The position of the president of a conference in the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists (a senior leadership role) has currently no policy stipulating leadership training prerequisites. Leaders transitioning into the president’s position typically are selected from a pool of successful pastors, departmental directors, and executive secretaries by a constituency meeting of delegates from local churches and conference institutions.
This qualitative study probed the transition of 12 first-time local conference presidents. The information was gathered by recording in-depth interviews. Eight themes surfaced from the exploration. Leaders experienced the transition as overwhelming, challenging their spirituality, involving new constellations of relationships, and a shifting of identity. They also noted its impact on their family. Other themes dealt with the leaders’ prior job experience, intentional leadership preparation, and mentors.
The findings suggest the need for more intentional leadership and managerial training, including knowledge of basic business principles and financial management. There is also a need for gender diversity training and for support in the form of mentors, assessments, and cohort groupings.
","abstract_html":"<p>The position of the president of a conference in the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists (a senior leadership role) has currently no policy stipulating leadership training prerequisites. Leaders transitioning into the president’s position typically are selected from a pool of successful pastors, departmental directors, and executive secretaries by a constituency meeting of delegates from local churches and conference institutions.</p> <p>This qualitative study probed the transition of 12 first-time local conference presidents. The information was gathered by recording in-depth interviews. Eight themes surfaced from the exploration. Leaders experienced the transition as overwhelming, challenging their spirituality, involving new constellations of relationships, and a shifting of identity. They also noted its impact on their family. Other themes dealt with the leaders’ prior job experience, intentional leadership preparation, and mentors.</p> <p>The findings suggest the need for more intentional leadership and managerial training, including knowledge of basic business principles and financial management. There is also a need for gender diversity training and for support in the form of mentors, assessments, and cohort groupings.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Weigley, David E"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Leadership PhD","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Erich Baumgartner","Shirley Freed","Stan Patterson"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2016-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T00:53:14Z","subjects":["Leadership","Conference Presidents","Transition Experience","Leadership Studies","Religion"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations/1596","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Erich Baumgartner","Shirley Freed","Stan Patterson"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Weigley, David E"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2016-07-25T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Leadership PhD"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Leadership","Conference Presidents","Transition Experience","Leadership Studies","Religion"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations/1596"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The position of the president of a conference in the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists (a senior leadership role) has currently no policy stipulating leadership training prerequisites. Leaders transitioning into the president’s position typically are selected from a pool of successful pastors, departmental directors, and executive secretaries by a constituency meeting of delegates from local churches and conference institutions.
This qualitative study probed the transition of 12 first-time local conference presidents. The information was gathered by recording in-depth interviews. Eight themes surfaced from the exploration. Leaders experienced the transition as overwhelming, challenging their spirituality, involving new constellations of relationships, and a shifting of identity. They also noted its impact on their family. Other themes dealt with the leaders’ prior job experience, intentional leadership preparation, and mentors.
The findings suggest the need for more intentional leadership and managerial training, including knowledge of basic business principles and financial management. There is also a need for gender diversity training and for support in the form of mentors, assessments, and cohort groupings.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Exploring the Transition Experience for the First Time Local Conference Presidents in the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists: Narratives from Conference Presidents' Career Transitions"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Erich Baumgartner","Shirley Freed","Stan Patterson"],"dc:creator":["Weigley, David E"],"dc:date.available":["2016-07-25T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The position of the president of a conference in the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists (a senior leadership role) has currently no policy stipulating leadership training prerequisites. Leaders transitioning into the president’s position typically are selected from a pool of successful pastors, departmental directors, and executive secretaries by a constituency meeting of delegates from local churches and conference institutions.
This qualitative study probed the transition of 12 first-time local conference presidents. The information was gathered by recording in-depth interviews. Eight themes surfaced from the exploration. Leaders experienced the transition as overwhelming, challenging their spirituality, involving new constellations of relationships, and a shifting of identity. They also noted its impact on their family. Other themes dealt with the leaders’ prior job experience, intentional leadership preparation, and mentors.
The findings suggest the need for more intentional leadership and managerial training, including knowledge of basic business principles and financial management. There is also a need for gender diversity training and for support in the form of mentors, assessments, and cohort groupings.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations/1596"],"dc:subject":["Leadership","Conference Presidents","Transition Experience","Leadership Studies","Religion"],"dc:title":["Exploring the Transition Experience for the First Time Local Conference Presidents in the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists: Narratives from Conference Presidents' Career Transitions"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Leadership PhD"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T00:53:14Z"}