The purpose of the present study was to establish evidence for the suggested integration of the theories of connectionism and leadership. Recent theoretical writings in the field of leadership have suggested that the dynamic representations generated by the connectionist perspective is an appropriate approach to understanding how we perceive leaders. Similarly, implicit leadership theory (ILT) explains that our cognitive understandings of leaders are based on a cognitive structure that we use as a means of understanding and categorizing the behaviors of individuals we believe to be leaders. It was predicted that when asked to select a leader from a group of potential leaders, individuals select the leader based on personal belief alignment when the context of the leader selection is personally relevant, or based on cognitive expectations when the context is low in personal relevance. In addition, when experiencing moments of greater personal relevance, individuals will experience a more dynamic cognitive representation of a leader that those experiencing the moment as less personally relevant. Sixty-seven individuals provided usable data from a repeated measures design that asked participants to record their cognitive representations of a leader, participate in a leader selection task, and provide information about their cognitive representations of a leader after the selection task. The results of the study provide support the expectations of the experimenter and the suggestions of the connectionist perspective. / Master of Science

This thesis examines the theological and practical functioning of American Baptist Women’s Ministries, American Baptist Churches USA, as it has engaged in a “Becoming Beloved Community” initiative. It argues that theological grounding in a vision of Beloved Community is a necessary missing element in transforming the way the organization pursues its mission. Since 2014, the organization has conducted a cultural audit, assessing attitudes and readiness, and it has developed some strategies and tactics as a result. However, without a solid theological grounding and a deeper understanding of what adhering to a vision of beloved community may mean in terms of structure and decision-making processes, these strategies and tactics are less effective than they could be. This thesis draws upon the writings of Howard Thurman and Martin Luther King, Jr., on process theology, and on woman’s liberation theologies to assess current practices in AB Women’s Ministries and provide a more robust theological grounding for the concept of “Becoming Beloved Community.” In constructing the theological grounding, a list of marks of beloved community is developed and used as an evaluative tool for current practices in the organization. Using adaptive leadership theory and complexity leadership theory, the thesis also develops recommendations for the future.

This research builds on Implicit Leadership Theory, which suggests that a leader's performance is likely to be higher when there is congruence between a follower's prototype of what a leader should be and his or her perception of the leader's behaviour. The essence of effective leadership, according to this theory, is being seen as a leader by others. Data were collected from 196 leaders and 1,738 followers from 23 countries within Cargill Incorporated, a US food and agricultural multinational. The research was conducted in two phases. During the first phase data were collected on followers' desired leadership values and their perception of their leader's behaviour on the same dimensions. These data were used to compute a congruence score based on a weighted sum of absolute differences. The congruence score data formed the heart of an individualised Leadership Fit Report written for each leader in the study showing the extent of congruence across 21 leadership characteristics (see Appendix A). The second phase of the study focused on a subset of 933 followers from five countries testing the two hypotheses. The two hypotheses in Phase Two were partially supported. The first was that congruence between desired leadership values and perceived behaviour leads to high performance of a leader and incongruence leads to lower performance. The second was that the relationship between congruence and leader performance varied by nationality. The cross-cultural test of Implicit Leadership Theory captured in Hypothesis 2 was particularly important to Cargill because it revealed unique and important differences between the five countries included in the second data set. This study found that the nature of the relationship between congruence and leader performance varies significantly between all five countries. More specifically the data suggests that congruence does not always lead to high performance. This study, albeit exploratory, makes theoretical, methodological and practical contributions in the following ways. i. A cross cultural test of Implicit Leadership Theory in a multinational organisation with a significant sample size. ii. An existing desired leadership values questionnaire was used and developed further to measure leadership values and leader perception. iii. All 196 leaders received a personalised feedback report showing the level of congruence (or degree of fit) for 21 leadership characteristics. iv. A methodological contribution was made by using Polynomial Regression Equations and Response Surface Methodology to measure the nature of the relationship between desired leadership values, perceived behaviour and leaders' performance. Implicit Leadership Theory was shown to be complex yet very relevant to management practice. The research undertaken was exploratory yet it has created the basis for on going discussion.

Thesis advisor: Heather Rowan-Kenyon / Paid employment is one of the most common extracurricular activities among full-time undergraduates, and an array of studies has attempted to measure its impact. Methodological concerns with the extant literature, however, make it difficult to draw reliable conclusions. Furthermore, the research on working college students has little to say about relationships between employment and leadership development, a key student learning outcome. This study addressed these gaps in two ways, using a national sample of 77,489 students from the 2015 Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership. First, it employed quasi-experimental methods and hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to investigate relationships between work variables (i.e., working status, work location, and hours worked) and both capacity and self-efficacy for leadership. Work location for students employed on-campus was disaggregated into 14 functional departments to allow for more nuanced analysis. Second, this study used text mining methods to examine the language that participants used to define leadership, which enabled a rich comparison between students’ conceptualizations and contemporary leadership theory. Results from HLM analysis suggested that working for pay is associated with lower self-reported leadership capacity, as defined by the social change model of leadership development, and that this relationship varies by workplace location and across institutional characteristics. The association between working status and self-efficacy for leadership was found to be practically non-significant, and hours worked per week were unrelated to either outcome. Results from text mining analysis suggested that most students conceptualize leadership using language that resonates with the industrial paradigm of leadership theory— leadership resides in a person with authority, who enacts specific behaviors and directs a group toward a goal. Disaggregated findings suggested that students who work off-campus consider leadership differently, using language consonant with contemporary, post-industrial scholarship—leadership is a dynamic, relational, non-coercive process that results in personal growth and positive change. In sum, the findings both echo and challenge aspects of existing research on leadership and working college students. Future research should explore off-campus work environments in greater detail, while practitioners and scholars who supervise students should aim to infuse post-industrial conceptualizations into on-campus work environments. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2017. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

This research builds on Implicit Leadership Theory, which suggests that a leader's performance is likely to be higher when there is congruence between a follower's prototype of what a leader should be and his or her perception of the leader's behaviour. The essence of effective leadership, according to this theory, is being seen as a leader by others. Data were collected from 196 leaders and 1,738 followers from 23 countries within Cargill Incorporated, a US food and agricultural multinational. The research was conducted in two phases. During the first phase data were collected on followers' desired leadership values and their perception of their leader's behaviour on the same dimensions. These data were used to compute a congruence score based on a weighted sum of absolute differences. The congruence score data formed the heart of an individualised Leadership Fit Report written for each leader in the study showing the extent of congruence across 21 leadership characteristics (see Appendix A). The second phase of the study focused on a subset of 933 followers from five countries testing the two hypotheses. The two hypotheses in Phase Two were partially supported. The first was that congruence between desired leadership values and perceived behaviour leads to high performance of a leader and incongruence leads to lower performance. The second was that the relationship between congruence and leader performance varied by nationality. The cross-cultural test of Implicit Leadership Theory captured in Hypothesis 2 was particularly important to Cargill because it revealed unique and important differences between the five countries included in the second data set. This study found that the nature of the relationship between congruence and leader performance varies significantly between all five countries. More specifically the data suggests that congruence does not always lead to high performance. This study, albeit exploratory, makes theoretical, methodological and practical contributions in the following ways. i. A cross cultural test of Implicit Leadership Theory in a multinational organisation with a significant sample size. ii. An existing desired leadership values questionnaire was used and developed further to measure leadership values and leader perception. iii. All 196 leaders received a personalised feedback report showing the level of congruence (or degree of fit) for 21 leadership characteristics. iv. A methodological contribution was made by using Polynomial Regression Equations and Response Surface Methodology to measure the nature of the relationship between desired leadership values, perceived behaviour and leaders' performance. Implicit Leadership Theory was shown to be complex yet very relevant to management practice. The research undertaken was exploratory yet it has created the basis for on going discussion.

Recently, there is a trend in western leadership¡¦s studies emphasizing the influences of a leader¡¦s values and visions on subordinates. However, there is no one among various leadership researches in Taiwan especially emphasizing the influences of the leader¡¦s vision or value on leadership effectiveness. Based on the viewpoint that measuring the CEO¡¦s management values by his personal values is inappropriate, the purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of CEO¡¦s management values on leadership effectiveness from the perceptiveness of subordinates¡¦ perceptions. Totally, 47 institutions participated in this research, which consisted of 43 CEO interviews, 45 management value questionnaires from CEOs, and 252 subordinate questionnaires about their perceptions of the CEO¡¦S management value and his leadership effectiveness. In addiction to having found out the operational definition and 13 representative index of the ¡§CEO management value¡¨, this study further examined the construct validity of the ¡§CEO management value¡¨ scale. Besides, two other conclusive findings found are as following: First, the degree that subordinates¡¦ perceptions of the CEO¡¦S management value, regardless of ideological or pragmatic, would positively influence subordinates¡¦ evaluation about the CEO¡¦S leadership effectiveness. However, having compared the two dimensions of the CEO¡¦S management value, we found out that the ideological value was more influential than pragmatic value. Secondly, when compared with those of different perceptual outcome, subordinates, whose perceptions of the CEO¡¦S management value are the same as his/her CEO¡¦s self-perception, would give higher evaluation about his/her CEO¡¦S leadership effectiveness. This result emphasizes the importance that the CEO needs to communicate his management values to his subordinates.

This study aims at exploring the applicability of ¡¥Situational Leadership Theory¡¦ Hersey & Blanchard, 1993) for leadership of task force between chief purser leadership style and readiness of cabin crew. The survey method was used in the present study. Three questionnaires were used: ¡¥Leader Effectiveness and Adaptability Description¡¦ (LEAD), ¡¥Readiness Scale¡¦, and ¡¥Performance Effectiveness Scale¡¦. Subjects were from public Eva and Uni airline. Valid sample included 40 chief purser and 123 cabin crew. The conclusions are as the following: 1. The readiness of cabin crew was affected by their work experience and job level; work experience, and school region; it was not correlated with age, gender and educational background. 2. Leadership effectiveness of cabin crew was significantly correlated with work experience¡Beducational background and job level ; It was not correlated with age, and gender. 3. Leader¡¦s leadership style there was significantly correlated with age¡Bgender and educational background; It was not correlated with work experience. 4. It was no significant difference found between leadership styles and leadership effectiveness of chief purser. 5. There was significantly correlation between cabin crew¡¦s job performance and readiness. 6. The relationship between chief purser leadership style and readiness of cabin crew had no significant impact on leadership style effectiveness beside notification style. So the findings did partly support ¡¥Situational Leadership Theory¡¦.

BACKGROUND: Champions are widely recognized as playing a key role in the successful implementation of evidence-based interventions within the healthcare sector; however, little is known about which characteristics and skills enable them to play that role. Furthermore, previous studies have measured only individual champion’s responses to personal attributes without incorporating input from other observers. A mixed methods study was conducted to 1) identify, analyze, and group the characteristics of champions who have successfully promoted adoption of new initiatives within the healthcare delivery system, 2) understand when and how champion-like characteristics emerge during the implementation process, and 3) describe how these characteristics are developed to more quickly advance champions within the healthcare setting. METHODS: Data were collected and analyzed from healthcare champions (n=30) and their colleagues (n=58) from eleven countries using a survey. Every champion and a subset of colleagues (n=14) also participated in in-depth interviews. Correlation coefficients and descriptive statistics were used to explore the relationship between responses to survey items; Chi-squared tests and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to compare the differences. Thematic content analysis of qualitative data explored champion-like characteristics, their emergence, and how their skills were developed. Once results emerged, characteristics of champions were categorized using the Transformational Leadership Theory framework. RESULTS: Champions tend to inspire their clinical teams to adopt new interventions within healthcare using a leadership style that naturally facilitates trust, as well as motivation to work towards common goals. This leadership style is similar to what is exhibited by transformational leaders; therefore, champions can be identified, categorized, and developed using transformational leadership theory. Champion emergence within the implementation process is facilitated by supportive leadership and high levels of autonomy. Additionally, there was a high proportion of agreement between champion and colleague survey responses; however, champions were more likely to underrate their skills and abilities to instigate change. CONCLUSION: Champions exhibit the same characteristics as transformational leaders; therefore, transformational leadership theory — its frameworks and associated tools — is useful for identifying and developing champions. Future work should focus on how organizational leaders can facilitate the growth of emerging champions, as this enabling environment determines the fate of both the champion and the evidence-based intervention.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether personal attributes are consistently associated with the emergence of leaders in small groups. Past research on leadership emergence has frequently examined the relationships between individual personal attributes and perceptions of leadership by group members following completion of a single group exercise. The present study extends the literature by taking a multivariate approach to the study of leadership perceptions, by varying group tasks and group membership, and by implementing both perceptual methods of measurement and direct measurement of leadership behavior. One hundred seventy-three undergraduate students participated in small groups to complete two tasks. Participants worked with different group members during each task. The first task emphasized competition and persuasion among group members and the second task emphasized cooperation and information sharing among group members. Following each task, group members rated and ranked all group members on leadership attributes and abilities. Trained observers then coded each of the leader behaviors that occurred during the group interactions and assigned their own objective leadership ranks to the group members. Multiple regression, discriminant analysis, and bivariate correlations revealed that dominance and intelligence were consistently related to both perceptions of leadership by group members and objective observation and coding of leadership behaviors. In addition, perceptions of leadership by group members were found to be related to objective behavioral indices of leadership; thus, a link was created between perceptual and behavioral measures of leadership. In addition, group members who were perceived as possessing prototypical leader traits were consistently identified as the group leaders by group members and trained observers. Implications of the present Study’s results and suggestions for future research in the field of leadership are discussed. / Ph. D.

Since 2002, the federal government has disseminated surveys to all of its federal agencies to obtain employees' views on the federal agencies' work environments. This study examined the relationship between employees' perception of their leaders' transformational leadership skills and employee job satisfaction. This study was conducted in a metropolitan area in the midwestern United States using 12 federal agencies, totaling approximately 33,000 employees. The theoretical framework for this study was transformational leadership theory. The 5 constructs published by House and Burns were used in multifactor leadership questionnaire surveys by scholarly and peer-reviewed studies and represent the primary leadership skills. The study used the job satisfaction survey to gather information on federal employees' work environments. Data were collected from a random selection of participants from agency employee rosters. The data analysis revealed a relationship between transformational leadership constructs and job satisfaction with intellectual stimulation receiving the highest correlation. All variables have a high correlation to each other with F (5, 86) =.968, p = .44, R2 (.053). The R2 value of .053 indicated that approximately 5.3% of variations in job satisfaction are accounted for by the linear combination of the predictor variables. The variables are idealized attributes and behaviors, intellectual stimulation, inspirational motivation, and individual considerations. The findings may contribute to positive social change by providing federal government leaders with an understanding of transformational leadership skills and job satisfaction.