Designed for extension personnel who are involved in community leadership (CL) programs, this publication summarizes recent national efforts that could be useful in developing and conducting CL programs, and current leadership theory and literature. Part 1 reports the results of the national survey, initiated in April 1985, of extension staff involved in CL efforts, by type of programming, interests and roles of CL programmers, networks of these programmers, and their backgrounds. Part 2 presents summary information from four national projects dealing with leadership programs for extension clientele in agriculture, natural resources, home economics, 4-H and youth, and community development. Part 3 provides an overview of the literature on leadership, summarizes the major leadership research traditions, and considers the implications of each tradition in relationship to CL development programs. Part 4 sets forth the implications of five theories for extension CL development programs (trait approaches, behavioral approaches, situational-contingency approaches, transactional approaches and attributional approaches), and examines each one. Part 5 is a directory of personal and organizational contacts for CL programming. The methodology for the national survey and sample questionnaires on the current status of extension staff in all program areas are appended. (JMM)