Promotion of service leadership qualities in Chinese university students : objective outcome evaluation based on six waves of data

Abstract

Economies worldwide are shifting from manufacturing to service economies, resulting in a demand for new leadership qualities. The Hong Kong Institute of Service Leadership & Management (HK1-SLAM) proposed the Service Leadership and Management Model which highlights the importance of leadership competencies, moral character, and caring dispositions as crucial leadership attributes in service economies. The Global Youth Leadership Programme (GYLP) was developed for students from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the Peking University, aiming at nurturing students' service leadership qualities. The present paper reports findings based on objective outcome evaluation utilizing six waves of data. Results showed that students had significant improvement over time on different outcome measures, including positive youth development attributes, service leadership competencies, and life satisfaction. The study provides evidence for the effectiveness of service leadership education and GYLP. Implications for nurturing service leaders and promotion of holistic development of students through leadership programmes are discussed.