Can Leadership Competencies Differentiate Exemplary Performers from Typical Ones? A Case Study of the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program in U.S.A

This article presents a case study that examines the link between leadership's competencies and exemplary performance of Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program's leaders by analyzing opinions and perceptions of fellows who attended U.S. universities from 2005 to 2012. Since 1979, fellows have participated in the program sponsored by the U.S. government. The goal of the research is to document fellows' rankings of the program's coordinators and to examine fellows' perspectives of exemplary performance. Exemplary performance is "super performance," typically attributed to individuals who do things more easily than others do them and within which one has shown leadership and cultural competencies beyond reasonable expectations. The methodology involved was an on-line survey of 73 former Humphrey Fellows. Fellows identify leadership, interpersonal understanding and cultural competencies to account for superior performance. They also acknowledge these qualities as possible explanation for fellows' successes from professional development that followed yearlong participation in the program.