Leadership Studies Commons^™

Interpretations And Anxiety During Initial Encounters In A Formal Business Networking Setting, Justin Hunter

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Many business professionals explore opportunities to develop relationships with others in their industry during coordinated business networking functions to potentially increase their clientele and strengthen their presence in their respective industry. This study analyzes initial interactions among business professionals during a business networking function utilizing symbolic interactionism and the theory of anxiety/uncertainty management. Both theories have been separately implemented in an abundance of theses over several decades to analyze the nature and implications with interpersonal communication among strangers; however, there is a significant lack of research dedicated to how strangers engage during initial business interactions at networking functions. This study …

The Servant-Leader As Healer, Shann Ray Ferch

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

When the phone call from my mother came it made everything seem far away. She told me my cousin, Jacine, a beautiful and intelligent young woman, had been killed in a drug shootout in the streets of Billings, Montana. Jade's life had been marred for some time by the hardened culture that haunts drug use everywhere, but of late she had emerged, married, and begun a new purchase on the kind of life she wanted. We all hoped so much for her, the shock of her death came like a cold dark undertow. But in the days ahead there would …

Life Of Justice And Forgiveness, Greg Smith

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

As an only child, I grew up in a home where love, compassion, forgiveness, and understanding were frequently observed and practiced, but very rarely put into words. Despite the fact that their marriage ended after several years of consistent arguing, my parents made a very concerted effort to raise me in an environment that embraced these unspoken truths. It was not uncommon for a disagreement between me and my parents to be resolved with nothing more than a subtle nod of the head, few brief words, and a hug. To me, growing up in the midst of these intangible notions …

Leadership Development For Today’S Ktunaxa Youth: Command Structure Versus The Crazy Dog Society, Christopher Horsethief

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

Block (2008) opens his book on the structure of belonging with the statement, "[S]ocial fabric of community is formed from an expanding shared sense of belonging...shaped by the idea that only when we are connected and care for the well-being of the whole that a civil and democratic society is created" (p. 9). The concept of belonging has been addressed directly in servant-leadership studies, including belonging to community or organization (Ba Banutu-Gomez, 2004 ), belonging and resiliency (Wheatley & Kellner-Rogers, 1998), belonging through a sharing of humanity with followership (Birkenmeier, Carson, & Carson, 2003). It can also be argued that …

The Connection Between Servant-Leadership And Service-Learning In The Context Of Higher Education, Heather L. Veeder

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

In Vaill's (1998) forward to The Power of Servant Leadership, a challenge is offered to educational institutions: to increase the "sheer number of younger men and women who will be helped to develop as servant-leaders" (p. xiii). Vaill furthers this challenge by pointing out, "We in higher education know that only by accident are we producing visionary young men and women who aspire to leadership, to the extent we are producing them at all. We don't like to admit it. Greenleaf has found us out" (p. xiii). In response, one avenue that may assist in the intentional development of servant-leaders …

Little Dry Creek, Shann Ray

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

A poem by Shann Ray.

Analysis Of Examples Of Servant-Leadership In The Grapes Of Wrath, Susan Dunfield

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

The award-winning film The Grapes of Wrath, obviously based on John Steinbeck's Dust Bowl-era novel, follows the Joad family in their travels from their homeland to the "Promised Land" of California, only to discover that their destination is not "flowing with milk and honey" but, instead, leaves them facing severe poverty, injustice, illness, and death.

The Effect Of Adult Sportsmanship And Pro-Social Behavior Modeling On Child Self-Competence In Youth Football Programs, Bryan Scott Wilson

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Youth sports are viewed as a prime venue for teaching social values and life skills. By virtue of their organizing and leadership positions, adults play a critical role in communicating these lessons. Although there is little debate on the criticality of positive sportsmanship, there has been a serious trend in increasingly unsportsmanlike behaviors at youth events. In response, many organizations have implemented programs designed to increase positive adult sportsmanship communications and pro-social behaviors. While studies have shown that training does result in increased sportsmanship, less information is available on the impacts of such programs beyond increasing the “fun factor.” This …

Barriers To Computer Use And Internet Competency Among Homeless Women And Low-Income Women At Risk Of Becoming Homeless, Sondra L. Wildman

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

As our society relies more and more on digital communication methods, the consequences of not having access to computers and the internet will further erode the ability of homeless women to effectively navigate mainstream venues for social and economic interaction. This study strives to explore the barriers that prevent homeless women, and low-income women at risk of becoming homeless, from optimizing their access to computer and internet resources. A group of fifty homeless women was observed using a computer lab at a daytime shelter, and of this group, five women were interviewed. The theoretical framework of the study utilizes Pierre …

Hispanic Males And Declining Enrollment In Higher Education, Julie A. Hecimovich

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Hispanic males, 18 to 35-years, have declining enrollment in institutions of higher learning, falling behind their female counterparts and males in most large ethnic groups in the United States. Why are so many young, Hispanic males not enrolling in higher education? To learn why, surveys were given to Hispanic males, parents, and grandparents to ascertain their educational opinions of and needs for higher education. As viewed through the Hispanic culture and lenses of symbolic interactionism, the third-person effect, and the two-step flow of communication theories; findings were 1). marketing efforts to attract young, Hispanic males to higher education must address …

Performing Impressionistic Autoethnographic Narrative In Text And Pixels To Explore Fear Of Death In End-Of-Life Care-Giving Contexts, Dena M. Rosko

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This study explores fear of death in end-of-life caregiving contexts via impressionistic autoethnographic narrative as performed on a blog with photographs and poems. This study relies on ethical assumptions for communicating dialogue, confirmation, and a performance narrative ethos in end of life. This study employs Terror Management Theory to identify a gap in existing empirical fear and death studies, and fills that gap by embedding its framework and method in the psychotherapeutic tradition to foster creative freedom and psychological safety and so break the cultural silence shrouding grief. Key findings show that the blog coordinated a therapeutic process to assuage …

Critical Theory And Gender Communication Studies In Small Organizations, Ellie Parvin

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This thesis explores gender and organizational communications by utilizing Deetz’s (1982) Critical Theory of Communication. Furthermore, this qualitative study examines how communication practices within a firm (Powder Blue Productions) can distort decision-making, possibly affecting the health of the organizational environment. The thesis expands on Deetz’s theory by addressing two fresh angles: One, this research looks at small organizations; and two, it examines a company that is primarily female staffed (two males only). In addition, the research examines interpersonal communication and its effects on the work culture within an organization. Due to the explorative nature of this study, the research questions …

Examining Usage And Parental Regulation Of Mobile Phones And Their Perceived Impact On Interpersonal Family Communication, Tricia Peetz-Ballweg

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This research investigated perceptions of mobile phone usage with regard to interpersonal communication between family members, perceptions of mobile phone usage between family members and outside sources with regard to interpersonal communication between family members and perceptions of how mobile phone usage is regulated with regard to family members. It utilizes interviews of representatives from each of seven families in which a parent/guardian participated. The research studied how Communication Accommodation Theory defined by Harwood and Soliz (2006), Family Communication Patterns Theory defined by Koerner and Fitzpatrick (2006), Communication Privacy Management Theory defined by Petronio and Caughlin (2006) provides basis for …

Ethnography Of Communication: A Case Study Of The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, “Air Command South”, Gregory B. Long

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This study is an ethnography of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization‟s (NATO), “Air Command South” (ACS). Using components from Dell Hymes‟ (1964) Ethnography of Communication, this five month ethnography describes the organization and the communication that occurs within ACS, a multinational and multicultural military extension of NATO. Made up of members from seventeen nations, ACS fosters a uniquely diverse environment where a mix of cultures collide within the organization to create a new organizational culture complete with communication codes, practices, norms, and routines. The review of literature covers subjects and issues that assist in understanding the issues involved in such …

Transformative Pedagogy In Conversation: The Role Of Instructor Interventions In Peer Feedback For Speech Outline Development, Michael J. Stasio

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This study investigated the efficacy of written and oral peer feedback used as an instructional strategy to support student learning in speech outline development. One hundred seven students from a California Community College participated in a mixed-methods evaluative quasi-experimental study conducted in a two-fold process with both quantitative and qualitative measures. Existing literature on peer-centered learning has various gaps. These include four areas of uncertainty: implementation interventions, trust, self-perceived benefits, and contexts. Overall perceived learning benefits and four specific instructor intervention variables were measured in this study: (1) creation of a safe space for collaboration, (2) student training on the …

Examining The Text Messaging Habits Of Middle And High School Students And Their Perceived Impact On Language And Writing, Sally J. Mildren

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Middle and high school students’ text messaging habits and the perceived impact on the performance in English classes at school are examined. Parents and teachers were also surveyed. Utilizing the Communication Accommodation Theory, this study also examines whether students are able to accommodate their language between the “texting” (informal) and school (formal) settings.

This study found a positive correlation between students who use text language in their school work and their ability to spell and write proper English, indicating that higher text use can have an impact on their performance at school. It was also discovered that a student’s ability …

Public Opinion In The Social Media Era: Toward A New Understanding Of The Spiral Of Silence, Daniel Lemin

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This thesis explores the intersection of a long-standing public opinion theory – the spiral of silence – and the recent explosion in social publishing tools such as Tumblr and Twitter. It uses real-world discussion settings (including face-to-face focus groups and synchronous online discussions) in tandem with a pre-test/post-test methodology to measure opinion shifts on the topic of corn syrup and childhood nutrition/obesity. This research design is based on well-established criticisms challenging that the spiral of silence may not be fully explained by a national climate of opinion on a topic, suggesting that there are other influences on individual beliefs than …

Agenda Setting And Framing In Hurricane Ike News, Sophie Harbert

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

News media have considerable ability to influence the public agenda. This thesis explores media agenda setting and framing in Hurricane Ike in order to infer whether the way disasters are covered in the news is a contributing factor in the lack of public attention on hurricane loss mitigation. The frequency and intensity of Atlantic hurricanes is increasing, placing residents along the U.S. Gulf Coast at greater risk, yet little has been done to try to reduce the impact from hurricanes. This study is grounded in agenda setting theory and utilized content analysis to examine newspaper coverage of Hurricane Ike in …

The Universal Servant: Reflections On Robert Greenleaf's Servant-Leadership As Related To Brian Greene's The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, And The Quest For The Ultimate Theory, Samuel R. D. Massey

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

The Question As a Christian pastor I appreciate the physical acts of worship, performed by people situated in place, space, and time. When people lift their hands in grateful worship and engage in a plethora of other meaningful activities, their circulatory, digestive, endocrine, immune, lymphatic, muscular, neural, reproductive, respiratory, skeletal, and urinary systems all participate in some manner to make human actions possible. These multiple acts of creativity depend on a universe conducive to life. Put more evocatively, we might state that all of us and the world surrounding us are served by the universe or nothing would exist. This …

Servant-Leadership: Creating Community And Personal Wholeness, The Keys To Competitive Business Success, Martha M. Geaney

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

Trust, respect, love, the notion of liability for each other, and the knowledge of how to live in community while also enhancing the economic value and cultural values of institutions are opportunities to increase our business competitiveness and success. -Robert K. Greenleaf, The Servant as Leader In his essay, The Servant as Leader, Greenleaf (1991/1970) called for recapturing our knowledge of what it means to live in community. Heidentified the need to understand how to create community and carry the values of trust, respect, love, and liability into our businesses, churches, governments, and schools (Greenleaf, 1991/1970, p. 29). In today's …

An Inward Journey, Robert K. Greenleaf

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

It was my privilege to see a bit of Robert Frost in his last years and, having a feeling for the man as a person, his poetry has a special meaning for me. Philip Booth, in a review, said: "Poems like 'The Demiurge's Laugh,' 'The Road Not Taken,' 'Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,' 'On a Tree Fallen Across the Road,' 'Desert Places,' 'Come In,' and 'Directive' map, in sequence, the road Robert Frost took into the dark woods, and record the serial ordeal he survived by surrendering himself to the conflicts such poems dramatize." Earlier in Chapter IX, …

Servant-Leadership And Organizational Outcomes: A Review Of The Literature, Jeffrey L. Mcclellan

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

Servant-leadership is too soft, too touchy-feely, too abstract! How can you measure its effects? Does it really make a difference in the life ofthe leader or the follower? What about productivity and profitability? What is the impact of servant-leadership on organizational objectives? After all, organizations exist to make money and they cannot meet the needs of people unless they do? So, does this philosophy of leadership really make a difference? These are the questions that critics and potential advocates alike lobby against the philosophy and practice of servant-leadership. To those who vehemently practice and defend the concept, these questions may …

Servant-Leadership, Humility, And Action: An Interview With Ken Blanchard, Larry Spears, Shann Ferch

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

Spears: In your forward to Focus on Leadership in 2002, you mentioned meeting Bob Greenleaf for the first time at Ohio University. Would you share with us your recollections of that meeting and any sense you had of Greenleaf at the time?

Greenleaf’S Servant-Leadership And Quakerism: A Nexus, Carolyn Crippen

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

Two hundred copies of a small thirty-seven page booklet with a bright orange cardstock cover were published in 1970. The author, Robert Kiefner Greenleaf (1904-1990), introduced a paradox in The Servant as Leader (Greenleaf, 1970) and presented a new approach to leadership including followership and service. Today there is an abundance of literature about the concept of leadership in general, and specifically, about particular types of leadership, for instance, contingency leadership (Fielder & Chemers, 1974); moral leadership (Sergiovanni, 1992); distributive leadership (Harris & Muijs, 2005); lateral leadership (Fisher & Sharp, 2004); shared leadership (Pearce & Conger, 2003); and transformational leadership …

Igwebuike: Creating A Community Of Strength, Peter O. Amah

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

Team building is a backbone of any successful community. According to Pace, Smith, and Mills (1991) individuals who come together with a common agenda, planning, sharing goals, and reporting to a common superordinate, work together in the path of growth. The people of Arochukwu in Southeast Nigeria called this igwebuike. The word igwebuike etymologically came from the three Igbo words Igwe, bu, and ike which mean a community of strength. Arochukwu, an Igbo-speaking community, believes that it is the nature of a community to be strong. This community strength lies in the willingness for all members to play active roles …

Enacting Servant-Leadership From The Inside Out, Michael Bell, Sylvia Habel

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

The Character of the Servant-Leader From the very conception of the term, writing about servant-leadership was focused on the individual who would be leader (Greenleaf, 1970). This defining feature, the focus on the servant-leader's character, is at the core of ongoing research (Laub, 1999; Abel, 2000; Russell, 2001; Russell & Stone, 2002; Sendjaya & Sarros, 2002; Patterson, 2003; Stone, Russell, & Patterson, 2004; Page & Wong, 2003, 2005), and this paper proposes a way toward developing a servant-leader's character through deliberate action, thinking, and visioning.

The Participant, Jonathan Johnson

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

A poem by Jonathan Johnson.

A Gift In Exile: Leadership And Creativity In Babette’S Feast, Daniel Loftin

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

I am a storyteller. One of my friends said about me that I think all sorrows can be borne if you put them into a story or tell a story about them, and perhaps this is not entirely untrue. To me, the explanation of life seems to be its melody, its pattern. And I feel in life such an infinite, truly inconceivable fantasy. -Isak Dinesen Isak Dinesen considered any work of art as a manifestation of its own unique inner laws (Whissen, 1973, p. 67). If we accept the quotation above as given, it is germane to ask what constitutes …

Servant-Leadership At Forty: The Case For Contemporary Research, Dan Parrish, Kathleen Zimmerman-Oster

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

Kent Keith (2008) begins his book, The Case for Servant-leadership, with the following paragraph: This book is about creating a better world. There does not have to be so much pain and suffering, so much war and violence, so much starvation and disease, so many crushed dreams and untapped talents, so many problems unsolved and so many opportunities ignored. The world does not have to be like this. (p. IX; emphasis in original) Keith expresses a sentiment that is commonly held among adherents to servant-leadership: the world needs healing, and individuals, group members, and organizational leaders are each responsible for …

The Changing Day Imperative, Jonathan Johnson

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

A poem by Jonathan Johnson.