Increasing Leadership Self-Efficacy Through Experiential Learning in Student Groups

Abstract

Management education includes opportunities for students to develop themselves as leaders and improve their leadership self-efficacy. From a pedagogical perspective, experiential learning is a common approach to teaching leadership. While experiential learning components that can be embedded into a course have been shown to increase students’ leadership self-efficacy, there is a heavy reliance on case studies, simulations, and self-awareness-based exercises, which limits the capacity for students to experience leadership in a socially dynamic setting. This study documents an 8-week long group-based leadership exercise in which students rotate designated leader positions when assigned varied and progressively challenging weekly activities. We collected data on perceptions of leadership effectiveness and leadership self-efficacy and found that students in our group-based experiential learning activity series reported increased leadership self-efficacy over time. In addition, leadership self-efficacy was positively related to the effectiveness of the designated leader in their group. Further, we studied the impact of student resilience on the relationship between leadership effectiveness and leadership self-efficacy. The results of our study contribute to the literature on experiential learning by integrating social cognitive theory to identify factors affecting leadership self-efficacy, while also demonstrating the practical value and need for group-based experiential learning activities in leadership courses.