The Leadership Self-Identity of Women College Presidents
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THE LEADERSHIP SELF-IDENTITY OF WOMEN COLLEGE PRESIDENTS ROBBIE PALMER HERTNEKY A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Ph.D. in Leadership & Change Program of Antioch University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy November, 2008 This is to certify that the dissertation entitled: THE LEADERSHIP SELF-IDENTITY OF WOMEN COLLEGE PRESIDENTS prepared by Robbie Palmer Hertneky is approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Leadership & Change. Approved by: Alan E. Guskin, Ph.D., Chair date Laurien Alexandre, Ph.D., Committee Member date Sumru Erkut, Ph.D., Committee Member date Sandra Cheldelin, Ph.D., External Reader date Copyright 2008 Robbie Palmer Hertneky All rights reserved Acknowledgements I am grateful to my family, friends, and colleagues who have patiently stood by me, understood my unavailability for periods of time, and have been curious enough to ask about my research and its findings. I thank my husband, Paul, who joined me on this journey enthusiastically and with unwavering support. He read every draft I wrote during this doctoral program, drove with me to interviews far from home, and has brought insight and creativity to our discussions of leadership and women college presidents. I am especially grateful to Al Guskin, Ph.D., my advisor and the chair of my dissertation committee, who has been excited with and for me, and has believed in me and my work from the start. Working with him has been a treat and an honor. I thank my dissertation committee members Laurien Alexandre, Ph.D. and Sumru Erkut, Ph.D., for their contributions to my development as a scholar and researcher. My work is stronger for their insight. They are mentors, role models, and teachers equal in stature to those I interviewed for this study. Special thanks to Sandra Cheldelin, Ph.D. who has generously served as external reader and the fourth member of the dissertation committee And I am grateful to the twelve women college presidents who made the time in their busy schedules to be interviewed for this study. They are talented, gracious, and curious leaders who were willing to share their stories and explore leadership with me. It is no exaggeration to say this would not have been possible without them. i Abstract The purpose of this research study was to explore the concept of leadership self-identity in a particular population of formal leaders—women college presidents. Using narrative inquiry, the research examined the following: how these women describe and define themselves as leaders, what personal attributes they believe allow them to be leaders, their past and future career intentions, how their relationships with others influence their leadership self-identity, and the stories they tell about themselves and leadership. Participants were asked questions designed to reflect their core identity and personal narrative, and to describe their career and relationships. Common themes that emerge include: how they work with others, themselves as leaders, professional intentions and planning, presidential longevity, mentors and mentoring, their networks of support and the importance of communication and language. A clear picture of the leadership self- identity of this group of women college presidents emerges from the study and their understanding of themselves as leaders reveals the complexity of leadership. Leadership self-identity develops as a holistic concept that integrates five critical components: authenticity, leading through relationships, composing a life, balance, and learning. Only the self-understanding inherent in character and authenticity can enable a potential leader to integrate the components of leadership self-identity. As such, it presents significant implications for how leaders are identified, selected, educated, and trained. The electronic version of this dissertation is at OhioLink ETD Center, www.ohiolink.edu/etd. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements i Abstract ii Table of Contents iii List of Tables vi Chapter I: Introduction 1 Background of the Study 1 Overview of the Study 2 Methodology 4 Researcher Positioning and Interest 5 Context for the Future 6 Organization of the Study 7 Chapter II: Literature Review 9 Organization of the Literature 9 Presentation of the Literature 11 Leadership self-identity 11 Findings 15 Identity and Leadership Development 16 Findings 23 Women College Presidents 23 Overview of the issues 24 Career paths 25 Mentoring relationships 27 Narratives of women presidents 27 Leadership core identity 31 Women of color 33 Role of the president 34 Findings 35 Women in Higher Education 37 Findings 42 Women and Management 44 Findings 51 Women’s Identity 52 Emphasis on narrative 55 Findings 60 Conclusion 61 Chapter III: Methodology 64 Purpose 64 Qualitative Inquiry 64 Narrative Inquiry 65 Interviews 68 Pilot interviews 70 Participants in the Study 71 Narrative Analysis 74 Narrative Truth 75 iii Generalizability, Versimilitude, Trustworthiness, and Validation 75 Limitations of Study 77 Chapter IV: Findings 79 Participants in the Study 79 Interviews 81 Narrative Analysis 82 Findings 84 Core Identity 85 Working with others 85 Self as Leader 86 Service to the institution 90 Presentation of self 91 Self-assessment 94 Learning and teaching 96 Summary 100 Career 100 First thought 101 Intention and planning 104 Longevity 106 Summary 110 Relationships 110 Mentors, role models, and teachers 111 Senior team 113 Families 114 Networks of support 116 Balance 117 Self-role merger 119 Summary 121 Narrative 121 Communication and language 122 Voice 123 Summary 125 Conclusion 125 Chapter V: Discussion 127 Introduction 127 Authenticity 129 Leading through Relationships 131 Composing a Life 135 Balance 141 Learning 148 Leadership Self-identity: A Holistic Concept 150 Conclusion 154 Future Research 157 Personal Reflection 160 Appendix 162 Appendix A: Interview Protocol 163 iv Appendix B: Participant Informed Consent Statement 165 References 167 v List of Tables Table 4.1 – Participant Data and Institutional Profiles 80 vi 1 Chapter I: Introduction Background of the Study College and university presidents lead complex organizations in an environment of increasing pressures from a diverse group of constituencies. While they do not lead alone, they are central to the well-being of their institutions and higher education as a whole. They are simultaneously expected to provide intellectual leadership, embody institutional values, and shape institutional policy. (American Council on Education, 2007, p. xi) The leadership role of college president requires finesse, balance, courage, intelligence, a clear sense of purpose, and the skill to advocate for higher education. “Presidents have come to find themselves holding the positions of CEO of a corporate enterprise, mayor of a multifarious polity, and academic leader of an intellectual community—all at the same time” (American Council on Education, 2007, p. 1). The role of college president is challenging, demanding and varied, and of key importance to the vitality of the system of higher education in the United States and, therefore, its society. As the number of women leaders in higher education has increased, so has their visibility. Women college and university presidents have been front-page news recently, from the installation of Drew Gilpin Faust as the first woman president of Harvard University to the suicide of Denise Denton, the first openly lesbian chancellor in the University of California system. Although still remarkable, women college presidents are slowly becoming less of a novelty. The American College President Study, conducted by the American Council on Education, reports that, in 2006, 23 percent of American college and university presidencies were held by women, up from 10 percent in 1986. While the overall number has increased, the rate of the increase has slowed in the past decade. With 45 percent of senior administrative staff and faculty positions in higher education being held by 2 women, women remain under-represented as presidents. Women are more likely to lead community colleges and less likely to lead doctoral universities. Overall, the length of service of a president has increased in the past 20 years, from 6.3 years in 1986 to 8.5 years in 2006. Women presidents have been in their current position for less time, an average of 7.7 years, compared to 8.8 years for their male counterparts. The most typical route to the presidency is from a position of chief academic officer or provost. “The proportion of presidents who were aged 61 or older grew from 14 percent in 1986 to 49 percent in 2006, suggesting that many institutions will lose their presidents to retirement in coming years” (American Council on Education, 2007, p. viii). Taken together, the findings on age and career path suggest that—as the presidency has become more complex—institutions are increasingly selecting leaders with a great deal of experience in senior executive roles in higher education. This cautious approach to hiring may limit opportunities for younger leaders, women, and people of color. (p. ix) Demographic trends clearly point to increased vacancies at the presidential level. Leaders of the future will need to reflect the diversity of the students, faculty, and staff. Filling these vacancies will require creativity, the identification of future talent, an openness to recognizing different faces of leadership, and a willingness to embrace the changing demands of our educational system. The more that can be understood about educational leadership, from the skills and behaviors needed to be externally effective, to the self-knowledge and self-awareness necessary for personal fortitude and internal coherence, the more options will be available for potential future leadership. Overview of the Study The purpose of this research study is to explore the concept of leadership 3 self-identity in a particular population of formal leaders—women college presidents. This study is based on the assumption that, to be able to be effective in a formal position of leadership, a person must perceive him or herself as a leader.