<p> The purpose of this study was to understand principals&rsquo; perceptions and perceived attributes of strong teacher leaders, determine how these attributes link to emotional intelligence and learn how these attributes are developed. In this study, emotional intelligence will be defined as &ldquo;the abilities to recognize and regulate emotions in ourselves and in others&rdquo; (Goleman, 2001, p.14). This study summarizes data collected through semi-structured interviews with 11 school principals and assistant principals from a variety of schools, school districts and across multiple states. Overall, this study lead to three main discoveries: 1) top perceived attributes of teacher leaders are closely connected to EI skills 2) teacher leader development strategies that best support EI are comprehensive, job-embedded, sustained over time, peer-focused, goal-focused, differentiated for teacher&rsquo;s needs and leverage a variety of practices and tools, and 3) teacher leaders with high EI have a positive impact on their schools.</p><p>

<p> Small businesses are important to the United States economy, and yet the majority struggle to remain relevant and close prior to their fifth year. This qualitative phenomenological study explored small business closure in California by comparing the experiences of successful and unsuccessful small-business leaders, to understand their involvement with leadership during the early stages of the business, and the impact of this on the firms&rsquo; ability to survive. Participants&rsquo; experiences from two groups, successful and unsuccessful, were compared to glean an understanding of the leadership process, how leadership differs between the groups, and to see what themes or constructs emerged that could help to explain the high closure rate. This resulted in the development of 12 themes. The predominant themes were: small business closure can be caused by inability to motivate employees; by poor understanding and lack of attention to leadership, and by lack of relationship building skills. The data also showed that leadership shortfall directly impacted 65% of the companies studied, however leadership was not considered a priority in participating organizations but rather an afterthought to be considered only in times of crises. Yet leadership was perceived to be important when envisioning a path for the future and when providing a platform for employees to succeed. Those embracing leadership as a skillset were more likely to get through the challenges of the early developmental years while those ignoring the importance of leadership were more likely to close prematurely. These findings suggest a disconnect with regards to the understanding, role, and benefits of leadership in small organizations, particularly young organizations in the early stages of development.</p>

<p>The role of entrepreneurship and innovation in K&ndash;12 education continues to evolve. As more reform efforts come and go, it is clear that little has changed despite billions of dollars invested in these efforts. Education leaders are being asked to leverage entrepreneurial and innovative solutions to transform the K&ndash;12 education environment to meet the needs of a modern society and workplace. Consequently, there is an urgent need to expand the boundaries of possibilities for improving public education. Identifying the essential practices of executive education leaders is of particular importance to K&ndash;12 education which is under increasing pressure to provide better equity of resources, do more with less, close the student achievement gap, and prepare students for a future where most jobs have yet to be defined. To meet this challenge, executive education leaders must leverage and implement key entrepreneurial and innovation practices. The purpose of the study was to identify and understand the practices of executive level leaders in California County Offices of Education. The study was designed using the Delphi method approach of identification, shared evaluation, re-evaluation, and finally consensus among the executives to identify the essential entrepreneurial and innovation practices of education leaders. At the conclusion of the process, 15 executives identified 13 opportunity recognition, leadership, and staff practices they believe to be essential to support entrepreneurship and innovation in education. The 2 opportunity recognition skills were: (a) collaboration, (b) future-focus. The 8 leadership practices were: (a) articulate vision, (b) promote healthy organization culture, (c) flexibility, (d) life-long learning, (e) relationship building, (f) actively seek opportunities, (g) decisive. The 3 staff practices were: (a) trust, (b) flexibility, (c) drive. A key finding of the study was the identification of 3 overarching practices spanning opportunity recognition, leadership, and staff: (a) collaboration, (b) flexibility, and (c) future-focused. The essential practices identified in this study assist leaders in strengthening and transforming education organizations. By focusing on the identified essential practices, leaders are able to meet the challenges and complexity evident in today&rsquo;s K&ndash;12 education environment, and create organizations where entrepreneurship and innovation can thrive in support of student learning. </p>

<p> This study examines the relationship between the Enneagram profile of a lead pastor and the size of congregation. This study is motivated by the research question, &ldquo;Do lead pastors of Protestant megachurches in the United States tend to share commonalities in their Enneagram personality types?&rdquo; Previous research indicates that personality plays a role in the impact of a pastor, but to date, no systematic investigation has explored the connection between the Enneagram profile of the leader and the size of the congregation. Using a sample of 58 megachurch pastors and 56 non-megachurch pastors, the Enneagram type of each pastor was obtained through the Wagner Enneagram Personality Style Scales (WEPSS) inventory. The findings from the research indicate a significant relationship between Enneagram Type 3s (Achievers) and 8s (Challengers) as a common profile of the megachurch pastor (in 79% of the cases). The findings offer insights into potential benefits of self-discovery the Enneagram can provide pastors based on the unique roles of their leadership style. While these results do not speak to the quality of leadership in these pastors, or suggest a pastor is better suited for a church based on a personality style, these results may prompt further inquiry into the pastoral selection process to determine if the current structure favors a certain personality. Keywords: pastoral leadership, Enneagram, megachurch, personality profile, church size</p><p>

Thesis (B.A. (Hons.)) - University of Queensland, 2005. / Includes bibliography.

<p> When researchers and policy makers look toward teacher issues, the focus is typically on novice teachers who are at considerable risk of leaving the profession prematurely. Without dismissing the importance of these teachers, a crucial population of educators is often overlooked: the experienced teacher. These teachers face many of the same challenges as beginning teachers, and must do so over a long and relatively flat career trajectory. As the state of California looks to recruit a new generation of teachers to meet the demands of a growing population, it would be wise to also look for ways to keep experienced teachers engaged, fresh, and motivated. Research has shown that mentoring and other professional development opportunities can help as a means of giving back to the teaching profession. Thus, policymakers and education leaders have an opportunity to utilize existing teacher training program infrastructure to address multiple challenges with singular programmatic solutions. </p><p> The purpose of this cross-sectional survey study was to examine the impact of mentoring and co-teaching within a specialized induction program on the motivation of experienced teachers who served as mentors to beginning teachers while also gaining a glimpse of their interest in participating in a program of this nature. A conceptual framework blending mentoring program assessment and motivation theories guided the development of a survey instrument designed to measure experienced teacher motivation as it relates to their perceptions of the quality of programmatic elements of the induction program. The sample population included 199 mentor-teachers within a large urban California school district, from whom 56 valid responses were recorded. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.)</p>

<p> This grounded theory study sought to create a viable framework that may help school leaders accelerate the expansion of an authentic 21st century instructional model. The U.S. economy is now more dependent on knowledge work than manufacturing. Yet, many for-profit, non-profit, and public sectors perceive schools as not adequately preparing students for 21st century careers and colleges. However, customary principal-led change is challenging. Leaders face several complex organizational challenges, including a modern-day duty and role expansion that limits time, and the inherent difficulty of human-behavior and organizational change, observed in the fact that schools have deeply entrenched norms: an estimated 150 years of traditional lecture-dominant instruction. </p><p> As such, a singular research question informed this study: What leadership competencies do 21st century change-savvy school administrators perceive as critical to accelerate successful change to a 21st century instructional model? Using a purposive sampling method, <i>change-savvy</i> school leaders (<i>n</i> = 22) with <i>lived experience</i> were interviewed covering germane topics such as what worked for them, professional development, and change management. </p><p> Utilizing Charmaz&rsquo;s (2014) constructed grounded theory coding process and data analysis technique, the results include two key findings: five leadership competencies (<i>discerning, authentic, facilitative, collaborative, </i> and <i>communicative</i>) and the <i>Authentic 21st Century Leadership Framework,</i> which integrates the respective competencies to provide a user guide for the contemporary time-burdened school leader. Ultimately, the study concluded the following: (a) the leadership competencies are essential; (b) the framework provides a supportive guide to accelerate expansion of the 21st century instructional model; (c) 21st century leadership is chiefly collaborative; (d) leader created and sustained growth culture is critical; and, lastly (e) as the 21st century instructional model magnifies in utilization across schools, opportunities for all students improve.</p>

<p> In the last few decades, the world has witnessed an unparalleled increase in human longevity, accompanied by more years of employment and declining birth rates. These unusual events have dramatically raised the portion of older employees who are still active in the global labor force. Scholars have recognized that, along with the overall aging of the workforce, older individuals will increasingly occupy leadership positions. Since the current knowledge economy promotes a globalized, competitive, and rapidly evolving educational and business environment, organizational leaders are increasingly facing challenges to keep their leadership knowledge base current. Organizational leaders must attract and retain the best human capital, competent individuals who can act strategically to move their organizations forward. Consequently, it is prudent to believe that, in order to face the new challenges of an aging workforce, organizations will require exceptional leaders to maintain a cohesive organizational system in which diverse generational cohorts may interact and work together efficiently and effectively. </p><p> Using leadership identity theory, dynamic capabilities, and the leadership trait approach as the conceptual framework, this study assessed intergenerational perceptions of the importance of seven leadership traits: intelligence, decisiveness, compassion, innovation, organization, ambition, and honesty using a national sample of almost two thousand adults in the United States representing four generational cohorts: Millennials, Generation X, Baby Boomers, and the Silent generation. This quasi-experimental quantitative study sought to identify the differences in perception of the importance of leadership traits that each of these generational cohorts may have and the interaction that gender and educational level may have on generational cohort perceptions of the importance of leadership traits. </p><p> Descriptive statistical analysis and comparative analyses including one-way and two-way ANOVA were conducted to determine any statistically significant differences in means among the differences in means of the perception of the importance of leadership traits among generational cohorts moderated by gender and educational level. Statistically significant findings for some, but not all, of the seven leadership traits included in this study were found by generational cohort and these differences were moderated by gender and educational level. Implications and recommendations for policy, practice, and future research are offered.</p><p>

<p> China is poised to introduce sweeping innovation and disruptive social change onto their national stage. As China&rsquo;s leadership, economic power, and authority increase the country will be subject to increasing internal and external challenges. This study seeks to identify the significant internal social challenges China is most likely to confront along its path to global leadership. The purpose is to explore and discover the social challenges that are likely to face China and to predict the direction the country&rsquo;s leadership will take over the next decade. The study approaches the problem by undertaking an initial 9-step process of investigating 6 environmental categories as influencers or drivers of change. This approach utilizes Schmieder and Mallette&rsquo;s SPELIT Matrix Model; Saldana&rsquo;s Themeing and Coding technique; and, Turoff&rsquo;s Real-time Policy Delphi Method to identify these influential environmental categories and factors. The study then focuses on examining cultural ideologies, leadership, and organizational behavior as they converge to influence China&rsquo;s social priorities. This study&rsquo;s design and approach places emphasis on developing an extensive background and investigation into China&rsquo;s historic, present, and future leadership ideologies as they are likely to drive the country&rsquo;s social security and health care reforms. As a means of identifying critical themes and determining a valid focus, the study combines complex algorithmic analysis with a relevant Policy Delphi study to discover and confirm a set of valid policy reform predictions. This study assumes that China&rsquo;s future challenges will be shaped by the country&rsquo;s global growth, internal social environmental, transitioning ethnological, and intercultural ideologies as it shifts to a position of global superiority. This study&rsquo;s findings and recommendations are significant in the context of assisting leaders, scholars, and analysts frame a subsequent narrative toward shaping policy decisions by addressing China&rsquo;s present and future internal tensions due to a social security and health care crisis.</p><p>

<p> China is poised to introduce sweeping innovation and disruptive social change onto their national stage. As China&rsquo;s leadership, economic power, and authority increase the country will be subject to increasing internal and external challenges. This study seeks to identify the significant internal social challenges China is most likely to confront along its path to global leadership. The purpose is to explore and discover the social challenges that are likely to face China and to predict the direction the country&rsquo;s leadership will take over the next decade. The study approaches the problem by undertaking an initial 9-step process of investigating 6 environmental categories as influencers or drivers of change. This approach utilizes Schmieder and Mallette&rsquo;s SPELIT Matrix Model; Saldana&rsquo;s Themeing and Coding technique; and, Turoff&rsquo;s Real-time Policy Delphi Method to identify these influential environmental categories and factors. The study then focuses on examining cultural ideologies, leadership, and organizational behavior as they converge to influence China&rsquo;s social priorities. This study&rsquo;s design and approach places emphasis on developing an extensive background and investigation into China&rsquo;s historic, present, and future leadership ideologies as they are likely to drive the country&rsquo;s social security and health care reforms. As a means of identifying critical themes and determining a valid focus, the study combines complex algorithmic analysis with a relevant Policy Delphi study to discover and confirm a set of valid policy reform predictions. This study assumes that China&rsquo;s future challenges will be shaped by the country&rsquo;s global growth, internal social environmental, transitioning ethnological, and intercultural ideologies as it shifts to a position of global superiority. This study&rsquo;s findings and recommendations are significant in the context of assisting leaders, scholars, and analysts frame a subsequent narrative toward shaping policy decisions by addressing China&rsquo;s present and future internal tensions due to a social security and health care crisis. </p><p>