Impact of the Kellogg National Fellowship Program

1. Leading from the Heart: The Passion to Make a Difference
Original Publication by Roger H., Sublett, editor, W.K. Kellogg Foundation Publication, 2001

2. Building Leadership: Findings from a Longitudinal Evaluation of the Kellogg National Fellowship Program
Original Publication by Gregory B. Markus, W.K. Kellogg Foundation Publication 2001

3. Executive Summary of Building Leadership: Findings from a Longitudinal Evaluation of the Kellogg National Fellowship Program
Original Publication by Gregory B. Markus, W.K. Kellogg Foundation Publication 2001

Synopsis by Barbara Ascher, Leadership Review Editor

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation has recently published three booklets regarding the Kellogg National Fellowship/Leadership Program that spanned the years 1980 to 2001. The series includes Leading From the Heart: The Passion to Make a Difference, written by the Fellows, Building Leadership: Findings from a Longitudinal Evaluation of the Kellogg National Fellowship Program, by Gregory B. Markus, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, as well as the Executive Summary of the latter.

LEADING FROM THE HEART

Leading From the Heart is a collection of 19 leadership stories culled from individual experiences of some of the 701 Fellows that the program served over the years. Each story outlines a unique situation and struggle. Separate sections exemplify service, personal development, and opportunities for leadership. For example, the section on service includes remarks from Dr. Edward J. O’Neil Jr., founder of Omni Med, a non-profit organization that sends physicians to teach in developing countries. The selection stresses the importance of mentorship and leadership ethics. An entry in the personal development section describes the contribution of Susan Sygall to the empowerment of women with disabilities. The leadership section includes Faye M. Yoshihara’s entry, “Leadership Lessons From the Jungle,” focusing on promoting sustainable economic development in third world regions through partnerships of the private and social sectors.

BUILDING LEADERSHIP: FINDINGS FROM A LONGITUDINAL EVALUATION OF THE KELLOGG NATIONAL FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

The academic study of leaders and leadership expanded dramatically over the past two decades. The Kellogg National Fellowship Program, which ran from 1980 to 2001, evolved in response to new theoretical emphases as well as participant feedback. Due to increased focus on leadership, the program changed its name to The Kellogg National Leadership Program. The curriculum was extended to include seminars and national forums. The successive groups of Fellows became more diverse. Yet while some aspects of the program were changing, the philosophy remained the same. Leadership was seen as a relational process and the theories of transformational and servant leadership were increasingly stressed.

This mixture of changing and stable elements presented a serious methodological challenge for the evaluation because of changes in the program. Fellows entered the program with different skill and educational levels. The social and scholarly content of the leadership development program increased over time. There was no control group and the responses were “self-report”. Roger H. Sublett, who directed the Kellogg National Fellowship/Leadership Program for much of its existence addresses this issue. “While KNFP was never a static program, i.e., the same program offered for each group selected, the evaluation study is comprehensive in its examination of the impact on the individual Fellows as well as the impact of program components on leadership development.” While the structure evolved, the philosophy was stable: leadership is a process and it is relational.

The University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research (ISR) conducted the longitudinal evaluation of the program’s impact on participants. Dr. Gregory B. Markus and his ISR team interviewed Fellows from each group to “assess reliably what Fellows learned as a result of their participation in the program, to what degree their capacities for leadership were bolstered, and in what ways the program influenced their post-fellowship work.” Most Fellows reported as their careers developed they remained affected by the broadening of perspectives, development of leadership skills, networking opportunities, and sense of social responsibility that the Kellogg fellowship had provided.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE KELLOGG NATIONAL FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

The ISR Executive Summary offers programmatic recommendations for leadership development ventures. Among them:

• recruit broadly, select carefully
• Diversity complicates, but it’s worth it
• Experiential learning is key
• Leadership development cannot be neutral
• Leadership development occurs within a context
• Mentors matter

Among the competencies Kellogg tries to develop in their fellows are self-knowledge and reflection, interpersonal communication, commitment to service, technological training, and an interest in public policy.

References:

John A. Beineke and Roger H. Sublett, Leadership Lessons and Competencies: Learning from the Kellogg National Fellowship Program, www.wkkf.org December 17, 2002

Gregory Markus, Building Leadership: Findings from a Longitudinal Evaluation of the Kellogg National Fellowship Program, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Battle Creek, 2001

Gregory Markus, Executive Summary, Building Leadership: Findings from a Longitudinal Evaluaiton of the Kellogg National Fellowship Program, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Battle Creek, 2001

Roger H. Sublett, editor, Leading From the Heart: The Passion to Make a Difference, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Battle Creek, 2001