17

classroom curriculum. They create working opportunities

students with similar personal and professional interest and

provide a probability to building networks to bigger

communities beyond the organization (Hall, 2012).

The Last Part, the Synthesis, sums up the literature

reviewed in the study about the leadership skills,

leadership capabilities, and effectiveness of student

organizations in the new normal.

Leadership Skills

Leadership is open to many interpretations and

different definitions. Models of leadership development

originated within the context of work organizations and

these models emphasized employee-employer relations within a

corporate environment and consequently had limited

applicability to students in learning contexts (Rosch &

Caza, 2012). The skills of leadership, after all, are not

acquired in a short period or exclusively during narrow

experiences. “Leader development involves the development of

complex skills that necessitate that individuals persist in

their development over several periods of their life” (Rosch

& Villanueva, 2016, p. 53). Modern approaches posit that

leadership is not something innate, but rather a skill that

 18

can (and must) be learned, and therefore something that can

(and must) be taught and nurtured over time (Archard, 2013;

Middleton, 2013; Peterson & Peterson, 2012). Sethuraman and

Suresh (2014) defined a leader as a person with the

responsibility to influence one or more followers and

directing them to achieve a set objective. As seen

throughout human civilization, a leader plays a vital role

in the development of humanity (Ogurlu & Emir, 2014). The

presence of leaders shook the very core of each community

and its impact the perspective of followers unto shaping

their personal beliefs as leadership is a kind of power

where one person has the ability to influence or change the

values, beliefs, behaviour and attitudes of another person

(Ganta & Manukonda, 2014; as cited by Hao & Yazdanifard,

2015).

Many scholars have pointed to the potential benefits

accruing to students when and if they are involved in

leadership activities, regardless of the approach to

leadership undertaken. According to Trowler (2012), student

engagement in leadership has behavioral, cognitive and

affective dimensions. She suggests that research has shown

that students who are involved in leadership activities

improve outcomes in a range of areas, not least in the

positive effect of leadership activities on academic

 19

performance (Patterson, 2012). Parker and Pascarella (2013)

examined student leaders experiences which can lead to the

development of leadership skills. The researchers wanted to

understand if diversity experiences, like participating in

extracurricular activities or co-curricular activities, had

an impact on the development of students’ leadership skills.

Hancock et al. (2012), for example, explored student

participation in sports, and school and community

extracurricular activities to assess the effect on

leadership skills of different involvement roles and

support.

Kouzes and Posner (2016) argue that we should stop

wondering where the leaders are and instead look in the

mirror. We must realize that leadership skills are widely

distributed among people and that we need not wonder whether

we have what it takes to lead. The real question is, “Can

you, and those you work with, become better leaders than you

are today? The answer is a resounding yes” (p. 11). All

young people benefit if the adults in mentoring roles around

them believe that they have leadership potential. By

engaging in these activities, students learn to be

confident, articulate and responsible (Thomson, 2012), so to

expose students to leadership and provide them with

opportunities to develop their leadership skills is a good

 20

preparation for future leadership roles (Archard, 2013). The

experience of many student leaders is that participation,

perhaps with a formal title of responsibility in an

extracurricular group, may be the extent of their leadership

preparation (Voelker, Martin, Blanton & Gould, 2019, p.

182).

According to Veronesi and Gunderman (2012),

extracurricular activities in schools and colleges can

foster the development of leadership abilities and can move

students from passive to active roles. Evidence also

suggests that extracurricular student organizations serve as

catalysts for the development of student leadership skills

by helping students work more closely and more effectively

with one another, though such activities are not mandatory

and by definition students participate from their own desire

to contribute. A university setting should provide ample

opportunity and fertile ground for learning leadership (Wurr

& Hamilton, 2012). Student leaders experience should be a

time for independence and learning about their own personal

leadership skills (Forbes, 2014). When examining the

effectiveness of student leadership programs, studies have

shown that the leadership skills of the students

participating improved (Weber et al., 2019). The leadership

practices and commitments are behaviors that effective

 21

leaders use. Kouzes and Posner (2012) have researched

leadership skills of effective leaders for many years and

synthesized into the aforementioned. The practices and

commitments are those of a transformational leader.

Rosch, D. & Caza, A. (2012) The durable effects of

short-term programs on student leadership development,

Journal of Leadership Education, 11(1), 28-48. This article

analyses the efficacy of a short-term leadership training

program intended to give college students a realistic

conceptualization of modern leadership. 612 US university

students participated in short-term (eight hours) leadership

programs and were later surveyed online. Each of the five

programs focused on a different aspect of leadership skills:

self-awareness, interpersonal skills, ethics and integrity,

organizational effectiveness, and transitional leadership

skills.

Leadership skills are not only possessed by individuals

in high positions, but it is essential for all individuals

to possess leadership skills, irrespective of their

positions, categories and backgrounds. Acquiring an

understanding of leadership is incomplete without

understanding its significance. When the leaders are able

develop effective interactions and put into operation the

 22

traits of morality and ethics, they are able to carry out

their duties in a well-organized manner and accomplish the

desired goals and objectives. The significance of leadership

can be understood by generating information in terms of

various aspects of principle roles, behavior and attitude,

personal traits and interpersonal skills (Radhika, 2019).

Ibrahim (2016) discusses that the role leadership constantly

presents challenges both to the leader's abilities and a

person, things and change; change brings challenge, and no

matter how good a leader is, can't stop that from happening.

How one handles those challenges will define one as a leader

and have a great deal to do with how effective one can be.

Some challenges come in the form of people or problems that

present obstacles to reaching a goal. Moreover, leadership

skills are an essential component in positioning executives

to make thoughtful decisions about their organization's

mission and goals, and properly allocate resources to

achieve those directives. Valuable leadership skills include

the ability to delegate, inspire and communicate effectively

(McLaughlin, 2014).

There are many different types of leaders, but very few

people are natural, born leaders. Most of us need to learn,

 23

develop, and improve on how to be a good leader. Leadership

development involves identifying and mastering the key

skills and characteristics that are required to become a

successful leader (Yan, 2021). The power of influence is a

key component of what makes someone an effective leader.

“What qualifies people to be called ‘leaders,’” suggests

Grenny et al. (2013), “is their capacity to influence others

to change their behavior in order to achieve important

results” (p. 6). The suggestion that leaders have ability to

influence others does not mean that a leader is one who

simply imposes his or her will on others. Rather, leaders

inspire and empower others to do more than they expected

that they could. The skills to do this are not necessarily

found naturally in leaders. Rather, leadership is

intentionally cultivated by seeking out mentors and coaches

and by continuous learning and training (Grenny et al,

2013).

Leadership skills also enable the leaders to lead their

student members into the correct direction, in accordance to

the organization vision and mission. When an organization’s

leader leads the members in the correct direction and

motivates them to continuously improve and innovate, the

organization’s performance will surely increase and be able

to sustain the organization in the current complex

 24

environment. Hence, effective leadership is the main factor

that brings change to the organization, if there is no

leadership in the organization there will be no chance at

all (Atkinson, 2015). Leadership skills can come in

naturally to some, but for others obtaining it can be a

challenging task. An article by Lester (2015) says that

programs that focus on leadership development have taken a

challenging step mainly towards students because it is a

mandatory course throughout their curriculum. Students are

obligated to take this to enhance further their ability to

communicate to adapt to situations when they are an employee

in a work field. Pearson et al. (2019) stated that all could

learn leadership, although some are just natural leaders.

There was an understanding that some people have a knack for

leadership. Others find the courage and then learn

leadership while some need longer to learn. Some have

confidence in one area but not in others – for example, a

sports leader may not have social confidence. It is possible

to learn leadership through: observing good leaders,

identifying mentors, spreading leadership skills throughout

the curriculum, creating small activity groups to enhance

individual involvement, and providing more peer teaching.

Student leaders need opportunities where they can take

leadership roles to improve their leadership skills. For

 25

this reason, leadership development programs, unlike

theoretical knowledge, should provide actual leadership

experience (Fish, 2011). Students can develop leadership

skills by applying to and taking part in youth programs that

focus on acquiring leadership techniques, ideas, and

qualities. These programs are often spearheaded by

organizations, after-school program administrators, church

groups, organizational development teams, clubs, and other

activities related enterprises. Students can also grow their

leadership skills in schools by taking part in student

organizations and other extra-curricular activities, such as

athletics, drama, music, debate, etc. (Larson and Tran,

2014).

Being a leader usually starts at a young age, and they

tend to show perseverance towards every task assigned to

them. All leaders cooperate with their members, and they

support each other through challenging obstacles. This

statement further emphasizes an article written by

Jambunathan, S., Jayaraman, J. D., Jayaraman, K., &

Jayaraman, A. (2019) because their study states that

workshops that focus on crafting leadership through helping

one another. Moreover, the results of the study concluded

that four main concepts of leadership teach and educate the

students. These are the traits of good/bad leader, public

 26

speaking, self-confidence, and problem-solving, which showed

different effects on the student's speaking ability and the

influential impact of each. Problem solving skill is

defining the problem in real terms, determining appropriate

information or limitations, presenting possible options or

solutions, solving the problem, controlling the solution and

sharing the results (OECD, 2014).

Leadership Capabilities

Leadership capabilities enable to influence people by

giving an inspiring example. An example is one that

motivates people to follow objectives that gives an

advantage to the organization. In general, leadership

involves creating a vision of the future of the

organization, designing a strategy to achieve that vision

and communicating that vision to all members of the

organization (James, Richard & Anthony, 2011). When

communicating the vision, the leader must ensure that it is

understandable so that everyone within the organization

understands it (James, Richard & Anthony et al. 2011)

Learning capability can be described as the concept

that consists of practices, mechanisms, and structures that

 27

can be implemented to promote learning in an organization

(Goh, Elliott & Quon, 2012). 

The leadership capabilities required to engage in

effective instructional leadership. Research is suggestive

of the importance of three interrelated capabilities: (a)

using deep leadership content knowledge to (b) solve complex

school-based problems, while (c) building relational trust

with staff, parents, and students. It is argued that there

is considerable interdependence between these three

capabilities, and fine-grained specification of each is less

important than developing leadership frameworks, standards,

and curricula that develop their skillful integration

(Viviane MJ Robinson, 2011).

Leadership capabilities contribute significantly to the

performance of private higher learning institutions. In

addition, this study found strong support for the mediating

role of leadership capabilities to promote performance. The

findings have both theoretical and practical implications

for post-disaster organization resilience (Zahari, Mohamed,

Said, Yusof, 2021).

Leadership capabilities in teams are used to identify a

set of tasks, social, and dysfunctional behavioral roles

that are critical to team leader success (Hobson, Strupeck,

Szostek, 2012).
 28

Promoting the significance of possessing appropriate

leadership capabilities to the students towards their future

duties as professionals would help uplift their confidence,

self-trust and sense of responsibility. Leadership consists

of qualities with high qualifications, ability to make fair

judgements based on knowledge, information and experience,

communication skills, the capacity, the capacity to

multitask and interpersonal skills (Laguador, Velaquez &

Florendo, 2013).

The honing of skills including communication and

leadership capabilities of the learners through various

academic activities which are student-centered to facilitate

teaching and learning process (Caguimbal et al 2013; Chavez

et al., 2014 Abante et al., 2014) in a more suitable

environment.

Problem solving skill is an essential component of

leadership capability that students should possess to

improve their analytical and critical thinking ability.

Giving then the opportunity to work in a community project

will help them enhance interpersonal relationship (Laguador,

Mandigma & Agena, 2013).

Intellectual honesty, accountability, and self-

awareness are three of the four key capabilities of strategic

leaders - leaders capable of inspiring change, innovation,

 29

teamwork and competitive performance in their companies and

organizations (Sydney, 2013).

The leadership capabilities have been developed to

support and encourage people to think about how they

exercise leadership in everyday roles (Turas, 2021).

Effectiveness of Student Organization in the New Normal

The global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has spread

worldwide, affecting almost all countries and territories.

The closing of schools and institutions and reduction of

business hours was declared. Blended learning (BL), or the

integration of face-to-face and online instruction (Graham

2013), is widely adopted across higher education with some

scholars referring to it as the “new normal” in course

delivery (Norberg et al. 2011, p. 207).

One of the goals of higher education is to prepare

students for their profession or occupation. In addition to

the traditional classroom environment, there are other

opportunities that can help students in promoting their

professional interests and developing professional skills.

Involvement in student organizations is considered as one of

those opportunities for skill development (Patterson, 2012).

 30

Moreover, schools and colleges are the key in shaping

the quality of leadership in society (Marcketti et al.,

2013), so it is important that they consider exactly why

they want students to engage in leadership activities

(Thomson, 2012).

In their future careers, students will experience the

unpredictable work environments of a global marketplace, and

schools and colleges need to support them in their

leadership skills development and in understanding the need

for these skills (Rosch & Caza, 2012).

Students can acquire skills and develop core

competencies through coursework, workshops related hands-on

experiences such as service learning and internship (Gassman

et al., 2014).

Evidence suggests that extracurricular student

organizations serve as catalysts for the development of

student leadership skills by helping students work more

closely and more effectively with one another, though such

activities are not mandatory and by definition students

participate from their own desire to contribute Veronesi and

Gunderman (2012).

According to Hall (2012), student organizations offer

approaches to stimulate learning experience beyond the

 31

classroom curriculum. Through participation in student

organizations, students can maintain relationships with

other individuals that have the same professional interests;

develop stronger mentoring relationships with their

teachers; gain ability to think critically, plan

appropriately and make decisions.

Students join organizations for various reasons. These

reasons can range from networking, social skills,

professional experience, personality development, leadership

skills, organizational and management skills, friendships,

and fun. No matter the reason for joining, these student

organizations offer the opportunity for gaining skills such

as better time management, social opportunities, academic

emphasis, and the ability to balance all the different

components of school work and organizational obligations

(Martini, 2011).

Dugan (2013) provided a framework for differentiating

and naming types of student groups. For example, students

could engage in “identity and expression” organizations such

as theatre, arts, or international student, or sports

organizations. Furthermore, he identified classes of

opportunities such as arts organizations and academic groups

 32

and then added involvement in traditional campus-wide

programming activities.

However, Martin, (2000) as cited by Ebede (2015)

mentioned that many college and university students

participate in student organizations not only for

entertainment. Student also wants to develop skills,

knowledge and competencies that are relevant to their

career.

Students who participated in student organizations

viewed involvement as a significant element of their

socialization and academic persistence that provides

participants with resources to excel in their academic

environments. The more students participate in student

organizations, the more they are likely to improve essential

abilities that will be useful in the real-world setting

(Patterson, 2012.)

Student organization activities provide this sort of

experience for development as they give students the

opportunity for peer interaction and leadership roles that

provide a foundation for leadership training (Haber, 2011).

Lavery and Hine (2013) have asserted that student

leaders acquire skills such as time management,

 33

organization, interpersonal communication, decision-making,

public speaking, and conflict resolution amongst others.

Student leadership is important not only for

understanding how students interact with their peers and

superiors in order to build upon their interpersonal skills.

Additionally, this skill development can aid the students in

future endeavours especially when future employers are

seeking these leadership skills in future employees (Holmes,

2014).

According to Trowler (2012), student engagement in

leadership has behavioural, cognitive and affective

dimensions. She suggests that research has shown that

students who are involved in leadership activities improve

outcomes in a range of areas, not least in the positive

effect of leadership activities on academic performance.

In colleges and universities, participation in student

organizations and clubs is a useful tool for personal

development in students. Starr (2020) further asserted that

student organizations play a vital role in fostering our

campus community. In this time of transition, the role of

student organizations is just as important as ever. We have

already seen from many of our organizations that the bonds

 34

found within these groups can continue to be fostered

virtually.

Synthesis

Based on the related studies about the influence of

different variables, the researchers summarized them as

stated herein.

Leadership skills are an essential component in

positioning executives to make thoughtful decisions about

their organization’s mission and goals, and properly

allocate resources to achieve those directives. Valuable

leadership skills include the ability to delegate, inspire

and communicate effectively. Leadership skills also enable

the student leaders to lead their members into the correct

direction, in accordance to the organizations’ mission and

vision. Leadership skills are not only possessed by

individuals in high positions, but it is essential for all

individuals to possess leadership skills, regardless of

their positions, categories and backgrounds.

Leadership capabilities enable to influence people by

giving an inspiring example. It’s the concept that consists

of practices, mechanisms, and structures that can be

 35

implemented to promote learning in an organization.

Leadership capabilities contribute significantly to the

performance of private higher learning institutions.

Promoting the significance of possessing appropriate

leadership capabilities to the students towards their future

duties as professionals would help uplift their confidence,

self-trust, and sense of responsibility. Leadership

capabilities have been developed to support and encourage

people to think about how they exercise leadership in

everyday roles.

Finally, the primarily goal of higher education is to

assist students in developing the skills necessary to enter

the global community with a values system and becoming part

of a student organization can assist in this development.

While at a university, students are afforded the opportunity

to mimic professional environments. These opportunities

provide real leadership opportunities along with growth and

personal development of skills that will contribute to their

future.
36