Call for Nominations for Award
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Rationale: Leadership development is an integral part of many schools’ curricula and typically an important part of their vision and mission. The goal of this award is to recognize high quality, evidence-based leadership development programs to promote the adoption of high EBLD standards as a field.
We invite nominations for the EBLDP award from academics in different roles (leadership faculty, lecturers, directors of centers, directors of programs, deans, provosts etc.) at academic institutions around the world. The core focus is a program of leadership development – your vision of effective leadership and the way you implement its development. This program can be implemented in a singular course, a degree, and/or across the school or university as a whole. Ideally, it is a flagship program and exemplary of what the school has to offer in terms of leadership development. We only accept one nomination per year per school. Nominations that are not selected can be updated and resubmitted in subsequent years.
The submission process includes 3 stages:
- An abstract (optional) – a 1 page abstract could be submitted, including the program and submitter details as well as a short description of the program’s vision on effective leadership and its development – what is the core principle/DNA of your program, how do you develop leaders through your program, and what evidence do you collect to assess its effectiveness. The abstract should be submitted via email (to: contact@evidence-based-leadership.org) by 30 of January 2023.
- Workshop (optional) – abstract submitters will be invited to participate in an online workshop that will assist with the development of their submission. To maximize the gains from the participation in the workshop, we request submitters to prepare a short presentation (3 slides max) to summarize their program. Such presentation should focus on the mission, vision and methods of the program. The workshop will be held online on 13 of February 2023.
- Full submission – please submit your full award portfolio (see details below), by 20 of March 2023.
Full submission details
Your submission should include a portfolio showcasing a specific LD program. It should be no longer than 15 pages (double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12). Appendices are excluded from this page count and can be used to support and illustrate the central narrative, however, do not rely on appendices as part of your main narrative – the main narrative should stand on its own and provide all the information outlined below.
The central questions we ask you to answer in those 15 pages are (1) What is your program’s mission and vision on effective leadership and its development; (2) how do you implement your vision within your LDP; and (3) what evidence supports the effective implementation of that vision?
Think about the components of the submission as an academic paper, first you present your theory (i.e., your vision on leaders and its development), then you describe the method of implementation (i.e., how does your program implement your vision? How is it structured?), and finally the results, or evidence (i.e., what is the evidence to show that your program is effective?).
Your submission should include information on the three aspects:
Similar to a well-written scholarly paper, which includes a focus on theory, method, and data, we focus on three key criteria when evaluating submissions:
First, the theoretical coherence of your submission (max. 5 pages). What is your vision on effective leadership? What is your approach to developing effective leaders? What is the theoretical base supporting your vision and approach to developing effective leaders? In this part you should describe your vision of what effective leadership is and your philosophy for its development. The core focus here is on the narrative, its subcomponents and how they all fit together into a coherent whole.
Second, the methodological approach that you follow (max. 5 pages). How do you implement your vision? What is your pedagogical approach to development? What concrete methodology do you use with regard to the development of the program participants based on your vision?
In support of your main narrative, you should add concrete examples of your vision and its implementation in the program. Beyond well-chosen examples, further details of the program (e.g., timeline, exercises, etc.) can be added in the appendix.
Third, the evidence in support of your case (max. 5 pages). Here we are looking for any evidence that supports both your vision and its implementation. Your submission should demonstrate that your specific vision is relevant for effective leadership (e.g., your core competencies or focus on leader is related to effective leadership), and that this is not just an abstract vision, but that it finds its way into practice, how it connects to the specific activities included in the program? Why are these methods effective in developing these competencies? Etc. In other words, show us how you walk your talk and that your vision is indeed supported by evidence (how do you know that your program is successful in developing leaders?). For instance, consider questions like: How do you evaluate the success of your program? What methods do you have installed for continuous improvement? How is the expertise of the faculty delivering your program in line with your vision? How do you communicate your vision externally?
Additional background information on evidence-based leadership development can be found in Leroy et al. (2022). Even though the paper focused on business school, we invite applications from any type of school or university. For questions about these criteria, please contact Hannes Leroy (leroy@rsm.nl) or Moran Anisman-Razin (moran.anismanrazin@ul.ie).
Leroy et al. (2022). Walking our evidence-based talk. The case of leadership development in business school. Journal of Leadership and Organization Studies, 29(1), 5–32. https://doi.org/10.1177/15480518211062563.