Leadership Development in Higher Education: Skills, Competencies, and Practices for Non-Academic Leaders

<p>The purpose of this descriptive quantitative study was to measure the frequency data to determine which essential leadership skills, competencies, and leadership development techniques should be emphasized in leadership programs offered to non-academic leaders at four-year public higher education institutions. The focus of this study was on the perceptions of program coordinators at four-year public institutions in Georgia and South Carolina. Three research questions guided this study: What do leadership development program coordinators perceive as the essential skills needed for non-academic higher education leaders? What do leadership development program coordinators perceive as the essential competencies needed for non-academic higher education leaders? What do leadership development program coordinators perceive as the essential leadership development techniques of a leadership development program? A survey was electronically administered to 44 participants, of whom 32 responded. This study offers a lens into the essential leadership skills and competencies that are considered important to prepare and develop future non-academic leaders. Results suggest that program coordinators perceived the best way to learn the identified top leadership skills and competencies was through seminars, mentoring, and hands on experiences. The top essential leadership competencies perceived by program coordinators were: Communication, Leadership, Personnel Selection, Strategic and Institutional Planning, and Conflict Resolution. Similarly, the top essential leadership skills perceived by the program coordinators were: Policy skills, Board Relationships, Employment Practices, Motivation skills, and Time Management. Additional findings suggested succession planning in higher education is perceived to be a highly important topic, but is still not a focal point of development initiatives.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership (Ed.D.)

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation (restricted to Georgia Southern)

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Department of Leadership, Technology, and Human Development

Year dc:date.available

2014

Author dc:creator

• Kennedy, Alejandra S

Contributors dc:contributor

• Devon Jensen
• Gemma Frock

• ETD
• Leadership
• Competency
• Skills
• Theories
• Higher Education
• Non-Academic
• Four-year public institutions
• Succession Planning
• Educational Leadership
• Higher Education Administration

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/1059

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu:etd-2098