Date of Award

Fall 12-8-2020

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Organizational Leadership

First Advisor

Dr. Philip Pendley

Second Advisor

Dr. Rowlanda N. Cawthon

Third Advisor

Dr. Darin R. Hand

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this mixed methods study was to determine how nonprofit victim support organization leaders rate the impact of the 10 Transformational Leadership Skills Inventory (TLSi) domains on their effectiveness. In addition, it was the purpose to discover how nonprofit victim support organization leaders describe the impact of each TLSi domain on their effectiveness.

Methodology: The participants in this study were executive directors of private, nonprofit victim support organizations across the Pacific Northwest region of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. All participated in an online quantitative survey where they rated their agreement with statements about the impact of the 10 TLSi domains on their effectiveness as a leader using a six-point Likert scale. Then, 12 interview participants, selected at random, described the impact of each domain on their leadership effectiveness during virtual interviews. Survey results and interview transcripts were analyzed and reviewed for themes and trends.

Findings: Major findings included identification of the top TLSi domains having an impact on leader effectiveness, the importance of building relationships both internal and external to the organization, and the enigma of political intelligence with respect to the executive director role.

Conclusions: Based on the findings from this study, it was concluded that Collaboration, Problem Solving and Decision Making, and Communication are the TLSi domains that have the greatest impact on leader effectiveness. It was also concluded that building internal and external relationships is key to being an effective nonprofit victim support organization leader. Furthermore, executive directors need more than the 10 TLSi domains to sustain their effectiveness as a leader.

Recommendations: The researcher recommends that the results of this study be used as a model of leadership traits associated with effective nonprofit victim support organization leaders. The model could serve as criteria for seeking out and hiring executive directors for a wide range of victim support agencies. The model could also be used as a guide for executive directors and aspiring executive directors seeking a path for development and improvement.

Download

Share

COinS