Beyond organizational participation: The effects of organizational activism and soft skills on university students’ leadership self-efficacy

Personal skills and organizational involvement may support students’ confidence in performing leadership roles. This study aims to analyze the effects of soft skills and organizational activism on students’ leadership self-efficacy. A quantitative approach with a cross-sectional survey design was employed, involving 124 active undergraduate students enrolled in bachelor’s or applied bachelor’s programs who participated in intra- or extracurricular organizations. Data were collected using a closed-ended questionnaire consisting of 21 items measured on a five-point Likert scale and analyzed using multiple linear regression. The results showed that soft skills and organizational activism jointly had a significant effect on students’ leadership self-efficacy (F(2, 121) = 60.425; p < .001; R² = .500). In the partial analysis, organizational activism had a positive and significant effect, whereas the effect of soft skills was inconsistent between conventional regression (p = .049) and bootstrap testing (p = .216). These findings highlight the importance of active organizational involvement as a factor associated with students’ confidence in their leadership capabilities. Abstrak Keterampilan personal dan keterlibatan organisasi berpotensi mendukung keyakinan mahasiswa dalam menjalankan peran kepemimpinan. Penelitian ini bertujuan menganalisis pengaruh soft skills dan aktivisme organisasi terhadap leadership self-efficacy mahasiswa. Penelitian menggunakan pendekatan kuantitatif dengan desain survei potong lintang terhadap 124 mahasiswa aktif jenjang S1/D4 yang terlibat dalam organisasi intra maupun ekstra kampus. Data dikumpulkan melalui kuesioner tertutup dengan skala Likert lima poin yang terdiri atas 21 butir pernyataan dan dianalisis menggunakan regresi linear berganda. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa soft skills dan aktivisme organisasi secara simultan berpengaruh signifikan terhadap leadership self-efficacy mahasiswa (F(2, 121) = 60,425; p < 0,001; R² = 0,500). Secara parsial, aktivisme organisasi berpengaruh positif dan signifikan, sedangkan pengaruh soft skills menunjukkan hasil yang tidak konsisten antara regresi konvensional (p = 0,049) dan uji bootstrap (p = 0,216). Temuan ini menegaskan pentingnya keterlibatan aktif dalam organisasi sebagai salah satu faktor yang berkaitan dengan keyakinan mahasiswa terhadap kemampuan kepemimpinannya.