<p> The academic and corporate pursuit of many programs is to understand the implications of leadership styles on organizations. Countless research hours have been spent examining the leadership construct in the hope of developing programs that impact performance. Furthermore, there has been a recent surge in the study of Psychological Capital and the potential implications for human performance and development.</p><p> The purpose of this quantitative study was to understand the intersection of leadership styles, Psychological Capital, and productivity.</p><p> The study examined two research questions. The first research question examined what correlation exists between the styles of leadership as measured by the MLQ 5X, and psychological capital attributes (hope, efficacy, resiliency, and optimism) as measured by the PCQ of the field sales associates. The second research question strived to understand if there was a correlation between productivity, as measured by the average sales per person, and either psychological capital of the field associates, the styles of leadership, or both.</p><p> The leadership styles were measured using the MLQ 5X to determine if the leaders were transformational, transactional, or passive/avoidant. The MLQ 5X also measured the subscores of transformational leadership to see what relationship, if any, exists between the subscore and sales productivity. A total of 59 leaders in 28 districts completed the MLQ 5X.</p><p> The Psychological Capital of the sales team was measured using the PCQ to determine the overall PCQ score, as well as the subscores of hope, optimism, resiliency, and self-efficacy. A total of 151 sales associates in 28 districts completed the PCQ assessment.</p><p> The results of the study found that there was a positive correlation between leaders that coach and develop their sales team and teams that have higher sales. The research found that leaders that were more transformational and generate satisfaction had higher sales performance. The analysis also indicated that leaders that were transformational had sales teams with higher self-efficacy. There was not a correlation between Psychological Capital and sales performance.</p>

<p> Credit unions, the cooperatives started by the people to serve the people, have experienced tremendous growth, success, and challenge since their inception in the mid-19^th century. While the overall number of members and assets are growing, the physical number of credit unions is decreasing due to mergers or insolvency, keeping market share stagnant for the past 20 years. As with all organizations, succession planning is essential to ensure a future. Considering a conceptual foundation including stakeholder theory and succession planning, the purpose of this qualitative study was to better understand how succession planning is utilized by CEOs of credit unions today, what impedes credit unions from succession planning and leadership development, as well as what tools or resources are needed within the industry to either build or enhance the succession planning efforts. </p><p> Based on in-depth interviews with eight current CEO&rsquo;s, findings revealed that succession planning is happening more frequently in large credit unions than previous research noted. CEOs are committed to their stakeholders and to the industry and are driving this process in their credit unions, they believe developing leaders is their main role, and they see succession planning as a competitive advantage because of the results it generates. To make the process successful, the CEOs are utilizing consultants, incorporating a variety of activities, focusing on innovation and technology, and challenging the talent management status quo. The CEOs did not believe suggested impediments from previous research were accurate. Rather, they believed that intrinsic factors got in the way including excuses, basic human nature and egos. To truly revolutionize the industry and gain market share, the CEOs shared that many strategies including hiring practices must change. </p><p> It is recommended that credit union leaders and directors become knowledgeable on succession planning and its benefits, connect strategic planning with talent management, and remove intrinsic obstacles to most effectively give back to their stakeholders. Additional research on smaller credit unions and their succession planning efforts, recruiting and hiring tactics for credit union CEOs, and the prioritization of succession planning, strategic planning, and financial results is needed.</p>

<p> Employee work performance is critical to organizational success. Identifying employee attributes that correlate to high work performance is therefore of strategic interest to organizational leaders, as individuals with those traits can be targeted during the hiring process. While extant literature has indicated a positive relationship between work performance and individual differences including cognitive ability, working memory, and personality, no single study has examined the predictive effects of each of these differences simultaneously. Moreover, some preliminary research suggests that the sixth personality factor specified in the HEXACO model, Honesty-Humility (H-Factor), may also predict work performance; further research is warranted to investigate this relationship. Finally, self-efficacy has been shown to moderately predict performance and to mediate individual differences on performance. The present quantitative correlational study thus sought to establish the unique effects of working memory, cognitive ability, and H Factor on performance via self-efficacy using four established scales, one researcher-developed self-report measure tested for validity during Phase 1, and a supervisor assessment of employee job performance. The sample size was 197 participants who were employed at nine U.S. distribution plants owned by a large food distribution company. Analyses conducted using structural equation modeling (SEM) provided support for the predicted relationships between the study variables. Cognitive ability directly predicted performance while working memory and H Factor predicted performance via self-efficacy. The study&rsquo;s conclusions suggest that recruiters should consider applicants&rsquo; cognitive skills, personality&mdash;including the H-Factor&mdash;and self-efficacy during the hiring process.</p>

<p>The Millennials are different than previous generations in several ways including their motivations, expectations, and the strengths and weaknesses they bring to organizations. The specific problem of interest is that currently, leadership traits and leadership styles of Millennials in the financial industry are not well understood. Research of the group has been extensive in relation to their workplace behaviors, but Millennials are now assuming leadership roles. The purpose of this qualitative case study is to understand the prevalent leadership traits and styles of Millennials. Though there is some debate about the birth years of Millennials a birth year sample between 1985 and 1990 was chosen to best capture the group. This set of participants was likely to have some experience in leadership roles in their professional careers. The group of interest has been heavily influenced by technology and has a unique perspective of teamwork, ethics, and feedback cycles, and can be very demanding of their peers and supervisors. How these traits translate into leadership roles was of specific interest to the researcher. A multiple case study methodology was chosen, and a semi-structured interview instrument was used for the purposes of answering the research questions of interest. The instrument used was previously used and is a combination of two study&rsquo;s interview guides. A sample of 15 candidates were selected. Each participant was born between 1985 and 1990, and had a leadership role in the financial industry. Candidates were sought using convenience and snowball sampling. The candidates were asked 12 semi-structured interview questions, and coding was used to look for patterns against the research provided in the literature review about existing leadership traits and styles. Codes were clustered using higher level and lower level concepts and reassembled to create new narrative information. Cross-case analysis showed good saturation of the data and supported that a number of characteristics the Millennials have shown as employees are transferring to their leadership approach. Participative leadership was heavily favored by the group, to the extent that many appear to act more as a group facilitator than what would traditionally be defined as a leader. This will impact the way accountability is established and how companies can measure group success. Other tendencies that were heavily prevalent included leading by example, happiness as a measure of success and a commitment to using positive reinforcement as a primary motivator. The value of this research adds to the existing body of knowledge about Millennials and can be applied to leadership development and succession planning for existing businesses and management teams. </p>

<p> This study examined the relationship between employees&rsquo; Organizational Commitment and the perception of the management of deviant behavior and examined if Organizational Culture moderated the strength of the relationship between Organizational Commitment and the perception of the management of deviant behavior. Three assessments were administered either electronically or in hardcopy form and were completed by 114 participants who were employed adults ages 18 and above, managed by someone else, in the southeastern U.S. The Organizational Culture Inventory (OCI) developed by Cooke and Lafferty (2013) measured overall Organizational Culture of employees at an individual level of assessment. The instrument used to measure employee Organizational Commitment was the TCM Employee Commitment Survey (Wellspring Worldwide, LLC, 2010). The instrument used to measure the perception of the management of deviant behavior was derived from a non-self-report measure created by Stewart, Bing, Davidson, Woehr, and McIntyre (2009). A moderated multiple regression analysis determined that the relationship between the perception of the management of deviant behavior and organizational commitment was not predicted by a constructive, aggressive/defensive, or passive/defensive culture style. The study found that the perception of the management of deviant behavior did not have a statistically significant predictive relationship with regards to organizational commitment, nor did workplace culture moderate the perceptions or attitudes of employees. The empirical evidence provided in this study enhanced the body of knowledge related to workplace culture. Specifically, the results of the study provided quantitative information, which provided a valuable understanding that a macro-variable such as workplace culture does not necessarily attenuate the relationship between perception of management and organizational commitment within certain diverse workplaces. </p>

<p> This transcendental phenomenological study sought to understand how the followers of authentic leaders in a multi-national healthcare organization experienced well-being. Twenty followers of 5 authentic leaders participated in the research and shared their lived experiences. Followers reported they experienced workplace well-being by maintaining work-life balance, feeling fulfilled/doing meaningful work, and feeling appreciated/recognized for their contributions. Workplace well-being was experienced as a result of their perceptions of feeling trusted and cared about as a <i>whole being</i> and not just an employee by their leaders. Followers also reported that the organizational culture provided support for leaders to demonstrate behaviors of authentic leadership, caring, trust, appreciation, respect, valuing others, openness, honesty, and transparency, which led them to feel an attachment to their leaders and organizations. Followers were motivated to exhibit organizational citizenship behaviors by providing extra or discretionary effort beyond their expected role requirements. These findings indicate that authentic leaders can provide value by cultivating well-being in the workplace. Findings also suggest recommendations for establishing organizational best practices.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study is to identify best leadership practices in retaining direct-care staff in residential treatment centers. While research exists on employee retention, there is a lack of research focused on employee retention in residential care. How leaders engage with direct-care staff members in residential care can have a significant influence on increasing employee retention rate. The literature review revealed transformational leadership theory as the theoretical framework, including 4 components: idealized influence, individualized consideration, inspirational motivation, and intellectual stimulation. </p><p> The design for this research was a qualitative case study. The residential treatment center was selected as the study case because of its exemplar performance reporting a 73% employee retention rate in contrast to the national retention rate of 40%. The theoretical framework served as a foundation for the purpose and research questions. Semistructured questions were developed to interview leaders at a residential treatment center in order to identify best practices. In combination with a thorough review of the literature, an expert panel of researchers established the validity of the interview instrument. Content analysis was applied to code themes and a 2nd reviewer provided reliability. </p><p> Participants responses revealed 9 best practices in 4 categories: 3 best practices linked to idealized influence, 2 best practices connected to individualized consideration, 2 best practices aligned with inspirational motivation, and 2 best practices specific to intellectual stimulation. In addition to correlating with the 4 components of transformational leadership, more than 100 authors supported the 4 theoretical components. The results of the study highlight the influence leaders can have on retaining employees. The identified best practices represent key approaches that health care leaders can apply. This study is helpful in identifying leadership practices in the health care field that will assist in increasing employee retention. Consequently, the results of this study can assist other residential treatment center leaders to consider these leadership practices in an effort to improve employee retention. </p>

<p> With the continuing rise of globalization, organizations face a variety of unique and complex challenges which require significant changes. One of the greatest challenges is the need to develop leaders with higher levels of global competence. Despite the abundance of research supporting the use of intercultural leadership development experiences, existing research has shown that not all leaders benefit equally from these experiences. Given that adults have differing learning style preferences, the results of this research provide useful insights into how a leaders learning style may be associated with the development of global competence. </p><p> This study examined the relationship between the levels of global competence and preferred learning styles of a group of leaders from multinational organizations. For this study, the Kolb Experiential Learning Styles instrument was used to categorize respondents into one of four learning styles, and the Global Competencies Inventory to measure 16 global competencies. Findings indicate a relationship between three of the learning styles and four of the 16 global competencies. Conclusions from this study reflect that those with an Accommodating learning style are more likely to have lower competence in Nonjudgmentalness, Self Awareness, and Stress Management, but higher competence in Interest Flexibility. Those with an Assimilating learning style demonstrate lower competence in Interest Flexibility, and those with a Converging learning style showed lower competence with Stress Management.</p>

<p> Organizational culture has been a topic of interest throughout all industries and has become a phrase studied in business and academic literature. With the Millennial generation now in the workforce, organizations employ workers of various age groups and generations. With increased scrutiny on organizational culture, the widely varying age ranges of employees, and a competitive workforce, it is not surprising that organizations are considering the role their organizational cultures play in both recruitment and retention. This case study examined the impact of organizational culture on workers&rsquo; decisions to join, stay, or leave an organization. This study included an examination of literature on gender and generational needs, differences, and similarities. Additionally, this case study examined the extent to which organizational culture plays a role in workers&rsquo; decision-making processes. The qualitative data used to support this case study was collected from interviews with a gender-balanced sample of 12 individuals (four Baby Boomers, four Generation X participants, and four Generation Y participants). Although the interview questions were consistent across participants, questions were open-ended to allow for emergent dialogue. After the interviews were completed, the data were analyzed to identify themes. This case study finished with summarizing the key themes found in the qualitative data that supported or refuted the literature review. Study limitations, conclusions, and recommendations also were identified.</p>

<p> This study describes and explicates the nuanced nature of commonly adopted buzzwords such as innovation by analyzing how innovation is defined and embedded structurally within a single organization. Working to uncover how the individual construction of a local definition of innovation within the global context of a quasi-academic organization changes as organizational priorities and practices evolve over time, I present the varied framings of innovation at the micro, meso, and macro levels, through two research phases (a) the definition phase and (b) the practice phase over the course of one year. </p><p> This thesis project is situated within a single Mid-Western quasi-academic organization specializing in informatics and health care research, and implementing targeted innovation strategies at the time of this study. Through the use of a mutli-methodological approach I layered the elements of d/D discourse inherent in interview data within the organizational context to present a glimpse into socially constructed view of commonly used buzzword innovation. By analyzing the interviews of 25 individuals at all organizational levels, with prior social network analyses and modified Delphi Method results, I found that employees shift their framing of innovation to align individual meanings with organizational perceived meaning (funded action and executive activities), individuals almost unanimously agreed that the organization by its nature of existence was innovative, but often struggled to name an innovation produced in the last year. Second, investigator-level innovation and staff-level innovation varied in its examples with investigators naming products and people. In addition, there are several possible rationales for why the definition of innovation changes over time but the reliance upon federal funding bodies may strongly shape perceptions at all levels. This study contributes to understanding how the changing nature of individual, organizational, and societal language and institutional structures affect and, in turn, are affected by employees&rsquo; lived experiences and organizing processes, practices, and texts. Specifically, this study provides a case study of such changes by developing understandings about how innovation is framed or defined by the individuals within the organization and how this definition changes in practice as it is applied within the organizational context. Additionally, this study contributes to the innovation discourse and materialities in addition to its pragmatic contribution to organizations that seek to engage in the innovation market to obtain competitive advantage. </p>