One midwest state's community college presidents' leadership styles: self-perception and employee perception

Abstract

This research study was designed to examine the community college presidents' leadership style in one Midwestern state. Specifically, the study examined how the presidents perceived their leadership style, and how that perception compares with that of the faculty and non-faculty employees Leadership Practice Inventory (LPI), a two-part survey instrument developed by Kouzes and Posner, was used to gather data. The 15 presidents completed the LPI-SELF, and a sampling of 5 faculty and 5 non-faculty, completed the LPI-OBSERYER instrument. One hundred percent of those surveyed returned their completed form. Each college became a grouping variable. The data collected was analyzed using the Statistical Products and Service Solutions (SPSS) graduate version. Research was conducted to examine, compare, and contrast the collected data regarding the similarities and differences between president and employee perceptions of presidential leadership styles. Paired sample t- tests were executed. Findings demonstrated the differences between the president's and their employee's perception was statistically significant. The descriptive and inferential statistics indicated there was a large effect size in the analysis. Test results showed all effect sizes were more than 1, thus the range is from large to very large. Conclusions drawn from the findings suggest that the null hypothesis be rejected. It is further suggested that research be done in the areas of leadership style on a broader basis.