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Psychosocial Well-Being Facilitation Of Leader Identity Transitions For Retirees, Brooke Wells

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Leadership scholars have worked to advance the knowledge of leader identity—how one views oneself as a leader—across many age groups. However, there is still little known about leader identity in older adults. This study explored how older adults identified as leaders after exiting the workforce and in retirement. The retirement process often indicates a transition in which one plans to navigate life post-workforce. For some, retirement may be a signal of growing older. Social identity theory scholars argue that retirees do not always embrace this aging identity. Individuals’ thoughts regarding aging are complex. For those able to embrace and navigate …

Leading Redemptively: The Heart Of Christian Leadership, Ryan G. Zonnefeld

Pro Rege

No abstract provided.

Who We Are Is How We Lead: Storytelling As An Intervention In A Manager Development Program, Brittany Grieb

Dissertations

Leadership development programs (LDPs) have long been recognized as a means for organizations to develop their leaders, yet studies on their efficacy or use of creative interventions are limited. Despite the plethora of leadership studies that exist today, research is still seeking to answer the question: what is the best way to develop leaders? This qualitative study sought to investigate how storytelling can be used as an intervention for leadership development in a manager development program (MDP), an LDP for entry-level to midlevel managers at a biotechnology corporation. Using storytelling as an Indigenous model for knowledge cocreation as a framework, …

Aren't Only Girls Secretaries…?”: Leadership Lessons From Women U.S. Secretaries Of State, Lindsay Allen

Dissertations

American political systems, predominantly steered by White males, often conform to masculine leadership paradigms derived from traditionally male-dominated domains like the U.S. government. Thus, it is vital to explore women’s roles in political leadership to foster a more comprehensive understanding of effective leadership.

The purpose of this study was to examine how women who have served as U.S. secretary of state exhibited leadership. Of the 71 people to have served as secretary of state, just three have been women: Madeleine Albright, Condoleezza Rice, and Hillary Rodham Clinton. Due to the complexity of gendered experiences, and the challenges of having direct …

Leadership And Environmental Sustainability: An Integrative Conceptual Model Of Multilevel Antecedents And Consequences Of Leader Green Behavior, Hannes Zacher, Clara Kühner, Ian M. Katz, Cort W. Rudolph

Psychology Faculty Publications

Environmental sustainability is a strategic and ethical imperative for organizations, and numerous studies have investigated associations between leadership and employee pro-environmental or “green” behavior. However, these studies have typically focused on leadership styles that conflate leader behavior with its assumed antecedents or consequences. Moreover, the literature on relations between leadership and environmental sustainability constructs is fragmented and in need of systematic integration to effectively guide future research and practice. Accordingly, we pursue three goals in this conceptual paper. First, after a brief review of key insights from extant theoretical and empirical research, we define leadership in the context of environmental …

The Power Of Her Voice: An Interpretative Phenomenological Study Exploring The Career Experiences Of Women Middle-Level Leaders, Cynthia Mako Robinson

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study provides a vital contribution to the discourse on women’s career trajectories by amplifying the often-overlooked experiences of women middle-level leaders. Positioned at the intersection of strategic and operational functions, these leaders play a vital role in organizations—developing and motivating employees, driving change, and serving as relationship managers and key connectors to senior leadership. Employing an interpretative phenomenological approach, this study explores the lived experiences of 15 accomplished women middle-level leaders, each with over 15 years of service across private, public, and nonprofit sectors in the United States. Grounded in relational-cultural theory (RCT), career theory, positive work relationships, and …

Employee Experiences With Leaders’ Influence On Autonomous Motivation: A Mixed Methods Study, Melissa Wheat

Dissertations

Organizational performance and success require employee motivation (Delaney & Royal, 2017; Devarapalli & Hinkes, 2016; Good et al., 2022; Howard et al., 2016; Mohamud et al., 2017; Olafsen et al., 2018; Ryan & Deci, 2017; Van den Broeck et al., 2021; Wiley, 1997). However, organizational leaders fail to effectively motivate employees to engage in the workplace and achieve high performance (Delaney & Royal, 2017; Fisher, 2009; Good et al., 2022; J. D. Jensen, 2018; Pappas, 2021; Webb, 2007; Workers Are Motivated by Different Drivers and Needs, 2022). This study explored employee experiences with leaders’ influence on autonomous motivation to …

Transgender And Gender Non-Conforming Leaders And Leadership: A Foundational And Integrative Review, Galen J. Talis

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 …

The Sustainability Of African American Female-Owned Businesses, Chantelle Daniel Thibeaux

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

African American women–owned small businesses fail more often than non-Black-owned
businesses. The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to describe successful
African American women small business owners’ leadership styles, traits, strategies, and
behaviors. Additionally, this study aimed to provide insights into specific leadership traits,
strategies, and behaviors that affect the sustainability of African American women–owned
businesses. Three leadership styles that have contributed to their business success were used to
frame this study: transformational, transactional, and situational leadership. All three of these
styles of leadership have been shown to help businesses succeed. Data were collected from
African American women business …

Ethics And Contemporary Leadership: Do Ethical Leadership Theories Align With Scripture?, Anthony Scott Poston

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Morals, ethics, and values are instrumental for leaders to know and choose between right and wrong. Leadership theories regularly discuss ethics, but where do these ethics come from? Frequently, the source of leadership ethics is glossed over or left out entirely. This study sought to address this gap in contemporary leadership literature by answering the question: how do contemporary leadership theories, which contain morals, ethics, and/or or values components, align with similar themes found within the Hebrew and Christian scriptures? The researcher used a thematic analysis of contemporary leadership literature to identify ethical themes within the literature. Next, the themes …

A Phenomenological Study Of Introverted Leaders, Sherita Dianne Hall

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Society is comprised of individuals with different personality types who are frequently referred to as extraverted or introverted. Research has suggested individuals fall somewhere along the continuum of extraversion to introversion. Based on statistics, introverts are thought to comprise between 33% to 50% of the greater population, but introverts only comprise 4% of the management teams leading companies. The literature has vast amounts of information about leadership and extraversion but limited information about introversion and leadership. From the literature, what is not clear is how the introspective tendencies of introverted leaders may influence the strategic planning, decision making, or other …

A Seat At The Table: Why The Seat You've Been Entrusted With Is More Vital Than The Position You're Entitled To, Donna Pisani

Doctor of Ministry

My NPO (The lack of understanding and framework of Biblical leadership as entrustment rather than an entitlement that empowers both genders to lead together has created a lack of female representation in strategic influence and leadership roles) was birthed out of my experience as a female in ministry for four decades leading with men, coupled with the lack of resources available to an upcoming generation of leaders. Through extensive research and interviews, the most viable solution that emerged was a published book written to empower a new generation of female leaders—one that addresses the theology of women in leadership with …

The Emergence Of Discursive Leadership In Online Commmunities, Chad Diaz Ii

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this Dissertation is to provide a detailed rationale for the way in which I address the following research questions in my dissertation: “What characteristics of user discourse lead to the emergence of leadership in online communities?” To this end, I provide a literature review of studies on online communities, examine past definitions, and propose an integrated definition of online communities. Focusing on the specific domain of leadership in online communities, I conduct a literature review of early and seminal articles published in this domain with the objective of identifying the foundational theoretical frameworks and the factors that …

An Examination Of Leading Through Change Using Snyder’S Hope Theory And Lewin’S 3-Step Model, Scott E. Sorensen

Theses and Dissertations

Never has the world experienced such rapid change, and the environment in which organizations operate necessitates increased change capability and organizational agility (Argyris, 1991). Strebel (1996) found success rates for change initiatives in Fortune 1000 companies ranged from a low of 20% to a high of 50%. Later studies would substantiate Strebel’s (1996) findings, claiming that, on average, failure rates of transformational change initiatives approach 70% (Beer & Nohria, 2000; Sirkin et al., 2005). Suppose this is so, and companies wish to thrive in such a dynamic environment. A fundamental understanding of why change efforts fail and how to drive …

The Relationship Between Systems Thinking By Building Leaders And Academic Outcomes For Marginalized Students, Dunham Obadiah

Education Dissertations

Despite the attempts by lawmakers to legislate a closing of the achievement gap, persistent gaps in performance for students based on ethnicity, race, economic level, disability, and first language persist throughout public schools in the United States. Occasionally, a principal will receive attention for raising the performance of minoritized groups in their school. However, while admired, the principal’s efforts are not easily replicated. Furthermore, principal development programs fail to produce building leaders that can reliably achieve the change marginalized communities need.

There have been numerous studies that have shown that principals impact the academic performance of their students. For the …

District-Level Supervisors: Leaders And Advocates For School Counseling, Thomas M. Mitchell

Theses and Dissertations

All school counselors are expected to serve as leaders and advocates in their school communities. However, many are underprepared for the work after they complete graduate-level training. The present study explored the experiences of district- level school counseling supervisors in facilitating leadership development with professional school counselors. District-level supervisors are ideally placed to support school counselors in their leadership development and advocacy work. Through a semi- structured interview process, eight district-level school counseling supervisors provided information about their leadership development experiences. Data analysis yielded four themes in this descriptive phenomenological study involving social justice, role advocacy, barriers to effective leadership, …

Sustainability Leadership: An Integrative Review And Conceptual Synthesis, Aymen Sajjad, Gabriel Eweje, Muhammad M. Raziq

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Over the past few decades, scholars have extensively investigated the topic of leadership, contributing to the development of diverse leadership theories and contemporary managerial practice. However, the emergence and renewed focus on societal grand challenges warrant an alternative approach to leadership such as sustainability leadership. Despite the critical importance of sustainability leadership in addressing these global concerns, scholarly research in this field of inquiry, by and large, remained scant and fragmented, lacking conceptual coherence and theoretical integration. While the existing literature provides insights into sustainability leadership characteristics, competencies, behaviors, and actions, it failed to integrate a holistic understanding of how …

A Study To Determine The Most Important Leadership Skills For Entry-Level Public Health Practitioners, Taelyr Weekly

Theses & Dissertations

Objective: This study 1) identifies the top leadership skills needed for entry-level local public health department employees, 2) provides employee self-assessment ratings in importance, preparation, and proficiency of select leadership skills, and 3) compares the self-assessment and supervisor ratings of select leadership skills to assess how prepared and proficient employees are. Participants: A sample of positional leaders (n=15) from Nebraska’s local health departments provided results for the top leadership skills for entry-level local public health department employees. Employee self-assessment ratings (n=18) and paired samples of employees and supervisors (n=12) produced results on the importance, preparation, and proficiency of …

Learning To Lead: Lessons Taken From The Wisest People We Know, Christine Kenney, Aviva Dorfman, Sapna V. Thwaite

Journal of Curriculum, Teaching, Learning and Leadership in Education

How we engage and interact with young children and what we know about supporting them as they grow into the best versions of themselves is a window into what we also know about adults as they grow into the best leaders they can be. How we support and teach children has informative parallels for what leaders in education might learn and draw upon in their interactions and engagements with the people with whom they work. The goal of this paper is to introduce four principles of early childhood education (emotions and feelings are important, relationships are vital, process orientation is …

Leadership Competencies For Instructional Designers: Identifying Critical Incidents Used To Lead Design Projects That Improve Performance, Heidi Elaine Kirby

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

Even though an instructional designer may not have formal authority or direct reports, to be successful, they need leadership skills. Although the literature calls for instructional designers to possess several critical leadership skills, it does not consistently present the same important skills and often defines them very broadly. Further, authors who have argued that leadership skills are not taught to instructional designers in a sufficient way often call for more education on leadership competencies in graduate school, but the literature does not state where these skills are currently being learned and fostered.

This qualitative research study used methods of grounded …

Creating And Sustaining Positive School Climate During Covid-19 Pandemic, Corinne Brion, Bilgen Kiral

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

The researchers used a qualitative design with a descriptive phenomenological approach to examine the experiences of 10 principals in creating and sustaining a positive school climate during COVID-19. The researchers conducted interviews over Zoom from October to December in 2021. The principals have worked in two American states, one Midwestern state and one in the South region of the country. Findings indicated that although the principals knew about school climate, they did not have a complete understanding of the concept. In the present study, it was concluded that a positive school climate is created and sustained with specific leadership skills …

Impact Of Organizational Climate On Job Performance In Nigerian University Libraries: Perceptions Of Academic Librarians, Chinwendu C. Akpom Dr, Emmanuel Chukwudi Ihekwoaba Dr, Harriet Uche Igbo Dr

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The paper examined academic librarians' perceptions of the characteristics that contribute to a favorable organizational climate and those that negatively affect it in Nigerian university libraries. The study concentrated on Nigeria's Southeast and South-South geopolitical zones. The researchers adopted a descriptive survey design for the research. A structured questionnaire was employed to collect the data from the respondents and analyzed using mean and standard deviation. The study population consists of 143 academic librarians in university libraries in the study area. The entire population was used as a sample because it was a manageable number. The result demonstrates that respondents have …

Reaching For The Stars: A Constructivist Investigation Of Astrology As A Tool For Self-Discovery In A New Age Of Leadership, Cameron Martin

Dissertations

To fully understand leadership in today’s world, we need a radical reconceptualization of the developmental process required to lead. Changing paradigms demands new perspectives on leadership; these new paradigms suggest leaders must turn inward and develop knowledge of their inner selves to realize their full potential as leaders.

Astrology is an ancient way of knowing and making sense of the world and one’s place in it that provides benefits to many people in our modern world, despite fervent academic, religious, and scientific criticism. Astrology is more than a divination tool. It is an entire epistemology of self in relation to …

Are All High-Potentials Successful Leaders? Exploring The Underlying Effect Of Impostor Syndrome And Evaluative Concerns On The Relationship Between Hipo Designation And Leadership Self-Efficacy., Anjishnu Chakrabarti, Lisa M. Finkelstein

Honors Capstones

The rising prevalence of high-potential (HiPo) employee programs in organizations has led academicians to begin to research this newly developing area under the realm of industrial/organizational psychology. High-potential programs are intended to find employees with the maximum potential to succeed in strategic leadership roles within the organization and provide those individuals with specialized training and related developmental opportunities. The term “HiPo” refers to such employees who are designated as having higher potential than the average. This study aimed to explore the relationship that exists between employees being designated as HiPo and their self-perception of being successful leaders (measured as leadership …

A New Era For Psychologist-Leaders: Introduction To The Society Of Psychologists In Leadership And The Psychology Of Leaders And Leadership, Christina M. Frederick, Jennifer P. Wisdom, Robin Stacia, Bradley Brummel

Publications

This article introduces the name change of the Society for Psychologists in Leadership (SPL), from the Society of Psychologists in Management (SPIM). SPL seeks to become the premier home for psychologists who are also executives, managers, leaders, and consultants, and for psychologists who aspire to leadership positions in their organization, locally, nationally, or globally. In this article, we first discuss the founding and early years of SPIM as critical development in the recognition of psychologists as managers and leaders. Then we discuss societal and cultural changes that led to consideration of SPL rebranding and name change, including discussions of cultural …

Leadership Adaptability Within The Higher Education Industry, Rebecca Niemeyer Rens

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Dynamism in the higher education industry (HEI) has created unprecedented complexity and uncertainty for leaders at colleges and universities across the globe. The challenges to competitive advantage and sustainability created by dynamic conditions have been exacerbated and accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic and health crisis. HEI leaders are struggling to adapt antiquated and traditionally held methods and practices to navigate the rapid changes and survive the resulting chaos. The ability of leaders to adapt to dynamism in contemporary industry conditions is influenced by the external and internal environments; in term, these leaders’ capacity for change impacts the adaptability of the …

Strategies For Strengthening Leader–Follower Relationships For Improving Organizational Performance, Onyinyechi Grace Odiaka

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractPoor-quality leader-follower relationships reduce organizational performance. Organizational leaders are concerned about poor performance as it can negatively impact sustainability. Grounded in the leader-member exchange theory, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore strategies leaders in oil-servicing organizations use to improve organizational performance. Data were collected from semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with 14 leaders from an oil-servicing organization and a review of company documents and the organizations’ websites. Through thematic analysis, five themes emerged: Leadership styles, motivation, mentoring and coaching, communication methods, and follower engagement. A key recommendation is for business leaders to influence followers to improve organizational …

All For One And One For All: One Market-Oriented Culture, Four Ceo Leadership Styles, Chris Linden Brown

Theses and Dissertations

The value of a market-oriented culture as one that sustainably satisfies customers, engages employees, and provides profitable growth is well-established. Market-oriented firms are more profitable, more innovative, and deliver higher customer and employee satisfaction than their competitors. However, we still know little of how leaders of such operations create and sustain their organizations’ market orientation. This research, positioned at the intersection of leadership and marketing strategy, draws on interviews with 66 CEOs and senior executives across a variety of firms and industries to generate insights into how these leaders developed their market-oriented approach and to identify the behaviors they engage …

A Conceptual Framework For How Trust And Humility Inform The Perception Of Leadership Among Rwandan Cooperative Members, Jennifer M. Jukanovich

Theses and Dissertations

In an era in which people must work together across borders to address complex issues, there is an unfortunate and unprecedented decline in trust across the globe. Humility is known to be a predictor of greater trust between followers and leaders, but there are few studies connecting the two constructs and very limited studies from Sub-Saharan Africa. This qualitative ethnographic case study conducted interviews among Rwandan cooperative members to ask how trust and humility inform their perception of leadership. Rwanda has one of the fastest growing GDPs in Africa but is still deeply affected by a breakdown in trust in …

Gender Differences In The Impact Of Worklife On Executives’ Psychological Health, Marcus B. Mueller

WCBT Faculty Publications

The Impact of Worklife on Executives’ Psychological Health Purpose: This is the first scientific research studying the impact of worklife factors on executives’ psychological health by gender. The study has a particular focus on the factors of ‘Community’ and ‘Work-life balance’.

Design: Survey data were collected from N=481 senior executives to measure seven worklife factors and psychological health. Standardized regression analysis was performed for each worklife in a regression model predicting psychological health by gender.

Findings: Results showed significant differences between female and male senior executives in the profiles of seven worklife factors in terms of their relationship with …