Culture as Strategy: How Community College Leaders Depict the Institutional Conditions for Innovation

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Abstract

Through a discourse analysis of interviews with ten senior community college leaders, this article explores the ways in which senior leaders conceptualize the imperative for innovation in community colleges by examining how they develop cultures conductive to institutional change. Three themes emerged from data: 1) collaboration and trust as cultural infrastructure, 2) the alignment of intrinsic motivation and resources with institutional mission, and 3) time as a prerequisite for cultural change. This study reinforces the notion that leadership in community colleges is deeply cultural work. The ability to drive innovation depends less on positional authority or technical solutions and more on the leader’s capacity to shape meaning, align systems, and cultivate trust over time.

Authors

• Julius Fleschner, Georgia Highlands College

• Michael Lanford, University of North Georgia