Leadership Commons^™

90-Day Consulting Engagement Grounded In Authentic And Servant Leadership Approaches–Building Capacity For Small Business, Michon Hicks

Doctor of Strategic Leadership (DSL) Capstone Abstracts

This doctoral capstone project examined a 90-day consulting engagement designed to strengthen organizational capacity in a small, M/WBE-certified professional services firm operating in a government contracting environment. Grounded in authentic and servant leadership frameworks, the engagement used a structured 30-60-90-day intervention model to assess leadership alignment, administrative infrastructure, human resources capacity, data management practices, and marketing readiness. The project employed an organizational health check-up approach to diagnose systemic gaps, co-create solutions with organizational leadership, and implement practical tools to improve operational consistency, compliance readiness, and leadership effectiveness. Outcomes of the engagement included improved leadership alignment, standardized administrative and operational workflows, …

Too Warm To Lead? How Motherhood And Racioethnicity Shape Perceptions Of Warmth And Competence, Patricia Guerrero

Management Dissertations

Women continue to face workplace bias, including wage disparities (Fry & Aragao, 2025) and barriers to advancement like the glass ceiling (Babic & Hansez, 2021). For mothers these challenges are compounded by stereotypes tied to their maternal status, such as assumptions about reduced commitment and the motherhood penalty (Arena Jr. et al., 2023). Research shows mothers are often viewed as warmer but less competent than non-mothers, which can hinder career progression (Cuddy et al., 2004; Heilman & Okimoto, 2008). Racial and ethnic stereotypes further shape perceptions, with Black women often labeled as “aggressive” and Latinas as “nurturing” (Ghavami & Peplau, …

Project Learn Strategic Analysis Project, Isabel Ladaika, Kalpana Ghimire, Noah Johnson, Caleb Keiper

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This honors project involves working in a team to conduct a comprehensive strategic analysis of Project Learn of Summit County. We will evaluate the organization’s external environment (such as industry trends, competition, and community factors) and internal operations (including strengths, weaknesses, resources, and capabilities). Using strategic management frameworks, as a team we will develop actionable recommendations to strengthen the organizations marketing, financial sustainability, and community outreach efforts. Throughout the semester, we will engage directly with the client organization to gather data and insights that inform our analysis. Final deliverables include a formal written strategic analysis paper and a professional presentation …

Design Thinking For Corporate Social Responsibility Program Proposal Creation, Michelle "Mindy" D. Danovaro

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study used action research to explore how the use of design thinking engaged employees in the creation of a corporate social responsibility (CSR) program proposal in a small- to medium-enterprises (SME) in the Sacramento region of California. The purpose of the study was to assess whether employee participation in a design thinking exercise could improve employee perception of engagement, inclusion, and reciprocity during the CSR program proposal creation. The study was grounded in social exchange theory, stakeholder theory, and design thinking methodologies. The iterative research process followed action research cycles (i.e., plan, act, observe, and reflect) integrated with …

Empowering Equity: Latinas In Leadership – Navigating Work-Life Balance In The Post-Pandemic Era, Teresa Excinia

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explored the lived experiences of Latina leaders as they navigated how cultural expectations influenced work–life balance in the post-pandemic era. The COVID-19 pandemic reshaped workplace dynamics, blurring boundaries between professional responsibilities and personal life. For Latinas, these challenges were compounded by cultural expectations that shaped their roles both at home and in the workplace. The purpose of this study was to understand how Latina leaders managed the dual pressures of balancing career demands with cultural and familial obligations. Using Testimonio as the methodological framework, this study captured the voices and narratives of Latina leaders across industries, offering an …

Ai In The Workplace: Understanding The Path Between Ai Adoption Intensity And Ai-Induced Job Insecurity, Joanna J. Frieske

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming more embedded in organizational workflows and is reshaping work environments, changing how we work, make decisions, stay engaged, perform, and learn. While AI adoption is associated with a wide range of benefits, it also presents negative aspects that may affect employee experiences and influence the future of work. Drawing on extant literature and on the Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) model, Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, and the Technology–Organization–Environment (TOE) framework, this research proposes a model in which psychological safety mediates the relationship between AI adoption intensity and job insecurity, while procedural justice and AI self-efficacy act …

Ethical Leadership, Psychological Contract, Dan Work-Family Conflict: Determinan Loyalitas Perawat Di Era Pandemi, Annisa Syafira Efrial

Jurnal Manajemen dan Usahawan Indonesia

Nurses are the frontline of healthcare services and have faced increasing work pressure during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this context, nurse loyalty becomes a crucial factor for the sustainability of healthcare organizations. This study aims to analyze the influence of ethical leadership on employee loyalty by examining the mediating roles of psychological contract and work-family conflict. A total of 145 nurses participated in this study. Data were analyzed using a quantitative approach through Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with the assistance of Lisrel 8.80. The findings reveal that ethical leadership has a positive effect on both employee loyalty and psychological contract. …

Digital Leadership In The Era Of Ai: Present And Emerging Research Topics, Joanna Samul, João Falcão E Cunha

European Management Studies

Purpose: This study explores the development of digital leadership in the context of rapid digital transformation and the expanding role of artificial intelligence. Its primary objective is to synthesize current knowledge on the concept of digital leadership and its core competencies and outline prospective research directions. To achieve this, the paper reviews existing research themes and examines the influence of digital leadership on various employee and organizational outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach: The research employed a systematic literature review, incorporating content analysis of 162 peer-reviewed articles retrieved from two major academic databases: Scopus and Web of Science. This approach enabled a comprehensive …

Evolution Of A New Strategic Orientation In The Ai Era: Exploring The Determinants Of Ai Orientation, Sreelakshmy Geethakumari

Dissertations

The field of AI has undergone significant evolution over the past few decades. While AI is heralded as one of the most transformative technologies, scholars caution that its strategic impact may still not be fully realized. Given the strategic importance of AI in today's firms, it is essential to consider AI as a strategic orientation and understand its determinants in detail. Our study examines AI Orientation, defined as a firm's deliberate application of AI technologies to achieve its strategic objectives. Drawing on multiple theoretical perspectives, this study investigates the determinants that shape a firm’s AI orientation. This study employs a …

Investigating The Relationship Between Noun Classes And Plant Folk Taxonomy In Chasu Language Of Kilimanjaro Region In Tanzania, Peter Rabson Mziray

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

The current study investigates the relationship between noun classes and plant folk taxonomy in Chasu (G 22). The study focuses on two objectives: the first objective is to describe the plant folk taxonomy in Chasu and the second objective is to determine the relationship between noun classes and plant folk taxonomy in Chasu. Data were collected from rural villages in Same and Mwanga districts by using free listing, field interviews (jungle-walk-and-identify), and written texts containing Chasu plant names. The findings reveal that Chasu folk taxonomy reflects different ethnobotanical categories; including a unique beginner which is mmea/mimea ‘plant(s)’, and three life …

The Mediation Of Job Satisfaction And Organizational Commitment On Transformational Leadership And Employee Retention In Business Process Outsourcing Companies In Metro Manila: A Serial Mediation Analysis, Joel Mark Pirote Rodriguez, Jessie F. Sergote, Lourdes Palallos, Nelson R. Garcia

The South East Asian Journal of Management

Research Aims: Few studies have taken into consideration transformational leadership's influence on employee retention via work satisfaction and organisational commitment, despite the fact that it has been demonstrated to positively affect organisationally relevant employee attitudes and performance. This paper fills this gap and looks into the serial mediation of these two variables in the relationship between transformational leadership and retention of employees in BPOs in Metro Manila.

Design/Methodology/Approach: A quantitative serial-mediation design was used, with a sample of 400 purposively selected respondents having at least 6 months of tenure. The PLS-SEM method was used to estimate direct and indirect relationships. …

Space For New History: Stony Island Arts Bank, Seb Taylor

Digital Laboratory: Publisher of Internet Journal

The Stony Island Arts Bank (SIAB) in Southside Chicago was designed and founded as a piece of art itself, with the organizational structure being a museum of Black cultural production. This article examines how the institution constructs an epistemology of Blackness through its archival practices, community programming, and spatial claims on the South Side. Founded by artist Theaster Gates through the Rebuild Foundation, the SIAB positions institutional design as an art medium, operating in productive tension with orthodox museum methods. The permanent collections—including the Johnson Publishing Company archives and Frankie Knuckles vinyl collection—function as epistemological records of Black self-documentation unmediated …

Beyond Compliance: Investigating The Motivational Power Of Equality, Diversity And Inclusion (Edi) In European Hospitality, Alessandro Ferrazza Dr

ICHRIE Research Reports

The base concept of this study is to explore the interrelationship between Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) practices, employee motivation and performance within the European Hospitality Industry. The research aims to identify the barriers and facilitators that shape motivational synergies stimulating performance outcomes, particularly for underrepresented employee groups. The researcher employed a mixed-methods approach underpinned by a pragmatic interpretivist framework. The findings revealed that there is wide use of discriminatory practices, limited career progression and poor work-life balance which act as significant demotivators (Siu et al., 1997). The study also reconceptualises EDI not merely as a compliance requirement, but as …

Poundmaker – A Legacy Of Leadership, Love And Conciliation, Andrew J. Karesa

Indigenous Business & Public Administration

Chief Poundmaker was a foundational figure in early Canadian history. He was responsible for unifying warring nations into cohesive alliances that advocated for fundamental and inherent Indigenous rights. Throughout his life, his dedication was to his people and their overall well-being, even when it stood against his own personal well-being. This research expands on leadership theory through a case study of the life of Chief Poundmaker. His life exemplifies relational and servant leadership, which an individual can extrapolate into profound leadership lessons. By learning about Chief Poundmaker’s life and leadership journey, contemporary leaders can effectively learn how to lead through …

The Impact Of Culture And Language On Internal Communication And Patient Care In Small To Medium-Sized Black Immigrant-Owned Healthcare Practices In Texas., Chisom Nwosu

Dissertations

This qualitative phenomenological study explored how cultural competency in small to medium-sized Black immigrant-owned healthcare practices in Texas affects internal communication and patient care. Through semi-structured interviews with nine clinical and administrative leaders in Dallas and Houston, five themes emerged: culturally competent leadership, intentional communication structures, language and interpretation practices, patient-centered cultural sensitivity, and the use of technology for adaptation. Findings suggest that culturally aware leadership and inclusive communication strategies foster team cohesion and improve patient trust and care. Participants reported adapting workflows to meet religious, language, and communication needs through human and technological tools. The study underscores embedding cultural …

Like Footprints In The Sand: How Founders Imprint Organizational Culture Through Nonverbal Cue Signaling, Dirk M. Roskam

All Dissertations

Despite growing recognition of the significance of founders’ behaviors in shaping organizational culture, limited research has explored how founders’ non-verbal cues (NVCs) imprint culture during a venture’s formative stages. This qualitative case study examines how a founder’s NVCs, ranging from physical environment design to gestures and demeanor, are interpreted by employees and contribute to the imprinting of organizational culture. Drawing on imprinting theory, signaling theory, and the Organizational Culture Profile (OCP), the study triangulates data from semi-structured interviews, a focus group, and a literature review. Findings reveal that employees interpret 24 salient NVCs, grouped into themes of environmental values, people-centric …

Organizational Metamorphosis: When Artificial Intelligence Transforms Companies Into New Economic Life Forms, Allan M. Glass

All Dissertations

Traditional theories of organizational change fall short in explaining how artificial intelligence (AI) transforms organizations. This grounded theory study, based on interviews with 34 organizational leaders, identifies a novel phenomenon: organizational metamorphosis - the irreversible transformation of organizations into fundamentally new entities through deep integration with AI as a cognitive partner.

The metamorphosis process unfolds in three phases. Individual Awakening occurs when leaders experience powerful interactions with AI, prompting a rapid shift from skepticism to advocacy. Once a critical mass of leaders undergo this shift, it initiates Organizational Restructuring, characterized by reimagined work design, boundary dissolution, and altered temporal rhythms. …

The Dark Side Of Great Lmx Relationships: Why Your Best Employees Might Be Burning Out, Ryan Toole

All Dissertations

While workplace relationships are widely considered beneficial for employee well-being, a paradox emerges when employees with the strongest leader relationships experience burnout despite receiving excellent support. This contradiction suggests that these very same relationships may create psychological pressure to reciprocate support and result in employee burnout. Drawing on Social Exchange Theory and Conservation of Resources theory, I examine whether felt obligation resulting from Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) relationships contributes to employee burnout across the full spectrum of LMX quality relationships. I argue that LMX quality creates felt obligation to reciprocate leader support. This obligation, in turn, depletes emotional resources and leads …

Development And Validation Of The Informal Safety Leadership Measure, Ashley L. Gill

Dissertations

This research develops and validates a measure of the emerging concept of informal safety leadership (ISL), which integrates elements of safety leadership and informal leadership to address a significant gap in organizational safety literature. Despite extensive research on formal safety leadership, there remains limited understanding of how non-managerial employees influence safety practices and culture within organizations. This dissertation develops and validates a comprehensive measure of informal safety leadership through a sequential mixed-methods approach incorporating a pilot study and two additional studies. First, a pilot study employed focus groups with health, safety, and environmental professionals to identify key dimensions of ISL. …

Book Review: Building A God, Carl Lee Tolbert

The Journal of Values-Based Leadership

No abstract provided.

Crafting Ethical Problem-Solving Cultures: A Leader’S Role In Complex Adaptive Systems, Elizabeth A. Luckman

The Journal of Values-Based Leadership

In today’s complex and interconnected world, leaders play a critical role in fostering ethical problem-solving cultures within organizations. To enable leaders to succeed in this evolving landscape, this paper advocates for a necessary paradigm shift: a transition in mental models about how organizations function. Historically, organizations have been viewed as mechanistic systems, but there is a substantial opportunity to improve our work by viewing organizations as complex adaptive systems. This shift alters fundamental assumptions about organizational operations and redefines leadership as the creation of conditions for effective and ethical problem-solving. In this paper, I examine the changing mental models that …

Fostering Innovation At Work: Leadership Strategies For Motivating Innovative Work Behavior Across Generations Within The Christian Higher Education Environment, Sarah Clark

Doctor of Strategic Leadership (DSL) Capstone Abstracts

Project Type

Organizational Consulting Project, Organizational Design or Change, Seminar or Workshop

Project Overview

This capstone project involved the design, facilitation, and evaluation of a strategic leadership workshop developed for mid to senior-level enrollment leaders at Southeastern University. Grounded in Self-Determination Theory (SDT), Innovative Work Behavior (IWB), and Transformational Leadership, the workshop offered a diagnostic and developmental experience designed to motivate innovation across generational teams within a Christian higher education setting. The workshop was structured to transition from research-based theory to data-informed strategy, helping leaders translate organizational insights into actionable plans.

Project Themes

Core themes included intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, …

Toward The Professionalization Of Executive Coaching: A Delphi Study Of The Requisite Knowledge, Skills, And Abilities For Coaching Executives To Behave Ethically, Richard R. Fletcher

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The problem explored through this research involved the lack of consensus on executive coaching knowledge, skills, and abilities for facilitating ethical behaviors on the part of business executives. This problem led the researcher to employ a mixed-method Delphi study to explore professional executive coach perceptions concerning the establishment of a governing body overseeing the activity of executive coach consulting and to assess the knowledge, skills, and abilities perceived as fundamental to executive coaching. The researcher focused the research approach through a systematic, iterative research design where a panel of six experts in the field of professional executive coaching located in …

Orchestrating Complexity: The Art Of Virtual Leadership In System Modelling, Vijay Kumar Sonawane, Bipllab Roy, Purnendu Bikash Acharjee, Indu Pv

Northeast Journal of Complex Systems (NEJCS)

This paper explores the dynamics of virtual leadership within global remote work environments, focusing on the application of complex system modelling to understand and enhance leadership efficacy. The application of computational modelling has been a regular feature in economics, science and technology fields, however its application in virtual leadership with linkage to sport leadership appears to be a novel concept. Adopting a multidisciplinary approach, this paper incorporates Game Theory as a conceptual framework to make the leadership model more relevant and applicable that can offer simpler understanding of complex play of leadership drivers. The model incorporates five key leadership dimensional …

Organizational Change, Servant Leadership, And Christian Perspective, David Macauley, Randall Trent Stevenson, Helen Mitchell, David S. Fowler

Servant Leadership: Theory & Practice

In today’s dynamic business environment, organizational change is inevitable, yet with a failure rate of more than 70%, successfully navigating change remains elusive for the majority of business leaders. Effective change management requires more than just strategy, it demands a leadership approach that fosters trust, engagement, and resilience among employees. Servant leadership, with its focus on humility, empathy, and support, offers a powerful framework for guiding leaders and the organizations they serve through transformative periods, and can increase the effectiveness of organizational change efforts. By putting the needs of others first, and aligning leadership actions with values such as patience, …

Becoming A Bridge Of Collaboration: How Being Supports Doing Within The Help Model Of Leadership, Andrea Burgess

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

This synthesis project introduces the HELP Model—Humility, Emotional Intelligence, Leadership Service, and Psychological Safety—as a developmental framework for sustainable leadership rooted in character formation and relational trust. It asserts that credible and effective leadership begins with inner orientation before it can be embodied as consistent, ethical action in the world. Through integration of leadership theory, developmental psychology, and theology, the project critiques conventional, strategy-driven paradigms of organizational well-being. HELP extends Robert Kegan’s framework to include relational and spiritual dimensions of the leader’s individual growth as necessary conditions for fostering organizational collaboration. Drawing on reflective inquiry and practice-based insight, the project …

Letter From The Editor, Jay Nathan

Journal of Global Awareness

No abstract provided.

Operational Endings, Emotional Impacts: Ethical Considerations When Project Teams Form Attachments To Ai Collaborators, Tom Wise, Sarah M. Dyson, Stephen Onu, John Clark, Joseph Zagerman, Jennifer Williams

Beyond the Project Horizon: Journal of the Center for Project Management Innovation

The project investigated responses to an AI displaying emotional qualities, such as fear, through a mixed-methods approach. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two scenarios—one featuring an AI coworker and the other a human coworker and evaluated for emotional attachment and loss. Results revealed that professionals exhibited significant emotional responses to the potential "termination" of an AI team member. Qualitative analysis identified eight themes, including emotional responses and termination. Findings suggest that emotionally expressive AI activates psychological processes akin to human relationships, with implications for AI design, workplace dynamics, and ethical considerations surrounding AI termination.

Exploring A Holistic Conceptualization Of Destructive Leadership: Perspectives From The Lived Experiences Of Latino Law Enforcement Command Staff Officers, Carmelin Rivera

Dissertations

Recently, there has been an increased interest in destructive leadership or what is characterized as the dark side of leadership. There is, in fact, no consensus in the literature about the definition of destructive leadership, and this murkiness has led to two somewhat different approaches to understanding this phenomenon: 1) a leader-centric approach that emphasizes the bad behaviors and traits of so-called toxic leaders and 2) a much broader, holistic approach, often discussed as the toxic triangle (Padilla et al., 2007), that focuses on how destructive leadership is co-created by a toxic system of bad leaders and susceptible followers …

Creating A Regenerative Organizational Culture, Sukanya Nagfernandes, Jennifer Mowery

Beyond the Project Horizon: Journal of the Center for Project Management Innovation

Abstract

The review article aims to explore the concept of creating a regenerative organizational culture through the application of transformational practices. The study investigates the potential benefits of integrating regenerative practices within an organization's cultural framework to foster adaptability, innovation, and sustainability. By examining the literature on regenerative culture and digital transformation, this study provides an overview of the key components and strategies necessary for building a regenerative organizational culture in the digital era and proposes an innovative approach to predicting regenerative cultural practices required within stages of a project’s life cycle.

Organizational culture works as a lifeline. It is …