Leadership Studies Commons^™

Fostering Belonging In The Workplace: What Does Commitment Look Like At Interpersonal, Team, And Organizational Levels?, Jody Condit Fagan

Libraries

Researchers describe belonging as “an essential human need” that supports people’s abilities to share, create meaning, participate, and learn with others at work (Filstad et al., 2019, p117). Sense of belonging varies by culture (Cortina et al., 2017) and belonging-related stressors have been shown to be more intense for those who identify with outgroups (Walton & Brady, 2017). Given this context and the impossibility of directly creating belonging, how can people at all levels support an inclusive commitment to fostering belonging as an organizational value? This presentation will define belonging, outline relevant actions and behaviors, and illuminate potential pitfalls.

Transgender And Gender Non-Conforming Leaders And Leadership: A Foundational And Integrative Review, Jody Condit Fagan

Libraries

Gender and leadership research has traditionally employed a binary framework, overlooking the experiences of transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) leaders and forcing leaders of all genders and intersectional identities into a dichotomous frame. This paper reviewed interdisciplinary literature using a robust search strategy in three academic databases and Google Scholar, as well as across eight leadership studies journals. Sixteen sources involving 440 leaders’ experiences were found. The author conducted a thematic analysis to explore how TGNC leaders’ experiences challenge and advance leadership theories, deepen understanding of discrimination, and offer ways to support their emergence and success. TGNC leaders’ experiences bring …

Searching For Nonbinary And Trans Inclusion: A Call To Action For Leadership Studies, Jody Condit Fagan, Ari Emilia Short

Libraries

Academic studies of leadership have historically taken a binary view of gender. A literature review was conducted to search for any scholarly work inclusive of trans and nonbinary identities. Across three academic databases and five leadership journals, only 11 such sources were found. These results were reviewed to explore themes across their findings as well as suggestions for future research. The analysis of the 11 sources’ findings and recommendations offer guidance for expanding conceptions of gender in leadership; for enhancing leadership education; and for developing a more complete research agenda for gender and leadership studies. Suggestions are also offered for …

Developing And Establishing Validity Evidence For A Measure Of Situational Leadership In An Outdoor Leadership Context, Guy B. Debrun

Dissertations, 2020-current

Discussions of what it means to be an effective outdoor leader are common in outdoor education literature (Smith & Penny, 2010). Research has identified core competencies, conceptual frameworks, and course curricula for effective leadership. However, the criteria upon which judgements are made about leaders lack clarity (Smith & Penny, 2010). Furthermore, very little is documented, and few evaluation instruments exist to evaluate outdoor leader effectiveness (Phipps et al., 2005). The lack of instruments is problematic for four reasons: (1) it hampers efforts to create recognized outdoor leader certifications, (2) it impedes efforts to demonstrate the value of outdoor leadership program …

Reflections On “To Study The Self Is To Forget The Self’: Zen Lessons On Ego And Leadership In Higher Education”, Jody Condit Fagan

Libraries

Stuart Lachs kindly wrote a response to my conference paper, “To study the self is to forget the self’: Zen lessons on ego and leadership in higher education” (Fagan, 2020), which led to a highly fruitful correspondence and an expansion on my thinking related to Zen, ego, and Zen practice in America today. Conversations with fellow practitioners and follow-up readings have also continued to shape my thinking. This response paper summarizes my reflections.

Making Work-Life Policies And Perceptions Public: An Examination Of Corporate Websites And Employee Ratings Of Work-Life Balance, Alyse S. Lehrke

Dissertations, 2020-current

Organizational leaders in high-performing companies strive to implement work-life policies and practices that contribute to the company’s competitive advantage in meaningful ways. In the United States, leaders often cite business case justifications for work-life benefits by tracing benefits to profit and loss in the form of higher retention, lower absenteeism, and greater productivity, for example. However, a corporate social responsibility case adds to the business case for work-life benefits by recognizing the potential to enhance the company’s reputation by demonstrating ethical business practices to public audiences. This study builds on both a business case and social responsibility case to examine …

“To Study The Self Is To Forget The Self”: Zen Lessons On Ego And Leadership In Higher Education, Jody Condit Fagan

Libraries

Theories of charismatic leadership present leadership as an influence process where part of the leader’s role is to attract followers through individual example and vision. Charismatic leadership acknowledges the potential dangers of narcissism in the leader and leader-obsession among their followers. Meanwhile, central tenets of Zen philosophy include that of non-attachment to self, interdependence of all beings, and impermanence. Interviews with four American Zen practitioner-leaders were analyzed for themes related to the influence of ego on leadership. This paper presents findings from the interviews, and discusses these along with observations from other Zen scholars and practitioners. The discussion is complemented …

Leading From The Field: Funded International Nongovernmental Organizations And The Participatory Development Of Long-Term Impact Assessments, Geary A. Cox Ii

Dissertations, 2014-2019

Leaders of international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) must contend with multiple accountability regimes while balancing responsibilities to stakeholders. While many accountability mechanisms are donor-led, this study sought to understand the capacity that NGOs have as agents of change to influence measurement and evaluations activities. The study focused on NGO applications submitted to a donor-government during competitive award announcements for conventional weapons destruction activities.

Using a parallel convergent mixed methods approach, this study examined the ways in which NGO leaders develop their organizations’ capacity to implement long-term impact assessments. A direct entry logistic regression of applications showed evidence of organizational characteristics influencing …

The Role Of Leadership In Student Organizations, Samantha Mcanallen

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the extent to which the leaders of the Eta Delta chapter of Beta Alpha Psi (BAP) and the JMU Women’s Rugby club embody the characteristics of the leaders of successful organizations by examining these two organizations in the context of the characteristics of successful organizational cultures. In order to conduct an appropriate examination of the cultures of these two organizations, I chose to compare them to the characteristics of successful group cultures presented in Daniel Coyle’s The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups. Throughout his book, Coyle highlights the …

Developmental Evaluation: Complexity Leadership Theory In Practice-A Mixed Methods Study, Terrence S. Fernsler

Dissertations, 2014-2019

Networks of organizations frequently operate within complex adaptive systems in which leadership is practiced in uncertain and ambiguous conditions. Background in complexity theories is first provided, along with how they apply to organizations operating in complex adaptive systems. A theory—Complexity Leadership Theory (CLT)—has been derived to model leadership in complex adaptive systems; CLT has been tested very little in practice. Developmental Evaluation (DE) is a practice which helps organizations and their networks adapt within complex adaptive systems. Since both processes are based in complexity, leadership characteristics in each can be expected to be similar.

This exploratory mixed methods study incorporates …

Leader Self-Efficacy In Youth Leader Development: A Mixed Methods Study, Christopher J. Rehm

Dissertations, 2014-2019

Leader self-efficacy (LSE) is a construct studied in adults and college students which is associated with leader emergence, individual performance, and group performance. This mixed methods dissertation examines LSE in an eighth grade student population to determine if it can be impacted by a leader development intervention during this sensitive period of human growth. Both quantitative and qualitative methods demonstrate the effectiveness of the programming in impacting youth LSE. This holds significant implications for future educational practice, research, and the development of the next generation of leaders. A five item youth LSE scale was created which can aid in further …

Argument Education In Higher Education: A Validation Study, Paul E. Mabrey Iii

Dissertations, 2014-2019

Argument education can play an important role in higher education for leadership development and responding to increasing calls for post-secondary accountability. But to do so, argumentation teachers, scholars, and practitioners need to develop a clearer definition and research agenda for the purposes of teaching and assessing argumentation. The research conducted here contributes to this project by first establishing a definitional construct and observable behaviors associated with learning and practicing argumentation. Second, an argument education assessment instrument was created based off of the literature-supported definition of argumentation. Third, debate and argument education subject matter experts reviewed the definition, behaviors, and assessment …

Mepi, Bevi, And Ei Leadership: Implications And Applications For Global Leadership Assessment And Development, Whitney Giesing

Dissertations, 2014-2019

Across multiple settings, individuals who assume organizational leadership roles may find themselves grappling with unique opportunities to influence meaningful change. The complexities of such processes become especially apparent in a global context where multiple dynamics must be navigated simultaneously and skillfully. What variables are associated with greater or lesser effectiveness in these global leadership roles? Can such processes be measured in an ecologically valid manner? What might we learn about the cultivation of global leadership by an examination of such interacting intricacies? This dissertation sought to answer these questions by reviewing and applying existing global leadership theories and the Equilintegration …

Leadership Instruments Library (Lil) For Graduate Research, Sam Nickels, Karen A. Ford

Leadership Instruments Library

Created by Sam Nickels at the request of the School of Strategic Leadership Studies (SSLS) program at James Madison University, 2016-2017. Anyone should feel free to suggest updates, expand the information on instruments or add new instruments. Send the information to SSLS and we’ll screen the info before adding it to the library. Suggested changes/additions need to be well documented with citations. To provide corrected or new information, please contact the School of Strategic Leadership Studies at James Madison University: SSLS@jmu.edu. We hope you find it useful!

Dr. Sam Nickels, former graduate assistant at SSLS and Dr. Karen Ford, …

Nonprofit Leadership: A Study Of Governance Changes Over Time, Daisha M. Merritt

Dissertations, 2014-2019

This is a leadership study understood through board governance in nonprofit organizations. The study sought to discover if there were indicators of coercive institutional isomorphism occurring in human service nonprofit organizations in the United States. IRS 990 tax forms were compiled from 2008- 2012 to determine if there were increasing levels of reported governance practices. Methodology included factor analysis, comparison of means, trend analysis, and regression models. Results indicated that there is an overall trend of increasing reported practices of governance in human service nonprofit organizations. Board size is the most significant indicator associated with changes in reported governance practices. …

Transformational Leadership And Resilience, African-American Women Nonprofit Leaders: A Mixed-Methods Study, Donovan Branche

Dissertations, 2014-2019

African-American women represent an untapped resource and bring with them transformational characteristics and resilience that are vital to the increasingly complex world of nonprofit leadership. The black feminist standpoint argues that black women have experienced years of oppression via sexism, racism, and classism. Despite this, many have endured and exceled. The nonprofit sector operates for the public good and accounts for about 5.5% of the United State’s gross domestic product. This important sector will lose about 75% of its leaders in the next few years due to the retirement of baby boomers. It is crucial that nonprofits consider the next …

Changes In Leadership Self-Efficacy, Leader Identity, Capacity For Socially Responsible Leadership, And Curiosity Due To A Structured Leader Development Program, Lori K. Pyle

Dissertations, 2014-2019

As the study of leadership evolves, it is vital to consider adult development; specifically student leadership development. This study examined changes over time in undergraduate students’ leadership self-efficacy, leader identity, and socially responsible leadership capacity. As a component of motivation to learn, curiosity breadth and depth were included to explore how the “positive approach to new information” relates to individual leader growth. This research helps explain how leader identity fits into a student leader development model as an outcome and as a contributor to future leader identity growth and engagement with leadership tasks. A combination of longitudinal and cross-sectional designs …