Masa Israel Journey Study by Rosov Consulting: A Fresh View into How Millennials Become Leaders
In wake of study, Masa announces Leadership Academy initiative to train 1,000 Jewish leaders by 2021
NEW YORK CITY—Masa Israel Journey today released a study—the first-of-its-kind—conducted by Rosov Consulting, which offers a fresh view into how Jewish Millennials become leaders, addressing what has been seen as a looming crisis in the Jewish world.
Following a survey of nearly 1,000 Masa alumni and a series of interviews with nearly forty of them, between four and ten years after their participation in the program, Rosov Consulting found that the immersive, long-term experience in Israel makes a powerful contribution in cultivating leaders.
More than half of respondents who self-describe as “Jewish leaders” attribute their involvement with Israel and the Jewish community to their experience on Masa. The study found that the uniquely immersive and global nature of the program – in which participants live, work, and socialize with other Jewish young adults from around the world – provides exposure to diverse viewpoints that teach teamwork and collaboration. A majority of respondents credited the experience as a significant factor in making them more likely to develop key leadership skills, such as identifying problems, creating solutions, and using vision to drive change.
“This data provides unique insight into how we can cultivate the next generation of leaders so needed for the Jewish world,” said Masa Israel Journey CEO, Liran Avisar. “We are proud to have partnered with the talented Rosov Consulting team to take an unprecedented look at how Jewish Millennials develop the skills and qualities to manifest leadership in the workplace and Jewish communal spaces. As the largest pipeline for the Diaspora to access immersive, long-term professional and educational experiences in Israel, Masa is uniquely positioned to bring solutions to the table to address this challenge.”
Avisar added, “We are thrilled to announce that top Jewish educator, Sarah Mali, will be joining our team to lead a first-of-its kind Masa Leadership Academy initiative, which will cultivate and develop 1,000 Jewish leaders from around the world by 2021. Sarah will draw on the insights of our latest research collaboration with Rosov Consulting to inform this effort.”
“Our collaboration with Masa in the largest study of its kind focused on how Jewish millennials view and develop leadership skills,” said Wendy Rosov, who has long served as a senior-level consultant in the non-profit sector. “By understanding this, Masa can be an integral part of the solution to further develop a leadership pipeline in a space where organizations such as Leading Edge and JPRO Network are already doing important work. We found that Masa serves as both an incubator—by helping participants realize and actualize their leadership skills—and as an accelerator—strengthening participants’ resumes and Jewish identities, while propelling them toward leadership roles.”
The study also unearthed a gender gap. It showed that more men perceive of themselves as leaders in the workplace, even though women are just as likely to serve in a managerial capacity and are actually more likely to possess key leadership skills, such as valuing multiple perspectives and feeling more able to collaborate with others. The Masa Leadership Academy will work to close this gap with a unique focus on cultivating women for leadership.
About Masa Israel Journey: Masa Israel Journey is the largest immersive, long-term educational experience for young adults ages 18-30. On its programs that range from two-months to a year, Masa offers an authentic, unmediated and challenging journey into Israeli society, culture, politics and history – and acts as the largest pipeline for the Jewish diaspora to access the finest Israeli businesses, social enterprises and academic institutions. Since its 2004 founding by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office and The Jewish Agency, Masa has served over 120,000 young people from more than 60 countries.
About Rosov Consulting: A professional services firm working at the nexus of the funder and grantee relationship, Rosov Consulting fosters partnerships based on shared visions of success. Along with our core values of integrity, problem-solving, and teamwork, we utilize our range of life experiences and knowledge to best serve our clients.
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