Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2012
Abstract
The higher education leadership literature has little to say about nontraditional candidates (executives who have never held a full time faculty post) and their ability to perform in senior leadership roles in higher education administration. We conducted a qualitative research design to capture the lived experiences of participants in higher education administration. We interviewed 21 deans in higher educational institutions. Our findings show that deans operate within what we label as a Multi Level Multi Dimensional System (MLMDS). We view this MLMDS through the lens and disciplines emerging from Complexity Leadership Theory (CLT). We also find the higher education environment requires a strong focus on credibility. This requisite credibility is key to performing the needed tuning of the stakeholder groups of the MLMDS to generate greater visionary harmony in service to the larger enduring mission of the academic institution. In a practical way these findings help us see where and how nontraditional candidates, as well as traditional candidates, for executive roles in higher education fit the MLMDS. We also offer credibility as an important issue for review in terms of CLT in the higher education setting.
Keywords
executive leadership, higher education, deans, complexity theory, system, academic leadership, credibility
Rights
© The Author(s). Kelvin Smith Library provides access for non-commercial, personal, or research use only. All other use, including but not limited to commercial or scholarly reproductions, redistribution, publication or transmission, whether by electronic means or otherwise, without prior written permission is strictly prohibited.
Department/Center
Design & Innovation
Recommended Citation
Spezza, Nicholas, "Traditional And Nontraditional Dean's Multi Level Multi Dimensional Complexity Leadership" (2012). Student Scholarship. 508.
https://commons.case.edu/studentworks/508