<p> Servant leadership as envisioned by Robert Greenleaf (1970) is a philosophy whereby leaders put the interests and growth of the follower ahead of themselves. Though the concept has been around since antiquity, scholars and practitioners in organizations began to embrace and expand the idea since the early 1990s. There are currently 20 models of servant leadership with 16 associated survey instruments. Colleges and universities may want to instill servant leadership in their students. This study used Wong and Page&rsquo;s (2003) model and their Revised Servant Leadership Profile instrument along with interviews to conduct a mixed-method, concurrent triangulation phenomenology consisting of both qualitative and quantitative analysis. It proposed eight research questions to see if there are any relationships between eight independent variables and the seven dimensions of servant leadership in Wong and Page&rsquo;s model: (a) developing and empowering others; (b) vulnerability and humility; (c) authentic leadership; (d) open, participatory leadership; (e) inspiring leadership; (f) visionary leadership; and (g) courageous leadership. Specifically, the study examined whether exposure to servant leadership concepts at Southeastern University (SEU) make a difference in students&rsquo; self-perception of servant leadership. The eight independent variables are (a) gender, (b) ethnicity and nationality, (c) age, (d) academic college, (e) leadership-related courses taken at SEU, (f) SEU Leadership Forum attendance, (g) leadership positions held at SEU, and (h) number of years at SEU. The findings showed that gender, ethnicity, attending the SEU Leadership Forum, and taking leadership-related courses at SEU were not statistically significantly related to any of the seven servant leadership dimensions. A student&rsquo;s college was related to vulnerability and humility. Years at SEU was related to developing and empowering others. Age was related to developing and empowering others, inspiring leadership, visionary leadership, and courageous leadership. Holding a student leadership position at SEU was related to developing and empowering others, inspiring leadership, and visionary leadership. The study concluded with the implication of the findings, areas for future research, and advice on encouraging servant leadership development.</p>

<p> This study examined the experiences of Pentagon employees who survived the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on their workplace. Six participants provided individual stories of their human experiences. One-on-one interviews were used to gather data, which was analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings indicated that survivors who did not sustain physical injuries also had not received psychological evaluation or care. Social trauma of that magnitude required my awareness of the impact on participants to revisit elements associated with the experience. Unexpected traumatic experience through survivors' stories added to literature descriptions and meanings of individual employees in the United States. Trauma experience stories by people of various cultural development uncovered their support systems, coping techniques, and delved into stories which surfaced questions about the psychological and sociological impact of unexpected trauma on human life beyond this study. Patriotism, employee group cohesiveness, family support, and grief, duty, and dedication to the employees who died and were physically injured were responsible for Pentagon employee survivors' resilience to immediately pick up the pieces after the attack and beyond to continue to carry out the mission of the United States government. </p>

<p> The role of fathers in the workplace and in the home has changed dramatically over the past 30 years. The typical American family has two full-time working parents in a household, rather than one full-time worker and one full-time stay-at-home parent. Additionally, the ways in which fathers are expected to contribute to a child's caretaking and development has changed dramatically during this timeframe. The benefits in the workplace for fathers in the United States have not changed to reflect these dynamics however. While equal pay, time off work and other benefits have been increasing for mothers in the workplace, there is a noticeable absence of paternity leave available for fathers in the United States. Moreover, fathers in the United States typically take less time off following the birth of their first-child than fathers in other countries, reducing the amount of bonding time available with their newborn child. Understanding how these experiences impact first-time fathers in the United States who were forced to take unpaid time off to bond with their child formed the research question and focus of this qualitative study: What is the lived experience of first-time fathers in the United States as they attempt to manage the work-life balance without government mandated paid paternal leave? Heuristic research methodology was utilized to discover the meaning and essence of the experiences of becoming a first-time father while managing their work and home life responsibilities while taking unpaid time off work. Eight first-time fathers who were forced to take this unpaid leave during the past five years were interviewed, gathering their experiences on managing their dual roles, finances and the transition to becoming a parent. The personal experience of the researcher is also included in this process. The aim of this qualitative study is to provide additional insight into the current body of knowledge and add to the experiences of becoming a first-time father for working fathers in the United States, where paid paternal leave is not a government sponsored benefit.</p>

<p> The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how business management associate degree students attending a university in Independence, Ohio, valued and applied interpersonal skills in work and classroom settings. The central research issue addressed in this case study was to explore and describe the personal views, instances, and perspectives from respondents on the effects of interpersonal skills in employee relationships, manager relationships, organizational performance, and effective leadership. The research questions that produced an in-depth examination of the central research issue included: 1) What ways have students applied interpersonal skills in employee relationships? 2) What manner have students applied interpersonal skills in manager relationships? 3) What ways have interpersonal skills influenced the student organization&rsquo;s performance? 4) What are the student&rsquo;s perceptions of interpersonal skills to become an effective leader? Using NVivo 9, the data analysis aided in identifying common themes. The findings from the case study build on existing research involving the influence interpersonal skills have on the central research issue.</p><p> Recommendations from the case study highlighted a constant need to instruct interpersonal skills in universities and to review current curriculum and course materials to improve instruction. Universities with new faculty orientations, faculty development workshops, new student orientations, for-profit, and nonprofit institutions can benefit from implementing interpersonal skills training. This case study builds on the body of knowledge on interpersonal skills and its influence on productivity and leadership in the workplace.</p>

<p> This study investigated the relationship among organizational leadership styles (criterion variables), organizational culture, and employee job satisfaction, and organizational performance (predictor variables). The study research method was the quantitative method using a correlational research design that investigated the relationship among the variables. The data indicated relationships existed among the criterion variable, transformational leadership and the predictor variables, culture and employee job satisfaction. Correlation tests and regression analysis reflected the existence of significant relationships. The MLQ survey instrument facilitated data collection on leadership styles and on employee job satisfaction. In addition, the MLQ survey facilitated the collection of data concerning outcomes or behaviors of the leadership styles. Outcomes included cultural artifacts, extra effort from employees, and employee job satisfaction. In addition, the amended survey included supplementary demographic questions. Transformational and transactional leadership positively correlated with increased employee job satisfaction correlated with organizational performance. The findings of this study supported the literature review findings. The results may illuminate the relationship among organizational leadership styles and organizational culture and organizational job satisfaction and performance thereby facilitating organizational success.</p>

<p> Middle managers in the 21st century are asked to adopt a new paradigm aimed at leveraging interpersonal relationships. These skills, generally labeled <i> soft skills,</i> include intrapersonal and interpersonal abilities. Most senior leaders recognize the need for soft skills but many continue to devalue them. Women often are perceived as having stronger soft skills than men, and may be penalized because of that perception. Transformational leadership provides the theoretical foundation for the study. The construct of emotional intelligence (EI) encompasses soft skills. There are disagreements about EI as a separate construct and if EI measures leadership. The purpose of the quantitative, correlational study was to examine the relationship between EI and leadership among black and white female middle managers. Seventy black women and 68 white women completed a 14-question demographic survey and the EQ-i and LPI assessments. The study data indicated statistically significant results that EI relates to and predicts leadership. The research also found that black and white women had average EI scores. Black women in the sample were younger and had comparable EI to the white women in the sample. Results suggest that EI training can enhance the soft leadership skills needed by black and with female middle managers in organizations today.</p>

<p> Human service workers have a history of working with our neediest populations, and their work often entails long hours, challenging situations, and limited resources. When the focus of the work is on human strengths and positive approaches, more positive results emerge. In order to determine the process of how human services workers maintain a positive perspective in their work, 15 human service workers from a diverse spectrum were interviewed. A narrative analysis was applied to elicit the participants' insights, revealing common themes and strategies. The findings indicated that having a fundamental belief in human potential, seeing the client's positive attributes, and having inherent capacities of caring were fundamental. Participants believed their work was meaningful and made a difference, and that they were a part of something bigger. They felt empathy and compassion toward clients, and generally believed that their temperament and upbringing also influenced their capacity to maintain a positive perspective. Aside from their beliefs, workers depended on receiving support from like-minded people, colleagues, and others in their environment. They utilized self-care, self-monitoring techniques, and demonstrated self-awareness and a mature capacity to adapt to the unexpected. They were able to apply their learning from past experiences in support of the services they offer to others.</p>

<p> Research on subordinate-supervisor communication has revealed that employees in civilian organizations often stay silent about workplace problems. Comfort levels between subordinates and supervisors, was a major factor to this silence. Currently, there exists very little literature on upward communication from subordinate to supervisor amongst U.S. Naval Officers. The purpose of this thesis was to explore Junior Officer (JO) feelings and perceived obstacles about communicating up the chain of command with senior officers. Interview questions from a previous study (Milliken, Morrison, &amp; Hewlin, 2003) on subordinate-supervisor communication were adapted for an electronic survey and used to explore JO feelings and perceived obstacles when communicating workplace problems with senior officers. Results answered the research question, revealing that while JOs are generally comfortable when communicating with their senior officers, the hierarchy does negatively affect their communication upward. Other major reasons to remain silent were attributed to feelings of futility and fear of being perceived negatively by others.</p><p> <i>Keywords:</i> communicative action, deck-plate leadership, effectiveness, interagency, junior officer, participation, subordinate-supervisor communication</p>

<p> The present research study examined the strength and direction of the correlations between three leadership styles (transformational, transactional, &amp; servant) and satisfaction with leadership and motivation as outcomes of leadership style. A web-based survey was used to collect data from 181 professional Latino employees in the U.S. <i>The Leadership Style Survey </i> was combined from the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) and the Servant Leadership Questionnaire (SLQ), which measured transformational, transactional, and servant leadership styles, as well as satisfaction with leadership and motivation. Data was collected about Latino employees' perceptions of their supervisors' leadership styles, and satisfaction with leadership and motivation. Results from one-sample t-tests indicated Latino employees' responses to the leadership, satisfaction, and motivation scales were significantly lower than the norm. All Pearson correlations indicated there were strong positive relationships between each of the leadership styles and satisfaction with leadership and motivation. More importantly, Fisher <i>r</i>-to-<i> Z</i> transformations demonstrated that correlations found on the Latino sample were significantly higher than the correlational norms. The findings suggest Latinos are less motivated and less satisfied with their current leaders, however characteristics of transformational, transactional, and servant leadership are highly important to Latino employees and are highly correlated to their motivation and satisfaction with leadership. Cultural values may have a strong impact on Latino professional employees' evaluation of their supervisors. The results also highlight that the responses from the Latino sample are significantly higher in terms of the relationship between servant, transformational, and transactional leadership and satisfaction with leadership and motivation. </p>

<p> Paralinguistic cues are powerful non-verbal communication elements that have the ability to make even good news sound horrible or bad news more palatable. Drawing upon the hermeneutical phenomenology communication theory of Dilthey (1961) and Shannon's (1949) communication channel model, this thesis targeted the six primary paralinguistic cues of <i>fluidity, articulation, sonority, tempo, emotion, and dynamic intensity</i> to discover how these cues interact and affect the credibility and palatability of a leader's message. To facilitate remembrance of these cues, the acronym F.A.S.T.E.D. was coined and used. Three different groups consisting of managers, non-managers, and media and public relations professionals were surveyed to provide a triangulation of the data that helped identify these relationships. Research showed that these vocal cues were every bit as essential to an accurate understanding of the message as the actual words the leader employed to explain and compel both internal and external stakeholders. Further, the study indicates the importance of learning and applying these skills as well as a universality of their existence that transcends language barriers and cultural differences. </p>