Bob Johnson: Coach, Leader, Role Model, Community Servant Daniel Cantone East Tennessee State University
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East Tennessee State University Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University Electronic Theses and Dissertations Student Works 5-2013 Bob Johnson: Coach, Leader, Role Model, Community Servant Daniel Cantone East Tennessee State University Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.etsu.edu/etd Part of the Education Commons Recommended Citation Cantone, Daniel, "Bob Johnson: Coach, Leader, Role Model, Community Servant" (2013). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 1155. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1155 This Dissertation - Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Works at Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Bob Johnson: Coach, Leader, Role Model, Community Servant ___________________ A dissertation presented to the faculty of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis East Tennessee State University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership ___________________ by Daniel L. Cantone May 2013 _____________________ Dr. Catherine Glascock, Chair Dr. Bethany Flora Dr. Don Good Dr. Gary Lhotsky Keywords: Educational Leadership, Bob Johnson, Coach ABSTRACT Bob Johnson: Coach, Leader, Role Model, Community Servant by Daniel L. Cantone Many things are known about Coach Bob Johnson including his military background and dynamic coaching career, but there are still many more facts that are unknown. By most accounts he was a dynamic leader who was able to motivate, influence, and lead over the course of his 27- year career coaching and teaching at Emory and Henry College. The success of his career is visible through the success of his players and teams, the number of wins, and the many accomplishments, awards, and recognitions he received. The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe Coach Johnson’s life by examining his life as a coach, teacher, administrator, and individual to help demonstrate his leadership and examine events that led to his impact and influence at Emory and Henry College. This study was based on 5 research questions: 1. What was his leadership style? 2. What type of person was he? 3. What type of coach was he? 4. What are the interviewees’ perceptions of how he influenced their lives? 5. What are the interviewees’ perceptions of his life and work? Findings from these questions helped provide answers that demonstrated the leadership and influence of Coach Johnson. The findings were consistent with Leithwood, Riehl, and the 2 National College for School Leadership’s (2003) 3 core leadership practices for successful leadership in educational settings, which are setting directions, developing people, and developing the organization. The findings also fit into the Leadership Challenge Model (Kouzes & Posner, 1997), which consists of challenging the process, inspiring a shared vision, enabling others to act, modeling the way, and encouraging the heart. As there is no published research on Coach Johnson, this study is significant. The data were gathered by conducting semistructured interviews with those who knew Coach Johnson well. The results provide insight on leadership and how one can influence others. 3 Copyright© 2013 by Daniel L. Cantone All Rights Reserved 4 DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my family who has provided me with love, support, and encouragement in my life needed to pursue whatever path I desired. This support helped build my foundation and allowed me to accomplish many feats. I also dedicate this dissertation to Coach Bob Johnson who influenced me in so many important ways and who was the inspiration behind this dissertation. His life impacted me in ways that cannot be quantified. 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to thank all of my teachers and faculty, especially my Chair, Dr. Glascock, and my committee, Dr. Flora, Dr. Good, and Dr. Lhotsky, who have given me the tools I needed to reach this level. With the knowledge and support received from all of my teachers and professors I have gotten to where I am today. I would like to thank everyone who participated in this project and those who would have liked to participate as well but were unable to for various reasons. Most importantly, I would also like to thank the Johnson family for participating and supporting this dissertation. Without their support and participation this dissertation would not have been possible. The basketball program provided a family outside of my home family that extended to Mrs. Johnson who was my mother away from home and Leigh and Casey Johnson who proved to be good friends and caring members of the program. 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................... 2 DEDICATION ....................................................................................................................... 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................... 6 Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 10 Purpose of the Study .................................................................................................. 14 Research Questions .................................................................................................... 14 Significance of the Study ........................................................................................... 15 Delimitations and Limitations of the Study ............................................................... 16 Overview of the Study ............................................................................................... 16 2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE ........................................................................................ 18 Leadership .................................................................................................................. 18 Influence .................................................................................................................... 25 Biography ................................................................................................................... 28 Oral History ............................................................................................................... 32 Interviewing ............................................................................................................... 36 Emory and Henry College and Similar Institutions ................................................... 42 3. RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES .......................................................... 48 Focus of the Study ..................................................................................................... 48 Research Design......................................................................................................... 49 Instrumentation .......................................................................................................... 50 Participants ................................................................................................................. 51 Data Collection and Recording .................................................................................. 52 7 Data Analysis ............................................................................................................. 53 Trustworthiness of Data ............................................................................................. 53 Ethical Considerations ............................................................................................... 56 Summary .................................................................................................................... 57 4. FINDINGS ..................................................................................................................... 58 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 58 Research Question 1: What Was His Leadership Style? ........................................... 61 Research Question 2: What Type of Person Was He? ............................................... 64 Research Question 3: What Type of Coach Was He? ............................................... 66 Research Question 4: What Are the Interviewees’ Perceptions of How He Influenced Their Lives? ................................................................................. 69 Research Question 5: What Are the Interviewees’ Perceptions of His Life and Work? ............................................................................................................. 73 Challenging the Process ............................................................................................. 76 Inspiring a Shared Vision, Enabling Others to Act, and Modeling the Way ............. 79 Encouraging the Heart ............................................................................................... 84 Summary .................................................................................................................... 88 5. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS ..........................................................................................