Digital Commons Network^™

The Leader's Role In Motivating Public Sector Workers, James B. Meeks Jr

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

In municipalities throughout the United States, there exists a belief that many public sector workers are unmotivated, disengaged from their work and disinterested in serving the public (Lavigna, 2014). This qualitative case study sought to understand the central phenomenon of the perceptions of public sector leaders in South Carolina for motivating their workers. Herzberg’s theory regarding the efficacy of leaders to understand the intrinsic motivational factors influencing worker performance, along with the four aspects of transformational leadership served as the theoretical framework for this study. Franklin (2016) explored the impact of leadership styles using Herzberg’s two-factor theory and a variety …

From Ideology To Implementation: Moving One Church Staff From An Aspirational Mindset Of Developing Leaders To An Actionable Movement Of Leadership Development, Trevor Blake Hislop

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

According to a recent article on “The Paradox of Leadership” from Harvard University, there are more than 15,000 books in print on the topic of leadership, and the number of works written about leadership in the past decade is greater than the total number of works ever written. So, if leadership is so highly valued in our culture today, then why is there a decline in leadership development in the church? Additionally, there are a growing number of churches that have detailed programs for leadership development; however, few churches are producing new leaders. Church at Viera in Viera, Florida, embraces …

Spiritual Disciplines For Men In A Medium-Sized Church, Scott Lowry Willis

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The problem is that the men of Freedom Fellowship Church in Canyon, Texas, do not have adequate training in the spiritual disciplines. Training in the spiritual disciplines would offer to the men in the church the proper leadership instruction that would give them the tools necessary to accomplish this goal. If the men of the church receive instruction in the spiritual disciplines, they will be able to utilize them in their daily lives. The men will, in turn, be able to use the spiritual disciplines in leadership positions in the church with confidence in being able to increase the spiritual …

Effective Church Leadership Through Emotional Intelligence, Joshua T. Lancaster

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

In On Leadership, John Gardner wrote, “Most of what leaders have that enables them to lead is learned.” Effective leadership skills can be learned and become habits. In Primal Leadership, Daniel Goleman wrote, “Not only can emotional intelligence be learned, but it also can be retained over the long term.” Southern Baptist congregants expect their pastors to be theologians, but also effective leaders. The emotional quotient barrier suggests that pastoral leadership is less effective because of behaviors such as inconsistent management of emotions, inability to genuinely connect with people, or leading without inspiration. This has led to stagnated or declining …

Evaluating Ethical Technology Leadership: Organizational Culture, Leader Behavior, And A Cyberspace Ethic Of Business, Mark Lee Pickel

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Evaluating ethical technology leadership at a financial services firm in North Carolina requires discovering interactions amongst organizational culture, leadership approaches, and ethical decision-making practices. This study provides insight into how the participating firm’s organizational culture creates a leadership climate accommodative of an applied cyberspace business ethic. A cyberspace business ethic provides guidance to technology leaders addressing ethical challenges arising from emergent digital technologies. The identification of four key influencers that support ethical decision-making and provide protection against reputational risk exposures create an understanding of the collective nature of core values, relational, reputational, and technological influences on ethical behaviors. Self-determination theory …

“Shepherds After God’S Heart": A Biblical Perspective On The Use Of Power And Authority In Leadership, Boubakar Sanou

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Leadership Practices Of Senior Student Affairs Officers In Arkansas Institutions Of Higher Education, Veronica Campbell Manning

Student Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine research and contribute to the understanding of how senior level student affairs officers use leadership practices in developing a student affairs division. This study sought to measure and gain an understanding of leadership practices by an examination of the ways senior student affairs officers (SSAO) build effective leaders and support new practitioners. It is necessary for SSAOs to practice exemplary leadership skills to lead the next generation of professionals in the ever-changing landscape of higher education. This study identified characteristics of exemplary leadership practices that cultivate an environment that enriches the profession …

Creating Joy & Resilience In Times Of Uncertainty, End-Of-Life Nursing Education Consortium, Carol O. Long

General Submissions: Academic Settings and Education-based Materials

Caring for older adults in long-term care facilities during the coronavirus pandemic is extremely challenging. Staff in long-term care are facing fears associated with the pandemic spread, grief associated with patient losses, and families who are distraught because they cannot visit loved ones. This tool helps the leadership at the facility to engage the team and foster community connection with joy and resilience.

An Examination Of Optimal Level Of Ceo Narcissism: Why, How, And When Narcissism Impacts Firm Performance, Scott Boswell

Dissertations

Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) may have narcissistic tendencies that impact the firm and its performance. We explore the definition of narcissism, how it is measured, and when it might be optimal or harmful to the firm’s performance. Leaders exhibiting higher scores on one or more Dark Triad traits often are viewed negatively both inside and outside the firm. Should such negative perceptions disqualify a leader who displays a measure of a Dark Triad trait? This research answers the primary question, is there an optimal level of CEO narcissistic traits and if so, are there moderating factors that impact the level? …

Determinants And Outcomes Of Teachers’ Work Engagement And Organizational Commitment: A Cross-National Comparative Study Between Turkey And The United States, Ayhan Ozturk

Theses and Dissertations

This cross-national study comparatively analyzed determinants and outcomes of teachers’ work engagement and organizational commitment in Turkey and the United States. Informed by the relevant literature, teachers’ organizational identification, perceived organizational support, and principal authentic leadership were the determinants. The outcome variables included teachers’ organizational citizenship behaviors and counterproductive work behaviors. A simple cluster random sampling was used to sample teachers. Sampling inclusion criteria were school configuration and school type. After removing incomplete cases and outliers, the respective samples included 319 teachers and 30 school principals from Ankara, Turkey and 192 teachers and 17 school principals from Arkansas, the United …

Leader-To-Leader: Reflexive Leadership In The Midst Of Covid-19 And Social Unrest, Ward Ulmer

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

A leader is only one person in one position, and one person’s ideas are not a panacea for all social ills. But effective leadership can shift the outcome of an organization to manifest its mission of positive social change considering changes in society. Most people have been exposed to leaders who tinker around the edges and others who call for revolution. Leaders are leaders only because they have capable followers. The truth is that some things are just too big for one individual. And when we happen upon those things, we must stand together, hold each other accountable, and encourage …

Professional Identity In Nursing: Background And Introduction, Kristen D. Priddy, Julie Lindeman Read, Karyanne Weybrew

Professional Identity in Nursing Webinars

Professional Identity in Nursing is a "sense of oneself, and in relationship with others, that is influenced by characteristics, norms, and values of the nursing discipline, resulting in an individual thinking, acting, and feeling like a nurse." This session will discuss the development an action plan for naming and shaping professional identity formation in nursing practice, education and policy that includes competencies, essential elements, and exemplars to foster professional identity formation in nursing based on the best available evidence.

This webinar is part one of a five-part series seeking to define professional identity and professionalism in the nursing discipline.

Changes In Nursing And Women's Leadership Across Six Countries, Eun-Ok Im, Reiko Sakashita, Eui Geum Oh, Chia-Chin Lin, Hsiu-Min Tsai, Hsiu-Hung Wang, Lian-Hua Huang, Jillian Inouye, Wipada Kunaviktikul, Marion E. Broome

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

The Asian and Asian American Study Group for Nursing Leadership (AAANL) has made collaborative efforts to promote nursing leadership in Asian culture. The purpose of this presentation is to showcase one of the group's efforts by discussing changes in nursing in six different countries and their impacts on leadership changes.

Navigating The Uncharted Pandemic Waters: An Examination Of The Role Of The Catholic School Superintendency In Response To Covid-19, Andrew Miller, Melodie Wyttenbach, Ronald James Nuzzi

COVID-19 and Catholic Schools

The management of multiple dilemmas became a norm overnight for Catholic school superintendents navigating the COVID-19 pandemic as they quickly moved to making decisions that would have long-term effects on the system of schools they led. This paper attempts to make sense of the new educational dilemmas that have confronted Catholic school superintendents during these past several months. Utilizing the 2019 framework for navigating and managing professional dilemmas in educational leadership (Spillane & Lowenhaupt), we explore educational dilemmas Catholic school superintendents face during this pandemic. We show in this paper that Catholic school superintendents have drawn on their professional expertise …

Staying Inspired In Difficult Times, Jennifer A. Bartlett

Library Faculty and Staff Publications

This issue's column suggests a few new releases to prompt professional reflection and renewal.

Navigating The Uncharted Pandemic Waters: An Examination Of The Role Of The Catholic School Superintendency In Response To Covid-19, Andrew Miller, Melodie Wyttenbach, Ronald James Nuzzi

Journal of Catholic Education

The management of multiple dilemmas became a norm overnight for Catholic school superintendents navigating the COVID-19 pandemic as they quickly moved to making decisions that would have long-term effects on the system of schools they led. This paper attempts to make sense of the new educational dilemmas that have confronted Catholic school superintendents during these past several months. Utilizing the 2019 framework for navigating and managing professional dilemmas in educational leadership (Spillane & Lowenhaupt), we explore educational dilemmas Catholic school superintendents face during this pandemic. We show in this paper that Catholic school superintendents have drawn on their professional expertise …

Change Management In Construction: Necessity, Obstacles,And Suggested Solutions, Ihab M. H. Saad

The Professional Constructor

The construction industry is one of the major harbingers of the economy of any industrialized nation. Its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product is undeniable. The major economic downturn that lasted from 2008 to 2011 resulted in a lot of change in the industry personnel at both the administration and labor force levels. This resulted in expediting the retirement of a generation of seasoned professionals, and creating a gap in the ranks of construction firms that is still to be completely filled. Similar impacts followed the uncertainty resulting recently from Covid-19 and the economic instability and uncertainty it caused. One …

Leadership Behaviors And Their Impact On Employee Retention, Shaun Patrick Nichols

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study analyzed the impact leadership behaviors had on employee retention in the Houston, Texas manufacturing sector. Many authors’ work was reviewed with literature pertaining to leadership behaviors and employee retention. Multiple interviews were conducted with current leadership at Houston, Texas manufacturing organizations to gain a better understanding of the experience of these employees. The results of the leadership study have a profoundly positive impact on employee retention. Three emergent themes were developed based on data analysis, which included empathy, listening, and employee development.

The Squeaky Wheel Gets The Oil? On The Interpersonal Effects Of Boredom Expression, Manuel F. Gonzalez

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

I explored how people react to employees who express boredom at work. I consider boredom expression as a social signal that the current situation does not adequately stimulate the expresser. The expression may then propel others to help stimulate the expresser, depending partly on others’ initial appraisals and reactions to the expression, and on the surrounding context. In Study 1, using qualitative surveys, I uncovered various affective, cognitive, and behavioral reactions to employees who expressed boredom. In Study 2, using experimental vignettes, I manipulated the emotion expressed by a “subordinate” (boredom, enthusiasm, or no emotion) and the manager’s beliefs about …

Innovative Methods For Researching Leadership Emergence, Leanne Gibbs, Frances Press, Sandie Wong, Tamara Cumming

The Qualitative Report

There is a growing understanding, internationally, that effective leadership has an influence on the quality of early childhood education programs. The leadership research agenda has expanded accordingly but despite this expansion there is little empirical research on the emergence and development of leadership in early childhood education. The article focuses primarily on the methodological challenge of studying the phenomena of emerging and developing leadership. We describe the innovative methods for data generation that were used to address these challenges for an Australian study of leading within early childhood education sites. We explain in detail two of the methods—a field observation …

Ally Or Enemy: The Impact Of Leadership On United States Army Combat Veterans’ Deployment Experiences Who Have Served In Iraq And Afghanistan, Derik Van Baale

Dissertations

Soldiers’ deployment experiences have been well-researched and studied, but the primary focus has been on enemy-induced trauma. Being a combat veteran who served in Iraq myself, and as someone who has counseled a plethora of combat veterans, I am keenly aware that there is more than exposure to enemy fire and the loss of comrades that can leave a lasting impression. Often, the actions by and interactions with leaders during deployments can also prove to be quite impactful to soldiers. However, very little research exists on the impact of leadership behavior as a factor during a soldier’s deployment experience and …

Together We Can An Analysis Of Barriers To Women In Leadership And The Unique Challenges Facing Women Of Color, Alexandria Redmond

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine and develop a scale on the current challenges facing women in leadership while giving special attention to the unique challenges facing women of color in leadership. The current study is the first of a multi-study scale development project for the Perceived Barriers to Women Leaders Scale (PBWLS). This paper aims to bring together literature on gender and ethnic differences in leadership and obstacles for women and women of color in attaining high-level positions in the workforce, and it also seeks to address measurement gaps in the literature. The final sample included 161 …

Social Change Engagement And Leadership Development Among College Students, Andrew Harris

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Young people are increasingly in the public view as agents of social change. As suggested in the Social Change Model of Leadership Development, those who develop the seven values of socially responsible leadership (consciousness of self, congruence, commitment, common purpose, collaboration, controversy with civility, and citizenship) are prepared to engage in the leadership process by creating positive social change. Findings from this study suggest that the socially responsible leadership value of citizenship was the value most consistently related to social change engagement. Additionally, social generativity, or the desire to leave a legacy for future generations, as well as participating in …

Academic Leadership: Gatekeeping Or Groundskeeping?, Beronda L. Montgomery

The Journal of Values-Based Leadership

Common approaches to academic leadership include serving as assessors of the progress of individuals towards organizationally determined milestones and markers of success. Likewise, leadership development often focuses on leadership skills and tactics, rather than on cultivation and enactment of leadership philosophies and progressive vision. Here, I discuss the importance of cultivating leadership for progressive faculty and academic staff development through strategically tending the cultures and systems that one leads, in addition to tactical supervision of people. I describe this as systems-engaged leadership manifested as groundskeeping, or as attending to the individuals in an organization while simultaneously actively tending the ecosystems …

Leaving Your Mark: Seven Strategies For Indelible Leadership, James S. Welch Jr

The Journal of Values-Based Leadership

One of the major concerns within contemporary leadership consists in the myopic view many leaders and followers have regarding leadership success. In the modern context, there are countless firms engaging in some variation of myopic management simply to drive short-term results. To counteract the short term view of leadership, this article presents a leadership construct focusing on seven strategies designed to help facilitate long term leadership impact and organizational sustainability. The seven strategies examined in this article consist of the following: embracing organizational diversity, encouraging positive change, displaying emotional intelligence, possessing a long term orientation, casting a strategic vision, developing …

Summer/Fall 2020

The Journal of Values-Based Leadership

No abstract provided.

Reasons For The Theory-Practice Gap In Education Administration, Gary Houchens, Ysuf Badavan, Nuray Kisa

School of Leadership & Professional Studies Faculty Publications

The theory-practice gap can be defined as "a failure to apply or to relate the concepts, ideas and theories to professional conditions". The aim of this research was to explore the reasons for the theory-practice gap in the field of educational administration. Participants included 380 school administrators working in primary, secondary and high schools and 57 researchers working in different higher education institutions in Ankara. The views are collected through the questionnaire with two different forms, namely Reasons of Theory-Practice Gap in the Field of Educational Administration developed by the researchers. Data were interpreted by percentages, frequency distributions and chi-square …

Multilevel Perspectives On Leadership In The African Context, Michael A. Abebe, Amanuel G. Tekleab, Augustine A. Lado

Management Faculty Publications

Despite the depth of research on leaders and leadership in the Western and Asian contexts, the study of leadership in the African context remains at a nascent stage. In this special issue, we take a multilevel perspective to review and synthesize current research on leadership in Africa in three distinct scholarly domains (Organizational Behavior & Human Resources (OB/HR), Strategy and Entrepreneurship). Based on this review, we offer specific recommendations to advance leadership research and improve the scope and rigor of theoretical and methodological approaches. Finally, we present three scholarly works that highlight the distinctive nature of leadership in Africa, including …

Sweden’S Casino Cosmopol Stayed Open During The Pandemic: What Can We Learn?, Kasra Ghaharian, Bo Bernhard

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

The COVID-19 pandemic has generated countless research questions for academics in every conceivable field. Chief among those are the biomedical questions, particularly those related to diagnosis, prevention and treatment (National Institutes of Health, 2020), as this public health crisis relentlessly spreads across the globe. Meanwhile, virtually every other research field finds itself exploring the intersections of those biomedical questions with more specific queries on a range of everyday impacts. Sweden’s approach to COVID-19 has captured the imaginations of critical thinkers worldwide. Sweden has resisted the tendency of governments to shut down society, instead electing for a more sustainable approach. Our …

Leading Sustainability: Understanding Leadership Emergence In Community Resources Management Areas In Ghana, Nana Owusu-Ansah

The Qualitative Report

Community Resources Management Areas (CREMAs) establishment strategy in Ghana aims at putting some biodiversity rich communal lands belonging to families and traditional rulers under conservation. Community leaders play important roles in the success of the CREMAs conservation programmes to achieving the desired sustainability in the rural areas. This study applied phenomenological approach to collect qualitative data from community conservation leaders from three CREMA sites in northern Ghana. The major findings of the study showed CREMAs establishment origins vary from community initiated projects through interest group initiatives to cooperation between central government and community enterprises. Leadership emergence was found to be …