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Exploring the Essence of Leadership in Disruption: Informing Leadership Development to Advance Social Equity

Sun, April 14, 9:35 to 11:05am, Philadelphia Marriott Downtown, Floor: Level 5, Salon I

Abstract

Purpose
Central to substantive advancement in social equity is the need to harness the power of leadership in disruptive times like that required by COVID-19 (Ellington, 2021; Mullin, et al, 2021; Bawany, 2020; Christensen et al. 2006). During COVID, many HPE professionals were stunned and paralyzed, while others embraced the challenges as opportunity (Kotter, 2010). What sets apart professionals who act effectively during disruption? How can that knowledge inform efforts to train and support HPE professionals to effectively advance DEI? Research on leadership in disruption can inform efforts across the career continuum to prepare transformative leaders to address social equity.
Method
Using grounded theory (Charmaz, 2014), an interprofessional research team (RT) studied leadership among global HPE graduate program faculty and fellows. The theoretical sample consisted of leaders in COVID identified through a population survey. The RT analyzed data from focus groups to create a flexible/inclusive coding scheme iteratively refined through a process of constant comparison to explore meaningful patterns, reconcile issues, and record insights. (Tavakol & Sandars, 2014; Watling & Lingard, 2012) The RT conducted individual interviews, compared subsequent findings to the coding schema, condensed concepts into mutually exclusive categories (Salmona, et al., 2019), and situated developing theory in the emerging data (Jeon, 2004). This iterative process continued until saturation was reached (Morse, 1995).
Results
Twenty faculty (n=8) and fellows (n=12) participated in five focus groups with seventeen (n=7 faculty; n=10 fellows) participating in interviews. Saturation was reached at 15 interviews. The analysis resulted in the following theoretical concepts:
1. Communication - listening, maintaining contact, and framing and conveying compelling messages.
2. Visioning - creating a strategic plan to guide direction.
3. Calm-control - stay centered, think logically, be decisive, and inspire confidence.
4. Interpersonal Relationships - respecting others, being flexible, compromising, and managing conflict.
5. Reflective -continuously thinking about experiences to inform future thinking and action.
6. Integrity - doing the right thing, being responsible for others, and acting with honesty, fairness, and decency even with personal and professional risk.Adaptability –change strategies/behaviors to address new situations or accomplish goals.
7. Mission-driven - advancing a foundational narrative focused on goals and community.
To examine the relationship of leadership and disruption, the emerging concepts were mapped to three concentric circles centered on personal attributes that influence interpersonal relationships and influence organizational competence (Figure 1). This model attempts to reflect the roots of leadership and the dynamic nature of its development.
Significance
This study examined leadership in disruption though grounded theory to identify concepts that explain much variance and move towards a conceptual model. This model promisingly aligns with the Equity-Centered Leadership Framework domains of personal, interpersonal, organization, and community and systems (Corbie et al., 2022). The results of this investigation are limited by its sample and require investigation with other HPE populations. Future empirical work is needed to extend understanding of leadership in disruption that informs training and professional development across the continuum of HPE, so critical to success in advancing social equity.

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