Is Leader in Me an evidence-based program?

Leader in Me is an evidence-based process of continuous growth and improvement that develops the capacity of staff, students, and their families with core paradigms and effective practices.

There is objective evidence of Leader in Me impact which has been steadily growing since 2010. To date, over 100 independent academic research studies have evaluated Leader in Me’s effectiveness. A full range of experimental methods have been used, from sophisticated quantitative analysis of statewide data to intensive qualitative studies that analyzed interview data from dozens of educators, families, and students. In addition, nearly all the studies were reviewed by a peer-review panel or academic advisory group during development and prior to release, and all studies were conducted independent of FranklinCovey.

The following reviews from independent, highly respected organizations provide validation of our strong empirical evidence:

Harvard’s Graduate School of Education recently selected Leader in Me as a SEL program to provide in their second edition of “Navigating Social and Emotional Learning from the Inside Out” “given its strong research base and broad utilization.” The guide was funded by The Wallace Foundation in an attempt to help schools and out-of-school organizations identify the most highly effective SEL programs. The release of this report was delayed by COVID, but a pre-release copy can now be made available upon request.

The Leader in Me Research Guide (2nd Edition) is a collection of research findings from 30 separate studies highlighting the varied positive impacts, organized by our measurable results. Last published in 2018, the 3rd Edition is due out in Fall of 2021.

Further work by researchers is ongoing and will continue to provide evidence of the impact of the Leader in Me process. We see their work as a way to share the impact of Leader in Me and also learn how to grow and improve our process to have greater impact for good.

For more information about the impact of Leader in Me and to view these studies, as well as many other studies, visit our research page.