Virtually every corrections department has some type of management program designed to train supervisors on the basics of management but such training is often technical and oriented toward attaining specific skills such as personnel administration. Moreover, essential characteristics of effective leadership are rarely examined in management training seminars and workshops. The California Department of Corrections has developed a unique program designed to educate rather than train future leaders. The primary purpose of the program is to develop participant leadership skills through a rigorous academic program, and program participants include employees who are viewed as future leaders. The guiding philosophy of the program is that correctional leaders of the future will be able to cope more effectively with challenges they will face through proper education. The program is based on a 6-week schedule: (1) defining effective correctional leadership; (2) contingent and transformational leadership; (3) leadership, ethics, and motivation; (4) visionary and transformational leadership; (5) transitional planning and organizational transformations; and (6) media, legislature, and correctional leadership. The program is implemented through the Leadership Institute of the Department of Corrections. By focusing on elements of effective leadership, program participants gain an appreciation of the complexity of correctional leadership and learn how to develop successful leadership strategies. 5 references