Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring Rapport-Building In Coaching Relationships: Coach's Perspective, Tanya Devereaux

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation examines rapport-building strategies and challenges executive coaches face in their interactions with clients, with an emphasis on demographic influences. By employing a qualitative phenomenological approach, the study captures the subjective experiences of 14 active executive business coaches. These coaches discussed techniques for rapport-building, such as pre-meeting engagement, setting expectations, and creating safe environments during initial sessions. The findings reveal that demographic factors—such as race, gender, and cultural background—impact the coach-coachee dynamic, often necessitating adaptive strategies to align with the unique needs of each client. The themes that emerged from the research aligned with existing literature, and professional experience …

Uncovering Moral Injury At Work: The Development And Initial Validation Of The Moral Injury At Work Scale (Miws), Megan J. Snoeyink

Dissertations and Theses

Employees frequently encounter situations at work that present moral or ethical dilemmas. Consequently, they may engage in immoral actions, witness moral violations, or fail to intervene when their coworkers behave immorally. Repeated exposure to such moral challenges can lead to moral injury--the damage to one's moral code and self-image resulting from witnessing, failing to prevent, or participating in what is perceived as an immoral act. Despite the potential for moral injury in workplace contexts, research has yet to adequately explore or measure this phenomenon. This dissertation addresses this gap by developing and validating the Moral Injury at Work Scale (MIWS). …

Dialectical Behavior Therapy Implementation Experiences Among Mental Health Professionals In Correctional Settings, Angdi Karim Impelee

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study investigated the challenges and experiences of mental health professionals implementing Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) within forensic populations in the United States, filling a significant gap in research that primarily focused on DBT in non-forensic contexts. Utilizing qualitative methods, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with practitioners from various correctional settings, emphasizing their perceptions of DBT's efficacy, adaptation strategies to meet the cultural and institutional demands of their unique environments, and resultant behavioral outcomes for incarcerated individuals. Thematic analysis revealed key challenges, including resource limitations, institutional resistance, and the necessity for extensive cultural adaptations of therapeutic techniques. Participants highlighted …

The Relationship Between Remote Followers’ Perceptions Of Leader’S Emotional Intelligence And Followers’ Psychological Safety, Gender, And Tenure, Jeanine P. Stroud

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This quantitative study explored the relationship between remote workers’ perceptions of their leaders’ emotional intelligence and their self-reported psychological safety, with gender and tenure as moderating variables. Data from 172 remote employees using a cross-sectional online survey revealed that perceived leader emotional intelligence was a significant predictor of psychological safety, both as a composite measure and across its four dimensions of emotional intelligence: self-emotional appraisal, others’ emotional appraisal, regulation of emotion, and use of emotion. Gender moderated the relationship with the combined interaction of worker and leader gender in female leader–female follower dyads. Tenure with the leader did not moderate …

Sustaining Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion Through Transformational Leadership In Behavioral Health Management, Ndubuisi Christopher Egunetugo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This case study examines the challenges of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) within an organization, emphasizing systemic biases, workforce diversity, and the necessity of culturally competent care. The Behavioral Health Organization in the southern United States faces significant DEI challenges due to its diverse clientele, workforce, and various stakeholders. Transformational leadership, marked by visionary thinking and actionable initiatives, is crucial for sustaining DEI efforts and addressing disparities in service access, care quality, management practices, and treatment outcomes. The Baldrige Framework of Excellence is employed as a systematic method to embed DEI principles across organizational operations, facilitated by transformational leadership to …

Leadership Coaching And The “Mad Major”, Ray Forbes

All Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Interested in gaining some valuable lessons for leaders and leadership coaches to add to your repertoire? Want to further express your curiosity and explore the opportunity to learn more about leadership and leadership coaching from a very unusual, non-academic and very iconoclastic source? If so, this article may be for you. This commentary is essentially the abbreviated story of a single-minded, highly dedicated leader’s lifelong quest to bring needed change to a very large narrow-minded bureaucratic organization. It will briefly explore the strategy-infused approach of one of the most controversial and little known figures in modern military history. This individual …

Analyzing Organizational Commitment And Organizational Citizenship Behavior In Telecommuting Work Environments, Joshua L. Hays

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The COVID-19 pandemic forced employees and organizations into telecommuting roles which created undesirable consequences for the employee (distractions, overworking, isolation, etc.) and the organization (emotional disengagement, turnover, control, lack of collaboration, etc.). The research design for this study was a quasi-experimental correlational design to analyze the relationship between organizational commitment and telecommuting environments. The data obtained from the participants was collected by using Google Forms survey design. Upon receiving the required (n = 100) completed surveys, the data was then inputted into the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 29 for analysis. The participants of this study were from …

The Relationship Between Solidarity And Job Satisfaction, Burnout, Work Stress, And Turnover Intention, Marcella R. Ronyak

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This quantitative study examined the relationship between supervisor-subordinate solidarity and subordinates’ level of job satisfaction among Indian Health Services (IHS) employees. Research has indicated that supervisor solidarity influenced job satisfaction, which allowed job satisfaction to serve as a mediator variable to negatively induce burnout and work stress and positively impact turnover intention. This study examined these variables using the Interpersonal Solidarity Scale © (Wheeless, 1976), Job Satisfaction Survey © (Spector, 1985), Maslach Burnout Inventory (Maslach & Jackson, 1981), Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen & Williamson, 1988), and Turnover Intention (adapted Wei-Yuan et al., 2023). Correlations were used to analyze relationships between …

Integrating Play Into Work: Top-Down And Bottom-Up Approaches To Building Work Engagement Through Play, Jordan Hamilton

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Evolving expectations of what work should look like among employees have inspired companies to revisit working conditions and find a balance between driving organizational outcomes and creating a positive work environment. Work engagement is a positive outcome for organizations and individuals (Bakker et al., 2020). However, interventions centered around driving engagement often are isolated programs that remove individuals from their typical work experience. Integrating play into work offers a strategy to develop employee resources, assisting in actualizing organizational goals and cultivating a positive workplace culture through enhancing work engagement. In this mixed methods dissertation, which involves interviews with leaders (Study …

Leadership In Behavioral Health, Rebecca Mccoy

School of Business Student Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Leadership in healthcare is difficult when dealing with human contact in its most raw and vulnerable way. Leadership in behavioral health is just as challenging as direct practice practitioners tend to be the ones who move up into these roles. This study will exam “Identifying factors that promote successful leadership and challenges that cause barriers to having successful leadership in behavioral health.” This includes soft and hard skill knowledge, growth opportunities and the strengths and struggles in moving into leadership roles in this industry.

The study is based on phenomenological research to gain an understanding of the individual experience …

The Effects Of An Organizational Shift To Pay Transparency On Employees’ Justified Under-Met Pay Standing Expectations And Turnover Intentions, Heather Godsey

Industrial-Organizational Psychology Dissertations

Pay transparency is becoming more commonplace within U.S. organizations, due to the enactment of state pay transparency laws attempting to reduce the gender wage gap and broader calls for greater transparency in organizations. While transparency may be ideal, its effects on employee attitudes and behaviors are unclear. This study explored a potential unintended outcome of pay transparency, employee turnover, by examining how fairness perceptions mediate the justified under-met pay standing expectations and employees’ turnover intentions relationship, while investigating gender and justice sensitivity as moderators. A sample of 426 participants experienced an organizational shift from pay secrecy to pay transparency and …

A Change In Climate: Inclusion And Menopause Experience At Work, Janie D. Stuart

Industrial-Organizational Psychology Dissertations

Inclusion within workplace environments is increasingly important as workforce diversity continues to expand. Despite anti-discrimination laws, women and other underrepresented groups often face exclusion in the workplace, which negatively affects their professional growth, health, and well-being. This research focused on how menopause, a natural biological transition, compounds workplace exclusion for women. Specifically, the study investigated the relationship between Menopause Experience and two workplace outcomes, Organizational Commitment and Turnover Intention, and assessed the moderating effects of Inclusion in organizations, teams, and non-gendered workplace cultures. There were strong positive relationships between all three dimensions of Inclusion with both Organizational Commitment and Turnover …

Healthcare Providers’ Lived Experiences During Pivotal Change, Lisa Raynelle Shelley

Dissertations

This phenomenological study examined healthcare providers’ lived experiences of psychological safety and administrative leader behaviors that influenced those experiences during pivotal change. While much research addressed psychological safety among frontline healthcare staff, a gap was noticed concerning providers. This study aimed to investigate the impact of psychological safety and administrative support on provider engagement, emotional response, and retention during periods of significant change. Data were collected via a survey containing multiple-choice and open-ended questions, followed by semi-structured interviews. Four findings emerged. First, the providers’ pivotal events generated themes of “workplace power dynamics,” “systemic and organizational change,” “transformational crisis,” and “physical …

Supports For Mental Well-Being Valued By Healthcare Workers: Qualitative Analysis Of Data From A Canadian Cohort Of Healthcare Workers During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Shannon Marie Ruzycki, Anil Adisesh, Quentin Durand-Moreau, France Labrèche, Tanis Zadunayski, Erica Stroud, Nicola Cherry

Études primaires

A prospective cohort of 4964 HCWs from four Canadian provinces was established early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were invited to comment about workplace mental health supports at three time points. We performed a thematic content analysis of responses from 1738 participants using the Social Support Behaviour Code framework to categorize barriers to support as informational, tangible, emotional, social, or expressing esteem. Themes were synthesized into suggestions for healthcare organizations to prepare for future crises. Formal and informal peer support, workplace mental health supports, and one-on-one counseling were most often mentioned as valued. Analysis suggested that workplace social networks as …

Organizational Factors That May Contribute To Physician Burnout, Joseph Neric

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

Burnout is pervasive in the healthcare industry and is disproportionately affecting physicians. Burnout is defined as a psychological response to chronic workplace stress that is manifested as physical and emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced self-efficacy. Even though there is comprehensive research on physician burnout—particularly physician driven—this research aims to highlight the importance of how healthcare organizations negatively contribute to physician’s workplace stress.

The Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI) was used to measure the presence of burnout. The Areas of Worklife Survey (AWS) was used to measure the incongruence between the job and the person. Results (n=198) from the OLBI indicated 37.4% …

Urban Isolation In The Digital Age- Examining The Sociological Impact Of The Digital Divide On Civic Life In U.S. Cities, Delante Clark

Graduate Scholarship and Creative Works

The digital divide remains a persistent barrier to civic participation and social inclusion in urban America, particularly in historically underserved communities. This mixed-methods study investigates how digital lack of access affects civic engagement, social capital, and community cohesion in U.S. cities, with a focus on Chicago’s South Side, Harlem New York, St. Louis, and Orlando. Drawing on quantitative data from recent surveys and qualitative insights from peer-reviewed literature, the research applies four sociological frameworks, Urban Sociology, Social Capital Theory, Critical Race Theory, and Symbolic Interactionism. These were used to examine the structural and interpretive aspects of digital isolation. Findings reveal …

Relationship Between Transformational Leadership And Employees' Psychological Safety, Minahil Khan

SSLA Culminating Experience

This study explored how psychological safety manifests in the workplace and how it is influenced by transformational leadership. Using quantitative survey data from 101 employees—pre-dominantly based in Karachi, Pakistan—the research investigated the relationship between psychological safety and transformational leadership. It also explored whether there is a gender difference in the employees’ perception of transformational leadership and psychological safety. Findings indicate that transformational leadership has a significant positive correlation of 0.734 with psychological safety, which in turn enhances employees’ willingness to speak up and engage in creative problem-solving. Additionally results also indicated that there is no statistically significant gender difference in …

Diverse Environments: Refining The Concept Of Remote Work Through A Job Demands-Resources Lens, Riley Schwanz

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Global events such as globalization, technological advancements, and fundamentally new methods for completing work are contributing factors to the mass migration of employees from in-person to more remote work modalities. Researchers have found evidence for advantages (e.g., autonomy) and disadvantages (i.e., lack of teamwork) for employees in more remote modalities. However, there are critical gaps in the literature including a lack of clear definitions, assessments, taxonomies, and application of well-established theories. Beyond focusing on the physical aspects of remote work, I proposed a new concept, degree of remoteness, to capture the psychological experience of working remotely. Further, I proposed that …

Ready, Set, Resistance: A Dual Continuum Approach To Organizational Change Acceptance, Alexandria Bohn

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

With organizations operating in increasingly dynamic and competitive landscapes, organizations need to be able to get their employees to adapt to system-wide changes that are needed. However, research has suggested a 70% failure rate for organizational change initiatives (Hughes, 2011). Prior research has produced mixed research results when examining resistance and readiness to organizational change on either a single dimension (e.g., Kaplan, 1972) or two dimensions (e.g., Repovs, Drnovsek, & Kase, 2019). I extended prior research by examining resistance versus readiness as residing on a single continuum and whether effects on outcomes were moderated by change orientations. Research has suggested …

Sealing The Deal: A Case Study Of A Private, Southeastern, Regional College’S Student Onboarding Practices, Alicia R. Gaston, Kristen Meyer, Tyler Ogden, Jennifer Perkinson, Casey Yocum Michaels

Doctor of Education Capstones

Each year, higher education institutions offer support to new, incoming students through an onboarding process that requires dedication and collaboration across multiple departments. Offering streamlined guidance and clear communication throughout the onboarding process is essential to ensure incoming students understand action steps without becoming overwhelmed with new terminology, processes, and environments. This explanatory case study is set to understand the current communication practices and technology use across onboarding departments at Brightside College – also referred to as Brightside or BC (pseudonym). The research team aimed to understand Brightside's onboarding staff's perspective of current processes and practices. With emphasis on the …

The Long-Term Psychological Effects Of Violent Crime On Victims: A Review Of Evidence And Supportive Interventions, Jayden E. Oleksyn-Lamb

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

This study utilizes anonymous survey data collected from 26 mental health professionals in various regions of Canada to understand which psychological disturbances are the most prevalent among victims of violent crime as well as which psychological interventions are most beneficial for treating violent crime victims. The data revealed that Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), anger, guilt, self-blame, and shame are each highly prevalent. Findings also revealed that certain therapeutic methods including Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR), Supportive Counselling (SC), Progressive Relaxation (PR), Cognitive Reprocessing Therapy (CPT) and Cognitive Restructuring (CR) are associated with …

Culturally Specific Interventions And Indigenous Practices In Correctional And Forensic Settings: A Systematic Review, Jordyne James

Theses and Dissertations

While professional guidelines, legislation and research emphasize the importance of adapting treatment approaches to patient characteristics and culture (American Psychological Association [APA], 2021, 2019; Correctional Service of Canada [CSC], 2013; Canadian Psychological Association [CPA], 2017; Canadian Counseling and Psychotherapy Association [CCPA], 2021), psychological and forensic research and practice related to culturally specific programming lags behind expectations to meet the needs of ethnically diverse clients. Given the continued overrepresentation of minorities within forensic institutions (Aguiar, 2020; Carter & Forsyth, 2007; Hanser & Gomila, 2015; Leguizamo et al., 2018), this systematic review aimed to raise awareness of culturally-specific interventions and Indigenous practices …

Rise Or Retreat: The Role Of Appraisal And Goal Orientations In Leader Engagement, Haleigh Broucher

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation examines how leaders psychologically interpret developmental challenges as threats or challenges, and how these interpretations shape engagement. Furthermore, I propose that these processes are shaped by mastery-approach and mastery avoidance orientations. Study 1 manipulated the presence of developmental challenges to test causal pathways. Results indicated that developmental challenges increased threat appraisal but not challenge appraisal, and threat was negatively associated with absorption. Study 2 found the opposite pattern: challenge appraisal, not threat appraisal, explained engagement. Relative importance analysis showed that challenge appraisal accounted for nearly all explained variance in engagement (97.6%). There was no significant moderation of mastery …

Journey To Well-Being: An Exploration Of Thrivership Post-Domestic Violence, Kader Gumus

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Domestic violence profoundly affects multiple facets of a survivor’s life. While most existing literature on survivorship addresses the immediate aftermath of domestic violence, this study delves into the extended process following the trauma of abuse to attain “thrivership,” a new concept in the scholarly and practice literature that emphasizes enduring well-being and flourishing. This dissertation examines the journeys from surviving to thriving for 13 women who transformed themselves and their lives to achieve well-being after traumatic domestic violence. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory was applied to examine the multiple layers of environmental influences on an individual’s development, including the micro, meso, …

Restorative Leadership: A Generative Exploration With Women School Leaders, Camille Rénée Pauline Tyson Jacobs

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

As schools increasingly adopt restorative practices, a parallel shift in leadership is occurring, challenging traditional leadership models like servant and transformational leadership. While research has largely focused on student outcomes, there is a critical gap in understanding how restorative practices influence school principals’ leadership. Given their central role in sustaining and expanding restorative initiatives, this study aimed to address that gap by developing a definitional framework for restorative leadership, grounded in the experiences of women school leaders in grades 5 to 12. Using sensemaking theory, the research examined how leaders conceptualize and apply restorative values in practice. Key questions included …

Clocking In And Speaking Out: Navigating Workday Rhythms For Voice Behaviors, Katelyn M. Reeves

LSU Master's Theses

Employee voice behaviors help organizations identify problems, increase productivity, and enhance satisfaction. Most literature focuses on daily-level variations while neglecting potential within-day variations that may have a stronger impact on voice engagement. To investigate within-day variations, this thesis applies chronotype synchrony to explain resource depletion throughout the day, which will determine voice engagement. An experience sampling study with the day reconstruction method of 250 employees revealed that having a morning chronotype leads to a more promotive and prohibitive voice in the morning, with a decline throughout the day due to resource depletion increasing throughout the day. Further, individuals with evening …

Relationship Of Emotional Intelligence To Workplace Stress And Burnout In Behavior Analysts, Elia Santos

Student Dissertations

The experience of stress leading to burnout is at an all-time high in the field of behavior analysis. Increasing job demands for board-certified behavior analysts (BCBA) put newly minted BCBAs at a higher risk of burnout. The problem is that BCBAs only receive technical and clinical training to become certified. Yet, their emotional intelligence (EI), which is associated with stress and burnout, had never been examined. The purpose of this quantitative, associational study was to investigate the relationships between EI, workplace stress, and burnout in BCBAs. The theoretical framework for this study was based on Goleman’s (1995) theory of EI. …

Does Work Arrangement Affect Turnover Intention? Investigating The Mediating Role Of Organizational Trust, Perceived Organizational Support, And Work Locus Of Control, Valerie A. Boyd

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Countless U.S. employees were shifted to and from different work arrangements both during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Though previous research has shown links between workplace factors and organizational outcomes, there is a gap in understanding how different post-pandemic work arrangements and individual differences influence employee work attitudes. This study assessed 315 U.S. employees to investigate the relationship between different work arrangements (WA) and turnover intentions (TI), and the mediating effect of organizational trust (OT), perceived organizational support (POS), and work locus of control (WLC). Eligible participants included full-time U.S. employees over the age of 18 that worked in their …

Short-Term Territoriality: The Influence Of Time And Gender On Territorial Behavior, Audra Kooi, Celia Vander Woude, Elijah Vander Woude

Student Work

Territoriality, the behavior of claiming and defending space or objects, has been widely studied in both animal and human contexts, but most research focuses on long-term patterns. Forty-seven undergraduate students were instructed to sit and watch videos of varying lengths. After leaving the room, participants were instructed to sit again, and their seat choices were recorded to assess territorial behavior, measured by displacement. Results showed a strong preference for returning to the same seat, which suggests territorial behavior is not exclusively established in the long term but can emerge within a few minutes.

The Leadership Identity Presented On Linkedin, Carl L. Tolbert

The Journal of Values-Based Leadership

LinkedIn has evolved in a way similar to other social media platforms but is unique in that it focuses on professional networking and careers. Many professionals seek to showcase their leadership skills and philosophies as part of a publicly showcased online persona. This paper aimed to examine the posts specific to leadership and thematically investigate presentation strategies, motivation, and purposes behind the posts. The paper begins with a historical review from the inception of LinkedIn through pivotal milestones in the history of the company. Key concepts from the literature are then reviewed specific to social media use and motivations behind …