The Leadership Portfolio Program at The University of Pittsburgh: Teaching leadership to graduate students1
| Date | 01 October 2019 |
| Published date | 01 October 2019 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0144739419851143 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
The Leadership Portfolio
Program at The University
of Pittsburgh: Teaching
leadership to graduate
students
1
Kevin Kearns
University of Pittsburgh, USA
Abstract
The Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Pittsburgh
provides an extra-curricular leadership development experience called the Leadership
Portfolio Program. The Leadership Portfolio Program uses both classroom and
community-based experiences to develop and refine leadership skills in graduate
students who are preparing for careers in public service. This article describes the
Leadership Portfolio Program and, based on student feedback, offers insights on
pedagogical strategies for teaching leadership to pre-service students.
Keywords
Leadership, pedagogy, public affairs, community engagement, graduate students
Context: Mandates, mission, and comparative advantage
The Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration (NASPAA),
requires its member schools to prepare students to be “leaders, managers, and analysts in
the professions of public affairs, public administration, and public policy” (NASPAA,
2014: 2, emphasis added). Thus, as teachers and scholars of public administration we
must engage our students in leadership development as well as equipping them with the
managerial and analytical skills.
How public management and policy programs fulfill the NASPAA leadership man-
date seems to vary greatly. The larger public administration programs may offer one or
more courses fully dedicated to leadership theory and practice, but in most public
Corresponding author:
Kevin Kearns, University of Pittsburgh, 3917 Posvar Hall, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, USA.
Email: kkearns@pitt.edu; Telephone: 412-648-7621
Teaching Public Administration
2019, Vol. 37(3) 255–273
ªThe Author(s) 2019
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/0144739419851143
journals.sagepub.com/home/tpa
administration programs the classroom exposure to leadership is more likely provided
through a few modules in a general course on administrative theory or general public
administration. Very few universities have made a substantial investment in the devel-
opment of innovative and effective ways to teach leadership to our students.
Beyond the NASPAA mandate, there are strategic reasons to invest in leadership
development. Specifically, leadership training may be a way for entrepreneurial public
administration programs, even those with modest resources, to develop a comparative
advantage in a crowded and competitive marketplace. Hunter College, a relatively small
Master of Public Administration (MPA) program, offers a unique course of study in
Urban Policy and Leadership that leverages its location in New York City, giving this
relatively small program a comparative advantage over much larger programs. At the
author’s institution, dozens of prospective students each year tell us that their interest in
our MPA program is motivated in part by the leadership development initiative
described in this article.
Also, we would be remiss not to mention the larger leadership challenges in
democracies around the world. Many top elected leaders have gravitated toward
extremist populism, divisive rhetoric, and ideology-based policy-making. In the US
the foundation principles of democracy—the legislature, the judiciary, the free
press—are under daily attack by a president who thrives in an atmosphere of blame
and distrust. Thus, besides fulfilling the NASPAA mandate or seeking a market
niche, we owe our fellow citizens the very best we can offer to ensure that the future
generation of public service leaders are of the highest quality in their skills, values,
and accountability.
Pedagogies for leadership development
The literature on leadership education is vast, and for many years was somewhat
unproductive as scholars argued over operational definitions of leadership, distinctions
between leadership and management, and whether leadership is instinctive or can be
taught. Bennis and Nanus (1985: 4) famously lamented “never have so many labored so
long to produce so little.” Over the past 20 years, however, the leadership literature is
converging toward agreement on several important issues.
First, with respect to the definition of leadership, most experts agree that the essence
of leadership is the ability to influence others to voluntarily commit themselves to
achievement of a goal or objective. Thus, at its core, leadership is influence (Zaccaro and
Klimosky, 2001: 6).
Second, most scholars agree that leadership can be learned and, to some extent,
taught. It is true that inherent personality traits play a contributing role such that some
people seem to be “born to lead.” But even traits or predispositions, such as Goleman’s
(1995) model of emotional intelligence, while naturally dominant in some people, can be
practiced and learned by people who are not necessarily born to lead. Self-confidence,
for example, is a characteristic of emotional intelligence that some people seem to
display from early childhood. Yet everyone can acquire greater self-confidence through
trial, error, and continuous learning.
256 Teaching Public Administration 37(3)
To continue reading
Request your trial