Digital Commons Network^™

Developing A Framework For Understanding The Personal Motivations Of Sustainability Leaders, Jennifer Licad Horn, Walter Wehrmeyer

Journal of Management for Global Sustainability

This study explores the initial and sustaining motivations that drive leaders to pursue sustainability as a profession or vocation. Exploratory interviews were conducted with 16 sustainability leaders in the Philippines working in sectors ranging from corporate to social enterprise, NGO, and academia. Findings from thematic analysis reveal significant life experiences that drive initial motivation, how feedback sustains motivation, and the importance of self-awareness and positive psychological factors in starting and sustaining their work or advocacy. A framework for understanding motivations is developed therein, drawing on themes extracted from the interviews, Stern’s Value-Belief-Norm Theory, and Authentic and Transformational Leadership theories. Recommendations …

When Culture And Change Collide In Higher Education: A Case Study At One University, Steven A. Petersen, Susan M. Bartel

Administrative Issues Journal

Leaders in higher education regularly find themselves at the intersection of change, torn between their institution’s history and culture, the intrinsic value of education, market needs, and the desires of alumni, current, and prospective students. Higher education is often labeled reluctant to change, and many believe any change initiative not aligned with the institution’s culture is almost certain to fail. This study provides evidence that leaders in higher education can implement change that is incongruent with organizational culture while maintaining harmony among the institution’s ideals and constituents. University X, a medium-sized, highly regarded public institution located in a rural area, …

A Phenomenological Study On The Impact Of Servant Leadership For Establishing A Culture Of High Performance As Perceived By High School Principals, Darrick Rice

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore and describe the perceived impact of Patterson’s (2003) 7 servant leadership constructs on high school principals in establishing a culture of high performance.

Methodology: The qualitative phenomenological study described the lived experiences of high school principals who lead schools that have implemented Patterson's (2003) 7 servant leadership constructs for establishing a culture of high performance in Los Angeles County, California. The researcher was a part of 8 peer researchers and 2 faculty advisors. The data collection included virtual face-to-face semi structured interviews using a protocol developed by the thematic team. …

Mastering The Solo Juggling Act: A Library Manager’S Reflections On Access Services, Tenure, And Liaising For Academic Disciplines, Nilda Alexandra Sanchez-Rodriguez

Publications and Research

Solo tenure-track librarians in academia must discover the key to mastering the fine art of multitasking to execute concepts of seamless user experiences. This article covers notable practices and principles of Solo tenure-track librarians in academia, specifically at the City University of New York, including overseeing a library division, satisfying provisions of the academic triad (excellence in teaching, service, and creative scholarship), and liaising various academic disciplines. Solos appointed to oversee a library division coordinate every aspect of access service (stacks maintenance, facilities management, user experience, etc.) in addition to being director. Directing a specialized library unit accompanies public-facing expectations …

New Jersey Superintendents’ Perceptions Of The Psel Standards And Their Application To The Summative Evaluation Process Of School Principals, Kevin Hajduk

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

It is difficult to imagine a focus for research with greater social justification than research about successful educational leadership. Therefore, the purpose of this study is twofold. First, this study explores the “elements” of the Professional Standards of Educational Leaders (PSEL) from the perspective of New Jersey school superintendents to determine what they consider to be most important when formally evaluating New Jersey public school principals. Second, this study will also distinguish what are the essential, compared to important, leadership skills and responsibilities that a building principal must demonstrate as defined by the PSEL standards and determined by Chief School …

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

Dissertations, 2020-current

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

University Professors As “Transformative Leaders”, Cam Caldwell, Verl Anderson

The Journal of Values-Based Leadership

University professors have a moral obligation to be ethical leaders in guiding their stewards. Transformative Leadership, a concept identified in both the educational and business leadership literature, provides a valuable model for university professors to consider as they interact with students and help them to learn and to prepare for the challenges of the modern world. This paper integrates the education and business leadership perspectives of Transformative Leadership and identifies the contributions that this leadership model can contribute to the effectiveness of university professors who adopt its principles.

Building Relationships And Resolving Conflicts: Infusing Critical Thinking Into Workplace Practices, Joseph P. Hester

The Journal of Values-Based Leadership

As we are now living in a world characterized as a “new normal,” nothing is more important than leaders who are adept at critical thinking enabling them to enhance their businesses by making judicious decisions while remaining sensitive to the needs of their employees. When talking about critical thinking, often neglected is the descriptor “critical.” Among other things, “critical” means significant, vital, essential, and analytical, and involving skillful judgment as to truth and merit. From the point of view of commonsense, “critical” may also imply an effort to see a problem or situation clearly and truthfully in order to make …

Assessing Healthcare Leader Competency Proficiency Levels In Evaluating Graduate Healthcare Leadership Student Competency Proficiency Levels And Curriculum, Brandi A. Sillerud, Heather C. Winkler

The Interactive Journal of Global Leadership and Learning

Healthcare leaders must possess specific competencies to perform their job requirements by identifying what competencies may need development and take steps to further their education, knowledge, and proficiency. This exploratory research aims to utilize industry data when evaluating student competency proficiency and how that data might impact curriculum development. The research question that is addressed: At what competency proficiency level do working healthcare leaders rate themselves utilizing Benner’s Novice to Expert Theory (1982)? Graduate programs should evaluate current industry data to evaluate how students’ progress in their programs and determine if curriculum changes are needed. Graduate programs should …

Improving Clinical Communication And Collaboration Through Technology, Michelle Machon

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Problem: Over the last 30 years, clinical communication methodologies in healthcare have evolved to become such disparate systems that they lead to confusion, wasted time, and clinician dissatisfaction. The Joint Commission (2016) reports up to 78% of sentinel events in hospitals are linked to communication failures, which have obvious implications for hospital systems in the quality and safety of their current communication systems.

Context: The purpose of this project was to determine the effectiveness of implementing a unified clinical communication technology platform in an acute care hospital setting and to make recommendations from that implementation to the organization’s larger health …

Transformational Leadership For Frontline Leaders, Marta L. Hudson

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Abstract

Problem. Transformational leadership (TL) represents the gold standard of leadership styles in contemporary healthcare organizations. The transformational leader's ability to motivate, influence, stimulate, inspire, and attend to followers' individual needs is an antecedent to job satisfaction, quality, and patient safety. The project aimed to improve TL constructs among frontline leaders (managers and assistant nurse managers). Based on the results of a needs assessment, these frontline leaders were provided an opportunity to improve their TL style.

Context. Leadership development is a strategic priority for a medium-sized medical center in a healthcare system in Northern California. Frontline leaders within patient care …

Preceptor As Frontline Leader Utilizing Emotional Intelligence, Dwanette Judkins

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Abstract

Problem - This paper describes a DNP project implemented in an acute care hospital in 2020. The hospital implemented a nurse residency program, with an evidence-based preceptor role development (PRD) component, which proved to be beneficial in growing the nursing workforce and building infrastructure; however, nurse turnover increased.

Context – Preceptors expressed feeling unsupported and not valued. The nurse executive team recommended the recognition committee expand its efforts to develop strategies to develop frontline leaders by building preceptor resiliency and increase retention. Preceptor development could positively impact the nursing workforce.

Intervention - The DNP student, was the executive sponsor …

Leadership Behaviors Needed By Executive Directors Of Nonprofit Victim Support Organizations, Timothy Hunt

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this mixed methods study was to determine how nonprofit victim support organization leaders rate the impact of the 10 Transformational Leadership Skills Inventory (TLSi) domains on their effectiveness. In addition, it was the purpose to discover how nonprofit victim support organization leaders describe the impact of each TLSi domain on their effectiveness.

Methodology: The participants in this study were executive directors of private, nonprofit victim support organizations across the Pacific Northwest region of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. All participated in an online quantitative survey where they rated their agreement with statements about the impact of the …

Law School News: Rwu Law Announces Rbg Contest For K-12 Students 12-2-2020, Michael M. Bowden

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

How Leaders And Employees Experience, Make Sense Of, And Find Meaning In Humility, David Perryman

Theses & Dissertations

By just about any measure, organizations today are more dynamic, diverse, and interdependent than at any other time in history. This environment puts unprecedented pressure on the human capacity to lead. And still, we demand more from our leaders—even as employees experience rising stress levels, declining loyalty, and deteriorating trust in their employers, and organizations face historically high rates of employee turnover along with the resulting financial and emotional costs. Clinging to romanticized notions of the larger-than-life leader blinds us to the paradoxical promise of humility; namely, that a leader’s greatest strength may lie, ironically, in the ability …

Formulating A Communal Covenant For The Elders And Ministers Of South Fork Church Of Christ, Drew Baker

Doctor of Ministry Theses

This project addressed the lack of a communal covenant for the elders and ministers of South Fork Church of Christ. The purpose of the project was to formulate a covenant that would promote the spiritual discernment and leadership of the elders and ministers. For the theological framework, I relied upon Mark’s portrait of Jesus. I looked at Jesus’s lived example as well as his teachings to discern values and practices that defined his leadership and should therefore be normative for Christian leaders. These values and practices were analyzed according to three relational categories—relationship with God, with each other, and with …

Unhealthy Leadership In The Christian Church: A Study Of The Divorce Rate, Curtis William Carter

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this project is to bring healing and direction to a particular area of the Christian church that is destroying marriages and greatly emotionally damaging children and families. This specific research will look at both the divorce rate in the secular community and the divorce rate in the Christian church, thus comparing and contrasting the two. While at the same time, showing how unhealthy leadership in the Christian church continues this damage. Furthermore, this research will also illustrate which gender is most likely filing for the divorces here in the 21st century and answer the questions why, where, …

Intentional Discipleship: Effective Disciple-Making For Church Growth In Liberia, George L. Suah

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Pastors of extremely effective disciple-making churches are conscious of the degree of church efficiency, and they recognize the significance of intentional discipleship for church growth. The purpose of this study is to investigate intentional discipleship for church growth in Liberia. An anonymous research study of 12 pastors and church leaders (evangelists) from Unity Light Ministry Network (UCC) in Kakata, Liberia, West Africa, was conducted to explore why Unity Light Ministry Network (UCC) in Liberia is struggling to grow their church numerically and spiritually. The study found that the Ministry does not have adequate and systematic training on intentional discipleship for …

The Relationship Between Automation Threat And Employee Related Outcomes Using Support As A Buffer And Moderated By Transformational And Transactional Leadership, Monica Garcia

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The introduction of automation in the workforce has negative effects that go beyond technological job displacement. The process of introducing automated systems creates stress in employees, which may relate to lower performance. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between automation threat and employee-related outcomes such as self-efficacy, means efficacy, and employability and how social support, organizational support, and instrumental support can help buffer against this type of threat. Furthermore, transformational and transactional leadership styles of the manager/supervisor were examined, as they related to the various types of support. Two hundred sixty-nine working adults completed the study …

Schools’ Civil Rights Obligations To English Learners: Leadership Perceptions On Key Issues, Pamela R. Schwallier

Dissertations

English Learners (ELs), who now represent nearly 10% of all K-12 public school students, 4.8 million of who speak over 400 different languages and dialects, continue to lack equitable educational opportunities as demonstrated through gaps in achievement outcomes, poor graduation rates, and identified systemic barriers related to the intersectionality of language, culture, race, and racism (Crump, 2014; DeMatthews & Izquierdo, 2017; Menken & Solorza, 2015; Morita-Mullaney, 2018; National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition [NCELA], 2015, 2018). This quantitative study captured over 800 K-12 educational leaders’ perspectives, via an anonymous electronic survey, on key issues regarding equitable programs for ELs that …

Communion, Agency, And Authenticity: How Gendered Expectations Influence Trust In Leaders, Allyson Day Pagan

Theses and Dissertations

While there are a great many benefits to increasing female numbers in leadership positions, organizations still struggle to find a place for women leaders. More research is required to examine leader skills and mechanisms through which they operate in order to facilitate women’s empowerment. The purpose of the current study was to examine leadership skills (political skill), behaviors (impression management and emotion management) and their outcomes (authentic leadership and trust in leader) in the context of gender. This study examined interpersonal emotion management as an increasingly important construct for leadership and social influence, incorporating it as an outcome of political …

Critical Followership: Faculty And Leader Relations Impact On Leadership Turnover At A California Community College, Erik William Christianson

Doctoral Dissertations

Community colleges are experiencing higher levels of executive leader (chancellor, vice chancellor, and dean) turnover than four-year universities. Many different factors account for the high turnover and low retention: the need for dynamic leaders, the leadership succession process, the lack of professional training and development, as well as stakeholders and outside forces. The relationship dynamic between faculty and leaders as a contributing factor has not been previously studied. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine leaders’ misperceptions of faculty’s needs. Surveys and interviews were utilized to cross-examine data and perceptions from faculty and leaders. Through the lens …

The Dove's Advantage: Impact Of Gender And Conflict On Executive Approval, Micala H. Gillespie

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Do citizens evaluate female vs. male leaders’ foreign policy decisions differently? The number of countries that have had female leaders continues to expand, but little is known about how domestic audiences reward or punish female (relative to male) leaders for foreign policy choices. This study examines how the gender of a national leader conditions the relationship between their hawkish/dovish ideology and public approval for rapprochement policies in militarized interstate conflicts. Results from time-series cross-sectional data using multiple regression models with fixed effects from 31 countries and 127 leaders show that public approval tends to be lower for women leaders and …

Rwu Law News: The Newsletter Of Roger Williams University School Of Law 12-2020, Barry Bridges, Michael M. Bowden, Nicole Dyszlewski, Louisa Fredey

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Trust In Leadership To Develop Collaborative School Culture And Effective Implementation Of Professional Learning Communities, Kara Mieszanek

Dissertations

DISSERTATION: TRUST IN LEADERSHIP TO DEVELOP COLLABORATIVE SCHOOL CULTURE AND EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES

Kara N. Mieszanek National Louis University

ABSTRACT

In education, we are constantly working toward increasing student achievement. Often, we pursue technical elements such as implementing programs, data analysis, utilizing assessment tools, embedding evaluation systems, etc. However, there is another critical element that may all too often get overlooked—the culture. The purpose of this study was to strip away all the layers required to achieve systemic change by observing what is at the core of it all: trust. Through qualitative and quantitative research, I took …

Illuminating The Voices Of Black Women Principals: A Phenomenological Qualitative Study, Crystal L. Haskins

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

School reform efforts, particularly those that are concerned with equity and social justice have led to an evolution of educational leadership theories and practices. Among these, Culturally Responsive School Leadership and Critical Race Theory have emerged as potential frameworks for dismantling the ghost of neo-managerialism and its impact on Black and Brown students’ academic success (Barton, 1998; MacRuairc, 2012; Terry, 1998). Relatedly, there is a dearth in the literature regarding the experiences of Black Women Principals; their lives, leadership styles, and accomplishments are not consistently recognized as valued contributions to educational research (Ladson-Billings, 2002). The purpose of this phenomenological study …

Ignatian-Centered And Appreciative Advising: Supporting The Holistic Development Of Students In 15-Minute Intervals, Joseph Defeo Ph.D., Bridget Keegan Ph.D.

Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal

Abstract

Ignatian pedagogy offers a powerful vision and methodology for learning and for life. The majority of work devoted to Ignatian pedagogy focuses on its integration into the traditional curriculum and classroom. However, as many educators are aware, learning, reflection, and self-discovery continue after and between courses and class meetings. Here the role of the faculty or staff advisor is essential, providing continuity and longer-term accompaniment for the student over the course of his or her educational career. This essay examines how Ignatian pedagogy builds upon and enhances secular theories of advising and how Ignatian pedagogy can inform advising relationships. …

Discerning Leaders: Forming Jesuit Higher Education Administrators And Faculty In The Ignatian Tradition, Joseph A. Defeo

Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal

Abstract

The need for good leadership is essential for any institution to be successful over the long term. In our current context, many months into a pandemic (Covid-19), the rising awareness, anger, pain and frustration of racial inequalities that are becoming more public and part of the national conversation, and the wide-ranging uncertainty of so many areas that make both short and long-term planning extraordinarily challenging, the need for good leaders is even more important. Leaders in Jesuit higher education face the same societal challenges as any other institution of higher education. Jesuit higher education, however, whose mission is grounded …

Review Of Leading And Managing Archives And Manuscripts Program, Rory Grennan

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

Review of Leading and Managing Archives and Manuscripts Programs, edited by Peter Gottlieb and David W. Carmichael, examining the main topics of leadership and management of people in archival programs, its place in the archival literature, and its potential audience.

The Charismatic Revolutionary Leadership Trajectories Of Fidel Castro And Lázaro Cárdenas: From Guerrillas To Heads Of State In The Age Of Us Imperialism, Joseph J. Garcia

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

After attempting to overthrow the government of Fulgencio Batista in 1953, Fidel Castro fled to Mexico where he, his brother, Raul Castro, Ernesto Che Guevara, and other revolutionaries were later jailed by the Mexican government under the orders of the Batista dictatorship to be returned to Cuba. Using his knowledge of the Mexican Revolution, Castro wrote a letter asking for help from former president and revolutionary general, Lázaro Cárdenas, appealing to his sense of revolutionary history and social justice. Cárdenas was impressed by this young revolutionary and worked to obtain political asylum for he and his comrades. This allowed Castro …