Leadership Studies Commons^™

E-Ffects On Relationality In Leadership: Looking At The Effects Of The Use Of Social Network Sites On Aspiring Leaders Through The Lens Of Relational Dialectics, Lori M. Throupe

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This study will examine the effects of the use of social network sites (SNS), specifically Facebook, on the relationality of aspiring leaders. The use of SNSs has skyrocketed among people all over the world, and particularly within the younger generation. An increasing amount of studies have been undertaken to look at the effects of using such SNSs. Further, as such SNSs take root and reveal substantial influence on relationships and habits within daily life, they seem to be increasingly leveraged by influential people for leadership purposes. As leadership remains one of the most critical topics within our culture, and relationality …

Effects Of Youth Participation On Adults In A Neighborhood Multi-Organizational Project, Joanne Marie Benham

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Engaging youth in decision-making processes with adults is of growing interest in communities across the country. Reasons generally cited are that youth benefit from interactions with caring adults who help them build skills, confidence, and a sense of belonging. These experiences are essential for a successful transition from adolescence to adulthood. (Benson, Scales, Hamilton, & Sesma; Hong & Roehlkepartain, 2006). However, researchers Zeldin, McDaniel, Topitzes, and Calvert (2000) hypothesized that these youth/adult decision-making ventures create equally important benefits for adults. In a study of select organizations across the country where youth were members of organizational boards, these researchers found youth …

Allowing A Lie: A Study Of The Impact Of Soft Lies On The Leader-Follower Relationship, Kashmere Alicia-Ann Fitch

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Soft lies—including white lies, creative rephrasing, and withholding information—are common in personal life but also affect workplace relationships. Drawing on uncertainty reduction theory and cognitive dissonance, this thesis examines how soft lies influence trust and the leader-follower relationship, including when followers may consider them acceptable. Survey results from students in Gonzaga University's Organizational Leadership and Communication and Leadership master's programs indicate that soft lies generally damage leader-follower relationships, although followers were more accepting when the lie did not affect them personally or when they understood the leader's reasoning. Leaders who used soft lies to encourage, protect, or preserve a follower's …

The Interpretation Of Online Identity On Facebook And Social Networking Sites, Margaret D. Denninger

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This study explored the interpretation of identity as it relates to the construction of self-identity on Facebook. Academic scholarship of online identity development on Facebook and other Social Networking Sites (SNS) revealed recent research that juxtaposed online identity makeup within communication and psychological frameworks. The expansion of Facebook and its design elements drew academic analyses that questioned the authenticity and fluidity of online identities. In this meta-analysis, three studies were discussed in depth, approximately 50 studies on Facebook identity construction were reviewed, and professional critiques on the Facebook effect were included. Research questions query: the prospect of true identity online; …

Perceived Confirmation And Disconfirmation In Community College Online Distance-Learning Courses, Carissa Michelle Simmons

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This qualitative study sought to discover how interpersonal confirmation and disconfirmation are perceived in online distance learning courses at the community college level by determining the specific communication teacher behaviors that cause confirmation and disconfirmation to be perceived by their students. The philosophical framework for this study stemmed from Martin Buber’s (1965) concept of the “interhuman.” The particular theories that grounded this study are the symbolic interactionism theory and two theories of interpersonal confirmation by Sieburg (1973) and Larson (1976). The data for this study was obtained through focus groups, individual interviews, and open-ended surveys. The results show that confirmation …

How Communication And Leadership Affect Collaboration In A Partnership: An Exploratory Study, Joseph Carrasco

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Homelessness is a persistent and pervasive issue in the United States. The complexity of the problem has produced federal policies that make collaboration a requirement for homeless advocacy organizations to receive federal funding. In turn, cities, towns, and other entities have created partnerships in order to receive funding as well as combine resources and share information to help reduce if not remedy the homeless problem in their areas. This thesis explores how communication and leadership affect collaboration in a partnership. The study is grounded in the theories of dialogical ethics and transformational leadership to examine two collaborative partnerships serving the …

Texting: The Ecology Of Adolescent Life, Charlotte Louise Saucedo

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This study examined the impact that instant communication has on the social development of adolescents (12-18 years). While most studies have either focused on this medium as either entirely good or bad, this study aimed at the middle ground in understanding both the benefits and pitfalls. A qualitative research design was employed to measure the abstract concepts of „well-being‟ and „group belonging‟ in relation to the role that instant messaging plays into those concepts. This study utilized the theoretical lenses of Vygotsky‟s Social Development Theory, Erikson‟s Social Development Theory and Walther‟s Hyperpersonal Perspective. Employing the use of both focus groups …

A Journey In Servant-Leadership, Larry C. Spears

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

As usual, I would like to start by commending all of our contributing authors in this year's journal. The articles contained within this issue offer a compelling deep vision for the future of servant-leadership. The articles in this volume also represent the diverse thinking of people from many countries, and a powerful landscape of human insight that inspires me.

Leadership And Foresight In A Changing And Challenging World: A Call For Servant-Leadership, David Whitfield

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

The greatest leader forgets himself and attends to the development of others. -Lao Tzu (600 BCE) This paper addresses four global leadership challenges that demand different leadership theories, models, and philosophies because of how these challenges affect and will continue to affect what the future portends for a changing world. They are persistent, potentially destructive, life-changing, and have been for many decades; they are also opportunities for corporate leaders to use their power to create possibilities throughout the world to minimize poverty, facilitate the acquisition of clean drinking water, decrease illiteracy, and diminish greed. What is the role of corporations …

Beyond The Paradoxical Shadow Of A Doubt: A Powerful Bond That Sustains Servant-Leaders In Their Struggle For Truth And Justice, Dung Q. Tran

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

The comprehensive study of leadership phenomena matters. Reasons abound for the need of both formal and informal leadership research in various contexts. Spears (1998) recognized the emergence of a significant "leadership and management paradigm for the 21st century" (p. xix). Jackson and Parry (2008) claimed that "leadership is widely seen as both the problem and solution to all manner of contemporary issues" (p. 9). A key buzzword in our modern times, leadership has "become a major issue in all forms of organizations" (Doohan, 2007, p. I). In the world of higher education, Greenleaf (1998) identified a "serious crisis of leadership …

One Woman’S Struggle: A Reflection Of Servant-Leadership, Margaret Muchiri

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

Kenya is a free democracy now. The British colonizers left Kenya in 1963 but they left a land devastated both in terms of a ruined ecosystem and an uprooted culture (Kemble, 2003, p. 206). In terms of an ecosystem, Kenya was reduced to a mere shell of its former self. Kenyan land had been deforested and its fertility exhausted by the colonial masters (Kenyatta, 1989; Maathai, 2006, pp. 3-8). Wangari Maathai, upon seeing the devastation, decided to do what she could to combat environmental and poverty issues arising from deforestation ("Wangari Muta Maathai," n.d., para. 2). Because of her, some …

Who Is The Servant-Leader?, Robert K. Greenleaf

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

EDITOR'S NOTE In each new volume of the journal, we are honored to present a reprint of Robert K. Greenleaf's work that previously appeared in the journal. In this installment, Greenleaf's essay "Who Is the Servant-Leader?" considers the nature of leadership juxtaposed against the nature of people who are natural servants and those who are natural leaders. His call to develop the inner life of humility, love, and service remains a clarion of true leadership for past, present, and future generations.

The Courage To Dismiss: An Act Of Stewardship, Carole J. Kitamura

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

A good teacher is critical to the academic success of students. Although we might prefer to hold onto the myth that a student's socioeconomic status or home life is the primary reason for success or failure in school (Haycock, Jerald, & Huang, 2001, p. 3), "the most important factor affecting student learning is the teacher" (Wright, Horn, & Sanders, 1997, p. 63). Schmoker (2006) added: "The single greatest determinant of learning is not socioeconomic factors or funding levels. It is instruction" (p. 7). The truth of these simple statements about the importance of effective instruction from a quality teacher should …

Talent Diversity In China: A Garden Of Learning Opportunities, Sylvia Van De Bunt-Kokhuis

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

In this article servant-leadership is highlighted in relation to nurturing the diversity of talents. Nurturing talent diversity means developing multiple competencies in individuals and in teams. Servant-leadership is a philosophy and practice of leadership, where leaders achieve results for their organizations by giving priority to the needs of those they serve. Servant-leaders are key in enhancing the full talent potential of people. Exploring and building talent competences is a life-long process in learning communities such as the home, the school, and the corporate workplace. China's fascination with Multiple Intelligences theory (Ml) can be traced back to the historical influence of, …

Between Heaven And Earth, Shann Ray

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

A poem by Shann Ray.

Fascism And Forgiveness, Eleni J. Kametas-Hicks

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

Leadership is a term often used in education and in the workplace. But the concept of servant-leadership "is often forgotten, and its principles are directly applicable to those who wish to lead" (Spears, 1995, p. 79). According to Robert Greenleaf, "servant-leadership begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead" (Spears, 1995, p. 4). When I thought about the word leader, there were several words that came to mind. Words such as powerful, assertive, and manager. These were the words traditionally found in a resume, listed on …

Emmanuel Edeh: Inspiring Twenty-First-Century Africans To Serve-First, Peter O. Amah

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

Edeh (1985) articulated a theory of being as mma-di-the good that is. This mma-di participates in the absolute goodness of God, who creates and sustains it. Every human being deserves sustenance and to have his/her dignity preserved. To serve the interests of mma-di as a priority, a leader devotes his/ her energy, resources, and life to prove in theory and practice that each individual, according to Ferch (2003), has "inherent worth, a dignity not only to be strived for, but beneath this striving, a dignity irrevocably connected to the reality of being human" (p. 2). It was with a similar …

The Heart Of Giving: Servant-Leadership And Purposeful Philanthropy, Richard Leider, Larry C. Spears

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

Chances are high that you wear one or more of the following hats: Philanthropic donor, volunteer, nonprofit leader, fundraising professional, and/or board trustee. Almost everyone who embarks on the journey of purposeful living eventually becomes both a philanthropist and a servant-leader. One person may give millions, another a few dollars, while others time, but the principle they follow is the same: the more you give the more you get back. This is not to say that philanthropists give with the sole intention of getting back-it only means that a basic principle of life is that you get back from the …

Justice And Forgiveness: Self-Responsibility And Human Dignity In The Midst Of Confiict, Rakiya Farah

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

Amartya Sen (2006) notes, "The world in which we live is not only unjust, it is, arguably, extraordinarily unjust" (p. 237). We live in an imperfect world. Of that, there is no doubt. One of the defining features of the last century has been the sheer extent of social disintegration, economic turmoil, and human violence made more potent by technological advancement. It is no surprise, then, that the role of leadership has been placed under increasing scrutiny as the world seeks new ways to address its problems. The question of justice in an imperfect and conflict-ridden world is a fundamental …

Waiting In Line, Muzabel Welongo

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

Having the only choice to wait in line, I spent five hours at water tap in a long line under a hot sun, so that I can get water. When there is no water taps in a village, rivers is the only hope. What happens when rivers also dry at same time?

Servant-Leadership And Life Satisfaction: The Mediating Role Of Justice, Job Control, And Burnout, Jari Hakanen, Dirk Van Dierendonck

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

When it comes to identifying and meeting the psychological needs of people in an organization, it is servant-leadership that emphasizes this aspect most, more than any other leadership theory. Servant-leadership theory positions the leader as worker-centered, personal growth-oriented, and focused on providing a sense of purpose. This holistic approach to leadership helps people find an intrinsic satisfaction in their job by emphasizing their sense of work as a calling (Correia de Sousa & Van Dierendonck, 2010). It promotes a sense of community, empowerment, and autonomy. It is, therefore, to be expected that the influence of servant-leadership extends beyond the direct …

Vipassana Meditation: The Path To Better Servant-Leadership, Antoinette Naranjo

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

Awareness is not a giver of solace-it is just the opposite. It is a disturber and an awakener. Able leaders are usually sharply awake and reasonably disturbed. They are not seekers after solace. They have their own inner serenity.

-Robert K. Greenleaf, Servant Leadership

Serving The Undeserving, Doug Crandall

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

How do you know if a prisoner is lying? His lips are moving. According to the Pew Center on the States, on January 1, 2010, one million six hundred twenty-one thousand two hundred and twelve human beings were living behind bars in the United States of America-incarcerated by a state or the federal government (2010). That is approximately one out of every one hundred Americans. In 1972, the total number was less than two hundred thousand (2010). The average annual cost to house an offender in the State of Washington is $36,000 (Washington State Department of Corrections, 2008). Assuming a …

“For-Benefit” Enterprise: Servant-Thriving-Restorative Leadership And Culture, James Hart, Paul Nakai

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

No abstract provided.

Servant-Leadership In Action: How Mission, Vision, And Values Are Conveyed, Jennifer Bell, Codi Bolding, Mary Delgadillo

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

Many corporate executives and business owners would agree that instilling the mission, vision, and values (MVV) throughout an organization can be a monumental task. Not only is it vital for leaders of an organization to communicate the MVV effectively to all staff, but also to engage its employees in the MVV. This research focused on an organization in the healthcare industry that uses the servant leadership model. The research question posed was, simply: How does the organization convey the mission, vision, and values throughout the organization?

The Hindi Language Film Swades: We, The People: A Different Kind Of Journey To The East, Kae Reynolds

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

Hesitating to act because the whole vision might not be achieved, or because others do not yet share it, is an attitude that only hinders progress. -M. K. Gandhi, epigraph of Swades: We, the People

Review Of The Heidegger Reader, RóIsíN Lally

Leadership Studies Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Optimization Strategies For Successful Ehr Adoption, Erin Faverty

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

The healthcare industry is experiencing a shift in care delivery and documentation as the nation moves toward electronic health record adoption (EHR). This project examines the benefits and hurdles to adoption faced within the industry and provides a detailed curriculum guide of strategies, approaches and materials for consultants assisting healthcare organizations in EHR implementation. The recommendations provided by this project are grounded in the theories of organizational culture as presented by Clifford Geertz (1977) and Michael Packanowsky (Griffin 2009, p. 252), as well as insights on the impacts of computer-mediated communication, as discussed by Joseph Walthers (Barrow, 2010). Materials presented …

Emergent Leadership In Virtual Work Teams, Natalie Learned

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This dual method (quantitative and qualitative) study sought to discover the perceptions of leadership in virtual work teams. The ability to communicate among team members, in this environment, becomes increasingly difficult. Specifically, this study analyzed emergent leadership characteristics, as identified by participants, in a virtual work environment. The philosophical framework for this study is based on Boster’s (2006) concept “communication results in social influence.” This study is grounded in the theoretical work of Walther’s (1992) Social Information Processing CMC model, and Graen and Uhl-Bien’s (1995) relationship-based LMX model. The data obtained for this study was achieved through a survey of …

Surrealism Is Not Dead: A Look At Surrealism In Contemporary Mass Communication Via Analysis Of Modern Popular Films, Joi Deanne Chadwick

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This study examined three modern films - Toy Story 3, Alice in Wonderland, and Iron Man 2 - to understand the place of Surrealism in contemporary communication. The thesis began with a review of literature regarding Surrealism's revolutionary propensities and its flow into the mainstream. The review's basis was postmodernist philosophy rooted in Roland Barthes's and Umberto Eco's semiotics and Stuart Hall's cultural studies. This underlying philosophy asserted the complexity and mutability of signs and styles, a media role in acceptance and mutation of signs/styles, and endurance of ideas through cultural shifts. Semiotic analysis was crucial methodology in this study …