<p> Non-executive directors (NEDs) are external members of an organization&rsquo;s board of directors. These directors&rsquo; most significant contribution arguably is found in the quality of their strategic insights, as they ostensibly bring a fresh perspective and set of experiences to acts of strategy and sense making. This study examined NEDs&rsquo; contribution to the environmental scanning phase of an organization&rsquo;s strategic planning process. Data were gathered from a convenience sample of seven current NEDs. Findings indicated that the framing process used during the environmental scanning phase directly influenced how NEDs make sense of the environment. Additionally, NEDs were found to prefer an &ldquo;objective&rdquo; environment that is externally located. Finally, NEDs consciously appraise each other&rsquo;s contribution to the overall discussion. Study findings were incorporated into a conceptual model. Future studies should use a larger sample of NEDs, including peers from the same boards and those from across multiple industries.</p>

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<p> As globalization drove increased need for distribution teams, it was necessary for global higher education leaders to develop collaboration to increase productivity, business success, and employee effectiveness; thus, further exploration was needed on effective aspects of collaboration in distributed settings from the employee and leader points of view. The purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explore inter-team collaboration experiences from the perspective of higher education leaders and team members who work remotely from each other. Tuckman&rsquo;s theory of Small Group Development (SGD) served as the theoretical framework. The target population was the 669,380 virtual workers within the United States educational services sector and a purposeful sampling method was used to select a small sample of 11 employees at a privately-held educational services organization in the United States as appropriate for qualitative case study. Data analysis employed constant comparative analysis that resulted in two concomitant themes for both research question 1 and 2: (a) conscientious communication as a distributed team strategy and (b) accountability and responsibility attributed to distributed team success. One minor theme was found for research question 1: (a) trust determined by co-workers&rsquo; productivity; two minor themes were identified for research question 2: (b) technology enhanced and limited quality communication and (c) need for face-to-face interaction in distributed work environments. Implications focused on improved collaboration within distributed work teams and highlighted (a) need for clarity, openness, and respect, (b) inter-team transparency and task interdependence, (c) commitment and importance of deliverables, (d) specified methods of technology, and (e) beneficial face-to-face interaction. The recommendations for practice included (a) establish communication standards and protocols, (b) identify group metrics, (c) identify specific and prescribed technology, and (d) establish leadership training. The recommendations for future research included (a) a quantitative descriptive design study to analyze trust at each stage of distributed group development, (b) a quantitative quasi-experimental study to explore frequency of communication in one-to-one communication, and (c) mixed method study of the impact of visual technology.</p>

<p> The literature supports that as leaders pursue personal and professional growth, they achieve a sense of well-being, become healthier, more engaged, and more productive. This study explores how Christian leaders who have a strong core spiritual identity experience growth toward their <i>best-self. </i> According to the literature, the best-self is a positive psychology approach to personal growth that utilizes a person&rsquo;s natural strengths and skills to describe one&rsquo;s personal best. Adult identity development is multifaceted and influenced by numerous factors. A spiritual identity built upon strong beliefs results in a salient identity that influences every part of one&rsquo;s life. Utilizing a generic qualitative methodology and a snowball sampling strategy, eight participants were interviewed. Multiple consistent themes were identified in the data: (a) an integration of spiritual identity (b) enhanced self-awareness (c) saliency of spiritual identity, (c) roles and motivations defined by faith, (d) altruism, (e) role identity as a calling, (f) faith-based decision-making, (g) intrapersonal and interpersonal prayer, a personal relationship with God, (h) the need to be supported by like-minded individuals, (i) the alignment of organizational values and personal values, and (j) personal growth defined by God. One unexpected finding was the way the participants defined best-self. Based on their narratives, the participants viewed their best-self, including their talents and abilities, as being defined by God, stating that to become the person that God designed them to be would be achieving best-self. The significance of spirituality in the workplace was discovered through the participants&rsquo; experiences. This was also supported in the literature. These themes are presented and explored along with recommendations for future research.</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 study explored whether the U.S. Marine Corps&rsquo; Basic Officer Course (BOC) creates a Marine Corps cultural identity within officers and how the acculturation process functions. The Social Identity Theory (SIT) and Communities of Practice (CoP) serve as the theoretical foundation for this study because identity is an integral aspect of both SIT and CoP. The researcher used a constructivist approach to identify and interpret the value-laden meanings and influencers of a Marine Corps cultural identity expressed by the participants. Since the study explored the perspectives of the participant group, the researcher determined a case study was the most fitting form of qualitative research. The research revealed that change, culture, adherence to behavioral norms, continual development, and cultural identity were themes expressed by every participant. Participant input showed the influence that cultural lore (Marine Corps history) has on the acculturation process. The study also refined the conceptual framework used for this research, which resulted in the researcher developing the Manufactured Culture Model (MCM). Recommendations for further study include: 1) the influence of gender on the acculturation process, 2) exploring any influences the Marine Corps&rsquo; acculturation process has (if any) on individuals that fail during the screening process, and 3) examine the dynamics of interactions among the Marine Corps&rsquo; culture and a Marine&rsquo;s culture of origin.</p>

<p> In 2012 about 30% of the American workers were engaged at work and 70% of workers were either not engaged or fully disengaged. There have been numerous studies on determining employment factors that create engagement and the organizational benefits received from a highly engaged workforce. It has been shown that companies with highly engaged employees experience many organizational benefits including higher employee productivity, lower attrition, better quality, and superior financial results. However, there has been little research conducted on creating a direct linkage between a specific engagement driver and a specific organizational benefit. The purpose of this study is to identify drivers of engagement that positively impact productivity in highly engaged teams at CHG Healthcare Services. CHG Healthcare Services is a healthcare staffing company headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. In 2014, it was estimated that 93% of its 1750 employee were engaged. Quantitative data was collected through a written survey from a random sampling of 98 employees from highly engaged sales and business partner teams. 46 employees completed the survey that asked them to choose the top factors that most positively impacted their individual and team productivity from a list of 23 established engagement drivers. In addition, 9 qualitative focus groups were held with survey participants to gain qualitative understanding into why participant&rsquo;s felt the chosen engagement factors impacted productivity. The findings demonstrated that for employees with over 1 year of experience, 4 engagement drivers made the most meaningful impact on individual and team productivity. These results were similar across all demographic groups reviewed. The engagement drivers most impacting employee productivity were having access to work-life balance, having a positive relationship with their team and leader, having work that is meaningful, and having the authority and autonomy of make decisions affecting their work. The research also showed that one group, first year employees, provided a different set of results. The study demonstrated that first-year employees value employment factors that help support them during the time they are establishing effective relationships in a new environment and building necessary job skills to contribute to the team and company.</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> Higher education leaders have a unique position of power and influence that can span generations (Clawson, 2009). Previous research discovered emotional intelligence to be the single biggest predictor of performance in the workplace and strongest driver of leadership and personal excellence (Bar-On, 1997; Brown, 2009; Goleman &amp; Boyatzis, 2008; Zeidner, Matthews, &amp; Roberts, 2012). Play develops sensing capabilities for teamwork, self-awareness, empathy, trust, and compassion, which inform development of emotional intelligence. Exploring the influence of play in developing emotional intelligence fills a void in existing research. This explanatory sequential mixed methods study sought to discover the power of play in developing emotional intelligence in higher education leaders and the resulting impact on their ability to develop and lead emotionally intelligent teams in creating a high-performing organization. Research questions focused on assessing individual emotional intelligence, team emotional and social intelligence, the meaning of the power of play and its impact in developing emotional intelligence, personal play history descriptions, power of play in developing emotional intelligence (individual and team), and describing emotional intelligence skill level and its impact on personal leadership success. The Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT), Team Emotional and Social Intelligence (TESI), and personal play history narratives (gathered with five researcher-designed questions) were the instruments used. The study was conducted with the eight members of the University Cabinet of a private, Liberal Arts university in the Midwest. All eight members fully participated in the research, with honest and oftentimes personal responses, providing rich data for examination. Participants expressed a high level of awareness of the value of play over a lifetime to maintain good physical and psychological health. They also were able to make direct linkages to their play experiences in developing their individual and team emotional intelligence skills. Finally, a common desire was expressed to grow emotional intelligence skills, integrate play more into the work environment, and build the high performing, playful, and healthy organizational culture they desire. The contribution this study makes is important to allow future researchers to gather and examine additional evidence to support the relationship between play, emotional intelligence skill development, and leadership success.</p>

<p> This exploratory, sequential, mixed methods study examined the conditions and approaches of public sector leaders who cultivate committed, productive public sector Millennial employees and determine the extent to which these conditions reflect leadership agility. Leadership agility is the ability to lead effectively in times of rapid change, uncertainty, and mounting complexity and when success requires consideration of multiple views and priorities. A total of 81 leaders and Millennials from across three levels of government were involved in the study. Phase 1 consisted of an online questionnaire of leaders who manage Millennial direct reports and Millennials in the public sector to measure managers&rsquo; leadership actions and their effect on Millennial subordinates&rsquo; organizational commitment and productivity. Phase 2 involved a focus group of managers and a focus group of Millennials to discuss and interpret the survey results. Study findings indicated that the public sector leaders who participated in this study regularly demonstrated the 18 leadership behaviors measured, although both leaders and Millennials wanted leaders to practice these behaviors more frequently. All 18 behaviors were believed to enhance Millennials&rsquo; organizational commitment and productivity. Participants reported they would like public sector leaders to increase their expert leadership by becoming highly competent. Additionally, participants reported that agile leadership behaviors have a significant impact on Millennials&rsquo; organizational commitment and productivity. These findings suggest that public sector leaders should develop their abilities to demonstrate expert, achiever, catalyst, and co-creator leadership and organizations should define performance standards that correspond to these traits. Additionally, leaders are advised to strengthen their leadership competence and better communicate their vision and be consistent in carrying and pointing out how the organization is meeting its goals. Regarding their direct interactions with Millennials, leaders need to (a) ensure they are readily and regularly accessible to their Millennial direct reports and (b) cultivate their willingness and tactics for welcoming their staff members&rsquo; personal and professional aspects.</p>