For centuries all over the world, societies have had an interest in developing lead-
ers (Ayman, 1993, 2000). In ancient Greece, Plato in his Republic discussed the
lifelong process necessary to develop the philosopher-king. This process of edu-
cation, according to Plato, consisted of required stages and time periods necessary
for the evolution of a person into a leader of society. In his estimation a person
would not achieve a sufficient level of maturity to become a leader until the age
of 45 or 50. The curriculum presented by Plato was broad based and long term; it
focused on developing the body as well as the mind. Thus, to foster development
in a leader, a program needs to start early and be holistic (Plato, trans. 1993).

Today, leadership development programs are widespread (Day, 2000). Most
large companies (e.g., Anonymous, 1999; Egan, 1999) and business schools have
some type of executive development program (e.g., Smith, 2000). Some agencies,
such as the Center for Creative Leadership, in collaboration with companies and
universities, have extensive programs to assist aspiring executives and managers
to learn about effective leadership (e.g., Anonymous, 2000). These types of adult
development programs abound. For example, Honan (1998) stated that there are
“nearly 700 leadership development programs at American academic institutions
today” (p. 20), which he assessed was double the number of programs existing
4 years prior. However, some would argue that the supply of programs is still

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