The purpose of the study was to address the Adult TESOL leadership concern of insecure grant funding. It focused on two key performance indicators: Student retention and academic skill level gains. Students dropping out of the program and scoring poorly on assessments are an ongoing concern for leadership. The study used an intervention and control to test whether applying principles of self-efficacy might help resolve the problem. Intervention group student participants enrolled in an online, community-based Adult TESOL program were placed in self-efficacy-building partnerships during a six-week term and given a survey to measure self-efficacy. Control group student participants also enrolled in the same program were only given the survey. The data were collected and analyzed using statistical methods. The data analysis revealed that using self-efficacy partnerships positively correlated with increased retention and level gains, but did not allow a cause-and-effect statement. The data analysis could not exclude that there might have been other reasons for the rise in students' self-efficacy, retention and level gains. The data analysis also revealed that an increase in self-efficacy might help to improve outcomes. The current study will add to the body of knowledge on Adult TESOL leadership and best practices for financial stability in Adult TESOL programs. The study might also be helpful to demonstrate success in an online or hybrid Adult TESOL context. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]