TITLE:
Effective Leadership in Higher Education: A Review of Leadership Style Preferences among Faculty and Staff within the United States
AUTHORS:
Joseph G. Mews
KEYWORDS:
Leadership, Leadership Styles, Leadership Preferences, Higher Education Leadership, Organizational Leadership
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Leadership,
Vol.8 No.2,
June
20,
2019
ABSTRACT: This causal-comparative study reviewed the leadership style preferences of faculty and staff from participating higher education institutions (HEI). A total of 146 participants completed the Leadership Style Questionnaire (LSQ), a research instrument consisting of demographic questions and the Vannsimpco Leadership Survey (VLS). A single factor, one-way ANOVA (analysis of variance) was conducted, and significant differences were identified within the nine styles, (F [8, 1305] = 93.65, p HSD (honestly significant difference) post-hoc tests were required and revealed significant differences between 24 of the 36 leadership style pairings. The statistical analysis showed collective preferences toward Democratic-Transformational Leadership (M = 4.25), Democratic Leadership (M = 4.21), Transformational Leadership (M = 4.21), and Transactional Leadership (M = 4.20). The least preferred style was Laissez-faire Leadership (M = 2.63). This study also compared leadership style preferences of participants classified as faculty versus those classified as staff. Significant differences were identified within responses for Democratic Leadership and Transactional Leadership styles.