The purpose of this study was to improve the quality of information used in leadership assessment and development programs. The study determined the relationships between personality type, as indicated by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), and leadership strengths and developmental needs as measured by Skillscope. The study also determined the relationships between personality type and congruence between self-awareness of strengths and developmental needs and ratings by knowledgeable observers. The discriminate analysis of the Skillscope leadership feedback instrument compared with the selected personality types revealed that personal management was a strength for both ISTJs and ESTJs. The decision-making skill was a strength for ISTJs, and power/influence was determined to be a strength for ESTJs. The high energy/results oriented skill was determined to be a developmental need for ISTJs. There was agreement between ENTJs and other raters as they both saw interpersonal relationships as a strength for that type. INTJs underrated themselves in interpersonal relationships, and ISTJs underrated themselves in decision-making. Further study is recommended to expand the general body of knowledge of leadership development research. Of particular concern are methods to identify and explore developmental needs of leaders and how those needs can be addressed in training programs. Three hundred sixty degree feedback instruments should be further analyzed in an effort to explain the differences between raters. Of concern is the high percentage of ISTJ types, which reveals a need to expand research to include significant numbers of other personality types. Consideration should be given to studies that identify the unique contributions of gender to leadership skills and development, and the impact culture has on leadership in organizations. Although statistically significant research is difficult to obtain in the behavioral sciences, the effort is worthwhile as it provides information that allows leadership development decisions to be made based on dependable data.

Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur två av chefens ledarskapsförmågor (kommunikationskompetens och förmåga att motivera) predicerar medarbetarnas arbetstillfredsställelse. Studien genomfördes utifrån en nätbaserad enkät på ett företag inom försäkringsbranschen. Totalt 74 respondenter deltog i studien. Mätinstrumenten som användes var Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ), Communicator Competence Questionnaire och Motivating Language Scale. En multipel regressionsanalys visade att chefens kommunikationskompetens predicerar medarbetarnas arbetstillfredsställelse i högst grad och att chefens förmåga att motivera inte visades predicera medarbetarnas arbetstillfredsställelse. / Title: The manager's leadership skills and its impact on employees' job satisfaction. The purpose of the study was to investigate how two of the managerial leadership skills (communicator competence and ability to motivate) predicts the employees' job satisfaction. The study was conducted on the basis of a web-based survey of an insurance company. A total of 74 respondents participated in the study. The measuring instruments that were used for the study were Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ), Communicator Competence Questionnaire and Motivating Language Scale. A multiple regression analysis showed that the manager's communicator competence predicts the employee's job satisfaction to the fullest extent and the manager's ability to motivate was shown not to predict the employee's job satisfaction.

Project management is now the basis for the activities of most companies, whether local or multinational, regardless of the sector in which they operate. Construction industry can be considered as a birthplace of project management, due to the need to monitor the continuity of work. With the adoption of project management by other sectors--primarily engaged in information systems and telecommunications technologies--project management is given a new direction. If we add to this trend the current focus on the development and care of human resources (the impact of soft skills on the work of managers), we get two conflicting tendencies: on the one hand there is a significant development of project methodologies and techniques oriented mainly to the administration of the entire process of project management (planning, managing and reporting); on the other hand there are training methods that focus on the development of soft skills (teamwork, creativity, communication skills or leadership skills). But what is lacking is the integration of both approaches. The main objective of this doctoral thesis, Specifics of Project Team Managing and Development in IS/ICT, is to determine whether project teams behave as real teams, as defined by current theories, or whether they behave as specific working groups. The sub-objectives are 1) to identify the key skills that project managers need for leading teams, 2) identify the key soft skills of project team members which need to work effectively in a team, and 3) find out how project teams work with knowledge. The research included in this work is aimed at mapping the position of the project manager as a leader of the project team with an emphasis on the issue of soft skills in the project management of IS/ICT companies. Three independent data sources enable us to understand the situation in several existing project teams from different perspectives (project manager, team member and head of the project management office), with an emphasis on project manager as a leader of the team. The research was performed in companies engaged in mobile communications in the Czech Republic (GSM service providers) and their suppliers. The total research involved 224 respondents. This data was then generalized and applied to companies operating in the field of IS/ICT in the Czech Republic. The conclusion summarizes the benefits for the development of science (in the specific field of project management as well as in management in general) for business and for education.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) contribute to the stability and growth of economies by creating employment in rural and urban areas. More than 60% of SMEs do not survive for longer than 5 years; a lack of leadership skills is among the key problems. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the leadership skills owners-managers used to sustain their businesses for longer than 5 years. Research participants were 4 owners-managers of SMEs from the manufacturing industry in Trinidad and Tobago that sustained their businesses for at least 5 years. The contingency leadership model and the skill-based leadership model formed the conceptual lens for this study. Data were collected using semistructured interviews and direct observations. Data were analyzed using Miles and Huberman's analytical strategies and Morse's cognitive process of coding, pattern matching, interpreting, and summarizing the data. Five themes emerged from the data analysis: leadership skills, leadership values, development of leadership skills, leadership challenges, and improvement in leadership skills. The findings from this study could influence positive social change by providing insights on leadership skills SME leaders could use to sustain their operations for the longer term, resulting in reduced failure of SMEs. A decrease in the failure rate of SMEs might contribute to improved economic conditions, leading to the reduction of poverty in families and communities.

This study examined how teachers' perceptions and attitudes and students' perceptions impacted the learning outcomes students received from their participation in service-learning. Service-learning is a form of experiential learning that endeavors to enhance students' academic and civic education through participation in community service. Two learning outcomes of service-learning were investigated: student problem solving and leadership skills. The data consisted of survey responses from 443 middle and high school students and their respective teachers that participated in evaluation research conducted by the Texas Center for Service-Learning and Texas A&M University during the 2007-2008 academic year. The survey items used from the teacher surveys focused on whether teachers felt that administrators took their opinions and ideas into account when making decisions regarding the service-learning program, as well as items that focused on teachers' general attitude towards the program. Survey items used from the student surveys focused on whether students felt their teacher enjoyed service-learning projects, as well as survey items that focused on students' selfefficacy in terms of problem solving and leadership skills. The basic hypotheses were: (1) the more institutionalized the service-learning program is in the students' school, the more positive benefits they receive from their program involvement, (2) when students perceive that they have more ownership of the service-learning program, they receive more benefits from their participation, and (3) the more positively students perceive the teacher's perception of the service-learning program, the more positive benefits students receive for their program involvement. Path analysis and multiple regression are used to test the hypotheses. Contrary to what was expected, the data indicated that institutionalization was significantly, negatively related to student problem solving (-.3007, p less than or equal to .001) and leadership skills (-.4020, p less than or equal to .001). As expected, the data showed that student perception of student ownership of the service-learning program was significantly, positively related to student problem solving (1.0845, p less than or equal to .05) and leadership skills (2.4721, p less than or equal to .001). The data also showed that teacher attitude was very important in regard to student perception of the teacher's attitude and student perception of student ownership of the program, as well as student problem solving and leadership skills. The data suggested that the teacher's attitude was more important in terms of student learning outcomes than the student's perception of the teacher's attitude.

Although there were numerous leadership development programs throughout the country, most ignored the small producers located throughout the south. In order to address the needs of these traditionally underserved individuals, the “National Small Farmer Agricultural Leadership Institute” was created to address the concerns of small farmers in rural communities. This research specifically targeted the effectiveness of leadership development over a period by exploring the factors that motivate the program participants to enhance their leadership skills and the ability to transform that motivation into effective leadership. The group involved in this study is a convenience population of small farmers and ranchers from across the Southern United States, who graduated from the National Small Farm Leadership Institute. These participants represent 2 graduating classes from 2007 and 2009. A retrospective post survey methodology was used to conduct this study. The instrument is divided into a knowledge base before they took the program (pre) and a retrospective post assessment. Each of the questions allowed the participants to rate their ability on a 5 point Likert-Type scale. The responses ranged from 1 to 5 with the following responses Very Poor, Poor, Fair, Good and Very Good. The survey research examined four educational constructs that were covered during the leadership development program. These were Leadership Skill Development, Leadership Theory, Agricultural Skill enhancement and the Transformation of their leadership skills. Through analysis of the four educational constructs the research reveals substantial increases in knowledge and skills such as Group Problem Solving, Consensus Building, Team Building, Group Decision Making and Obtaining information to help in decision making. Participants were definitely found to have increased their leadership skills through teaching of Leadership Philosophy, linkages to Federal and agricultural resources, the appreciation of different styles of leadership and awareness of agricultural policy issues. The study revealed that in each of the four educational construct areas of the National Small Farm Leadership Institute that there were substantial increases in knowledge and changes in behavior such as: understanding and explaining personal leadership philosophy, increased awareness of Agricultural Policy Issues and transferring the leadership back to the community.

Over the last two decades, several studies have confirmed that there is a leadership crisis among the nation's community colleges. In response to this leadership crisis, the American Association of Community Colleges [AACC] commissioned the development of a leadership competency framework consisting of six leadership competency areas deemed "either `very' or `extremely' essential to the effective performance of community college leaders." Since the release of this framework, limited research has been conducted on the importance of and the preparation in the identified competencies. The majority of research that has been conducted has focused on the position of president, even though there are several leadership positions within community colleges that are facing a leadership crisis. One such position is that of academic affairs officer. This study had two purposes. The first was to extend the research that has been conducted on the AACC leadership competencies by examining how community college academic affairs officers perceived the importance of and their own level of professional preparation in the identified competencies. The second was to examine the leadership development experiences that academic affairs officers identified as the most beneficial to their professional development as academic affairs officers. This study was a quantitative, descriptive, correlational design and used a questionnaire to collect data. The population for this study was academic affairs officers at public community colleges in the United States. The academic affairs officers that were included in the population were identified from the membership directory of the AACC. The survey instrument used for this study was based on the AACC leadership competency framework, as modified by Duree, which included 45 leadership competencies summarized into six leadership competency areas: organizational strategy, resource management, communication, collaboration, community college advocacy, and professionalism. Using two four-point scales, academic affairs officers (n=102) were asked to rate the importance of and their own level of professional preparation in the identified competencies. The survey instrument also asked academic affairs officers to rank the top five leadership development experiences that they feel have been the most beneficial to their professional development as academic affairs officers. In general, academic affairs officers believe that the AACC leadership competency areas are important for effective leadership in leading academic affairs. The most important leadership competency area was communication, followed by organizational strategy, community college advocacy, collaboration, professionalism, and resource management. In addition, academic affairs officers perceive that they are moderately or very well-prepared to perform many but not all of the identified competencies. For those identified competencies that academic affairs officers did not feel as prepared to perform, several were rated as important for effective leadership. Academic affairs officers ranked progressive job responsibilities as the leadership development experience felt to be the most beneficial to their professional development as academic affairs officers. Academic affairs officers then ranked challenging job assignments; participation in institutional task forces, committees, and commissions; and networking as the second, third, and fourth most beneficial leadership development experiences, respectively. The fifth most beneficial leadership development experience was networking, followed by attendance at conferences and specialized workshops. Based upon frequency totals, university-based degree programs and mentoring (role as mentee, not mentor) were also considered beneficial leadership development experiences. The significance of this study is that it provides practical, relevant, and timely information for both current practicing academic affairs officers and those who aspire to lead public community colleges in the position of academic affairs officer. The results of this study have several implications for practice. These implications include: to inform those persons seeking academic affairs officer positions of the relative importance of the AACC leadership competencies and the leadership development experiences deemed to be the most beneficial by a sample of incumbents; to inform leaders of higher education and professional development programs of the leadership competencies that should perhaps be included in the curricula of their programs; and to provide resources to be used by search committees in formulating desired qualifications and, later, in interviewing candidates for the position of academic affairs officer.

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the existence of student leadership development programs and to explore the similarities and differences in the way students in higher education are recruited and retained into the culture and attitudes of leadership, and how they are afforded meaningful leadership opportunities to practice the skills they have learned, in two separate higher educational institutions. These two institutions were East Tennessee State University, Johnson City campus, Tennessee, and the University of the West Indies, Mona campus, Jamaica, West Indies. I was also concerned with the existing perceptions of leadership and leadership training delivery and how this impacted the attitudes that students experienced in accessing leadership development provisions. The methods and procedures used in gathering data for this study were qualitative and included such ethnographic techniques as interviewing, surveying and a brief content analysis utilizing the communicative documents of both institutions. The population consisted of students, staff and faculty of both universities. The findings demonstrated that student leadership development programs did exist at both institutions, but that the philosophies upon which leadership development was based were culturally different. Also, although the methods of recruitment, retention and leadership practice bore aspects of similarities, in many cases the leadership styles, which facilitated these, were quite different. Of particular importance is the fact, that, in comparison with ETSU, which has a rich national heritage of American leadership development research, the University of the West Indies does not have such a nationally research-rich educational leadership background. This bears great implications for the future of leadership development and the necessity for in-depth research.

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Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.