Assessing process-based leadership learning at scale: a dynamic teaching tool for higher education and beyond

Purpose Leadership assessment in higher education has often emphasized individual, leader-centric measures rather than collective, process-based leadership learning. As leadership educators increasingly adopt process-based approaches, many existing assessment strategies remain difficult to implement at scale. Design/methodology/approach This teaching tool essay describes a dynamic leadership assessment platform embedded in the Leadership Studies Minor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and explains how it supports process-based adaptive leadership learning. Findings Leadership educators may choose to use this tool because it allows for near-real-time feedback, repeated assessment, and curricular integration to support the process-based development of adaptive leadership behavior, self-efficacy, and self-awareness. Originality/value This essay offers a concrete, scalable teaching tool for assessing process-based approaches to adaptive leadership learning in higher education. The tool can be implemented at no cost by programs using publicly available scales or by contacting UTK Leadership Studies.