732 research outputs found
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An Analysis of Transformational Leadership in Youth Nonprofit Programs
No full textPurpose: The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to identify and describe how nonprofit organization youth leaders perceive the importance of transformational leadership qualities in mentoring youth in leadership programs based on Bass and Riggio’s (2006) four transformational leadership qualities.
Methodology: This mixed-methods study examined the experiences of nonprofit organizations’ youth program leaders and examined the presence of transformational leadership qualities in their approach to providing program leadership to youth programs. An explanatory sequential study was utilized as it allowed the researcher to first analyze quantitative data, then follow with collection of qualitative data.
Findings: The findings showed respondents had passion for the work, utilized mentorship models, created student satisfaction, engaged families, and were equitable. Two unexpected findings were: one survey would be best utilized for analyzing adult relationships, not for use with a teacher and student relationship if the students are minors, and that qualitative data collection and analysis of all participants demonstrated a clear and driven commitment to fostering life skills in students.
Conclusion: Leaders of nonprofit youth programs are practitioners of transformational leadership. These themes of transformational leadership were consistently and strongly present: idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration. Recommendations for further research include narrowing the study scope, changing data collection, replication study criterion changes, and expanding the study to include participants or their families.
The most critical impact of this study may be to conclude these leaders had the best opportunity to inspire incoming generations to pursue leadership roles that will outnumber them. The demand for leadership will outstrip supply. Emerging transformational leaders will bring hope for many nonprofits to survive. Transformational leadership is key to their survivability, encouraging and inspiring a new generation of volunteers to continue to creatively and impactfully deliver critical services to communities
Exemplary Leaders’ Use of Power and Influence to Cultivate an Ethical Organizational Climate: Case Studies of Millennial Leaders in Admissions/Enrollment Management in Private Non-profit Higher Education
No full textPurpose: The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to identify and describe how exemplary Millennial leaders in admissions/enrollment management use power and influence to create ethical organizational climate and to describe essential tactics Millennial leaders in admissions/enrollment management use to sustain an ethical climate.
Methodology: Qualitative case study methodology was used to provide a detailed description of the perspectives of 11 exemplary Millennial leaders in admissions/enrollment management in private non-profit higher education institutions in California, Oregon, and Washington and their approach to power, influence, leadership, and organizational climate. Case study instruments were developed through the lens of a theoretical framework, capturing the tactical use of power and influence, ethical leadership, and the cultivation of ethical organizational climates.
Findings: Qualitative findings of this research illustrate how exemplary Millennial leaders, who participated in this study use power and influence to create and sustain an ethical organizational climate. Data analysis produced nine themes, demonstrating the tactics these leaders use to influence ethical decision-making and behavior as well as cultivating a culture of trust being most prominent theme.
Conclusion: The study’s findings support the need for higher education institutions to prioritize professional development to equip the next generation of leaders with ethical leadership skills. The study demonstrated the need to appoint exemplary Millennial leaders to lead task forces and committees to proactively develop an awareness of their organizational climate’s responses to current unprecedented times in higher education in order to address any factors that may lead to unethical decision-making or behavior, especially related to admissions/enrollment management.
Recommendations for Action: There is a need to explore generational distinctions in the context of leadership in higher education and to identify leaders of all ages who use power and influence to sustain an ethical organizational climate. It would be advantageous to examine how admissions/enrollment leaders can partner with professional organizations to help streamline ethical processes/policies and determine where the gaps exist. Future recommendations influenced by the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic, growing public scrutiny, and initiatives related to implementing equitable admissions practices that create more diverse and inclusive student populations are critical for future ethical organizational climates
A Classical Delphi Study: Identifying the Essential Skills Educational Leadership Experts Perceive as Crucial for Novice Elementary School Principals to Support Students Towards the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Goals
No full textPurpose: The purpose of this Classical Delphi study was to identify the essential skills educational leadership experts perceive as crucial for novice elementary school principals to support students towards the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) goals of preparedness for college, career, and life success and the key steps to acquire the identified skills.
Methodology: This descriptive, mixed-method Classical Delphi research involved gathering qualitative and quantitative data from 17 educational leadership experts regarding the most essential skills needed by novice elementary school principals to meet the ESSA goals for students’ college, career, and life success. Respondents acknowledged as experienced principals were purposively selected using specific criteria and recommendations based on snowball and convenience sampling. The researcher collected data via e-mail and Google.com surveys. The participation result rate was 100% for Rounds 1 and 2 and 94% for Round 3.
Findings: Based on the perceptions of the expert educational leaders, the top ranked skills were collaboration to develop a sense of community, effective interactions based upon trust, and promoting vison and mission focused on transformational change. The top ranked key steps to acquire the identified skills were ongoing self-improvement and personal growth, practice self-reflection, and interactions with other leadership professionals.
Conclusions: Grounded by the literature and the study’s findings, collaboration and communication are essential to school improvement. Leadership is most effective when there is a sense of collaborative synergy integrating all stakeholders. Data-informed instructional leadership is the cornerstone of student achievement. Skillful leadership takes true grit and purposeful intention.
Recommendations: Further research is recommended to examine the skills needed by novice principals in different types of school, and the best pathways needed to develop the identified skills. Eleven specfic recommendations for further study are provided
Female Superintendents’ Self-Sabotaging Behaviors and Their Journey to Reclaiming Their Power
No full textPurpose: The purpose of this explanatory mixed-methods study was to identify and describe self-sabotaging behaviors experienced by female superintendents and to explore the impact these behaviors had on their career development. A secondary purpose of this study was to identify strategies employed by female superintendents to overcome self-sabotaging behaviors.
Methodology: This explanatory sequential mixed-methods study described the experiences of 11 female public school superintendents in Southern California. For the quantitative phase of the study, an online survey was designed to identify female superintendents’ most prevalent self-sabotaging behaviors and the impact they had on their career development. Following the quantitative phase, the qualitative phase consisted of one-on-one interviews to gain in-depth information about the self-sabotaging behaviors that impacted their career development and the strategies they used to counteract them.
Findings: Examination of the quantitative and qualitative data from the 11 female superintendents participating in this study indicated a variety of findings. Female superintendents engaged in 9 self-sabotaging behaviors throughout their leadership careers. External factors contributed to the development of self-sabotaging behaviors. The self-sabotaging behaviors negatively impacted women’s career advancement efforts and their physical and mental health. All female superintendents utilized the following strategies to overcome self-sabotaging behaviors: building a power web, cultivating self-intimacy, constructive preparation, acting with confidence, engaging in honest self-expression, and inspiring other women.
Conclusions: The study showed that women engaged in self-sabotaging behaviors throughout their leadership careers. Childhood upbringing, culture, and societal messages contributed to women developing self-sabotaging behaviors. The study also found that self-sabotaging behaviors adversely impact women. Women utilize a wide range of different strategies to counteract the top self-sabotaging behaviors. Building a power web was the most identified strategy female superintendents used to counteract self-sabotaging behaviors.
Recommendations: Further research is recommended to identify the self-sabotaging behaviors and their impact on female teachers, school counselors, site administrators, and district administrators who are striving for promotions in educational leadership. It is also recommended that research be conducted to identify the strategies female superintendents in other states and female superintendents of women of color utilize to counteract self-sabotaging behaviors
The Role of Emotional Intelligence on Occupational Stress and Longevity as Perceived by Special Education Teachers Who Teach Students in Special Day Classes With Moderate to Severe Disabilities
No full textPurpose: The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to describe the perceived occupational stressors experienced by moderate to severe teachers of special day class (SDC) in Riverside and San Bernardino counties and how these stressors affect teacher longevity. An additional purpose of this study was to discover the perceptions of moderate to severe teachers of SDC setting on the importance of (EI) characteristics-self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship management on their management of occupational stressors and longevity in the teaching profession.
Methodology: The study used a qualitative phenomenological research design to explore the occupational stressors of special education teachers in an SDC setting and their perceptions on the importance of EI characteristics as a stress management tool. An interview instrument was used to gather data from a study sample of 12 moderate to severe teachers in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Data were collected using interviews, observations, and artifacts. NVivo software was used to analyze data for emerging themes and patterns.
Findings: A comprehensive analysis of the data yielded 37 themes with 764 frequencies aligned with the four domains of EI—self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management as it relates to occupational stress management and longevity variables. Major findings revealed occupational stressors that will affect teacher longevity and the importance of EI characteristics for each domain in managing occupational stressors and keys to sustaining longevity.
Conclusions: Emotional intelligence as a stress management concept is a vital tool for moderate to severe teachers in managing their occupational stressors and maintaining longevity. Relationship management domain of EI and support from administrators with prior special education experience proved to be extremely important in an SDC setting.
Recommendations: This research study can be replicated in various forms such as using the same counties for mild to moderate teachers or general education teachers. Lastly, current study can be extended to different regions in California or the U.S. and compare findings
Leadership Behaviors Needed by Executive Directors of Nonprofit Victim Support Organizations
No full textPurpose: The purpose of this mixed methods study was to determine how nonprofit victim support organization leaders rate the impact of the 10 Transformational Leadership Skills Inventory (TLSi) domains on their effectiveness. In addition, it was the purpose to discover how nonprofit victim support organization leaders describe the impact of each TLSi domain on their effectiveness.
Methodology: The participants in this study were executive directors of private, nonprofit victim support organizations across the Pacific Northwest region of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. All participated in an online quantitative survey where they rated their agreement with statements about the impact of the 10 TLSi domains on their effectiveness as a leader using a six-point Likert scale. Then, 12 interview participants, selected at random, described the impact of each domain on their leadership effectiveness during virtual interviews. Survey results and interview transcripts were analyzed and reviewed for themes and trends.
Findings: Major findings included identification of the top TLSi domains having an impact on leader effectiveness, the importance of building relationships both internal and external to the organization, and the enigma of political intelligence with respect to the executive director role.
Conclusions: Based on the findings from this study, it was concluded that Collaboration, Problem Solving and Decision Making, and Communication are the TLSi domains that have the greatest impact on leader effectiveness. It was also concluded that building internal and external relationships is key to being an effective nonprofit victim support organization leader. Furthermore, executive directors need more than the 10 TLSi domains to sustain their effectiveness as a leader.
Recommendations: The researcher recommends that the results of this study be used as a model of leadership traits associated with effective nonprofit victim support organization leaders. The model could serve as criteria for seeking out and hiring executive directors for a wide range of victim support agencies. The model could also be used as a guide for executive directors and aspiring executive directors seeking a path for development and improvement
