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University students’ leadership training programs have different dimensions, and they may be impacted by several factors. Yet, relatively few studies have been conducted on this issue. This study, therefore, examined the relationships and impacts of specific factors regarding a university students’ leadership training program. Data were collected using a questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics, including correlation, and regression analysis. Considering the study participants, there were more females than males; more sophomores relative to other class classifications, and more participants intended to hold a college leadership position than otherwise. Furthermore, on the views on leadership, a very high proportion of the participants strongly disagreed or disagreed that leadership in an organization or a community is over-hyped (View 1), and an even higher proportion of participants strongly agreed or agreed that leadership in an organization or a community is needed depending on the type of entity (View 2). The regression results revealed that for model 1, gender, age, and incentive classification had statistically significant effects on View 1, and for model 2, none of the factors had a statistically significant effect on View 2. However, a revised version of model 2 showed that incentive classification was statistically significant. It may be that gender, age, and incentive classification are important factors in students’ views on leadership. 

Soft skills are important to leadership and leadership styles; however, there are limited studies on how soft skills affect the perceived leadership styles of college students. Therefore, the study assessed the effects of soft skills on the perceived leadership styles of college students. The data were collected from a purposive sample of college students in a leadership training program. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis. The results show that the most dominant leadership styles were, telling, selling, and delegating. Regarding the selected soft skills vis-à-vis what participants would do in scenarios, there were four high combined “most likely” and “likely” responses, 70% or above for communication: particularly, for active listening, conflict resolution, writing a letter, and public speaking. For problem-solving, all five combined “most likely” and “likely” responses, were high, above 70% for creative skills, research and consult, consensus solutions, decision-making skills, and critical thinking skills. Furthermore, for work ethic, there were four high combined “most likely” and “likely” responses, above 60% for correcting an oversight, doting “is” and crossing “ts”, doing a task methodically, and completing a task on time. Additionally, the results of the multiple regression showed that the problem-solving soft skills, overall, dominated the composite leadership style. Therefore, problem-solving may be a critical soft skill that affects leadership styles.