A Collective Case Study of Educational Servant-Leaders and Personal Growth
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Authors
D'Ascoli, Steven
Issue Date
2020-04-07
Item Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keyword
Alternative Title
Abstract
Today’s globally-recognized servant leadership philosophy was born from a series of essays written by Robert Greenleaf in the 1970s. In his manifesto, Greenleaf underscored how through the precedence of a desire to serve and then to lead, servant leaders are motivated to help meet the needs of others. Researchers identify various dimensions and characteristics of servant leadership and the servant leader, including a commitment to others’ personal growth. To further explore servant leadership and the personal growth phenomenon within the context of education, an exploratory collective case study addresses how servant leader principals and superintendents understand and facilitate the personal growth of those they serve. Data collected for the study is from questionnaire and semi-structured interviews the researcher developed. Through inductive and deductive data analysis, three conclusions emerged from the study: to facilitate the growth of others, educational servant-leaders (a) utilized emotional intelligence; (b) facilitated their leadership through the principles of a learning organization; and (c) utilized a variety of principles regarding motivation and learning. A discussion of the findings demonstrates that participant servant leaders instituted paradoxical approaches, which leveraged the polarity between individual and group to facilitate the growth of staff as well as their organizations.
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Citation
Publisher
Western CT State University