The Interior Lives of Exemplary Leaders
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
THE INTERIOR LIVES OF EXEMPLARY LEADERS: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF LAY LEADERSHIP COMMITMENT TO MISSION AND IDENTITY AT A CATHOLIC, MARIANIST UNIVERSITY Dissertation Submitted to The School of Education and Health Sciences of the UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for The Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Leadership By Savio Dennis Franco, M.B.A., M.S., Dip TD. Dayton, Ohio May 2016 THE INTERIOR LIVES OF EXEMPLARY LEADERS: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF LAY LEADERSHIP COMMITMENT TO MISSION AND IDENTITY AT A CATHOLIC, MARIANIST UNIVERSITY Name: Franco, Savio Dennis APPROVED BY: ________________________________________ Molly A. Schaller, Ph.D. Committee Chair ________________________________________ Carolyn S. Ridenour, Ed.D. Committee Member ________________________________________ Joseph L. Watras, Ph.D. Committee Member ________________________________________ Fr. David J. Fleming, S.M., Ph.D. Committee Member ________________________________________ Kevin R. Kelly, Ph.D. Dean, School of Education and Health Sciences ii © Copyright by Savio Dennis Franco All rights reserved 2016 iii ABSTRACT THE INTERIOR LIVES OF EXEMPLARY LEADERS: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF LAY LEADERSHIP COMMITMENT TO MISSION AND IDENTITY AT A CATHOLIC, MARIANIST UNIVERSITY Name: Franco, Savio Dennis University of Dayton Advisor: Dr. Molly A. Schaller This study demonstrates the value of organization-specific articulations of exemplary leadership. The research topic relates to leadership and organizational studies in general, and higher educational leadership and organizational commitment in particular. The focus of inquiry is the complex, human-organizational phenomenon of exemplary leadership commitment to mission and identity among lay leaders in the Catholic and Marianist tradition of one top-tier research university in the United States. The context of inquiry is the emerging prominence and critical role of lay leadership in Catholic higher education. The researcher offers an in -depth examination of how exemplary lay leaders experience and practice their personal commitment to Catholic- Marianist mission and identity. The research objective is to understand and describe the essential meanings in the lived experiences of exemplary lay leaders, presenting individual descriptions and collective syntheses of the phenomenon in focus. The intended audience includes leaders in Marianist and Catholic higher education; iv administrators involved in leadership development and mission and identity enculturation; and researchers in higher education, phenomenology, and interdisciplinary studies in leadership and organizational behavior. Using the transcendental phenomenological research method, the researcher generates eight individual “portraits-in-words,” containing multilayered human portrayals that allow the reader to intuit and empathize with the interior experiences and meaning making of the exemplary lay leaders in this study. The researcher also analyzes the experiential data collectively, presenting numerous “composite syntheses” of the apparent textures and underlying structures of the phenomenon in focus. Finally, the researcher describes three “streams” within the lived experience of the phenomenon, namely: exemplary lay commitment, exemplary Marianist leadership, and the experience of Catholic and Marianist mission and identity, concluding with a brief “statement of essence” containing essential meanings that do not vary across the descriptions of exemplary lay leaders. This study contributes to the narrative of Catholic and Marianist higher education by empirically investigating the interior lives of exemplary leaders, articulating a phenomenology of exemplary lay leadership commitment to mission and identity, and drawing insights from the lived experiences of present-day exemplary leaders in order to inform future leadership practice, development, and research. The future of mission and identity in Catholic and Marianist higher education hinges on one critical factor – the ongoing presence of the interior phenomenon of exemplary lay leadership commitment to mission and identity. This study sheds a bright light on this noteworthy and necessary v phenomenon – sine qua non (without which nothing) – thus preserving its legacy in institutional memory, and offering “seeds” for reflection, conversation, and action. Key terms: phenomenology, interior life, exemplary leadership, lay leaders, commitment, mission and identity, Catholic, Marianist, university, higher education, interdisciplinary studies, organizational behavior, educational philosophy, leadership ethics, organization-specific articulations of exemplary leadership. vi With Hazel vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I was able to undertake this project because of the support of my family, and most of all, my wife, Hazel, who shared this journey with me, and endured much through its process. I share this dissertation and doctoral degree with her. I am blessed by my parents, Matilda and Eusebio Franco, who always supported me in the pursuits I chose to undertake. I am also strengthened by my sister and brother, Cleo and Alrio, who give me hope, and whose happiness is my joy. I am grateful to Hazel’s parents, Bertille and Rufino Rodrigues, and brother Ignatius, for their prayerful support. I affectionately remember our grandparents who are undoubtedly watching over us. I am what I am today, in great measure, because of my mother – who showed me what it means to love unconditionally; and I thank her for this. I am immensely grateful to my academic advisor, Dr. Molly Schaller, who believed in me steadfastly, and whom I am proud to call my mentor and friend. Her brilliant guidance and ongoing affirmation gave me the strength to persevere and hope through many difficult periods. I would not have been able to complete this project without her unwavering faith in its value and remarkable selflessness as an educator. If you read this work and are benefited by it, I request you to breathe a prayer for her. I am especially grateful to Dr. Carolyn Ridenour, whose gentle heart and personhood as an educator have blessed my life in many ways. She nurtured the scholar- viii researcher within me and showed me that it is possible to integrate sincere compassion with great research. I am grateful to all my doctoral professors who supported me, especially Dr. Joseph Watras, whose professorial integrity I most identified with, and whose teaching of ethical theory and educational philosophy I most appreciated. I am grateful to several Marianists who were supportive of me, especially: Fr. David Fleming, S.M., for his early presence along this journey, and for guiding my Marianist studies; and Bro. Thomas Giardino, S.M., who collaborated with me on several Marianist leadership development programs; my journey towards making this contribution is closely linked to his trust and perseverance. I gratefully acknowledge the support of numerous persons and offices related to the University of Dayton and the Marianist Province of the United States. I am particularly grateful to the eight exemplary lay leaders who collaborated with me in this study, and also my pilot participant. I am humbled by their trust, openness, and generosity towards me, and by their willingness to share their interior lives with the readers of this study. I thank Sr. Leema Rose, SSpS, who has interceded for me steadfastly over the past two decades of my life and ministry. I thank each person who has contributed to this work, directly or indirectly – for every expression of support, every prayer for grace, and every act of kindness. May every blessing be yours. With my wife Hazel, I offer this work to Jesus and Mary, whose love for us, and ours for whom, is the reason why this dissertation exists. To all who will read this manuscript – thank you! Please share your reflections with others, and perhaps, also with me. ([email protected]) Savio Dennis Franco May 07, 2016 ix TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... iv DEDICATION .................................................................................................................. vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................... viii I. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 1 Introduction to Leadership Research ............................................................................. 1 The Scholarship of Leadership ............................................................................... 1 Leadership is a Phenomenon in Human-Organizational Experience ..................... 2 Searching for Essences Amidst a Multitude of Meanings ...................................... 3 The Value of Organization-specific Articulations of Exemplary Leadership ....... 4 Focusing this Study ........................................................................................................... 5 Focus of Inquiry ...................................................................................................... 5 Research Problem and Need ................................................................................... 5 Statement of Purpose .............................................................................................. 8 Guiding Research Question ...................................................................................