The community college environment is a complex and ever-changing system that requires effective leadership. The leadership characteristics in community colleges have been investigated substantially with studies primarily focused on the presidency and the pathway of the traditional academic pipeline. But as community colleges have struggled to do more with less, it has become even more imperative that the leadership of the organization approach turbulent times with greater innovation and entrepreneurial spirit, filling upcoming and increasing leadership vacancies with new talent.

This study looked at the leadership characteristics of workforce development administrators. The purpose of this study was to analyze the talent found in the workforce development departments of selected community colleges by examining the management and leadership characteristics of workforce development personnel.

The results of the statistical analysis showed some statistically different leadership characteristics and competencies between workforce administrators and other community college administrators. The workforce administrators were found to have characteristics of significantly higher leadership attributes for drive, which includes attributes of being dynamic, striving, and enterprising. The workforce administrators were also found to have significantly higher competency potentials for achieving success, which includes such factors as taking action, pursuing goals, and tackling business challenges. This data can serve to inform current presidents and aspiring leaders and educators about the specific areas of strength of workforce administrators, as well as areas to be targeted to better prepare tomorrow’s leaders.