Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring The Mentoring Experience Of High Power Distance Individuals In High And Low Power Distance Cultures, Jennifer Okoliko

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

Understanding how to effectively navigate mentoring relationships across different cultures is critical for personal and professional development in an increasingly globalized world. With the growth in migration across the world, leaders are tasked with the responsibility of understanding how to connect, communicate, and create effective teams across cultures for personal and organizational success. Exploring the mentoring experiences of individuals in high and low Power Distance cultures provides a broader understanding on how the phenomena is practiced in different cultural context and highlight important lessons for leaders.

The aim of this phenomenological study was to enhance our understanding of the lived …

Gender Role Congruence And Self-Efficacy In Emerging Outdoor Leaders, Audrey Krimm

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

Being a leader in the outdoors requires the competence and confidence to act and make decisions in high-risk situations. However, female leaders may experience an incongruence between the assertive decision-making expected of their leadership role and the passivity expected of their gender role, which can impact their leadership self- efficacy. The purpose of this study was to explore how gender role congruence influences the self-efficacy of male and female emerging outdoor leaders. A convergent mixed- methods design was used by triangulating self-efficacy survey data with in-depth interviews, observations, and reflective drawings from eight student outdoor leaders at a large Midwestern …

The Development And History Of The Rural Futures Institute’S Fellows Program, Samantha Guenther, Brooke Wells

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

Rural Futures Institute (RFI) served to mobilize the resources and talents of the University of Nebraska and its partners, to create knowledge and action that support rural people and places to achieve unique paths to their desired futures. The Fellows Program was one method that RFI used to fulfil their vision by connecting college students with rural communities to create tangible results on community-defined projects and goals. As the program continues to evolve and find new leadership under Rural Prosperity Nebraska, it is important to document these changes and understand its history. The purpose of this historical research study is …

Leadership Education And Moocs: A Content Analysis Approach To Understanding The Pedagogy And Characteristics Of Leadership Massive Open Online Courses (Moocs), J. E. Jason Headrick

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

The purpose of this study is to identify the pedagogical strategies used for instruction and assessment in leadership-oriented MOOCs and gain a more refined understanding of the current state of MOOCs in leadership education. The study also seeks to fill the gaps in the body of knowledge surrounding leadership MOOCs. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are a form of distance education course used across content areas. They have been celebrated as revolutionizing the way learners access education and the way colleges and universities could expand the notion of education on a global scale beyond their traditional campuses. The use of …

Generativity Development Of College Students Who Mentor, Nick Knopik

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

Research has shown that college students who mentor demonstrate higher levels of generativity than other college student leaders and general college students; yet, it is unclear whether college student mentors develop generativity over time as a result of their mentoring experience or enter a mentoring relationship because their generativity is already well-developed. This study compared the levels of generativity within individuals and across age cohorts during a one-year time period while controlling for gender for college students who mentor. Three quantitative generativity measures were used to collect data from a sample of 45 college student mentors at two time points, …

The Experience Of Influence Among Youth Leaders, Kelly Moguel

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

While the term “leadership” can be difficult to define, one term that is commonly seen in its association is “influence”. While the field of leadership has empirically identified several outcomes associated with adult influence (i.e., greater organizational performance, higher subordinate satisfaction, higher subordinate engagement), little is known about influence in youth leaders. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to gain a better understanding of how youth leaders experience influence. Twenty-nine in-depth, semi-structured interviews from fifth- 12^th-grade students in a leadership mentoring program called Nebraska Human Resources Institute (NHRI) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln were conducted to ascertain …

A Phenomenological Study Exploring The Leadership Development Experiences Of Academic Research Library Leaders, Beth Mcneil

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

This phenomenological study describes the leadership development experiences of academic librarians currently working in leadership roles in academic research libraries to discover their experiences of being a library leader and to explore how they describe their own leadership development. Study participants identified as having experienced positive leadership development experiences during their careers as academic research library leaders and were, at the time of this study, employed and actively working in leadership positions reporting directly to the head of their academic research library. The goal of this exploration was to understand what the academic library leaders had experienced, with regard to …

Exploring The Relationship Between Parental Psychological Control And Emergent Leadership, Melissa S. Fenton

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

Leadership scholars have identified the need for research investigating the developmental antecedents of leadership (Avolio, 2007; Day 2011b; Murphy & Johnson, 2011). Although leadership scholars investigated the relationship between parenting and leadership, there was a gap in the leadership literature analyzing the impact of parental psychological control. This descriptive study explored the relationship between the five factor personality model, parental psychological control, and emergent leadership behaviors in emerging adults. Participants were emailed a survey including measures of the Big Five personality traits, affective-identity motivation to lead (Chan & Drasgow, 2001), leadership self-efficacy, parental psychological control, and self-reported formal and informal …

Telling Our Service-Learning Story: Instructor Perspectives On Service-Learning In The Leadership Classroom, Marianne Lorensen

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

This phenomenological study examined the experiences of ten college instructors who use service-learning in the undergraduate leadership classroom. Since leadership is often a service-learning outcome for students (Bringle & Hatcher, 1996; Eyler & Giles, 1999; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005), service-learning is regarded by many instructors as an appropriate pedagogical approach in leadership classes (Rama, Ravenscroft, Wolcott, & Zlotkowski, 2000; Zlotkowski, 1996). Thus, the focus on instructors of undergraduate leadership courses. The current study employed a phenomenological approach in order to deeply explore instructor experiences. The goal of this exploration was that instructor experiences and the meaning they make from those …

Educational Robotics As Leadership Development For Youth, Kathleen P. Morgan

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

This study explored how competitive educational robotics programs for youth contribute to the development of future innovative leaders in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. The importance of leadership in creating a climate for innovation is recognized by scholars (Eisenbeiss, van Knippenberg, & Boerner, 2008; Oke, Munshi, & Walumbwa, 2009; Sarros, Cooper, & Santora, 2008) and educational robotics programs, like FIRST^® LEGO^® League (FLL), that include leadership development in their organizational missions. While youth interest in STEM and youth leadership development have been previously researched, the intersection of leadership development and STEM learning appears to be …

Authentic, Transformational Leadership: A Phenomenological Study Of The Experiences Of Black/White Biracial Leaders, Carmen R. Zafft

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

This phenomenological study described the racial identity and leadership experiences of eight community, education, and business Black/White biracial leaders. Four central themes emerged relating to the participants’ racial identity choices: (a) family discourse, (b) social networks, (c) appearance, and (d) identity work. Three central themes emerged relating to the participants’ leadership experiences: (a) cultural agility: “Blessed to be flexible”, (b) perceived representation: “I look like them”, and (c) transformational leadership: “I lead so others can grow.” Because the participants were conscious of their identity development experience, all demonstrated a strong sense of self which influenced how they experienced leadership. As …

"Leadership Is Behaving And Acting Like A Leader": A Narrative Exploration Of The Life Stories Of Three Latino Leaders In Healthcare, Kevin L. Flores

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

There is a dearth of Latino leaders holding executive positions in healthcare. The purpose of this study was to provide a privileged platform for the voice of Latino leaders in healthcare who, by definition, emanated from a marginalized population. This study began with the assumption that the stories of Latino leaders were different than leaders of the majority population due to their ethnicity. Latino critical theory asserts that concepts like leadership need to be viewed through an ethnic lens. The overarching question that guided this study was: What do the stories of three Latino leaders reveal about their development as …

The Leadership Of Sustainable Cities: A Multiple-Case Study Of Two Oregon Cities, Kenneth L. Weaver

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

In order for cities to become more sustainable it is necessary for the leaders of the efforts to change the organizations and governments so that they understand and embrace what it means to be more sustainable. This study examined the change processes of two Oregon Cities, Corvallis and Eugene, that had made the choice to become more sustainable as a community. The approaches that the participant leaders used demonstrated the use of different ways of thinking about the leadership of change. The ways of thinking of the community leaders were formed by their unique personal backgrounds, knowledge, skills, and abilities. …

Sustainability Leader Competencies: A Grounded Theory Study, Pamela G. Schwalb

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

The purpose of this critical qualitative study was to develop a theory of the competencies of a sustainability leader, grounded in research. A sustainability leader is generally described as an individual who creates profit for his/her stakeholders, while protecting the environment and improving the lives of those for whom he/she impacts as a result of his/her leadership. Nearly 60 individuals familiar with sustainability were asked to characterize an effective leader of a sustainability initiative or a sustainability organization.

The study revealed there is more than one way to be a sustainability leader—different paths can result in decisions and actions that …

"Sometimes I Feel Like I'D Do This Job For Free." A Phenomenological Study Exploring Public Relations Practitioners' Beliefs About Immensely Satisfying Work., Peggy M. Rupprecht

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

This qualitative phenomenological study explored the beliefs of 12 public relations practitioners’ about the construct of immensely satisfying work. The central research question was: What is the meaning of immensely satisfying work for a group of public relations practitioners working in the Midwest? Participants in this study had three or more years of experience as public relations practitioners, were members of, or affiliated with, a professional public relations organization, such as the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), and had experienced, at some time during their professional careers, immensely satisfying work. Eight themes emerged from the semi-structured interviews: Leader Sets …

“A Place Of Becoming” Leadership Educators’ Experience Teaching Leadership: A Phenomenological Approach, Heath E. Harding

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

This phenomenological study describes the experiences of twelve leadership educators who were teaching leadership in undergraduate leadership development programs in the Midwest. The central research question was: What are the experiences of educators who are teaching leadership to undergraduate students at academic institutions? Teaching leadership was defined as providing developmental opportunities (e.g. formal education, in class instruction, one-on-one, coaching, service learning, individual reflection) to increase both leader and leadership capacity. Educators were defined as individuals who provide developmental opportunities for undergraduates. Participants had at least three years teaching leadership at the undergraduate level and were currently teaching a course with …

Greenleaf's 'Best Test' Of Servant Leadership: A Multilevel Analysis, Robert W. Hayden

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

This study empirically tests Robert Greenleaf’s (1970) seminal articulation of servant leadership. The four personal outcomes he theorized (health, wisdom, freedom-autonomy, and service orientation) were tested against established dimensions of servant leadership. All correlations were significant and positive. Using multilevel analysis, the predictive strength of these servant leadership dimensions were assessed at two levels within an organization, and explained. Implications and future direction of research were discussed.

Discovering The Leadership Skills Of Alumni Who Participated In An Adult Agricultural Leadership Development Program: A Case Study, Terence Alan Hejny

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Student Leader Lmx Relationships As Moderated By Constructive-Developmental Theory, Shelly Mumma

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

This study examined how the quality of Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) relationships was moderated by the Constructive-Developmental stage or Order of Consciousness of both leader and follower. Using student organization presidents and officers on a small, private, liberal arts college campus in the Midwest, the researcher used a sample of 37 students to study the impact developmental stage had on the leadership relationship. Using the Leader Member Exchange-Multi-Dimensional Measure (LMX-MDM), four dimensions of LMX were examined. The four dimensions were Affect, Contribution, Loyalty and Professional Respect. There was no significant relationship between Order of Consciousness and quality of LMX relationship. While …

Antecedents Of Servant Leadership: A Mixed Methods Study, Curtis D. Beck

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to explore the antecedents of servant leadership. The sequential explanatory research design consisted of two distinct phases: quantitative followed by qualitative.

The Phase One quantitative survey collected data from 499 leaders and 630 raters from community leadership programs in the United States using the Servant Leadership Questionnaire (Barbuto & Wheeler, 2006).

During Phase Two, selected leaders from phase one (N = 12) were interviewed to explain those results in more depth. The data were coded and analyzed for possible themes. Triangulation was used to analyze the quantitative and qualitative data to validate …

Testing The Impact Of Global Mindset On Positive Organizational Outcomes: A Multi-Level Analysis, Joana S. Story

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

This multi-level study examined the relationship between leaders’ global mindset with followers’ rating of trust in leader, quality of the leader-member relationship (LMX), and organizational commitment. Complexity of global role and leader distance were also examined as moderating variables. Data were collected from 78 leader participants and 240 raters from one Fortune 100 multinational organization. A multilevel data analysis was conducted using Hierarchical Linear Modeling. No significant relationships were found between global mindset and ratings of follower trust in leader and quality of the leader-member-relationship. A significant negative relationship was found between global mindset of leaders and follower organizational commitment. …

Healers And Helpers, Unifying The People: A Qualitative Study Of Lakota Leadership., Kem M. Gambrell

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

The purpose of this critical grounded theory qualitative study was to explore Lakota Leadership from a Native perspective. Interviews were conducted with enrolled members of a Lakota tribe in an urban setting as well as on the Rosebud reservation to gain better awareness of leadership through a non-mainstream viewpoint. Previously, in order to understand leaders and followers, research limited its scope of discernment to dominant society, implying that non-mainstream individuals will acquiesce, or that differences found are inconsequential. Leadership scholars also have implied that leadership theory is “universal enough”, and can be applied globally regardless of influences such as race, …

How Effective Leaders Learn From Life: A Grounded Theory Study Of The Impact Of Significant Life Experiences Upon Leadership Development, Ryan P. Meers

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

Fifteen effective leaders from diverse organizational backgrounds described their significant life experiences and the impact upon their development as leaders. Using grounded theory methodology, a theoretical model emerged for assisting leaders absorb greater learning from their various life experiences. Related to the central phenomenon of how effective leaders learn from significant life experiences, four causal conditions of types of experiences were identified as influencing how leaders learn: (1) experiences of adversity or loss; (2) experiences of “stretch assignments”; (3) inspirational experiences; and (4) experiences with conflict. Strategies used by the leaders to absorb learning from their significant experiences were active …