Measuring and comparing community leadership of the Laotian American and Vietnamese American communities

This quantitative descriptive research study used a standardized leadership scale to compare the leadership styles of community leaders in two Southeast Asian communities. Seventy-six Southeast Asian community leaders in the Vietnamese American and Laotian American communities were assessed for leadership style. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire leadership model developed and updated by Avolio and Bass (2004) was the basis of assessment to evaluate whether differences exist between the leaders of the two communities. The factors evaluated included the differences in economic, academic, and social success between the two communities as noted by past social science researchers (e.g., Southeast Asia Resource Action Center, 2004; U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2000). The findings confirmed that leadership style for community leaders in each community differed significantly. Laotian American community leaders were found to have a more noninvolved or laissez-faire style of leadership, whereas Vietnamese American community leaders were found to have a more involved or transformational style of leadership. Recommendations for future research are to explore how the style, personality, and quality of community leaders might influence the ability of a given community to thrive and meet its chosen goals.