories and ways to implement it and its feasibility, various researchers have begun to ask whether, it was possible to develop leadership, on the basis of approaches perceiving leadership as a quality which may be developed. The established leadership development began prior to the 20th century. In preceding centuries, the military, religion and government officials in various places worldwide operated various leadership training structures. Leadership training business-oriented organizations first appeared in the early 20th century, when the business administration programs opened by the universities in the United States. Outside the university, though, the dominant approach stated that in most cases, leadership development occurred ''through practice''. The latter approach yielded promotion programs whose purpose was to provide knowledge and experience, as well as to reward achievements (Sa'ar, 1999). Those training structures differ from the leadership development programs commonly known at present. The former mostly involved instilling professional or strategic knowledge in a given field, rather than leadership-related matters in themselves (Conger, 1992).
Approaches in Leadership Development
In this day and age, according to various perceptions, leadership development means, first and foremost, providing the future leader with tools that will serve him properly while serving in his position (Nissan, 2000); for instance, abilities and skills required for goal achievement in a given position, such as rhetoric, presentation and body language (Popper, Katz, & Altman, 1995). This approach emphasizes means provision and development.
Leadership development is a continuous process, feeding on all events, circumstances and experiences in which we are involved throughout the course of our lives. Most of this process occurs in a flowing, unestablished manner, relying upon family-related factors, tendencies, evolutions, leadership experiences, influential figures, spiritual guides and mentors (Rosenstein, Hen, & Pressburg, 1999).
For approximately a year and a half, IDF developed an effective leadership workshop jointly with Prof. Bruce Ibolio. Meticulous statistic testing conducted revealed that the young leaders who had attended the workshop were significantly more effective, in comparison to the control group leaders. Other research papers conducted later on, in business work setting also revealed that leadership may be learned (Eichnwald-Dvir, 2007).
In their book, Linden & Fertman (1998) argue that each adolescent bears a leadership potential, which may be nurtured, and that faith in their leadership may be instilled within those adolescents through adults' decent guidance. In their opinion, each youngster possesses dormant leadership qualities, which may be revealed and nurtured.
Popper, Katz, & Altman (1995) present to basic assumptions to the argument that leadership may be developed. The first basic assumption, which somewhat resembles the leadership qualities approach maintains that leadership may be developed among individuals who possess proper personality components, and the motivation to lead and influence. They argue that the ability to develop leadership may be compared to a musical talent, may not be developed, but its potential may be fulfilled among those who possess those qualities. The second basic assumption maintains that leadership constantly develops and under any circumstances through experience, observations and reading. They view the leadership development process as manifested by the following three dimensions:
1. Establishing a sense of self-efficacy in relation to motivating people into activism. This process may be developed within continuous learning and mentoring structures.
2. Awareness and learning ability development: Acknowledging the psychological processes involved in motivating people and leadership, familiarity with the factors motivating people and their mode of implementation. Learning also occurs on the personal level, both for the developing individual and the subordinates.
3. Skills development; leadership development also requires providing the leader with skills, including interpersonal communication, assertiveness, goal establishment, as well as providing tools for work plan construction for their fulfillment, decision making.
Nissan (2000) argues that leadership training is possible through two main components; first, ''field work'', which will serve the developing leader as introduction to his strong and weak points, and his leadership tendencies; the second is forming a personal protect, whose declared purpose is providing an opportunity to integrate cognitive and practical abilities with the vision and values guiding his work.
Rosenstein, Hen, & Pressburg (1999) state that an organized, established leadership develop will also include components such as providing operative leadership tools, including leadership skills, knowledge and understanding acquisition, personal leadership and setting a way for its fulfillment, as well as experiences aimed at establishing the sense of self-efficacy.
Sa'ar (1999) presents six leadership development models:
1. The conceptual approach and the leadership challenge argues maintains that leadership may be learned through providing a theoretical and practical picture. They believe leadership will develop through practicing leadership behavior, until the individual turns into a leader in himself.
2. Skill building approach argues that leadership is an acquired tool, whose foundation is acquisition of several skills to be practiced and enhanced until the individual possesses a set of tools rendering him a leader.
3. Full Range Leadership Development Model; refers to a workshop which presents a theoretical model portraying five prospective leadership styles, examined on a continuum ranging from Effectiveness-Lack of Effectiveness-Activity-Passivity. Each style is characterized by different behavior. Each individual is characterized by fulfilling a certain part, though varying, of each style. The way to develop leadership passes through adopting and practicing behaviors characterizing leaders who are more on the effective extreme.
4. The Feedback Approach; assumes that the feedback constitutes a core component in an individual's ability or process of attaining self-fulfillment and professional development through awareness and mirroring of their behavior. Providing professional feedback and mirroring may enhance the behaviors of those engaging in the process.
5. The Experiential Approach; workshops developed upon this approach's foundation assume that groups possess common ideas, fantasies, and values, some of which are conscious, while the others are not. The workshop mainly discusses the unconscious dimensions, which were repressed by the group dynamics.
6. Personal Growth Approach; attempts to encourage the participants to embark on a new stage in life, by means of emotional experiences, whose purpose is to arise new insights and alteration of behavior on the individual's part. The basic assumption is that each individuals bears immense potential, which is not fulfilled because of society's expectations, concerns, and fears.
Altman (1999) proposes four main areas, which will serve as the elements of each senior leadership development program:
1. System Thinking Ability Development; refers to the essential need to view and understand the organization in terms of a system, of the organizational, system language, its thinking patterns, and a leader's actions and behavior within it.
2. Establishing a vision and its fulfillment as exhausting the ability to form simplification, construct a comprehensive picture, interpreting it through its concrete implications. The senior leader-in-training faces the need to create meaning of the diversity of options with which he is presented, selecting one of those to establish a clear vision, defining a set of actions, structures, and processes.
3. Developing one's ability to cope of cognitive and emotional complexity. This ability implies the leader's preparedness to cope with the emotional complexity, through handling complex situations under anxiety-reducing conditions.
4. Developing the ability to establish new ideas; developing innovative thinking, along with thinking habits allowing the establishment of new systems and ideas, as a leader.
In his book ''Becoming a Leader'', Bennis (2003) argues that the leader learns from each and every matter, and that leadership constantly evolves, while relying upon daily occurrences as the material which comprises it. The most effective leadership developing tool, in his opinion, is crisis and challenge. The more challenges the leader overcomes, the more he is likely to become a better, more effective leader, since experiencing challenge, difficulty, and crisis constitute a positive experience, which results in maturation.
Bennis indicates four developmental principles throughout the path of an individual's who seeks to become a leader. Those will be the principles which will contribute the required quality for the learning necessary for his development, as well as to the tools guiding through ''the way of learning'':
1. The ability to listen to one's ''inner self''; refers to the ability to reach one's full potential, develop an authentic, unique point of view, follow one's intuition, and act by one's inner voice.
2. The ability to assume responsibility for who you are; assuming responsibility on successes, as well as on failures, without pointing fingers toward the environment and others.
3. In-depth learning; learning does not consist of memorization and absorption of knowledge. Rather, its essence is viewing the actual world and the world as it may be. The in-depth learning goes beyond the learned material and facts. It consists of acquiring a level of understanding beyond that of the average individual.
4. Introspection/Reflection; refers to one's ability to learn from past experience, and gain a more profound understanding than possessed by most humans. Introspection renders learning accessible, clarifying the implications of the processes or the event which have taken place.
Leadership Development by the Tri-Dimension Model
In a study conducted by the author of this paper, hundreds of elected officials who served in the Israeli Knesset, local authorities and judges elected for service in the Israeli Supreme Court by a special judicial appointment committee were examined. (Shenhav, 2019) In this study, different demographic criteria were sampled in an attempt to understand what was common to elected leaders, and to potentially detect recommend leadership tools and methods through the research.
This research's findings revealed objective, demographic criteria common to elected leaders in Israeli government, yet many of the criteria investigated in the study neither may be developed nor be altered. Even if they may suggest leadership's likelihood among those bearing those characteristics, they are not sufficient for constructing a comprehensive educational program for developing elected leadership, based upon those data.
Aside from the in-depth literature review, and the objective criteria drawn and statistically investigated, as part of the study, six personal interviews were conducted with six elected leaders serving in senior positions in Israel's municipal and state politics, who contributed in-depth, personal, and multi-dimensional learning to this research, regarding personal processes through which leadership develops, as well as of the components required for leadership's development.
The personal interview findings mostly corresponded to findings of other researches' concerning leadership development (Nissan, 2000; Popper, Katz, & Altman, 1995; Rosenstein, Hen, & Pressburger, 1999; EiHenwald-Dvir, 2002; Linden & Fertman, 1998; Bennis, 2003; Cogner, 1992). The recommendations presented later on also rely, to a great extent, upon previous ideas, researches, and findings cited in association with the subject matter in the first part of this paper.
The leadership materializing potential is borne by everybody (Linden & Fertman, 1998). It may be nurtured and instill faith in the participants as for their leadership through the leadership development process by means of proper guidance and educational procedure. Numerous studies conducted in business work environments also revealed that leadership may be learned (Eichenwald-Dvir, 2007). Among the elected leaders the assumption that leadership constituted an acquired component was raised as well (Bibas, 2013).
The recommendations for the development of leadership as detailed in the following lines, refer to a leadership development educational program, and will propose its contents, based upon the findings of of existing research, his interpretation thereof as specified in the Discussion chapter, as well as upon his professional experience preceding this study. Those recommendations address education and training professionals, who seek to develop an enterprising leadership development program, which will address those who chose to become leaders in their environment. Apparently, the natural, internal ambition to lead (to induce positive changes signifies on of the most prominent differences between those who are leaders and those who are not) (Popper, 2005; Ephraim, 2012; Shefer, 1981).
The researcher maintains that an effective leadership development program should consist of the following components:
A. Selecting leaders with the highest compatibility possible to the demographic information cited in exisiting research, which will prevent any gender, religious, or regional discrimination. This recommendation particularly refers to the criteria subject to the participant's choice of his course of life and his initiative; for example, it is advisable to prefer a university graduate than an uneducated candidate.
B. Of the candidates to participate in this training course, the candidates to be selected will be those who have most sincerely proven their wish, choice, and ambition to become involved in elected leadership positions, expressing a strong desire to learn, practice, experience, and progress in respect to skills and aptitudes for the sake of fulfilling their position.
C. In the leadership development process, it is necessary to consider three process dimensions which rely upon and complement one another; (1) ''Values'' dimension; suggesting wishes and a desire to assume a role in a leadership role (2) ''Work Plan and Vision'' Dimension; (3) ''Set of Practical Tools and Experiences'' Dimension, which will be titled ''Tri-Dimensional Leadership Development Model'' by the researcher.
In the following recommendations section, the researcher will mainly address the model proposed hereunder:
An individual who seeks to develop his leadership skills is recommended to work toward developing all three dimensions. Educational programs who strive to succeed in developing leaders are advised to consider constructing a continuous educational process in the proposed order. The author does not claim that any individual who participates in the educational tri-dimensional program will become a leader neither does he claim that any acting leader has necessarily been trained within the framework of a similar program. Rather, the author maintains that given the platform and the educational opportunity to instigate a continuous process aiming at developing leadership among participants who are interested therein, the tri-dimensional program will be most suitable.
A. The Moral Dimension: Where Are My Roots and Who Am I?
The moral dimension in the leadership development process aims at exploring, processing, and developing the participant's moral views of the occurrences in his surroundings. Through the moral dimension exploration process, his personal, family, and social identity will be examined, while conducting a process of conceptualizing the participant's inner motives. Who Am I? What turns the participant into the individual he is? From what historical origins do his personality components stem, and what are the educational and perceptual roots from which his present personality stems? Leadership's essence is the ability to influence and lead others toward a process of change (Yukl, 1994). The author argues that leadership toward a process of change does not involve external components alone (for example, economic situation or international relations). Rather, leadership and influence also, and perhaps particularly refers to internal, perceptual, and moral change in relation to the ''self'' and to one's moral environment (national, family, and personal identity and past).
In personal interviews conducted by the researcher as part of the research work, it is evident that elected leaders act out of inner motivation and values associated with inducing a change and contribution to the community (K.M. Hasson, 6th March, 2013; K.M. Cabel, 7th February, 2013; Mayor Sasson, 5th February, 2013; Mayor Bibas, 11th February, 2013; Mayor Yassur, 3rd February, 2013), thus the primary, essential foundation for leadership development relies upon exploration and processing of the moral dimension. The moral foundation is not only educationally important, but also functionally. With his election, an elected leader bears great responsibility, accompanied by a high cost (K. M. Hasson, 6th March, 2013).
In the absence of a clear moral motive and action out of genuine desire to influence and make a difference, the leader might rapidly burn out and lose his position and interested in the field (Mayor Sasson, 5th February, 2013). For the leaders who were interviewed, the moral core was revealed as a consequence of a turning moment at home, during childhood (K. M. Hasson, 6th March, 2013), at times in the educational structures, while facing peers (K.M. Cabel, 7th February, 2013), wars which turned the tables, particularly the Yom Kippur War (Mayor Sasson, 5th February, 2013), youth movement membership and socialization for activism starting at a very young age (Mayor Bibas, 11th February, 2013), and other turning moments.
An educational leadership development program will firstly seek to explore the value, the turning moment, and the components and identity, relying upon those to mirror the situation which the leader is interested in changing or leading. The moral dimension is similar to a tree's roots, the leading individual's foundation, from which he draws his ambitions, thoughts, and vision, and by which he will be supported at a time of need, and throughout decision making processes. The author argues that the moral dimension constitutes the core from which leadership will grow, thus it may be addressed and nurtured toward growth.
B. Vision and Work Plan Dimension: Where Am I Headed?
This ''Vision and Work Plan'' dimension connects, in fact, two components which refer to leadership's practical essence of the elected leader. The vision is the ideological, theoretical component, aimed at clearly presenting the way in which the individual's leadership shall be fulfilled. The vision wil portray the external and internal reality which the leader wishes to create and materialize (Mayor Sasson, 5th February, 2013). Work Plan constitutes the practical component to fulfilling the vision. It reflects the process and the required stages toward fulfilling the leader's practical ambitions (Mayor Bibas, 11th February, 2013), their combination, in the author's eyes, constitutes leadership's moral and practical essence.
While the program's first stage explores the participant's components of identity, past, and present, this stage's function within the program is to question ''Where are you headed?''. The Vision and Work Plan dimension will provide the participant with a platform for exploring personal, group, and national vision to which he strives to lead. The participant will understand the role vision fulfills in leadership, as well as within the process of influencing the led society.
The leadership development training program should provide guidance as for the way in which a vision may be supported by an actual, feasible work plan, to be constantly practiced.
The foundation for leadership development must taken into account a continuous process which is fed on all occurrences, circumstances, and experiences faced by the participants, while exploring them in relation to the moral core upon which it relies. The process occurs in a natural, non-established manner, while relying upon factors related to family, tendencies, developments, leadership experiences, figures of influence, spiritual guides, and mentors (Rosenstein, Hen, & Pressburger, 1999), which emerge all the more intensively while engaging in exploring and practicing the Vision and Work Plan Establishment Dimension.
C. Practical Set of Tools and Experience Dimension: ''How Do I Do That?"
Once the participants of the leadership development program processed their personal identity's components and addressed the issue ''Where Are My Roots'', constructing a clear vision and succeeded in complementing it with a practical work plan to execute, this stage of the program aims at providing the practical leadership tools and skills, while integrating field experience and participant's empowerment. Leader's development implies, first and foremost, providing the future leader with suitable tools for fulfilling his position (Nissan, 2000), and leadership development in a mission-related program, entails providing a set of skills and aptitudes. The following are some of the skills and tools which are important to include and practice; interpersonal communication abilities (K.M. Hasson, 6th March, 2013), assertiveness, goal establishment (Mayor Bibas, 11th February, 2013), rhetoric, presentation (K.M. Cabel, 7th February, 2013), body language (Popper, Katz, & Altman, 1995), directing skills, acquisition of knowledge and understanding, developing a personal view of leadership, including vision construction and establishing a mode for its materializations, along with experiences aiming at enhancing a feeling of self-efficacy (Rosenstein, Hen, & Pressburg, 1999).
Tool provision may not remain in the theoretical level, thus the learning will substantially integrate practical simulations and mentoring in order to enhance skills. Leadership develops constantly, and under all circumstances through experiences and observation. The purpose of a training purpose is to facilitate leadership's development and consolidation even in its practical aspects (Popper, Katz, & Altman, 1995).
The practices will also integrate ''field work'' experiences, which will introduce the leader in training to his points of strength and points of weakness, as well as to his leadership orientations. One of the ways of encouraging thereof is constructing a personal project, whose declared purpose is to provide an opportunity to integrate mental and practical abilities with the vision and values guiding his practice (Nissan, 2000). Hence, any leadership development program should include an execution of a personal project, and recurrent experiences throughout the whole program, along with providing feedback, suggestions for enhancement within individual and group work.
The preliminary field work, whether through specific experiences or through developing a project shall enhanced the participant's feeling of ''self efficacy'', thereby yielding for him a leadership experience, in which he will experience more confidence (Popper, Katz, & Altman, 1995), and will possess more practical knowledge, both regarding the mode in which leadership may be practiced, and regarding his advantages and challenges he faces as a leader.
An important emphasis in developing such an educational program is the formation of personal relationship with the participant, and guiding him while providing feedback and tools for enhancement. The experience at efficacy's context, along with abilities' mirroring and empowerment shall complement the connection of knowledge and tool provision in the process, to their assimilation in practice and within the position (Popper, Katz, & Altman, 1995). Those are feasible within a practical framework only.
The difficulty and challenges faced throughout the process should be adopted, and it is even advisable to encourage them, leveraging them to become an important dimension within the leadership development process. One of the components for most effective leadership development is crisis and challenge. The more obstacles the individual overcomes within the leadership development program, the more likely he is to become a more effective leader, since the experiencing of challenges, obstacles, and crises constitute a positive experience, resulting in growth (Bennis, 2003), provided, of course, that the most suitable mentoring and guidance are provided, and as long as the assignments are within the participant's range of efficacy.
Proposed Model: Summary
The above proposed tri-dimensional model portrays a construction process consisting of stages, calling the participant in the leadership development program to lay the moral and practical foundations to its leadership through a process integrating exploration of morals and components of personal identity, constructing a vision and a practical work plan, as well as acquiring truly practical tools for fulfilling the vision, work plan, and practically implementing leadership. The author wishes to emphasize that a leadership training program entails integrating practical experiences, both in the classroom and in the designated field, by means of a personal, practical project, as well as a professional mentoring and feedback system, designated to mirror and empower the points of strength, while enhancing the participant's points of challenge interested in developing his leadership.
Summary and Conclusions
This research sampled demographic and personality-related information, which portrayed the individual who is most likely, statistically to become elected to a public post in Israel during the research period. The following criteria were found to influence the likelihood to succeed in elections; a man, older than 50 years, born in the Central Israel, married, military service veteran, preferably combat unit service, with a commanding background, within the framework of the regular army, possessing a Bachelor's degree, preferably in the social sciences or law fields. The candidate's likelihood will significantly increase if he possesses a previous experience as a Knesset member or a mayor, running for a second term or longer, if he is a party member, if he serves a public post, or if his current occupation is in the law or journalism fields.
The researcher investigated the role some of the sampled criteria fulfilled in the elected leader's participant in the cabinet and the Knesset committees. The Knesset member's seniority was not found to be connected to his participation in either the coalition or the opposition. Likewise, a subject's political activity prior to his election was not found to be related to his involvement in either the coalition or the opposition. Additionally, gender, country of birth, city of birth, military rank, military/civil service were not found to be related to involvement in either the coalition or the opposition. Marital status was found to be weakly related to involvement in the coalition or the opposition, such that a significantly higher rate of singles was found within the opposition. New Knesset members serve in more positions on the various committees than the more senior Knesset members, and apparently, the cabinet members are older; among those born in the years 1936-1945, 75% serve on the coalition. In the consecutive two decades, 1946-1965, the distribution is nearly equal, with a slight tendency toward the opposition. On the contrary, those born in the years 1966-1975, and in the years 1976-1985 are clearly preferable on the coalition (74.4%, 64.3% respectively).
The interviews with the elected leaders mostly revealed similar information to the statistically sampled data. For instance, the interviewees' statements imply the importance of academic education, military and commanding experience, party membership, and political activity, as well as the ''public visibility'' dimension, for instance, as a lawyer or a journalist. Additionally, essential skills for success in election and leadership were emphasized, such as communication and message conveying skills, decision making skills, positive attitude and energy, humility, and willingness to help.
The professional components, too, namely, the skills and tools required for being elected and serve as a leader (for example; skills of communication, team leading, decision making, rhetoric, etc.), there are courses available, learning and implementation techniques, which may be learned, practiced, and acquired (Sa'ar, 1999; Altman, 1999).
The above data indeed suggests the so-called statistical leader, characterizing most of the elected leaders who were sampled throughout this research period, implying the criteria which fulfill a role in their successful election. However, is that sufficient to assume that an individual who possesses all criteria is likely to become an elected leader in the future?
Until 1948, more than one hundred and twenty researches were conducted, examining physical traits, mental traits, and social skills, seeking to clearly characterize the leader's traits. The researcher Stogdill (1948), who reviewed those researches, concluded that there is no actual result which may characterize a set of 'traits'' predicting or characterizing leadership, arguing that leadership is independent of an unvarying system of personal traits, but does depend upon different components deriving from the condition the leader faces, the time, need, place, and situation. In other words, the researcher presented the Situational Approach as significant in inducing leadership.
Proposed Structure of Two-Year Leadership Development Based Upon the Three Dimension Model for Leadership Development
Program Goals:
1. To develop leadership and skills for its implementation in a one-year program.
2. To connect the participants to personal, group, and national components of identity, constituting the source of social action and enterprises.
3. To gain close acquaintance with the full range of Israeli society, while providing the participant with direct encounters with society's various classes and groups.
4. To process and formulate a vision corresponding to the developing leader's views and interests.
5. To construct and write a practical work plan for executing and fulfilling the vision.
6. To develop and practice a set of tools and skills:
● Learning and practicing vision and work plan writing
● Tools in needs mapping and community/social/organizational/business mirroring
● Providing tools and practicing interpersonal communication skills; communication styles, rhetoric, body language, persuasion and resistances handling skills, effective presentation
● A set of managerial and other tools in leadership styles and their implementation in varying situations; assertive behavior, decision making skills, innovative thinking, management and team leadership, negotiation, and mediation skills
● Marketing and branding skills; self/program/product/idea
● Knowledge management
● Providing skills of providing and receiving effective feedback and practicing mirroring and feedback based learning and professionalization processes
7. To enhance a feeling of self-efficacy and mentor through the experiences of success throughout the program.
8. To write and execute an experiential project which, aside from its contribution in the field of leadership, will provide an experience and processing framework for the leader who develops through the program.
Activity Structure
The proposed leadership development program is based upon weekly sessions, within a two-year structure, divided into eight quarters. Each quarter will address another topic, usually including in-depth learning of the topic, along the experiential dimension and practices. It is advisable that the instruction will be dynamic in nature, integrating a variety of instruction styles and instructors, in order to allow acquaintance, identification, and exposition to a variety of views and instruction methods for the participant to process and assimilate. The recommended session time is four academic hours, and the recommended course length is a total of 400 hours. The first training year is mainly based upon the participant's in-depth within the inner and outer circles. At the end of the first year, the participant will possess a clearly formulated and founded vision for his enterprises, supported by a practical work plan. Most learning will occur in groups and group instruction. The second training year promotes the participant into practical action and field experiences, during which the participant will construct and conduct a personal project, will be provided a set of professional tools, and receive constant feedback in order to enhance the quality of his work. The second year's learning method will be based upon group work as well, yet this year, each participant will be personally supervised by a mentor who possesses previous experience and skills in the field of activity in which the participant wishes to act.
The following proposed plan is designated for a group of participants of Israeli-Jewish background, who wish to become leaders in their communities. The contents are presented for the author's demonstration purpose, and will be altered in correspondence to the community in which the process will occur.
First Quarter: Exploring the Components of Personal, Group, and National Identity
Discussing each individual's personal identity is crucial for molding his character as a leader, coordinator, and manager. Complex, stable identity is a foundation for a vision, moral thinking, and leading projects and other individuals. Molding one's identity as an individual within a society and a community is complex and diverse, involving constant development and molding processes. Throughout this quarter, it is recommended that the participants explore the components of their identities; personal, social, religious, national, and communal, engaging in the moral and historical aspects which laid the foundations for their identity's components.
This quarter will be deemed successful if the participants are able to recognize the components of their personal identity, the elements from which they imbibe their moral and spiritual essence, possessing a diverse historical and moral knowledge in order to come to terms with their roots.
Sample workshops and topics; Jewish Identity workshop, ''Journey into the Selt'' workshop, mapping family and national roots, ''A Journey in the Footstep of the Jewish People''.
Second Quarter: Exploring Personal, Family, and National Narrative
A substantial part of the motivation to act and lead toward a change among leaders lies upon the way in which they understand and interpreted the reality surrounding them, and the desire to initiate a change. At times, a given condition which may be interpreted as success by one individual may be perceived as tremendous failure by another. It applies to national dynamics among nations, in the business arena, and certainly in communal aspects. This quarter's goal is to provide the participants with a key leadership tool, namely, the ability to understand the present situation's complexity and the multitude of interpretation to the same situation. The author suggests expanding one's exploration of the self and the family; analyze personal, group, and religious narratives from several viewpoints. This quarter will be deemed successful if the participant knows to analyze his perceptions, ambitions, and views in a divergent mode, understanding and tolerating the multitude of prospective interpretations and meanings of any future situation or action he will seek to induce and lead.
Sample workshops and topics; Learning psychology's and sociology's narrative approach; exploring texts from various points of view; trips to museums, heritage sites and community centers, critical inquiries and adoption of models for multi-dimensional analysis.
Third Quarter: Israel Society - Past, Present, and Future
The participant who seeks to act as a leader within the community is to possess comprehensive, broad knowledge regarding the place and the environment where he wishes to act and lead. In this quarter, the participant will be exposed to the diversity of Israel's communities, and their social, economic, political, and business backgrounds. This quarter will allow the participants to encounter the social conflicts between minorities, nationalities, and ethnic groups, inducing a proper integration of providing theoretical knowledge and direct, guided encounters with the various groups. This quarter will be deemed successful if at its end, the participants will possess greater knowledge regarding the variety of Israeli society's variety of cultures and community, knowledgeable of its challenges and advantages, thereby possessing more solid views of the places where they want to become involved and act, lead, and create a change, while processing the broader implications.
Sample workshops and topics; Old/New Immigrants and Israeli born; Jews-Arabs Relations; Religious vs. Seculars, Poverty Report, Gaps in Israeli Society, Israeli Society in the Eyes of the Cinema, Music, etc.
Fourth Quarter: Constructing a Professional Vision and Work Plan
Molding a personal, social, and communal vision is part of enterprising leadership development, directly stemming from the discussion of personal and Jewish identity, and the connection to Israel. In this part of the leadership training program, the participants will be provided with tools for professional vision development, in the field in which they seek to lead, and then learn to construct a practical work plan for fulfilling the vision. This quarter will include a review of successful and failing enterprises; conferences with various entrepreneurs will be conducted - in the public, business, and private sectors. The plans written will be enhanced and modified. This quarter will be deemed successful if at its end, each participant will possess a set of tools for community mapping and analysis, and, on the basis of which, possessing a professional, well-formulated, and full vision, supported by a realistic, practical work plan.
Sample workshops and topics; ''Forever Constructed'' - vision and practice in surviving organizations; encounters with entrepreneurs and enterprises, community and organization mapping tools, SWOT models, the mysteries of the business plan.
Fifth Quarter: Writing a Practical Annual Project and Beginning its Implementation (Supervised by a Professional Mentor)
This quarter, which marks the course's second year, seeks to connect the participants to practical field work and learning. Each participant is expected to write and implement a personal project in the field where he will seek to direct and lead, implementing all the knowledge and components with which he was provided during the course's first year. The fifth quarter will be devoted to developing, coordinating, and implementing the project, professionally supervised by a mentor from the participant's field of activity. The project will be conducted until the end of the training year. The quarter will be deemed successful if throughout its course the activity shall commence under the participant's direction and leadership, subject to constant supervision and feedback in order to enhance his skills and quality of his activity.
Sixth and Seventh Quarter: Tool Box and Skills
In the following two quarters, the program will provide the participant with a set of practical tools of leadership, management, and initiating projects, actions, and involvement. Those two quarters will be deemed successful if the participants end up with an excellent, relevant set of professional tools, which will serve his practice as a leader.
The following are sample workshops and topics, based upon this research's findings:
● Providing tools and practicing interpersonal communication skills; communication styles, rhetoric, body language with a closed-circuit videotaping, persuasion and resistance handling skills, effective presentation.
● Set of managerial tools; leadership styles and their practice in varying situations, assertive behavior, decision making skills, innovative thinking, management and team leading skills, motivating employees, finance recruitment, negotiation and mediation, knowledge management.
● Marketing and branding skills (self/program/product/idea)
● Providing and receiving effective skills, practicing mirroring and feedback based learning and professionalization processes.
Еighth and Final Quarter: Conclusion, Declaration of Intention, and Processing
The leadership training process lasted two years, integrating knowledge, providing practical tools, simulation and practice, and conducting a project, supervised by a professional mentor. An important component is the conclusion and conception of the personal and professional achievements acquired throughout the process. In this quarter, the two year period will be concluded and processed, addressing the improvements occurred and the points where further empowerment of the participant is still necessary. In this quarter, the graduation ceremony shall take place. The graduates are awarded a diploma, and, with the group supervisor and the personal mentor a ''Declaration of Intention'' document will be written, addressing the dimension which they intend to promote and implement in the future.
In conclusion,
Leadership research, analysis, and understanding of leaders and the reasons for their leadership growth has remained and remains the subject of many scholars. (Amit, Popper, Gal, et el., 2008). In this article, the researcher sought to highlight the ways to develop leadership and therefore a review of the leading approaches in leadership development was proposed. (Nissan, 2000), (Rosenstein, Chen, and Pressburg, 1999), (Saar, 1999). In addition, the researcher proposed a leadership development program based on the comprehensive research project he conducted in the paper "The Demographic Information of Selected Israeli Leaders and its Role in Their Election and Development of Future Leadership" (Shenhav, 2020) and proposed a tri-dimensional model for the development of personal, political and policy leadership.
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