In the February 2008 issue of The School Administrator, President Wayne Clough writes about the importance of educating a "value-added" workforce that can effectively compete in the global market against new lower-wage competing countries.

President Clough writes, "Instilling leadership skills in students will provide another value-added characteristic that will help them compete with their international peers. Colleges and universities are beginning to offer structured leadership studies to help students understand the social, political, economic, cultural and ethical dimensions of leadership and develop key skills in communications and teamwork."

President Clough highlights the LEAD Program as an effective tool to obtain those skills.

"LEAD...not only offers courses that lead to a certificate in leadership, but also promotes internships that develop leadership skills and coordinates a wide variety of extracurricular activities with a focus on leadership," President Clough writes.

President Clough cites a 2005 study performed by McKenzie & Co. that finds that while low-wage young professionals from competing countries like China and India have technical skills, fewer than 15 percent of them have the more sophisticated skills they need to evolve as leaders. Their education may have centered on rote memorization and did not develop their problem-solving or creative-thinking skills, they lack language and communication skills, or do not have any cross-cultural or teamwork skills.

President Clough believes "this is where the United States can differentiate its workforce from others."