How Confident Leadership Affects Program Outcomes

Griffith, A. N., & Larson, R. W. (2015). Why trust matters: How confidence in leaders transforms what adolescents gain from youth programs. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 26(4), 790–804. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12230

Introduction

Youth programs often credit “supportive relationships” as their active ingredient, but Griffith and Larson (2015) ask a sharper question: How does trust specifically change what adolescents gain? Drawing on theory that defines trust as confidence in another’s goodwill, integrity, and competence, the authors argue that trust may magnify program effects by making youth more willing to rely on leaders, take risks, and engage deeply in learning experiences.

Methods

Using an exploratory, theory-generating qualitative design, the study interviewed 108 ethnically diverse adolescents (ages 12–19) across 13 project-based programs (arts, leadership, technology/science) in Illinois, Chicago, and Minneapolis–St. Paul. Youth identified a leader they trusted most and described how trust affected program work, what would differ without trust, and whether trust helped outside the program. Grounded-theory coding proceeded via iterative team consensus; analyses focused on youth reporting trust, yielding a final analytic sample of 98.

Results

Youth described five trust-amplified benefits: greater use of leaders’ guidance, stronger motivation, increased use of leaders for personal mentoring, leaders as models of well-functioning relationships, and (less often) greater program cohesiveness. Trust functioned like an “on switch” or amplifier, enabling youth to listen, persist, seek help, and risk new strategies without fear of embarrassment.

Discussion

The authors propose that trust chiefly amplifies youths’ uptake of leaders’ “assets” (expertise, encouragement, availability), which in turn increases adolescents’ active engagement and sense of agency. Limitations include reliance on self-report narratives and a sample of effective programs, but converging accounts support trust as a plausible mechanism.

Implications for mentoring programs

Prioritize trust-building as a core competency: train mentors in reliability, emotional safety, and follow-through; allow time for trust to develop; and structure projects that make mentor expertise visible while protecting youths’ dignity during mistakes.

Read the full paper here.