Traits and behaviors of college/university presidents
An assignment submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
By
Michelle Renee Ashley-Thomas, B.S., M.S., Ed.S.
October 2014
University of the Cumberlands
Executive Summary
“The approach to the study of leadership usually has been and perhaps always must be through the study of traits. Leadership obviously is not a simple trait but rather a complex of many traits fashioned together as a unity (Cowley, 1928, p. 144).” Leadership can be defined as the position or function of a leader, a person who guides or directs a group. Leadership is a process that occurs in a group setting. Leadership involves influence and goal attainment. Leadership styles and theories are vast in number and detail. This paper will examine leadership from the perspective of college and university presidents. Presidents of institutions of higher education are considered leaders. Each institution is different meaning that presidents have to be diverse in their leadership knowledge and style in order to effectively lead the institution. It is necessary to have a general knowledge of leadership theories and styles in order to properly examine the traits and behaviors of college and university presidents.
Literature Review
There are numerous theories about leadership. Some of the theories suggest that leaders are born while others suggest that leaders are made through training.
Leaders must be competent in their abilities to train others. Keep in mind, the ability to train someone does not require an individual to be in a leadership position. For example, a junior enlisted Soldier who is a Combat Medic may be able to train a junior NCO on Combat Lifesaver tasks because they are competent in that aspect. This is also one example of leadership being demonstrated on another spectrum thus, proving that everyone has leadership traits in them.
There are a variety of ways to define both leader and leadership. There is not, however, a clear definition of how to become one. There is no set list of mandatory traits, either innate or learned, that a person must embody to be considered successful or proved a failure. What I feel it takes is the right mix of strengths and weaknesses in a given situation to demonstrate effectiveness. No one person has abilities without accompanying deficiencies. It’s all in the way they are balanced. The balance in the way one uses his or hers’ abilities will ultimately determine the type of leadership one has throughout time. To support these claims I will examine a well-known leader throughout the military, General James “Mad Dog” Mattis. This essay
In the article titled, "The Common Language of Leadership," by Corey Seelmiller and Thomas Murray, which can be found in the November 2013 edition of the Journal of Leadership Studies, the authors conducted qualitative research in an attempt to (a) define and understand the competencies needed by college students to engage in leadership in their respective career fields and (b) to use the research findings on leadership competencies in order to develop a program that will encompass all fields of academic disciplines. The authors of this article studied the comprehensive of learning outcomes of 475 academic programs within 72 academic accrediting organizations in regard to student leadership development. The assertions by Corey
Have you ever been in a situation where you had to take charge, and take on leadership roles in a short period of time ? Some people may say that not everyone can be a leader. Some also believe that leaders are born with the necessary qualities, which make them successful as a leader. Others believe that leadership, like many other character traits, can be learned and developed through life. The debate depends on how you define leadership. A leader can be made in certain situations of survival. It can range from promoting what is right to perform social changes, or just to execute their own ideas. When you are a leader you gain a certain sense of independence, and pride that you started something. Therefore, when it’s finished you get to show people that you were able to accomplish all of this.
Leadership is a personal skill that has to be developed and improved upon daily, just like an athlete works on his craft. We all come from different walks of life and that is often a factor in the way our leadership styles are shaped. Our differences of race, gender, religion, home environment, and lifestyle all have an effect on the way we are led growing up. It is a skill that is mastered over time, while never being perfected. Like anything else in life, leadership skills are often developed from who we are, where we come from and the people in our life who have taught us their knowledge.
Masters of Arts in educational leadership is a study field that interested me deciding on the master program to pursue (Green, 2010). The program is essential in academic institutions since it views leadership as a relational process. In other words, it has an all-inclusive attitude towards people and their diverse points of views sharing a common goal and vision among individuals in the institution. The strong interest and desire of pursuing the art program resulted from the interest of understanding the cultural aspects of people that leads to their diversified points of view. Additional interests in educational leadership arose from the increased urge of expounding knowledge on leadership. Furthermore, based on the dynamic nature of the modern society, pursuing the master program aimed at understanding different management styles and required skills for these styles (Green, 2010). The discussion paper has the objective of expounding and reflecting on the different aspects of educational leadership learnt in the MA in educational leadership program.
To be a leader in today’s society, in my opinion, one must possess genuine abilities that empower and strengthen those they wish to lead or mentor. The idea that an individual is born with the skill set and talents of someone that has spent the majority of their life “evolving” through priceless experience is both extremely farfetched and a bit unbelievable. However, throughout my own experiences, I have seen others achieve leadership positions through training and or personal development. Moreover, I am sure that there are some “would be leaders” that have a natural talent for leadership but I use the term “some” lightly. Research has shown that the qualities of a leader are not necessarily tied to one or the other but leaders have shown
In modern day business, leadership has become an issue that is given far more attention and investment than ever before. Leadership involves establishing a clear vision, sharing that vision with others so that they will follow willingly, providing the information, knowledge and methods to realise that vision, and coordinating and balancing the conflicting interests of all members and stakeholder. This essay will discuss whether leaders are born not made, with varies of theories being compared and contrasted and the strengths and limitations of leaders itself. Further this essay will analyse the future aspects of theories which would establish whether a leader was born with leadership qualities or made into a successful leader.
Within the collegiate setting there are a variety of interactions among professionals and students. These professionals are often in leadership positions within higher education. Posner (2004) explains, “Leadership development is now an integral part of the education program of college students, with courses and activities scattered throughout the co-curricular experience” (p. 443). Effective leadership at the university level is imperative to higher education with its recent characterization of being “amidst an identity crisis” (Smith and Hughey, p. 161). In the following sections I will outline the five fundamental leadership
Leaders aren 't born; their made. The process of leadership is long, complicated and has made elements. Respect, dignity, discipline, people skills, vision, emotional strength, opportunity, preparedness and experience are just some of the intangible elements which come into play when talking leadership.
leader is, if there is some type of genetic makeup to leaders, or whether skills can be learned,
There are many kinds of leaders; some lead through position and authority, while others lead through inspiration and vision. Some people are simply natural born leaders. However, whether one was born a leader or has to become a leader, all great leaders spend time developing their traits. Similarly, when you train for a sport, you first learn to develop the fundamentals, and then you work to master and apply them. I’ve been told I am a born leader, but have always sought to improve my leadership abilities through experience. Maxwell states, “The learned leader; has seen leadership modeled most of life, has learned leadership through training, and has self-discipline to become a great leader” (Maxwell, 93). This statement is reflective of my experience during my military tenure, and what it means to me is; leadership must be developed in practice, as well as in theory.
LEADERS ARE BORN NOT MADE There have been an age long debate, and humans since beginning of time, have tried to come up with an answer to this question – Are Leaders born or are they made?. This question has generated an age long debate, which in turn has resulted in various school of thoughts, some believe that leaders are born, while others think otherwise. My contribution to this lifelong debate will serve as a pointer to my position on this issue. I strongly believe that leaders are born and not made. Who is a Leader? - “A leader is a person who guides others toward a common goal, showing the way by example, and creating an environment in which other team members feel actively involved in the entire process. A leader is not the boss of
Leadership comes from various aspects of resources. Some of these resources are based on scholarly articles. Each individual that is interested in becoming a leader should be able to pick up on various traits and characteristics so they can develop into strong
So if a leader needs a combination of characteristics that makes them successful is a leader born or made? The answer is both. Some people already possess the traits that they need to be leaders and are often leaders from an early age. Some people observe and eventually become leaders. Leadership can be taught. Over the years many theories about leadership have been developed. These theories include but are not limited to trait theories, behavioral theories, contingency theories, and functional theories.