Globally there seems to be an increase in psychosocial problems in school communities. This tendency can largely be contributed to the increasing complexity of modern society. Research studies indicate that for an organisation like a school to survive and improve the wellbeing of its members, it should become more flexible and adjustable to all sociological changes. In this study, it is reasoned that the complexity of human behaviour as well as the complex nature of a school community are not always fully realised. Leadership is thus not always able to make adjustments to enable the school to adjust to an ever-changing complex modern society. Internationally, most governments address this problem by the implementation of programmes and policies that acknowledge the necessity to view a school community as being part of broader eco-systems. The introduction of whole-school approaches in schools addresses this interaction and the dependency between systems. The reasoning is that change is more likely to occur when the whole community shares a collective vision about their plans, aspirations, and goals. Despite policies that support multi-dimensional interactive approaches, it is unfortunately plagued by systemic problems due to a lack to fully accommodate an understanding of complexity of human behaviour and systems. Although the holistic and collective principles are implicated in policies, the importance of the dynamic nature of relationships does not always receive the necessary attention. This purpose of this study is to focus on the potential of dynamic relationships in order to create a more humanised school community by utilizing dynamic interactive relational processes in the promotion of relational wellbeing. The emphasis is therefore on the role that school leaders can play to promote relational wellbeing by utilising this dynamic nature of relationships as a means to influence and change rigid authoritative leadership control by adopting a more transformative leadership style. Unless school leaders of the future become more sophisticated in their understanding of the complexity and the dynamic relational processes of human behaviour, it is unlikely that relational wellbeing in schools will be promoted. The researcher found it necessary to focus primarily on the current perceptions of leaders at all levels in a secondary school community. The challenge was an attempt to gain a better understanding of their experiences and thoughts about the restraining factors that affected the promotion of relational wellbeing can be addressed and challenged. Accordingly, a single qualitative research case study, consisting of an appreciative inquiry (AI), which was followed-up by a working session, was conducted at this school. In view of the findings of study, several recommendations were made for practice and policy development. / MA (Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Globally there seems to be an increase in psychosocial problems in school communities. This tendency can largely be contributed to the increasing complexity of modern society. Research studies indicate that for an organisation like a school to survive and improve the wellbeing of its members, it should become more flexible and adjustable to all sociological changes. In this study, it is reasoned that the complexity of human behaviour as well as the complex nature of a school community are not always fully realised. Leadership is thus not always able to make adjustments to enable the school to adjust to an ever-changing complex modern society. Internationally, most governments address this problem by the implementation of programmes and policies that acknowledge the necessity to view a school community as being part of broader eco-systems. The introduction of whole-school approaches in schools addresses this interaction and the dependency between systems. The reasoning is that change is more likely to occur when the whole community shares a collective vision about their plans, aspirations, and goals. Despite policies that support multi-dimensional interactive approaches, it is unfortunately plagued by systemic problems due to a lack to fully accommodate an understanding of complexity of human behaviour and systems. Although the holistic and collective principles are implicated in policies, the importance of the dynamic nature of relationships does not always receive the necessary attention. This purpose of this study is to focus on the potential of dynamic relationships in order to create a more humanised school community by utilizing dynamic interactive relational processes in the promotion of relational wellbeing. The emphasis is therefore on the role that school leaders can play to promote relational wellbeing by utilising this dynamic nature of relationships as a means to influence and change rigid authoritative leadership control by adopting a more transformative leadership style. Unless school leaders of the future become more sophisticated in their understanding of the complexity and the dynamic relational processes of human behaviour, it is unlikely that relational wellbeing in schools will be promoted. The researcher found it necessary to focus primarily on the current perceptions of leaders at all levels in a secondary school community. The challenge was an attempt to gain a better understanding of their experiences and thoughts about the restraining factors that affected the promotion of relational wellbeing can be addressed and challenged. Accordingly, a single qualitative research case study, consisting of an appreciative inquiry (AI), which was followed-up by a working session, was conducted at this school. In view of the findings of study, several recommendations were made for practice and policy development. / MA (Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Importance of leadership in fostering cohesion within organizations has received increased scholarly attention. Researchers have shown that leadership can lose its legitimacy by pursuing unpopular policies or negating the common interest of the group. However, researchers have not yet been able to establish the leadership issues that shaped the 2016 Republican primaries as President Trump's victory (despite not having the support of any living past United States president both Republican and Democrat), was indicative of masses' frustration with the political establishment, and desire for change. Using complex leadership theory as a focal lens, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the experiences of members of the Republican Party pertaining to the leadership issues that shaped the outcome of the 2016 Republican primaries. Data were collected through semistructured interviews with 12 registered members of the Dallas Texas Republican Party who supported President Trump during the 2016 Republican primaries. Data emanated from the central research question of what leadership issues shaped the outcome of the 2016 Republican primaries, and were transcribed verbatim, inductively coded, and thematically analyzed. Key findings suggest that disconnect between the leadership and membership of the Republican Party, ineffective leadership, and lack of effective communication strategies, were some of the leadership issues that shaped the outcome of the 2016 Republican primaries. The implication for social change for this study is that the Republican Party may benefit from the results of this study by highlighting the importance of effective, responsive, and inclusive leadership in navigating the dynamic challenges faced by the party.

I organisationers begynnelse fanns en annan typ av verklighet mot den vi idag kan se. Dagens organisationssamhälle är starkt förändrat med en större globalisering och ett fragmenterat samhällsliv. Tillsammans med organisationers jakt på effektivisering och vinstmaximering skapas nya strukturer och former av organisering. Med dessa förändringar i organiseringen och organisationssamhället skapas även en ny verklighet för individer i VD-roller att verka i. Mer aktuellt än någonsin verkar också de många avhoppen och avskedanden av individer i denna roll vara. I min studie undersökte jag därför huruvida ansvar och krav på en VD är anpassade till dagens organisationssamhälle för att möjliggöra uppfyllandet av rollen. Denna frågeställning besvarar jag genom att studera vilka krav som ställs av omgivningen på individen i en VD-roll, hur individen i VD-rollen ser på sin roll och vad VD-rollen innebär i praktiken. Vad jag såg var att man i dagens organisering kan se en anpassning till den komplexitet som dagens organisationssamhälle innebär. Den ökade kunskaps-nivån i samhället och organisationerna som man kan se idag skapar en möjlighet till en ökad decentralisering som också medger en anpassning av ledarrollen. Jag såg dock en diskrepans i de krav som ställs av företagsstyrelsen på individerna i rollen mot hur de själva upplever innehållet i sin roll och där-igenom även sin person eftersom deras självidentitet påverkas till stor del av deras egenupplevelse av sin ledarroll. En diskrepans såg jag även mellan rollens praktik relaterat till både hur individen ser på sin roll samt hur omgivningen ställer krav på individen. Dessa delar anser jag bör ligga på företagsstyrelserna att arbeta med för att utforma sina krav anpassat till rollens praktik och individens egenupplevelse av rollen. Detta skulle kunna underlätta individernas möjlighet att uppfylla kraven på VD-rollen och lyckas i sitt arbete eftersom de idag har en mycket krävande arbetssituation med långa arbetsdagar och stora ansvar. / In the beginning of organisations there was a different kind of reality to what we see today. Today´s organisational society is profoundly altered with a greater globalisation and a more fragmented society. Together with the strive for increased efficiency and profit maximisation by the organisations, this leads to new structures and organisational models. These changes in the organising and organisational society also create a new reality for the individuals in a CEO´s role to operate in.  More topical than ever seem also the many defections and dismissals of individuals in this role to be. In my research I therefore studied whether responsibilities and requirements for a CEO are adapted to today´s organizational society to enable the fulfilment of the role. I reach the conclusion for this question by studying the requirements for the CEO role, the individual’s self-experience of the role and the practice of the CEO role. What I found was that an adaption to the complexity of today´s organizational society can be seen in today´s organisational models. The increased level of knowledge in society and organisations create an opportunity for greater decentralisation which also allows for an adjustment of the leadership role. I did, however, find a discrepancy in the demands made by the board of directors for the individuals in the role relative to their own self-experience of the role, and thereby also their persona as their self-identity is largely influenced by their self-experience of their leadership role. I also found a discrepancy between the practice of the role and the individuals self-experience of the role as well as the requirements made on the individual in the role. I consider these discrepancies to be the responsibility of the board of directors to ensure they are taken into account for when the requirements for the individuals in the role are defined. This could facilitate better possibilities for the individuals in the role to succeed as today´s reality includes a demanding working environment with long hours and great responsibility.

This research into Baptist leadership examines the processes of Christian leadership in terms of human relationships in churches under the microscope of a leadership theory known as leader member exchange theory (LMX), and discovers the correlation between a high level of LMX in a local church and the positive outcomes of leader legitimation in a society where pastoral tenure and pastoral termination project disheartening statistics. LMX theory is particularly suited for the study of the Baptist congregational leadership paradigm with emphasis on heightened follower participation in dyadic relationships between the pastor and church members. In the light of current convoluted leadership praxis, provides an appropriate theoretical tool for relational analysis. The background to this thesis is the perceived growing inclination among Baptist pastors to adopt a leadership paradigm, which exalts the person and role of the pastor to the exclusion of the church members. This “great man theory” is being modeled from sources that focus on church growth rather than church health, and represents a departure from servant leadership, which has long been the model for Baptists in general. This “new” trend of charismatic leadership may be one of the reasons for the inclination toward shorter tenures and pastoral termination, among Baptists, particularly in the USA. Understanding the peculiarities of congregational government is of particular importance to the research, with emphasis on the perceptions and expectations of church members regarding current leadership in their local church, and how the perception of personal value correlation translates into member satisfaction. The Literature on leadership offers a multiplicity of innovative ideas, mostly focused on the leader, and after literature research into the subjects of transactional transformational, complexity theory, and servant leadership no single theory of leadership offers completeness, hence the term quantum or complexity will assist in moving Baptist pastors from average leadership. <p.Critical elements of LMX were identified in the literature and processed into the questionnaire, which was distributed to among Baptist churches in South Africa and the United States. The results of the research are then analysed in the light of LMX theory, and the conclusion that in the congregational structure of Baptists, LMX theory offers valuable insights into member satisfaction. The characteristic of practical theology is the critical correlation of theological insight and empirical observation that will result in a new theory of praxis, and the final purpose is to focus attention on the positive outcome of healthy leader member exchange in local churches and the extended zone of influence through enhanced legitimation of pastoral leadership. / Thesis (PhD (Practical Theology))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Practical Theology / PhD / unrestricted