Leadership Studies Commons^™

Becoming A Part Of Your Community: The Personal Account Of A Student’S Journey Discovering The Impact Of Service Learning On Both Community And Personal Development At The University Level, Jacqueline M. Petras

VA Engage Journal

There is plenty of research surrounding the benefits that service learning brings to the community and students alike. But, it is far less common to break down individual experiences and greater effects service learning can have beyond the studies and statistics. Although this piece cannot speak for every service learning experience, it explores the changing mindset of my personal interaction with service learning. This autobiographical account identifies moments of personal and intellectual growth through a long form reflection of my three years as a service learning student at Virginia Commonwealth University. I wrestle with my thoughts and emotions of what …

A Qualitative Case Study Examining Leader-To-Employee Engagement Techniques Within Selected Nonprofits, Isaiah Scott Stanford

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study sought to obtain a more in-depth understanding of leader-to-employee engagement. To obtain this deeper understanding, a qualitative case study was conducted utilizing a semi-structured interview process. Interviews were carried out with leaders working for selected nonprofit organizations. Throughout the interview process, information was gathered to contribute to the current body of knowledge regarding leader-to-employee engagement. Leaders in the study felt strong commitment, open communication, employee empowerment, and honesty were techniques needed to develop leader-to-employee engagement. Participants noted they were more successful when engaging with their employees if they integrated these techniques. Leaders also identified the major challenges they …

Migrating And Amplifying Ministry To Online Platforms To Pursue The Great Commission, Daniel Elnaam Bagaas

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The COVID-19 crisis was unexpected by the universal church. The current pandemic revealed that the universal church and many local churches were not prepared for its’ accompanying challenges or to adapt in general. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, churches across America were required to temporarily cease in-person public gatherings and later to reduce the number of participants once in-person meetings were allowed again. This scenario caused many churches to have to adapt to the current circumstances to continue ministering. The purpose of this DMin research project is to amplify Sonrise Church’s online ministry presence and determine if it garners greater engagement …

Leading From Eternity: Developing Inmates With Life Sentences Into Undershepherds, Richard S. Kowalczyk

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

In an attempt to reform the American criminal justice system, the United States Congress passed, and the President signed, the comprehensive First Step Act (FSA). The aim of the FSA is to identify and begin preparing offenders for release in order to reduce recidivism. Unfortunately, the provisions of FSA applied to only a small percentage of the inmate population. Further, there was very little relief with regards to the reforming of the sentencing guidelines. None of the provisions provided any direct relief for inmates with a minimum of 20 years to life sentences. This thesis project provides an opportunity for …

Exploring How Self-Leadership Influences Team Building In The Department Of Defense, Joseph Wolemonwu

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This qualitative research case study explored the influence of self-leadership in team-building abilities among leaders within a Department of Defense (DOD) component in Quantico, Virginia. The general problem to be addressed was the lack of self-leadership among leaders resulting in ineffective team building. The purpose of this qualitative case study is to discover what tools, approaches, skills, methodologies, or theories are needed to prepare those in authority for self-leadership better to assist team building and to evaluate those tools, methods, or theories. Research questions explored how self-leadership supports team-building abilities among leaders. If any, the barriers to self-leadership could prevent …

A Self-Check Model To Build Resiliency And Balance In Ministry Leaders, Mark R. Williams

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

There is a significant problem with stress and burnout in ministry leaders. The purpose of this study was to develop a self-check model for ministry leaders to help them with life-balance and resiliency. To have and know peace in one’s life is to draw close to God and live by His design. Loving God with all one’s heart, mind, soul, strength and loving one’s neighbor as one’s self is critical for a healthy, well-balanced life and ministry. The researcher introduced a simple self-check model to enable ministry leaders to develop balance and resilience in their lives called the Star Model. …

Real-Life Conundrums In The Struggle For Institutional Transformation, Julia Mcquillan, Nestor Hernandez

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Intersecting systems of inequality (i.e., gender and race/ethnicity) are remarkably resistant to change. Many universities, however, seek National Science Foundation Institutional Transformation awards to change processes, procedures, and cultures to make science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) departments more inclusive. In this article we describe a case study with observations for eight years of before (2000–2007), five during (2008–2013), and seven after (2014–2020) intensive efforts to increase women through reducing barriers and increasing access to women. Finally, we reflect on flawed assumptions built into the proposal, the slow and uneven change in the proportion of women over time, the strengths …

Systems Thinking: The Organisation As A Living System, Kate Mills

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

Systems thinking is a paradigm that challenges the dominant paradigm of linear, or mechanistic thinking. It is a paradigm based on the perspective that everything in a system is inter-connected and interrelated and that the interplay of components in the system creates an emergent quality with its own behaviour and characteristics. Systems thinking as such is suited to be used for analysis of organisations, as organisations can be seen as a system where the interplay of its components create emergent qualities such as the culture of the organisation. Within systems thinking there are living and non-living systems. Living systems, such …

Augmented & Virtual Reality: How It Can Elevate Education & Humanity, Alice Wroe

Leadership Center Events

Alice Wroe researches and commissions innovative ways the global community of leaders can be together when physically apart, exploring what it means to be human whilst digital. Previously she was Creative Director of Magic Leap’s digital human Mica, where she oversaw the creative and ethical direction of the pioneering digital human who, under her direction, used art and culture to engender positive ways for society to relate to embodied AI. Through this work she explored whether it is possible for embodied AI to champion gender equality. As Founder of Herstory, Alice has creatively activated women’s history for some of the …

“Because Here, White Is Right”: Mental Health Experiences Of International Graduate Students Of Color From A Critical Race Perspective., S. Andiavalli, L. Dianne Borders, Lori E. Kniffin Ph.D.

Leadership Faculty Publications

To examine the mental health experiences of international graduate students of Color (IGSC) as they navigate through a multitude of systemic barriers, the researchers interviewed eight IGSC in the U.S. Adopting a critical race perspective, the researchers sought to address a persistent gap in the counseling literature, and explore how systemic influences of racism, xenophobia, and discriminatory policies impacted the mental health of IGSC. Three distinct themes emerged from phenomenological analysis of the participants’ interviews in the current study: cross-cultural challenges, surviving racism and anti-immigrant sentiment, and mental health and wellness. Implications for how professional counselors can support IGSC as …

From Managing Nurses To Serving Nurses: The Case For Transfusing Nursing Management With Servant Leadership During The Global Covid-19 Pandemic, William P. Jimenez, Seterra D. Burleson, Matthew J. Haugh

Psychology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Expanding Consciousness Across Disruptions: Developmental Leadership Coaches Growing Together Through Action Inquiry, Ilaria Distefano

Dissertations

The planetary, societal, and personal challenges of our times call for the expansion of leaders’ consciousness. More comprehensive and integrated ways of making meaning of self and systems are required to navigate the current levels of complexity. Based on constructive-developmental theory, developmental leadership coaching supports leaders in this evolution.

The literature on developmental coaching converges on the relevance of the coach’s meaning-making to coaching outcomes and processes. The purpose of this study was to explore how seven developmental leadership coaches, including the researcher, could evolve their consciousness, capacities and skills using action inquiry. Seven meetings were held, and knowledge and …

An Inferentially Robust Look At Two Competing Explanations For The Surge In Unauthorized Migration From Central America, Nick Santos

Dissertations

The last 8 years have seen a dramatic increase in the flow of Central American apprehensions by the U.S. Border Patrol. Explanations for this surge in apprehensions have been split between two leading hypotheses. Most academic scholars, immigrant advocates, progressive media outlets, and human rights organizations identify poverty and violence (the Poverty and Violence Hypothesis) in Central America as the primary triggers responsible. In contrast, while most government officials, conservative think tanks, and the agencies that work in the immigration and border enforcement realm admit poverty and violence may underlie some decisions to migrate, they instead blame lax U.S. immigration …

Head Of School Retention In Independent Schools, Kevin Yaley

Dissertations

According to the National Association of Independent Schools (2020), independent schools across the country continue to experience an increasing number of head-of-school vacancies, both expected and unexpected. Save for the departures by heads who are retiring or obviously chasing greener pastures, the reasons why an increasing number of heads are departing at a disquieting rate are as enigmatic as the departures themselves.

As part of its governance responsibilities, the board has unconditional authority over the employment of the head, including, most especially, the ability to influence the retention of the head. Unfortunately, since these boards of trustees operate independently, there …

Leadership Development In Saudi Arabia’S Private Sector: A Mixed Methods Approach, Khaled Hanaky

Dissertations

There is currently a proliferation of business-focused leadership development programs in Saudi Arabia. These programs represent a reaction to the shortage of qualified leaders who can drive and sustain both recent and future advances introduced by Saudi Vision 2030, the national transformation program that is introducing social and economic reforms. Importantly, business leadership development has not been studied in this context of contemporary Saudi Arabia.

This study examined the state of Saudi leadership development programs by employing an explanatory sequential case study design that focused on a particular leadership development program. Through the use of surveys and participant interviews, results …

Understanding The Benefits Of Experiential Learning For Executive Leader Development: A Mixed Methods Approach, Bruce Loveless

Dissertations

This study sought to understand the benefits of using experiential learning methods (such as outdoor activities) for executive leader development from the perspective of senior corporate, government, and nonprofit leaders. Increasingly, executive development programs are embracing “learning by doing” by incorporating experiential activities. Although most programs are influenced by developmental psychology (such as stage theory), this study integrated perspectives from adult, transformative, and experiential learning with common practices in outdoor adventure education into a new conceptual framework for experiential leader development with four types of experiences: intrapersonal, interpersonal, managerial, and environmental. This study fills a gap in research literature regarding …

To New Geographies: Implementing U.S. Department Of Energy Order 151.1d, Comprehensive Emergency Management System, Eric B. Sussman

Capstone Collection

Emergency Management programs at National Nuclear Security Administration facilities are governed by federal policy directive Department of Energy Order 151.1D, Comprehensive Emergency Management System. The prescriptions within the Order are often at odds with industry-standard frameworks and vocabularies established by the Department of Homeland Security. Boleman and Deal’s Four Frame Model offers the tenets of the Political, Structural, Human Resource, and Symbolic lens perspectives to clarify the nature of disparate programs precipitant from disparate agency policies. This project utilizes a Phenomenological Interpretivist Framework for qualitative research to triangulate data across textual analyses, public perception, and practitioner experience, thus identifying …

But What Can I Do? Engaging White Institutional Agents In Anti-Racist Reflection And Practice, Allie Ross

M.A. in Higher Education Leadership: Action Research Projects

College students continue to become more racially diverse. Despite this, some students of color do not achieve a sense of belonging on their campuses, and whites continue to be overrepresented as educators and administration in higher education. It is critical for white staff and faculty to examine their roles in upholding systemic racism in their institutions. This study investigated how white faculty and student affairs staff, including myself, engage in our own racial identity development and subsequently engage in anti-racist action in our professional roles. Recommendations are provided for how white educators can perform self-work to identify blind spots, how …

Leadership: Perception, Misconception, And Inception, Jesper M. Jensen

Staff Works - Hunt Library

Many librarians and staff in today's libraries have aspirations to be leaders in their careers, but find themselves in lower-level positions and therefore assume opportunities for leadership are limited. That is not the case because leadership is not about positional power or formal authority; it's about influence, and there are several ways one can become influential. This presentation aims to debunk the stereotypical perceptions and misconceptions people might have about leaders, and instead demonstrate how librarians and library staff can adopt key skills to influence co-workers, patrons, and the library in general, and thereby showcase their leadership skills no matter …

When The Past Meets The Present: Reframing Leadership Paradigms Through The Lens Of Discipleship, Stewardship And Covenant, Todd Salzwedel

Doctor of Ministry Projects and Theses

Abstract

Todd R. Salzwedel M.Div. Perkins School of Theology

Degree Conferred: May 14, 2021 Completed: March 30, 2021

WHEN THE PAST MEETS THE PRESENT:

REFRAMING LEADERSHIP PARADIGMS

THROUGH THE LENS OF DISCIPLESHIP,

STEWARDSHIP AND COVENANT

The field of research concerning leadership has been undertaken in earnest for approximately one hundred years. More recently, sub-fields of leadership research have emerged focusing on specific aspects or perspectives of leadership. Understanding servant-leadership, the distinction between technical and adaptive leadership, and positional leadership have led to a more conscious awareness of the role leadership occupies in our everyday life. But the relatively recent focus …