Leadership Studies Commons^™

Signet Leader Institute: A 12-Module, Web-Based Leader Development Program, Mark A. Bliss

Doctor of Strategic Leadership (DSL) Capstone Abstracts

This project established the groundwork for a Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business to provide organizational and leadership consulting. The consulting business is called the Signet Leader Institute. To meet the program requirements, this project endeavored to develop the initial curriculum as a web-based leader development program with the business establishment occurring after the completion of the doctoral capstone project.

The mission of the Signet Leader Institute is to grow leaders and followers to leave a lasting mark on organizations just as a signet ring represents an empowered seal of a leader. The vision of the Signet Leader Institute is to …

Diversified Collaboration, Strategic Plan Design, And Strategic Planning Outcomes In Public Sector Aging Services, Jennifer B. Elmore

PhD in Organizational Leadership

Effective strategic planning in aging services is needed to help public sector agencies and their networks successfully meet the needs of a growing and aging U.S. population of older adults. The purpose of this mixed-method study was to explore public sector state strategic plans and the effect of diversified collaboration, strategic plan design, and regional and state characteristics on related outcomes and organizational performance. This study reviewed State Plans on Aging and the effect of the diversity of stakeholders contributing to developing the plans, the comprehensiveness of the plans’ design, and the states’ performance in areas related to long-term services …

A Phenomenological Study Of Pastoral Accountability In Covenant Community, James L. Tegelhutter

PhD in Organizational Leadership

Most pastors and clergy minister from a place of a perceived divine calling and persist through the myriad of challenges of ministry, regardless of the personal toll that it takes on them. This tireless working can drive them to a place of poor emotional and mental health, which can ultimately affect themselves and their families in a negative way. The need for an effective peer support structure is imperative, and understanding the needs of local pastors can help build that support. Many ministers feel isolated in their efforts and could benefit greatly from a peer group where they could safely …

Predictive Factors In Nurse Retention: The Association Of Authentic Leadership, Nurse Leader Caring Behaviors, And Burnout In Novice Nurse Retention, April M. Novotny

PhD in Organizational Leadership

The demand for healthcare services in the United States is expected to dramatically increase in the coming decades. To meet the growing demand, a healthy workforce of nurses is necessary. In response to the identified problem of novice nurse retention, the researcher examined the concepts of authentic leadership, leadership caring behaviors, and burnout to determine the impact of these factors on intent to stay within an organization for novice nurses with less than 1 year of experience at a large community hospital. The study findings demonstrate a statistically significant correlation between the factors of authentic leadership, leader caring behaviors, burnout, …

Exploring Commons Governance, Nonprofit Commons Governance, And Convening Leadership In Nonprofit Organizations To Solve Complex Societal And Global Issues: A Qualitative Study, Patricia A. Clary

PhD in Organizational Leadership

Nonprofit organizations that operate independently without knowledge of effective governance principles and convening leadership through collective-action collaboration have less shared resources and philanthropic value to fulfill their organization’s mission. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic accentuated awareness of the need for nonprofit organizations and voluntary action associations to collaborate, leading to increased shared resources and philanthropic value through governance and convening leadership. The purpose of this study was to examine four design principles of commons governance (Ostrom, 1990), five nonprofit commons governance principles and assumptions (Lohmann, 1992), and five convening leadership dimensions (Clary, 2021) to understand how governance and convening leadership contribute …

The Mandate Of Shepherding: A Socio-Rhetorical Analysis Of Shepherding Metaphor Scriptures And Phenomenological Study Of A New Shepherding Pastoral Leadership Model, Jeremy L. Pickwell

PhD in Organizational Leadership

Pastors are increasingly taking on a CEO style of leadership to lead their churches (Goodmanson, 2005; Maddox, 2012; Whitaker, 2013). Pastors have made this shift at the expense of a shepherd mindset, seemingly creating a dichotomy between styles (Tara, 2020; Whitaker, 2013). Consequently, scholars have identified an increasing trend in pastoral burnout (Fee, 2018; Hessel, 2015; Samushonga, 2021). The current study evaluated the pastoral role and its responsibility from a place of Scripture, while also considering popular current leadership trends. The findings revealed a clear shepherd metaphor arc throughout Scripture, beginning in Psalm 23 and ending in 1 Peter 5. …

Owning My Scars: A Transformational Journey To Effective Leadership, Violet Taylor

Doctor of Strategic Leadership (DSL) Capstone Abstracts

Experiences are powerful antecedents to perceptions and behaviors; their

consequences evident in self-leadership and leadership of others. Accordingly, authentic vulnerability and the courage to examine the sources of behavior, acknowledge the product of wounds, and pursue healing are paramount. Through healing, wounds that are conduits to ineffective leadership transform to scars of victory, propagating wholeness and effective leadership. Indeed, effective leadership requires a lifelong transformational journey to influence self and others positively.

Owning My Scars: A Transformational Journey to Effective Leadership authentically chronicles experiences of sexual assault, sexual abuse, homelessness, physical abuse, and emotional abuse. The captivating personal narrative is …

The Impact Of Burnout On Career Commitment Among Physicians, Clergy, And Law Enforcement During The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Quantitative Study, Christopher L. Clem

PhD in Organizational Leadership

The long-term effects of the COVID-19 crisis among helping professionals such as physicians, law enforcement officers, and clergy remain unknown. The strain and enormous stress encountered by these professionals are profound and concerning (Benham et al., 2020; Greene et al., 2020; Stogner et al., 2020). In this study, the researcher explored the effects of burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment) on career commitment among helping professionals including physicians, law enforcement officers, and clergy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Further, the findings provided insight on the general causes and effects of burnout including possible solutions to counter its effects. Additionally, the …

Leading Differently: A Manager’S Guide Recognizing, Embracing, And Empowering Soft Power Leadership, Sherrita Denson

Doctor of Strategic Leadership (DSL) Capstone Abstracts

Even as early as elementary school, the expectation to be extroverted and verbally contributive is enforced and remains through to the workplace, a fact which represents a cultural bias to favor extroverts in leadership positions. People are drawn to charismatic voices, emotional speech, high energy, empathetic gestures, and engaging smiles. This image of extroversion is associated with positive career and organizational outcomes; in fact, psychology research identifies extroversion as the personality trait most closely associated with leadership emergence.

Unfortunately, it has been widely accepted by society that introverts are reticent people who refrain from contributing ideas and instead remain in …

Retaining Your Healthcare Heros: A Healthcare Leader's Guide To Improving Perceptions Of Leader Support, Julie Kovencz

Doctor of Strategic Leadership (DSL) Capstone Abstracts

Over the past decade, the healthcare industry has faced many changes including staff shortages which have been intensified by the global pandemic. As a result, healthcare leaders face a vast array of challenges every day. This guide is about bridging the gap between leaders and employees and showing leaders how critical it is to develop relationships with their staff and support them better. Leader support, and the different things that support means to employees, is discussed as key to employee retention. In light of the challenges that healthcare leaders face today, including a lack of candidates, staff shortages, communication, burnout, …

Effective Application Of Servant Leadership Theory, Antonio Aguirre

Doctor of Strategic Leadership (DSL) Capstone Abstracts

The following PowerPoint includes content and information regarding leadership theory, its history, and its evolution. The presentation presents critical components and establishes an accepted view and definition of the term leadership. A framework is then provided to understand the progression of leadership theory and how Servant Leadership Theory emerged over time through the endeavors of Robert Greenleaf. Servant Leadership is credited to Robert Greenleaf as he is regarded as the founder who first published seminal work after being inspired by reading Herman Hesse’s novel Journey to the East. The presentation explains how Robert Greenleaf extracted many lessons and concepts from …

Nonprofits Creating A Replicable Blueprint For Nonprofits To Establish A Farmer Training Program For Transitioning Veterans, Anne Miller

Doctor of Strategic Leadership (DSL) Capstone Abstracts

This capstone project is a replicable business plan for nonprofits nationwide to start a training program to help transitioning Veterans and others learn how to establish their own regenerative farms. Participants follow a sixteen-month curriculum designed to teach them about and give them hands-on experience with more than twenty-four income streams. Upon completion of the program, each new farmer selects eight to ten enterprises to incorporate into their farm plan, creating diverse and sustainable businesses. The new farmers learn production methods, business essentials, infrastructure needs, marketing and sales, risk assessment, and time management. The blueprint has three components; a self-sufficient …

Lcs Coaching And Consulting New Business Development, Lasonya Clay

Doctor of Strategic Leadership (DSL) Capstone Abstracts

The DSL Capstone chosen was the new business development project. The company created was home-based and online coaching and consulting company designed for Christian leaders. The company provides a psychologically safe environment where Christian leaders can enhance their leadership skills, increase self-awareness and confidence, gain clarity and broaden their perspective to conquer life, ministry, and work challenges through a coach approach and leadership consulting. The business name is LSC Coaching and Consulting, LLC. The coaching services are Christian Leadership and Christian Spiritual Formation and Health. The consulting aspect of LSC provides seminars and workshops on Leadership Development. The framework utilized …

Blue Shifter: A Reverse Quit Model For Law Enforcement Leaders, Samuel Ponce

Doctor of Strategic Leadership (DSL) Capstone Abstracts

Many organizations are currently experiencing the impact of employees quitting their jobs, this reality has left organizations, including police departments, wondering how to slow down the effects of turnover. Employee turnover is witnessed when employees decide to leave their position at the organization and end their work relationship. Turnover can have a detrimental impact on an organization’s finances, employee performance, worker productivity, and customer service. Additionally, turnover is critical to communities since decreased police forces are related to increases in crime. Furthermore, police resignations are higher than ever and are predicted to continue increasing, however, it is not pernicious to …

Transforming Toxic Cultures From The Inside Out: Strategies To Identify & Eliminate Toxic Leadership Tendencies, Jessie Ferreira

Doctor of Strategic Leadership (DSL) Capstone Abstracts

The for-profit and non-profit sectors are becoming increasingly interested in the issues of toxic leadership and problematic organizational cultures. Leaders are more conscious of how toxic habits and tendencies decrease organizations' profitability and overall success. Toxic workplaces and toxic leadership compromise morale, and psychological anguish result from these destructive actions, resulting in billions of dollars spent yearly. A possible solution to these issues lies in increasing our emotional intelligence, specifically, self-awareness.

How can self-awareness be improved? It’s up to each of us to examine ourselves and formulate an effective response to other people and the environment. Daniel Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence …

Coming From Behind: The Mindset Of Overcoming Adversity, Gabriel Mccurtis

Doctor of Strategic Leadership (DSL) Capstone Abstracts

This book is framed around an actual event experienced by Dr. Gabriel McCurtis in the spring of 1975. While a senior at Ventura High School, located in the coastal region of Southern California, Gabriel prepared for the Ventura County Channel League Track and Field Finals that involved several Ventura and Santa Barbara County schools. Gabriel ran the 120-yard high hurdles in 14.8 seconds earlier in the season, which was a good time; however, he experienced a few nasty falls and hit hurdles during the mid-course of the year, which caused him to lose. This book elucidates the various lessons, principles, …

The Great Resignation In Teaching: Servant Leadership Impact On Teacher Retention, Job Satisfaction, And Principal Efficacy During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Shanna M. Johnston

PhD in Organizational Leadership

Teacher retention is a global crisis in need of attention specifically through a leadership focus. The crisis has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic encompassing the Great Resignation in the field of teaching and education. The purpose of the study was to explore the relationships between school principals with servant leader behaviors and the impact on teacher retention, teacher job satisfaction, and principal efficacy. The study sought to explicitly identify predictors and patterns between servant leadership dimensions primarily associated with teacher retention, job satisfaction, and principal efficacy. The study also provided insights to the specific dimensions of servant leadership that …

Organizational Leadership In Funeral Homes During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Lafonda L. Ehlers

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

The purpose of this non-experimental, quantitative study was to describe the impact that the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic had on essential elements of organizational leadership in the funeral home industry. A quantitative, cross-sectional survey approach was utilized as this study was intended to be a stand-alone study to provide a snapshot of current organizational elements of funeral homes impacted after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. All the employees of a six-location, family-owned funeral home in the Midwest, with the exception of two employees the researcher had direct supervision over, were emailed a survey titled A Non-Experimental, Quantitative Study …

An Instrumental Study Of Fire Service Leaders’ Influence On Followers’ Workplace Aerobic Exercise Activity, Paul A. Ebanks

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

Sudden cardiac events resulting from the physical demands associated with fire suppression among individuals lacking adequate aerobic fitness are known concerns within the firefighting domain. The purpose of this research study was to explore fire service leaders' perceived leadership behaviors that aided in followers' performing workplace aerobic exercise activities (Creswell & Poth, 2018). Following within-case and cross-case analyses of interviewees' data, five leadership themes emerged comprising four behaviors and one influence related to followers' workplace aerobic exercise activities: role model, supportive, cooperative, visionary, and planned exercise regimen. In the present study, thematic findings indicated that fire service leaders' role-modeling exercise …

An Integrative Study Of Service And Safety Climate And Performance: Do Climates Compete?, Jeffrey B. Paul

Selected Faculty Publications

Organizational scholars continue to expand our knowledge of the contextual forces influencing employee behavior in organizations. A notable stream in this research agenda includes organizational climate studies that describe the social processes guiding employee perceptions of their environment. These shared perceptions formulate climate constructs that have demonstrated through theorizing and empirical findings relationships with attitudinal, behavioral, and performance outcomes across multiple levels of analysis. Contemporary climate studies have focused on facet-specific climates, such as a service climate or safety climate, and have linked facet climates with the same facet related performance (e. g. safety climate predicts increased safety performance). Given …

Google Trends Data As A Proxy For Interest In Leadership, Finley W. Walker

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the observable patterns of online search behavior in the topic of leadership using Google Trends data. Institutions have had a historically difficult time predicting good leadership candidates. Better predictions can be made by using the big data offered by groups such as Google to learn who, where, and when people are interested in leadership. The study utilized descriptive, comparative, and correlative methodologies to study Google users’ interest in leadership from 2004 to 2017. Society has placed great value into leadership throughout history, and though overall interest remains strong, it appears that …

A Study Of The Effectiveness Of Growing Leaders Through Team Building And Continual Learning, Bruce Robert Lotarski

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

Team building and continual learning methods have become transdisciplinary, and the effectiveness of these approaches have yet to be fully appreciated across industries. Training, coaching, and team building may alleviate many of the challenges for positioning talent with organizational change. Organizational leaders should provide direction and support with team building by clarifying and prioritizing goals before inducing innovative initiatives (Peralta, Lopes, Gilson, Lourenço, & Pais, 2014). Setting transparent goals and commitment is characteristic of mature groups, which team building may help develop (Peralta et al., 2014). Four goals for team members at the group level are to set goals, assign …

Student Development: The Relationship Between Student Leadership And Self-Actualization, Norman G. Oliver

Selected Honors Theses

This study compared two groups of college students’ levels of self-actualization from Southeastern University, student leaders and non-leader students. The participants’ levels of self-actualization were measured using the Short Index of Self-actualization (SISA). The study followed a cross-sectional design. Participants were recruited through in-person communication, emails, and an on-campus study recruitment software called SONA. The participants completed a questionnaire containing the SISA and various demographic questions. Results indicated that the findings of the study were not statistically significant; therefore, it could not be determined whether or not student leadership is positively correlated with higher levels of self-actualization. However, a replication …

A Comprehensive Study Of Leadership Styles And Various Factors Contributing To The Success Of Athletic Teams, Christopher P. Intoppa

Selected Honors Theses

This paper involved a study of leadership styles in the realm of athletics. Using literature that had been written on the subject and examinations of particularly successful coaches over time, an accurate determination of leadership styles, qualities, and characteristics that contribute to success was able to be achieved. It was concluded that transformational leadership styles are explicitly profitable when dealing with athletes at any level of athletic competition. However, it was also discovered through research that these qualities are even more valuable if paired with an authoritative style of delivering instruction, mutual respect between coaches and players, and discipline by …

Mission In Evolving Cultures: Constructively Managing Music-Related Conflict In Cross-Cultural Church Planting Contexts, David R. Dunaetz

Selected Faculty Publications

The choice of music, an essential element of worship and church life, must be addressed in cross-cultural church planting contexts. As cultures evolve, church planters are faced with choices about musical styles that may lead to interpersonal conflicts within the church. The purpose of this study is to empirically examine factors that may enable cross-cultural church planters to constructively manage music-related conflicts when they arise. Members of church plants, like all people, have various goals when entering into such conflicts. They are concerned about the content of the conflict (i.e., the musical style) and thus have content goals. They are …

The Untapped Potential Of Introvert Leaders, Marina A. Pawlaczyk

Selected Honors Theses

Academic research shows that extroverts are generally seen as more productive and

effective leaders than their introvert counterparts because they possess the characteristics our society has so often revered (Grant, Gino, & Hofmann, 2009). With the rise of the “extrovert ideal” throughout our society, introverts are left wondering what role they play when it comes to leadership (Cain, 2013). Through examples of four successful introvert leaders (Susan Cain, Warren Buffett, Laura Bush, and Bill Gates), it can be derived that it is not the personality that makes the leader but, rather, the passion, drive, and self-actualization of the individual. With …