A Comparative Study of Leadership of Five Corporate Executive Officers and Five Secondary School Superintendents
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Loyola University Chicago Loyola eCommons Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 1996 A Comparative Study of Leadership of Five Corporate Executive Officers and Five Secondary School Superintendents Suzanne Beane Casey Loyola University Chicago Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss Part of the Education Commons Recommended Citation Casey, Suzanne Beane, "A Comparative Study of Leadership of Five Corporate Executive Officers and Five Secondary School Superintendents" (1996). Dissertations. 3575. https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss/3575 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Loyola eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Loyola eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. Copyright © 1996 Suzanne Beane Casey LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF LEADERSHIP OF FIVE CORPORATE EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND FIVE SECONDARY SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENTS A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP AND POLICY STUDIES BY SUZANNE BEANE CASEY CHICAGO, ILLINOIS JANUARY 1996 Copyright by Suzanne Beane Casey, 1995 All rights reserved. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author of this dissertation study wishes to express gratitude to Associate Professor Max Bailey, Ed.D. for his special and patient assistance, in both the research and writing, as Director of the project, and in critical collaboration throughout my doctoral program, as my advisor. Special acknowledgement is also made to Professor Joan Smith, Ph.D. who offered significant research insight as a dissertation committee member. In addition, the guidance and support provided by Associate Professor Phil Carlin, Ed.D., in the early literature review allowed the author to lay the proper foundation for this study. Finally, appreciation is extended to Professor M. P. Heller, Ed.D. for his assistance in the organization of the analyzed data. The author would not have been able to complete the Doctor of Philosophy degree without the continual support of her Administrative Assistant, Gail Hanken, who provided equally valuable word processing and encouragement. For the contribution of valuable, professional editing, gratitude is extended to Ms. JoAnn Casey. Further, the support of Donald Offermann, Ph.D. must be noted, as the author's immediate superior at Oak Park and River Forest High School and ongoing coach in the doctoral program. Gratitude to the author's professors in the Loyola University program is also noteworthy for their significant contribution to the knowledge base of the writer, lll including all professors noted above, as well as Lawrence Wylie, Ed.D. and F. Michael Perko, S.J. Perhaps most importantly, great appreciation is given to the subjects of this dissertation who willingly agreed to participate in the study. There is no question the success of this project would not have been possible without their support and their time. Sincere appreciation is extended to Governor James Thompson, CEO, Winston & Strawn Law Firm; Robert Middlemas, Vice President and Midwest Regional Manager of Nordstrom; Richard Rieser, President and CEO of Oakbrook Bank; Terry VanDerAa, President and CEO, Vancom Corporation; Donald Offermann, Ph.D., Superintendent, Oak Park and River Forest High School; Laura Murray, Ph.D., Superintendent, Homewood-Flossmoor High School; Linda Hanson, Ed.D., Superintendent, Highland Park-Deerfield High School; Henry Bangser, Ph.D., Superintendent, New Trier High School; and Roger Miller, Ed.D., Superintendent, Hinsdale High School. This experience provided the author with a life-long reward that was only accomplished as a result of the patient, ongoing support of many friends and family members. A special acknowledgement to my parents, Russell and Jeannette Beane, for providing me with outstanding leadership models throughout my life, and for instilling in me the belief in my ability to succeed. IV ABSTRACT Through a qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews, this study examined the leadership of five Corporate Executive Officers (CEOs) and five Secondary School Superintendents. The goal of the research was to examine the role of leadership of Corporate Executive Officers and Secondary School Superintendents by posing six research questions: I. What attracted the leader to a leadership position?; II. What were each leader's values and beliefs of his/her own leadership?; III. What was the leader's perception of his/her leadership behavior in terms of his/her philosophy?; IV. What were the observed behaviors of leaders and in what context did they occur?; V. What was the congruence between observed leaders' behaviors and leaders' philosophy/beliefs?; and (VI) What were the collective leadership comparisons of CEOs and Secondary School Superintendents? The anticipated results were a delineation of the similarities and differences found in leadership in these two groups with a determination of training implications for leaders of the future. The findings of this study were reported in a detailed, narrative summary and analysis of the ten subjects utilizing excerpts from all ten interviews. Analysis and comparison both within and between the groups was made. The major conclusion of the study was that no significant disparity exists between the top leadership of large secondary public schools and medium to large corporations in the greater Chicagoland area. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . m ABSTRACT .................................................. v Chapter I. INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW .......................... 1 Purpose of the Study ...................................... 3 Organization of the Study .................................. 5 Limitations of the Study .................................... 5 Mcthodolo!:,')' ............................................ 7 II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND RESEARCH ....... 10 III. PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA ................. 50 Introduction and Overview . 50 Interview Summary - Leadership ............................ 52 Research Question I. What attracted the . 56 leader to a leadership position? Research Question II. What were each leader's ................ 87 values and beliefs of his/her own leadership? Research Question III. What was the leader's ................ 116 perception of his/her leadership behavior in terms of his/her philosophy? Research Question IV. What were the observed .............. 141 behaviors of leaders and in what context did they occur? Research Question V. What was the congruence between . 160 observed leaders' behaviors and leaders' philosophy/beliefs? Research Question VI. What were the collective . 170 leadership comparisons of CEOs and Secondary School Superintendents? IV. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 195 Summary of Methodology and Analysis . 195 Conclusions of the Study . 196 Recommendations from the Study . 206 Recommendations for Further Study . 206 V1 Appendices A. Interview Questions 208 B. Biographical Sketches of Subjects . 215 C. Tables of Data . 233 1. Secondary School Superintendents and CEOs Personal Data . 234 2. Secondary School Superintendents and CEOs Formal Training/Education . 235 3. Secondary School Superintendents and CEOs Major Career Evolution . 236 4. Secondary School Superintendents and CEOs Significant Career Event . 238 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................ 239 VITA ...................................................... 244 Vll CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW I don't think I've seen any ideal [leader]. I have experienced the force of personality of strong leadership ... you pick up vibes of strong leadership just by being in the same room ... I'm not talking about the celebrity, but the person ... Rcagan--Thatchcr--Gorbachcv. Governor James Thompson August 1995 Interview by Author It's 1995 and we arc still trying to figure it out--lcadership, that is. What is leadership? Would we recognize it if and when we saw it? When do we see it? How docs it define itself? Where is it? If we know where it is, do we know what it is? These circular questions reflect the myriad of authorship and theory on the topic. The existing literature on leadership suggests that effective leaders make a difference in producing organizational excellence. Individual leadership characteristics and strategics of both educational and non-educational leaders result in both effective and not-so-effective leadership and organizational outcomes. Effective leadership appears to contribute to the organization's degree of success. The leadership within schools and businesses reflect the broader society. Society, in general, as well as schools and businesses in particular, require strong 1 2 leadership to act in the best interest of people. Is it possible that an investigation examining current leaders, seeking to define effective leadership, how it develops, sustains, and flourishes, might provide beneficial data to future leadership training? Is it also possible that every member of society practices leadership at some point in each of their days, and that the study of leadership would have application, both directly to their own lives, and indirectly by the impact of strong leaders in significant roles? Further, would an examination of current leaders in both public and private, educational and