Degrees of Leadership

Creating Cache

Career-minded individuals pursue MBAs both for the skills and knowledge they will acquire and as a way to punch their tickets. The degree itself is widely regarded as a passport to bigger and better things in the corporate world.

Does the same apply to master’s degrees in leadership? That depends partly on the type of organization in which one works or intends to work, program directors say. Most say that their leadership tracks attract a higher percentage of students from the government and nonprofit worlds than do MBA programs.

“In most companies, the MBA still has more cache than [a leadership degree],” Polding concedes. This applies especially in the financial services world, he says. On the other hand, he insists that “it’s just as likely for one of our MAOL graduates to wind up at the executive level.”

Hellerud acknowledges that the MBA is a “more recognized degree. When people apply for jobs, they need to explain [a leadership] degree,” she says.

Cache is one thing and results are another. Hanson says he got an unofficial look at a study by “a very large employer in the Twin Cities” that sought to measure the “bang for buck” it was getting from its tuition-reimbursement program. As employees finished various college tracks over a five-year period, the company interviewed bosses, subordinates, and others to gauge the impact on graduates’ subsequent job performance. Concordia’s MA in organizational management program “came out very favorably” in the study, Hanson says. “We did better than the MBA programs at some very prestigious schools.”