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The vast quantity of leadership literature discusses factors that may contribute to leader development. However, strategic leaders—defined as those individuals in key positions at the organizational apex—are a subsection of the research that deserves more attention. In particular, what sets these leaders apart or enables them to excel is an area of particular interest and is explored in this dissertation. The purpose of this study was to understand the process of leadership development, specifically through the experience and beliefs of successful senior leaders. The study addressed the following questions: 1. How do strategic leaders for the federal government describe effective leadership? 2. How do they explain the development of effective strategic leadership? 3. How do the described behaviors of strategic leadership compare to the Executive Core Qualifications established for civilian federal government leaders by the Office of Personnel Management? To answer the research questions, the study employed grounded theory as the primary analytic procedure. The subjects interviewed were from areas of the federal government dealing with national security, predominantly Department of Defense. Both military and civilians subjects participated. Data were analyzed qualitatively and a conceptual model of strategic leadership behavior was developed. Finally, implications and suggestions as to how to foster the development of such capacities are offered. The findings show, as did earlier behavioral research, that the two aspects of task and relationship are important to successful leaders. In this case, both functioned predominantly in the leaders' behavior, but under the fabric of their contextual experience built on their own self-efficacy and relations with others. It follows that more attention paid to developing self-mastery and strong relationship skills are in order. Since studies on military leadership vice civilian federal service are more likely, the findings were examined in relation to the established qualifications for senior civilian leaders, revealing a gap. While the qualifications for senior executives are behavior oriented, the research indicates a need for stronger focus on personal development, growth as an individual, and contributions made to the development of others. The relationship aspect of leadership does not receive the proper emphasis. / Ph. D.

Private and public sector organizations have become increasingly interested in promoting diversity. Due to barriers attributed to race and gender, women and minorities often find it hard to break through the glass ceiling. Mentoring is a tool to assist with breaking through the glass ceiling. This interest has led to extensive growth in mentoring research and the design of a more expanded concept, developmental networks. Little empirical research informs our understanding of Black women in developmental networks and their political identities within those networks. This qualitative study, within the framework of grounded theory method and of case study research, examines two research questions: (1) What do Black women federal senior executives value within their developmental networks? (2) How do Black women federal senior executives construct political identity within their developmental networks? Applying the conceptual framework of Black feminist thought and developmental network support theories the study examined the developmental relationships of three Black women senior executives. This research highlights the development of a group of high achievers and the contributions of their self-identified support systems. Data analysis from unstructured person-to-person interviews, a questionnaire, and researcher theoretical memos identified the themes support network, self-definition and self-determination, and ecology of life. The most visible codes were significant friendship, workplace behavior, social network composition, and Black woman. In conclusion, the women valued relationships that produced psychosocial outcomes such as friendship, trust, honesty, direct feedback, and reciprocity. They also valued relationships where they received workplace guidance and career exposure from mentor, friend, sponsor, and ally developers within or outside of the workplace. The women developed networks that provided closeness and consisted of developers from different social arenas. They defined their political identities, roles, coping strategies for life challenges and fostered relationships that recognized the importance of ethnic/racial respect, and understanding personal strength. In addition, the women preferred informal developmental relationships with Black and male developers of different ages. Due to a small sample size, self-reported data and the application of grounded theory method, the findings of this study were interpreted with caution. Provided were recommendations for future research and practice. / Ph. D.

本論文研究美國聯邦政府於一九七八年文官改革法首次為高級行政人員專設的人事制 度－高級行政官員制度(SES) ，希望國人能藉此對該制的由來、結構、理念及運作，有一完整明晰體認，進而期望 我國未來規劃高級行政人力時，能獲得若干啟示。 本論文約十萬言，全文共分七章二十六節： 第一章 緒論：研究動機、目的，基本概念，研究方法、限制。 第二章 人力概況：人力特徵、人力模型、SES 前管理概況，結語。 第三章 建制沿革：SES 先驅，SES 創設，結語。 第四章 結構：職位，管理，誘因，結語。 第五章 執行成果，管理成果，誘因成果，結語。 第六章 檢討修正：學者評論，政府機關報告，修正，結語。 第七章 結論：指出其改革方向正確，尚待努力方向，及我國所可能獲得之啟示。

There is a lack of African American representation in the Department of Defense's (DoD's) Senior Executive Service (SES) Corps. In 2011, only 11.4% of the DoD's SES members were African American. This disparate representation is problematic because it contradicts the creation of a diverse workforce, which in turn limits opportunities for African Americans to join the elite DoD SES Corps. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the perceptions of 9 African American SES members in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Defense Agencies, and Defense Field Activities to determine factors contributing to their promotions into the SES Corps. The theoretical framework for this study included Burns and Bass conceptualization of transformational leadership, as well as the social learning theories of Bandura and Vygotsky. A snowball sampling technique was used to recruit the participants for face-to-face or telephone interviews. The interview questions focused on the attributes participants perceived as influencing their career progression into the SES. Upon transcribing interview data, an open coding process was used to categorize information collected followed by thematic analysis to facilitate further understanding. Findings indicate that professional qualities such as the ability to perform core executive functions, training, and education contributed to their SES progression. Furthermore, transformational leadership was perceived as being important in SES service. The implications for positive social change stemming from this study include direct recommendations to DoD human resource directors to capitalize on current African American leaders to serve as mentors to emerging leaders in a way that is consistent with transformational leadership.