University Presidents' Utilization of Leadership Frames: A Qualitative Study Comparing Self-Perceptions of University Presidents to Perceptions of Faculty and Staff

摘要

With the realistic notion of universities struggling to survive, the leadership position of a university president provides critical influence for institutional survival. A university president is presented many opportunities to make decisions or address critical situations which ultimately influence the campus culture. In this study, the researcher compared university presidents' self-perceptions of their leadership to the perceptions of their faculty and staff specific to the utilization of Bolman and Deal's (1991) leadership frames. The researcher's effort to better understand the leadership perceptions of the university presidents and their faculty and staff members resulted in conducting qualitative studies at three private, faith-based universities in Texas.;At each private university, the researcher conducted semi-structured interviews with the university president, electronic questionnaires with purposefully selected faculty and staff, and conversation analysis at a leadership meeting under the direction of the president. Data analysis of each contributing individual's perceptions as it relates to Bolman and Deal's (1991) leadership frames provided the theoretical framework for this phenomenological study. The researcher found alignment of leadership perceptions between university presidents and faculty and staff members, which further signified the importance for university presidents to seamlessly utilize Bolman and Deal's (1991) leadership frames to lead their campus community.