The topic of leadership is critical today as leaders’ decision-making processes affect political, social, and economic conditions globally. Considering market fluctuations and shifts, political uncertainty, environmental threats, and global societal issues, the question of leadership is at the heart of issues faced today as leaders impact people at all levels of society. The discussion regarding leadership has centered on the need for high-level critical and creative thinkers and has shifted towards academia as a source for innovation. Educational institutions are under a high level of scrutiny and pressure to prepare graduates effectively for a volatile and unpredictable global market, yet the educational model has been slow to change and adapt to market conditions. This study identified the relationship between the institutional environment, leader’s traits, and divergent thinking to provide insight into the characteristics that drive innovation in the academic setting. The research involved a large-scale national study of college and university leaders and focused on leadership traits, divergent thinking, and innovation. Findings indicated negative relationships between the demographic attributes of gender and level of education, and innovation. Leaders with the traits of “Conscientiousness” and “Lack of Emotional Stability” negatively impacted innovation and institutional characteristics of location and type negatively affected organizational creativity. There was a significantly positive relationship between the institutional environment and three measured levels of innovation.
","abstract_html":"<p>The topic of leadership is critical today as leaders’ decision-making processes affect political, social, and economic conditions globally. Considering market fluctuations and shifts, political uncertainty, environmental threats, and global societal issues, the question of leadership is at the heart of issues faced today as leaders impact people at all levels of society. The discussion regarding leadership has centered on the need for high-level critical and creative thinkers and has shifted towards academia as a source for innovation. Educational institutions are under a high level of scrutiny and pressure to prepare graduates effectively for a volatile and unpredictable global market, yet the educational model has been slow to change and adapt to market conditions. This study identified the relationship between the institutional environment, leader’s traits, and divergent thinking to provide insight into the characteristics that drive innovation in the academic setting. The research involved a large-scale national study of college and university leaders and focused on leadership traits, divergent thinking, and innovation. Findings indicated negative relationships between the demographic attributes of gender and level of education, and innovation. Leaders with the traits of “Conscientiousness” and “Lack of Emotional Stability” negatively impacted innovation and institutional characteristics of location and type negatively affected organizational creativity. There was a significantly positive relationship between the institutional environment and three measured levels of innovation.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Marini, Barbara S"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"Open Access Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Leadership and Counseling","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["David Anderson","Elizabeth Broughton","Deborah de Laski-Smith"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2017,"date_issued":"2017-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2017-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:13Z","subjects":["creativity","divergent thinking","higher education","innovation","leadership","leadership traits","Education"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.emich.edu/theses/752","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["David Anderson","Elizabeth Broughton","Deborah de Laski-Smith"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Marini, Barbara S"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2018-02-28T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Leadership and Counseling"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["creativity","divergent thinking","higher education","innovation","leadership","leadership traits","Education"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/752"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The topic of leadership is critical today as leaders’ decision-making processes affect political, social, and economic conditions globally. Considering market fluctuations and shifts, political uncertainty, environmental threats, and global societal issues, the question of leadership is at the heart of issues faced today as leaders impact people at all levels of society. The discussion regarding leadership has centered on the need for high-level critical and creative thinkers and has shifted towards academia as a source for innovation. Educational institutions are under a high level of scrutiny and pressure to prepare graduates effectively for a volatile and unpredictable global market, yet the educational model has been slow to change and adapt to market conditions. This study identified the relationship between the institutional environment, leader’s traits, and divergent thinking to provide insight into the characteristics that drive innovation in the academic setting. The research involved a large-scale national study of college and university leaders and focused on leadership traits, divergent thinking, and innovation. Findings indicated negative relationships between the demographic attributes of gender and level of education, and innovation. Leaders with the traits of “Conscientiousness” and “Lack of Emotional Stability” negatively impacted innovation and institutional characteristics of location and type negatively affected organizational creativity. There was a significantly positive relationship between the institutional environment and three measured levels of innovation.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Leadership traits, divergent thinking, and innovation in higher education"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["David Anderson","Elizabeth Broughton","Deborah de Laski-Smith"],"dc:creator":["Marini, Barbara S"],"dc:date.available":["2018-02-28T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The topic of leadership is critical today as leaders’ decision-making processes affect political, social, and economic conditions globally. Considering market fluctuations and shifts, political uncertainty, environmental threats, and global societal issues, the question of leadership is at the heart of issues faced today as leaders impact people at all levels of society. The discussion regarding leadership has centered on the need for high-level critical and creative thinkers and has shifted towards academia as a source for innovation. Educational institutions are under a high level of scrutiny and pressure to prepare graduates effectively for a volatile and unpredictable global market, yet the educational model has been slow to change and adapt to market conditions. This study identified the relationship between the institutional environment, leader’s traits, and divergent thinking to provide insight into the characteristics that drive innovation in the academic setting. The research involved a large-scale national study of college and university leaders and focused on leadership traits, divergent thinking, and innovation. Findings indicated negative relationships between the demographic attributes of gender and level of education, and innovation. Leaders with the traits of “Conscientiousness” and “Lack of Emotional Stability” negatively impacted innovation and institutional characteristics of location and type negatively affected organizational creativity. There was a significantly positive relationship between the institutional environment and three measured levels of innovation.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/752"],"dc:subject":["creativity","divergent thinking","higher education","innovation","leadership","leadership traits","Education"],"dc:title":["Leadership traits, divergent thinking, and innovation in higher education"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Leadership and Counseling"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:13Z"}