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S ig n ifica n t career and life exp erien ces and su b seq u en t lesso n s
lea rn ed for M ich igan co m m u n ity college p resid ents: A
self-rep o rt in terv ie w p rocedu re
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SIGNIFICANT CAREER AND LIFE EXPERIENCES AND SUBSEQUENT
LESSONS LEARNED FOR MICHIGAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE
PRESIDENTS:

A SELF-REPORT INTERVIEW PROCEDURE

By
Lewis L. D o t t e r e r

A DISSERTATION

S ub m it te d t o
Michigan S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y
in p a r t i a l f u l f i l l m e n t o f t h e r e q u i r e m e n t s
f o r the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
D epartment o f E d u c a ti o n a l A d m i n i s t r a t i o n

1989

ABSTRACT

SIGNIFICANT CAREER AND LIFE EXPERIENCES AND SUBSEQUENT
LESSONS LEARNED FOR MICHIGAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE
PRESIDENTS: A SELF-REPORT INTERVIEW PROCEDURE
By
Lewis L. D o t t e r e r

A t o p i c of growing i n t e r e s t in t h e r e s e a r c h l i t e r a t u r e i n v o l v e s
the

effect

leaders

of

training

w ithin

investigated

the

experiences

realm

of

on

higher

the

future

devel opm ent

education.

S tudies

of

have

formal academic programs and t h e n o t i o n o f c a r e e r p a t h s

f o l l o w e d by t h e c h i e f academic o f f i c e r s o f community c o l l e g e s .
Few

studies,

learning
college
id en tify

however,

experiences
presidents.
what

lessons

on

have

the

growth

L ittle
were

examined
and

the

deve lo pm ent

inform ation
learned

effect

has

been

from e a r l i e r

of
of

informal
community

collected

professional

to
and

personal experiences t h a t enabled the p r e s id e n t s to c a rry out t h e i r
j o b r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s most e f f e c t i v e l y .
The p u r p o s e s o f t h i s
kinds

of

events

presidents
(b)

significant

and p e r i o d s

experience

identify

s t u d y were t o

that

of

(a)

tran sitio n

affect

their

begin
that

to

identify

community

professional

college

development,

t h e m a j o r l e s s o n s l e a r n e d from h av i n g e x p e r i e n c e d
life

events,

and

(c)

assess

the

the

i m p o r ta n c e

of

the

other

Lewis L. D o t t e r e r
people

(professional

relationships,

mentors,

family

members)

in

en h an c in g t h e p r o f e s s i o n a l devel opment o f t h e p r e s i d e n t s s t u d i e d .
The sample s t u d i e d was drawn from t h e p o p u l a t i o n o f 29 Michigan
community
were

college

selected

presidents.

for the

Fourteen

study

and i n v i t e d

chief
to

academic

officers

participate.

Efforts

were made t o o b t a i n i n s i g h t s from p r e s i d e n t s r e p r e s e n t i n g d i f f e r e n t
s i z e d i n s t i t u t i o n s , as well as a c c u r a t e l y r e f l e c t i n g t h e o p i n i o n s o f
a l l m i n o r i t y group s found w i t h i n t h e p o p u l a t i o n .
studied

met

the

confidential

p reestab lish ed

criteria

The 12 p r e s i d e n t s

through

to the p r o fe s s io n a l

community

Professional

college

before

facilitated

the c u rre n t

the

served

presidents.

as

development
role

position
of

models

or

the
for

all

were

reported

less

incurred

the

dev el o pm en t o f

experiences
as

group members

Formal academic l e a r n i n g e x p e r i e n c e s ,
vital,

of

(non-w ork-related)

experiences contributed g re a tly

people

use

interview s.

Interview procedures revealed t h a t personal

either

the

occurring

president
studied.

presidents

also
Other

interview ed.

a l t h o u g h deemed i m p o r t a n t and

frequently

as

en h an c in g

a

p resid en t’s

p r o f e s s i o n a l development t h a n o t h e r p e r s o n a l and p r o f e s s i o n a l e v e n t s
identified.

Specific

participants

t o many e v e n t s

and

learned

lesso n s

learnings"
situations.

that

all

lessons

were

learned

could

highlighted.
discerned,

presidents

relied

be

attributed

Patterns
as

were

on when

the

by t h e

o f experiences
"sig n ifican t

challenged

by

life

C o p y r i g h t by
LEWIS L. DOTTERER
1989

D e d i c a t e d t o t h e l i v i n g memory o f
my s i s t e r , M a r j o r i e Loui se D o t t e r e r ,
who was so g i v i n g t o o t h e r s d u r i n g h e r l i f e ;
and t o
Egon George Ec ke l, my f a t h e r - i n - l a w ,
who t o uc he d so many l i v e s and h e l p e d a l l
who knew him.

v

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This

stage

dissertation,
events.

of

has

my

been

Much l e a r n i n g

life,
one
has

which
of

many

taken

has

in clu d ed

challenges

place,

w riting

and

and my t h a n k s

the

significant
go o u t

to

t h o s e i n d i v i d u a l s who h e l p e d me grow and s u p p o r t e d me and my dreams
during th e se times of t r a n s i t i o n .
Dick

G ardner,

my

s u g g e s t i o n s and i n s i g h t s ,
guidance

w ill

always

advisor,

in

his

and who h e l p e d me r e l a x by h i s humor.

His

be

who

was

remembered,

always

his

so lid

frien d sh ip

always

appreciated.
Howard Hickey,

com mi tt ee member, who s h a r e d a l o t

and w i t t h r o u g h o u t t h e p r o c e s s .

His d i r e c t i o n ,

of

reality

thoughtfulness,

and

w i l l i n g n e s s t o go t h e " e x t r a m il e" he l p e d t h i s p r o j e c t e v o l v e .
John P ow e ll , com mittee member, whose s u p p o r t o v e r t h e y e a r s has
been a g i f t

t o me.

His

believing

in me gave me t h e

strength

to

support

and

a c c e p t new c h a l l e n g e s o v e r t h e y e a r s .
Ken H a r d in g ,

com mittee member, whose e v e r - p r e s e n t

encoura gem ent s e r v e d as a well s p r i n g o f s t r e n g t h f o r me.
Sue Cooley, whose ti m e and s k i l l s were i n v a l u a b l e as she e d i t e d
and t y p e d my d r a f t s o f t h e m a n u s c r i p t and t h e f i n a l
d issertatio n .

vi

edition of th is

Dave Dubuc

and

the

Concern

Employee A s s i s t a n c e

Program,

who

e n c ou ra ge d me t o do my b e s t and who was f l e x i b l e w i t h my t i m e and
p a t i e n t and t o l e r a n t o f my "moods."
S in ce re thanks are a lso extended to th e follow ing people:
Karen

Grieb,

who

believed

in

me

when

I

sometimes

d ou b te d

myself.
Pam Montgomery, who was e m p a t h e t i c and who b e l i e v e d in me.
My s i s t e r ,

J a n i e , whose p o s i t i v e o u t l o o k I always c a r r i e d w i t h

me.
My p a r e n t s ,

Lewis and P a u l i n e , whose l o v e and c a r i n g

provided

t h e s t r e n g t h I needed t o e nd u re .
With much l o v e ,
Deb,

who p r o v i d e d

standing,

I wish e s p e c i a l l y t o t h a n k my wonderful

constant

en co ur ag em en t,

and humor t o my l i f e .

support,

To t h e b e s t f r i e n d

caring,
I have ,

w ife,
under­
thank

you, Deb!
Finally,
The

sharing

I wish t o th a n k each o f t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s o f t h e s t u d y .
of

th eir

p ro je c t enjoyable
project a r e a lity .

ti m e

and

of

their

f o r me and a l s o made t h e

lives

helped

make

this

acc omplishment o f t h i s

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
LIST OF T A B L E S .......................................................................................................

x

Chapter
I.

II.

III.

IV.

INTRODUCTION

..........................................................................................

1

Focus o f t h e S t u d y ......................................................................
Problem S t a t e m e n t ...........................................................................
Purpose o f t h e S t u d y ..................................................................
R es ear ch Q u e s t i o n s
.......................................................................
I mp o rt an ce o f t h e S t u d y .............................................................
L i m i t a t i o n s and D e l i m i t a t i o n o f t h e Study ...................
D e f i n i t i o n o f T e r m s ......................................................................
O r g a n i z a t i o n o f t h e D i s s e r t a t i o n ...........................

I
4
5
6
7
9
11
12

....................................................

13

Introduction
.....................................................................................
L e a d e r s h i p Development .............................................................
Development o f Community C o l l e g e P r e s i d e n t s . . . .
T r a n s i t i o n s / S t y l e s o f Coping ...............................................
The I n t e r v i e w P r o c e s s ..................................................................
C h a p t e r Summary ................................................................................

13
13
21
32
36
30

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND PROCEDURES ......................................

41

Introduction
.....................................................................................
S u b j e c t s ..............................................................................................
P r o j e c t Design ................................................................................
....................................................
D ata-C o llec tio n Procedures
The I n t e r v i e w P r o c e s s ..................................................................
Data A n a l y s i s .....................................................................................
Summary o f Methodology .............................................................

41
42
45
46
51
53
54

ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS..................................................................

56

Resea rc h Q u e s ti o n 1 ......................................................................
Resear ch Q u e s ti o n 2 .......................................................................
Resear ch Q u e s ti o n 3 .......................................................................
P r o f e s s i o n a l E x p e r i e n c e L es s on s : B ef o r e C u r r e n t
P r e s i d e n t i a l P o s i t i o n ........................................................

57
62
72

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

vi i i

72

Page
P r o f e s s i o n a l E x p e r i e n c e L es s o ns : During C u r r e n t
P r e s i d e n c y ...............................................................................
P e r s o n a l E x p e r i e n c e Lessons: A cq u ire d Befo re
Age 1 8 .........................................................................................
P e r s o n a l E x p e r i e n c e Lessons: A cq u ire d A f t e r
Age 18 .
...............................................................................
Lessons Learned From Academic E x p e r i e n c e s . . . .
Re s e a r c h Q u e s t i o n 4 ......................................................................
P a t t e r n s o f E x p e r i e n c e s ........................................................
Re s ea r c h Q u e s t i o n 5 ......................................................................
S u b s i d i a r y A n a l y s i s ......................................................................
E x p e r i e n c e s A f f e c t i n g You in Your Role as
P r e s i d e n t : Oth er P e o p le /M e n to rs ............................
Lessons of E x p e r i e n c e :
Giving and R e c e iv in g
F e e d b a c k ....................................................................................
I n t e r a c t i o n s With t h e B o a r d ...............................................
Lessons of E x p e r i e n c e Regar din g Community
Colleges
....................................................................................
S i g n i f i c a n t Lessons Learned ...............................................
C h a p t e r Summary ...............................................................................
V.

74
75
76
77
79
79
84
85
85
87
89
89
90
95

RESULTS, CONCLUSIONS, DISCUSSION, IMPLICATIONS, AND
REFLECTIONS.........................................................................................

96

R e s u l t s ..................................................................................................
C o n c l u s i o n s .........................................................................................
D i s c u s s i o n o f R e s u l t s and C o n c l u s i o n s ............................
L i m i t a t i o n s o f t h e Study ........................................................
I m p l i c a t i o n s f o r F u t u r e R e s e a r c h .....................................
R e f l e c t i o n s .........................................................................................

96
99
101
107
119
117

A.

INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY CONTACT............................................

120

B.

CORRESPONDENCE.....................................................................................

122

C.

RESPONSES TO INTERVIEW QUESTIONS REGARDING TYPE
OF EXPERIENCE.........................................................................................

124

RESPONSES TO INTERVIEW QUESTIONS REGARDINGLESSONS
LEARNED.......................................................................................................

129

RESPONSES TO THREE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS: WHAT HAS
BEEN MOST FUN FOR YOU IN YOUR ROLE AS PRESIDENT?
HOW HAVE YOU CHANGED DURING YOUR TENURE AS
PRESIDENT? AND WHAT’ S NEXT? ...................................................

137

APPENDICES

D.

E.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

...........................................................................................................

ix

141

LIST OF TABLES
T ab l e
3.1
4.1
4.2

4.3

4.4

4.5

4.6

4.7

4.8
4.9

Page
Michigan Community C o l l e g e s and R e p r e s e n t a t i o n in
C u r r e n t Study ....................................................................................

44

Number o f E x p e i r e n c e s A f f e c t i n g P r o f e s s i o n a l D eve lop ­
ment o f Michigan Community C o l l e g e P r e s i d e n t s
. . .

58

Frequency D i s t r i b u t i o n o f Academic/Formal T r a i n i n g
E x p e r i e n c e s f o r t h e Community C o l l e g e P r e s i d e n t s . .

63

Academic E x p e r i e n c e s o f Michigan Community C o ll e g e
P r e s i d e n t s .............................................................................................

64

Frequency D i s t r i b u t i o n of In formal O n - t h e - J o b
T r a i n i n g Ex p er ie n ce s f o r Michigan Community
C o ll e g e P r e s i d e n t s ..........................................................................

65

O n - t h e - J o b T r a i n i n g E x p e r i e n c e s f o r Community C o l l e g e
P r e s i d e n t s .............................................................................................

66

Frequency D i s t r i b u t i o n o f P e rs o n a l E x p e r i e n c e s Most
A f f e c t i n g t h e Community C o l l e g e P r e s i d e n t s ........................

69

P a t t e r n s o f P e r s o n a l E x p er i en ce s A f f e c t i n g Community
C o l l e g e P r e s i d e n t s ..........................................................................

70

E x p e r i e n c e s A f f e c t i n g Community C o l l e g e P r e s i d e n t s
P r o f e s s i o n a l l y ....................................................................................

71

S i g n i f i c a n t Lessons Learned by Community C o l l e g e
P r e s i d e n t s .............................................................................................

90

x

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

Focus o f t h e Study
Over

the

last

25 y e a r s ,

the

field

of

higher

education

has

undergone p e r i o d s o f b o th growth and c o n t r a c t i o n .

During t h e ti m e

span

have

of

expansion,

many new c a r e e r

opportunities

a v a i l a b l e w i t h i n t h e community c o l l e g e sy ste m .

been

made

P eo p le were groomed

t o t a k e on j o b r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s o f a d m i n i s t r a t o r s and c h i e f academic
officers.
respond

Formal
to

"the

academic

training

at m o s ph er e

(Chibucos & Green,

1989,

p.

of
21)

programs

unlim ited
by

growth

offering

were

designed

and

to

possibility"

fellow ship

p ro g ra m s,

s e m i n a r s , and o t h e r workshops t o l e a d e r s w i t h i n t h e h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n
syst em.
More

re c e n tly , the

at m o s ph er e

w ithin

higher

s w i t c h e d from one o f growth t o one o f " f i n a n c i a l

education

hardship,

has

ch an gi n g

s t u d e n t p o p u l a t i o n s , and a b u nd an t a p p l i c a n t p o o l s f o r a d m i n i s t r a t i v e
positions"

(Chibucos

number o f

applicants

be

a

perceived

need

& Green,
for
w ithin

1989, p.

22).

Because o f t h e

fe w er academic p o s i t i o n s ,
the

ranks

of

the

it

higher

large

continues
education

community t o o f f e r t r a i n i n g o p p o r t u n i t i e s d e s i g n e d t o " i d e n t i f y and
p r e p a r e new l e a d e r s " (Chibucos & Green, 1989, p. 2 2 ) .
These t r a i n i n g
deve lop men t

for

o p p o rtu n ities

experienced

provide

adm inistrators

1

necessary
as well

as

lead ersh ip
individuals

to

2
be in g

prepared

for

future

job

responsibilities.

to o k p a r t in t r a i n i n g a c t i v i t i e s ,

Individuals

who

l i k e t h e ACE Fell ows Program (The

American Council on E d u c a t i o n ) , " i n d i c a t e d t h a t t h e y l e a r n e d a g r e a t
deal a bo ut i n s t i t u t i o n a l
24 ) .

The

fellow s

sp ecifics

fade

o p p o rtunity

to

a d m i n i s t r a t i o n " (Chibuc os & Green, 1989, p.

also

away,

reported,

the

develop

however,

program ’ s

an

that

overriding

in teg rated

"although

the

value

the

understanding

is

of

higher

e d u c a t i o n " ( p. 3 8 ) .
S i n c e t h e " s p e c i f i c s f a d e away," one wonders i f a n o t h e r k in d o f
l e a r n i n g o p p o r t u n i t y would h e l p " f i l l
in stitu tes,
W hite

in t h e g a p s . "

Are s e m i n a r s ,

and p a s t c o u r s e work enough?
(1957)

suggested

that

most

of

an

adm in istrato r’s

e d u c a t i o n comes as a r e s u l t o f b ei ng t h a t a d m i n i s t r a t o r .
this

education

experience.
solved,

w ill

Each

come

from

decision

even each m i s t a k e

his

made,

day-to-day

each

issue

(and t h e r e w i l l

and

faced,

"Most o f

week-by-week
each

problem

be p l e n t y o f them)

will

c o n t r i b u t e t o t h i s e d u c a t i o n " (p. 10 ).
In

deciding

im pressed

by

organizational
Blanchard,
A ustin,

the

vast

behavior

Peters

th at

adm inistrator

amo un t
(Cox,

1982; K a n t e r ,

1985;

especially

on a p o p u l a t i o n

of

study,

this

investigator

literatu re

in

the

was

field

of

1985; Deal & Kennedy,

1982;

Hersey &

1983; N a i s b i t t & Aburdene,

1985;

Peters

& Waterman,

focusing

(Arman,

to

1985;

on

the

Block,

1982;

Wexley

role
1987;

of

& Y u kl ,

the

leader

Bradford

1984)

&

and

or

chief

& Cohen,

1984;

Cohen & March, 1974; Bennis & Nanus, 1985; I a c o n e t t i & O’H ara, 1985;
K otter,

1982,

1988;

Lahti,

1973;

L i n d se y ,

Homes,

& McCall,

1987;

3

McCall,

Lombardo,

& M o r r is o n ,

1988;

Vaughan,

19 86 ).

(A

more

t h o r o u g h r e f l e c t i o n and e x p a n s i o n o f t h i s l i t e r a t u r e i s c o n t a i n e d in
Chapter I I . )
One g r o u p o f c h i e f a d m i n i s t r a t o r s who had n o t been r e s e a r c h e d
to

excess

Parnell
has

was

(cited

the

in Vaughan,

been c o n d u c t e d

educational

population

about

1986)
the

chief

leaders

of

these

(1986),

presidents.

little

research

uniquely

American

(p . v i i ) .

community c o l l e g e
associated

with

these

s e l e c t people t o f i l l

presid en ts
the

role

of

leaders

must

be

positions,

communicate, m o t i v a t e , and d e l e g a t e " ( p . 1 8 9 ) .

need

pr oblems

leaders

college

"Far to o

To be s u c c e s s f u l ,

"pro du ce r e s u l t s ,

conflicts,

stated,

many demands and p r e s s u r e s

aca demic o f f i c e r .

a b l e to

community

i n v e n t i o n s [community c o l l e g e s ] "

A c c o r d i n g t o Vaughan
experience

of

and

to

be

able

en co ur a g e

to

staff

relate

to

others

members

to

be

as

resolve
E ffective

well

as

solve

in d e p e n d e n t

and

self-

confident.
The a f o r e m e n t i o n e d s k i l l s and a b i l i t i e s c o u l d have been l e a r n e d
during

academic

(H enderson, 1 96 0 ) .
of the s k ill
1960).
sk ills
serving

It

program s,

either

or

train in g

in stitu tes

Formal academic t r a i n i n g c o u l d a c c o u n t f o r some

de v el o p m en t ,
is

workshops,

possible

as coul d

that

these

from p r e v i o u s y e a r s

in a s i m i l a r p o s i t i o n

on-the-job tra in in g
adm inistrators
in

the

current

(H enderson,

learned

specific

position,

in a n o t h e r o r g a n i z a t i o n ,

while

o r in o t h e r

p o s i t i o n s a l o n g t h e c a r e e r p a t h t h a t p r ec e d ed t h e c u r r e n t p r e s i d e n c y
(Arman, 1986 ).

4

I t has been s t a t e d , however, t h a t n o t a l l p e o p l e in t h e r o l e o f
p r e s i d e n t have been t r a i n e d
th a t the p o sitio n

to e f f e c t iv e l y

demands.

Dressel

take

(1981)

on t h e

declared,

challenges

"Individuals

a r e s e l e c t e d as a d m i n i s t r a t o r s , r a t h e r t h a n e i t h e r t r a i n e d o r s u i t e d
to

it"

(p.

presidents
skills

ix).

Laht i

"come

to

(1973)

th eir

remarked

posts

as

that

community

amateurs,

lacking

college

management

and t h e knowledge o f a p p l i c a t i o n t o management s y st em s "

(p.

3 4 ).
Much s pa ce in t h e l i t e r a t u r e
skills

n e c e s s a r y t o be s u c c e s s f u l

research
the

has been g i v e n t o e x p l a i n i n g t h e

has been p r o v i d e d t h a t

necessary

sk ills.

Even

in

the

role

of

leader.

L ittle

has f o c u s e d on t h e dev el op me n t o f
fe w er

studies

have

oinpointed

the

p r o f e s s i o n a l development o f community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t s .
The

focus

professional

of

this

project

was

on

life

experiences,

both

and p e r s o n a l , t h a t were i d e n t i f i e d by t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s

as c o n t r i b u t i n g s i g n i f i c a n t l y t o t h e c a r e e r
community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t .

ac c om pl is h m en ts o f t h e

I t was b e l i e v e d t h a t

the

experiences

and s u b s e q u e n t l e s s o n s l e a r n e d were a ma jor c o n t r i b u t i n g

factor

to

t h e t r a i n i n g and development o f community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t s .
Problem S t a t e m e n t
Most r e s e a r c h

has

focused

on e f f e c t i v e

adm inistrators

e f f e c t o f f o r m a l i z e d t r a i n i n g programs on t h e c o n t i n u e d
these

executives.

co llege

presidents

experiences

as

life

L ittle
and

research
the

effect

tran sitio n s

and

has
of

been
such

events

done

and t h e

success

of

with

community

inform al

train in g

on

the

professional

5
growth

of

these

em p h a si z in g

adm inistrators.

the

"lessons

of

before taking the c u rren t

Few d a t a

experience"

have

that

academic p o s i t i o n

been

were

collected

learned

or d u r i n g

the

either
present

t e n u r e o f t h e c h i e f academic o f f i c e r s .
It

i s n o t known i f l i f e

community

college

p resid en ts,

collected th a t detail
dev el op me nt

of

experiences
presidents

the

chief

studied:

seminars,

in f o r m al

learning

nor

have

su fficien t

data

been

t h e p a t t e r n s o f l i f e e v e n t s t h a n enhanc e t h e

encourage

classes,

e x p e r i e n c e s a f f e c t t h e p er fo rm a nc e o f

academic

officer.

and e n h a n c e g r o w t h
(a)

formal

learn in g

d e g r e e prog ram s,
experiences

Do c e r t a i n

types

o p portunities

in

o p portunities

(i.e .,

in stitutes,

(i.e .,

and so o n ) ;

specific

job

the

or

tasks,

of

(b)

other

p e o p l e , f a i l u r e s , new p r o j e c t s ) ?
A need e x i s t s
hav i n g

for defining

experienced

certain

life

the

k in d s o f l e s s o n s

events.

l e a r n e d from

If patterns

e x i s t , th e y

s h o u ld be e x p l o r e d and i d e n t i f i e d .
Pu rp o se o f t h e Study
The p u r p os e o f t h i s
between

c o m m u n it y

s t u d y was t o i n v e s t i g a t e t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p

college

presid en ts

in

M ichigan

p r o f e s s io n a l or personal ex p erien ces t h a t they i d e n t i f i e d

and

as havi ng

a s i g n i f i c a n t e f f e c t on t h e i r p er fo rm a n ce as an a d m i n i s t r a t o r .
investigation
reported

by

was
the

conducted
presidents

p a t t e r n s o r themes i f

to
and

describe
to

such p a t t e r n s

i d e n t i f i e d were t h o s e t h a t

and a n a l y z e t h o s e

c la s s if y the
existed.

key

the

Thi s

events

events into

The k i n d s o f e v e n t s

seemed t o have had a l a s t i n g

effect

on

6
t h e p r e s i d e n t and t h a t were p e r c e i v e d as be in g h e l p f u l
the individual

f o r t h e c h a l l e n g e s f a c e d on t h e j o b

in p r e p a r i n g

in t h e r o l e

of

c h i e f a d m i n i s t r a t i v e o f f i c e r in t h e community c o l l e g e .
In a d d i t i o n t o t h e e v e n t s d i s c u s s e d , t h e p r e s i d e n t s were asked
t o i d e n t i f y s p e c i f i c l e s s o n s t h e y had l e a r n e d as a r e s u l t o f ha vi ng
experienced those ch allen g in g tim es.
be

helpful

in

understanding

Such " l e s s o n c l u s t e r s "

the

basic

m anagem ent/leadership

p h i l o s o p h y o f t h e community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t s .
as

w ell

as

identified,

the

self-rep o rted

analyzed,

sig n ifican t

and c l a s s i f i e d

co u l d

according

The l e s s o n s l e a r n e d
lesso n s

were

also

to s i m i l a r i t i e s

and

patterns that existed.
Many e x p e r i e n c e s c o u l d a f f e c t t h e development o f t h e community
college

ad m in istrator,

opportunities

some

( c o u r s e work,

and o t h e r s more i n f o r m a l

the

through

lessons

in n a tu re

self-report

learned

from

which

seminars,

th e c a r e e r of the p r e s i d e n t ) .
identify,

of

were

formal

in stitutes,

learn in g

and c o n f e r e n c e s )

(s p e c ific experiences e a r l i e r

in

T h i s s t u d y was d e s i g n e d t o b e g i n t o
procedures,

those

events

the
that

ki nd s

of events

and

prepare

and

he l p e d

e d u c a t e t h e community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t s .

Re s ea r c h Q u e s ti o n s
1.

What e f f e c t d i d work and l i f e e x p e r i e n c e s have on t h e p r o ­

f e s s i o n a l dev el o pm en t o f community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t s ?
2.
college

What e x p e r i e n c e s
presidents:

(a )

had t h e g r e a t e s t

e f f e c t on t h e community

formal

(b)

training,

in fo rm al

t r a i n i n g e x p e rie n c e s, o r (c) personal l i f e experiences?

on-the-job

7
3.

What

experiences

lessons

that

were

better

learned

prepared

from

the

these

p rofessional

adm inistrators

for

the

job

t a s k s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e r o l e o f community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t ?
4.
k in ds

Did
of

certain

patterns

experiences

or

or

the

themes

lessons

arise

learned

pertaining
for

the

to

the

gr ou p

of

p r e s i d e n t s sampled?
5.
effect

I f p a tte rn s of experiences or lessons
could th e se

data

have f o r

the

learned

professional

arose,

what

dev el o pm en t

of

p r o s p e c t i v e l e a d e r s in t h e community c o l l e g e en v i ro n m e n t?
The f o c u s o f t h i s
o f how c u r r e n t
on

the

affect

community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t s

job.

opportunities
the

s t u d y was on g a i n i n g a b e t t e r u n d e r s t a n d i n g

It
and

was
the

president

im portant

specific

to

lessons

on a d a y - t o - d a y

develop

id en tify
learned

basis.

professionally
past

that

learning

continued

Were t h e r e

to

specific

p r e - p r e s i d e n t p o s i t i o n s t h a t p r e p a r e d t h e p r e s i d e n t t o t a k e on t h e
responsibilities

o f t h e o f f i c e o f c h i e f academic o f f i c e r ?

p r e s i d e n t s were d e a n s ,

I f many

f o r example, b e f o r e becoming p r e s i d e n t ,

what

t a s k s w i t h i n t h e dean p o s i t i o n h e l p e d p r e p a r e t h e i n d i v i d u a l f o r t h e
duties

of

the

presidency?

Were

formal

p e r c e i v e d as ma jor d ev el o p m en t al t a s k s ?

educational

experiences

How i m p o r t a n t were m e nt o rs

to the p resident?

Im por ta nce o f t h e Study
Th is s t u d y was d e s i g n e d and c a r r i e d o u t t o f i l l
two

major

leadership

fields

of

research

developm ent).

(community

college

The i n v e s t i g a t i o n

was

a v o id w i t h i n
presidents
undertaken

and
to

8

"bridge

the

management

with

ca re e r paths
reseasrch

literatu re"
data

th at

already

collected

and p r o f e s s i o n a l

findings

w o u ld

that

existed

has

in

focused

preparation.
facilitate

the

on

area

presidential

I t was hoped t h a t

the

of

acq u isitio n

of

the
the

f o i l owing:
1.

Answering

standing

of

the

the

research

individual

questions

who

serves

w ill

in

add

the

to

role

our

of

under­

community

college president.
2.

New q u e s t i o n s a b ou t t h e community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t w i l l be

d e f i n e d as a r e s u l t o f c o m p le ti n g t h i s s t u d y .
3.

Individuals

serving

as p r e s i d e n t

could

use

the

p r o c e s s as a means o f e n ha n c in g t h e i r own i n t r o s p e c t i v e
I t c o u l d be b e n e f i c i a l

interview
ab ilities.

t o p e r i o d i c a l l y a s s e s s t h e i r deve lo pm ent and

t o s t r a t e g i z e new p r o f e s s i o n a l g o a l s f o r t h e m s e l v e s .
4.

Current

presidents

might

be

able

to

identify

leadership

s t r e n g t h s and a r e a s t h e y co ul d f o cu s on f o r f u t u r e g r ow th .
5.

Community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t s c o u l d a l s o use t h e r e s u l t s

of

t h i s s t u d y as a s o u r c e o f t a s k s o r e x p e r i e n c e s t h a t c o u l d be t u r n e d
i n t o t r a i n i n g en d e a v o r s f o r s u b o r d i n a t e s who a r e b ei n g groomed f o r
leadership

positions.

For example,

im p o r t a n c e o f a m en tor ,

if

th a t president

a

president

could e s t a b l i s h

realizes

the

him /herself

as a me n to r f o r a n o t h e r s t a f f member w i t h i n t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n .
6.

The

results

of

this

s tu d y

could

be

used

as

a means

of

e n h a n c in g t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n a l awar ene ss f o r i n d i v i d u a l s on s t a f f who
have l e a d e r s h i p p o t e n t i a l .
undergo t h e grooming p r o c e s s .

Once i d e n t i f i e d ,

the

individuals

could

9

7.

P a s t p r e s i d e n t s co u ld use t h e i n t e r v i e w p r o c e s s as a means

f o r r e f l e c t i o n as t h e y i d e n t i f y t h e i r c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o t h e community
college(s)

they served.

(Have I men tor ed o t h e r s ?

How d i d

I help

o t h e r s t a f f members grow and d e v e l o p ? )
8.
as

F u t u r e a s p i r i n g l e a d e r s co u l d us e t h e r e s u l t s o f t h e s t u d y

a means t o

being

better

set

career

prepared

experience

for

becoming

These p e o p l e would have a b e t t e r
learn,

as well

as

identifying

Kauffman (1980) s a i d ,

goals
the

with

chief

the

intention

aca demic

o fficer.

i d e a o f what t h e y would

current

strengths

of

need t o

they p o s se ss .

As

"There i s no p r e p a r a t i o n f o r t h e j o b o r f u l l

r e c o g n i t i o n o f i t s h a z a r d s " (p. i x ) .
9.

Individuals

interested

ma n ag em e n t

developm ent,

interesting

and

useful

in

w ill
as

career

find

they

the

work

development,
resu lts

with

other

of

especially
th is

study

populations

of

leaders.
Because

th is

study

was

designed

i n f o r m a t i o n a b ou t a s p e c i f i c p o p u l a t i o n ,
left

uncovered

research,

and

others

th erefore,

g iv e n

o n ly

to

begin

to

id e n tify

some d a t a were u n d o u b t e d l y
cursory

ha d some s p e c i f i c

explanation.

lim itatio n s,

The

w hich

are

a d d r e s s e d in t h e f o l l o w i n g s e c t i o n .

L i m i t a t i o n s and D e l i m i t a t i o n o f t h e Study
Because
reported
several

data

this
and

lim itations

study

in v o l v e d

perceptions
existed.

of
The

an

interview

community

process

college

lim itations

are

of

self-

presidents,
discussed

to

10

d e f i n e more c l e a r l y t h e
project.
1.
m unity

parameters

and b o u n d a r i e s

of the

research

The s t u d y l i m i t a t i o n s a r e as f o l l o w s :
The s t u d y r e f l e c t e d t h e i m p r e s s i o n s and p e r c e p t i o n s o f com­
college

p resid en ts

N onparticipants’ perceptions

who

may have

chose

to

differed

p articip ate.

from t h o s e

of

the

of

the

study respondents.
2.

Because

of

the

f i n d i n g s was a f f e c t e d .

small

sample

size, generalization

The r e s e a r c h e r ch os e d e p t h o f u n d e r s t a n d i n g

and r i c h n e s s o f r e s p o n s e o v e r b r e a d t h o f t h e
3.
data

The i n t e r v i e w q u e s t i o n s were d e s i g n e d t o g a t h e r a p p r o p r i a t e

fo r the study.

perceptions/m em ory

However,
of

some b i a s was i n e v i t a b l e

p articip an ts

and

choice

r e p o r t i n g r e s u l t s from t h e i n v e s t i g a t i o n ) ,
were

samp le.

subject to

the

lim itations

em phasis

in

and d a t a i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s

associated

d a t a - g a t h e r i n g t e c h n i q u e s and methods.

of

(selective

with

the

use

of

such

I n t e r p r e t a t i o n s made i n t h i s

s t u d y would n o t n e c e s s a r i l y be f u l l y a g r e e d on by t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s
or other observers.
4.
have

The l e n g t h

affected

the

o f time s in c e a s p e c i f i c
"lesson

learned."

remembered co u ld have changed o v e r t i m e .

The
It

event

content
is

occurred
of

the

cou ld
lesson

also possible th at

t h e s u b j e c t needed ti m e away from t h e e x p e r i e n c e b e f o r e h e / s h e coul d
have seen t h e e v e n t as a l e a r n i n g o p p o r t u n i t y .

A ls o ,

some l e s s o n s

c o u l d have been c l e a r l y i d e n t i f i e d w i t h o u t t h e s u b j e c t ’ s b e i n g a b l e
t o i d e n t i f y t h e t r i g g e r i n g e v e n t ( i f such an e v e n t even e x i s t e d ) .

11

One d e l i m i t i n g f a c t o r needs t o be i d e n t i f i e d t o c l a r i f y f u r t h e r
the

goals

of

the

project.

The s t u d y

was d e s i g n e d

to

measure

a

sample o f t h e 29 Michigan community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t s .

D e f i n i t i o n o f Terms
The f o l l o w i n g te rm s a r e d e f i n e d

in t h e c o n t e x t

i n which t h e y

a r e used in t h i s d i s s e r t a t i o n :
Community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t .
officer

of the

two-year

institution;

g o v e r n i n g body t o r e p r e s e n t
study,

the

te rm c h i e f

The c h i e f e x e c u t i v e and o p e r a t i v e

it

the

person

appointed

in d a y - t o - d a y o p e r a t i o n s .

academic o f f i c e r

is

used

by t h e
In t h i s

synonymously w it h

community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t .
Key e v e n t s / e x p e r i e n c e s .
style

of

the

community

i n t e r a c t i o n s w it h

Things

college

specific

affected

president:

people;

events or periods of t r a n s i t i o n

that

the

leadership

particular

hardships;

job

or other

tasks;

significant

( c o u r s e work, e a r l y j o b s ,

personal

experiences).
Lessons

learned.

Leadership

skills

or

patterns

of

thinking

a c q u i r e d as a r e s u l t o f t h e e v e n t s / e x p e r i e n c e s - - i n o t h e r wor ds,
inform ation

learned

as a r e s u l t o f havi ng

experienced

the

the

already

me ntioned e v e n t / t r a n s i t i o n .
Michigan
in stitu tio n s

public
in

community

Michigan

basic

functions

of

state

and

financial

local

a

junior

providing

compre hen siv e
assistance

college.

services
community
in

part

One

consistent
college,
through

of

the
with

29
the

receiving
taxes,

o f f e r i n g t h e tw o - y e a r a s s o c i a t e ’ s d e g r e e as t h e h i g h e s t l e v e l .

and

12

Respondents.

The

Michigan

public

community

junior

college

p r e s i d e n t s who p a r t i c i p a t e d i n t h e s t u d y by g r a n t i n g an i n t e r v i e w .

Organization of the D is s e rta tio n
The d i s s e r t a t i o n
was

is

organized

intended to provide

m ajor

points

lim itations,

of

the

em phasis

into fiv e

reader
for

with

th is

chapters.

an u n d e r s t a n d i n g

p ro ject.

The

and f o c u s o f t h e s t u d y were p r e s e n t e d ,

research questions,

a statem ent

of

Chapter

im p o r t a n c e ,

of

1

the

purpose,

along with the

and d e f i n i t i o n s

of

key t e r m s .
Chapter
involving

II contains
career

a

studies

leadership-developm ent
experiences,
transitions

and
and t h e

re v i e w
of

coping

interview

the p e rtin e n t

c o m m u n it y

experiences

the

of

on

college
the

process.
process

literature
p resid en ts,

job,

life-events

L iteratu re

as

a research

on

tool

adult
is

also

r e vi e w e d.
Chapter

III contains

an

elaboration

methodology,

population,

and methods

used in t h e r e s e a r c h p r o j e c t .

of

the

research

of data c o lle c tio n

design,

that

were

The d a t a - a n a l y s i s p r o c e d u r e s employed

i n t h e st u d y a r e e x p l a i n e d .
Chapter

IV i n c l u d e s

the

results

of

the

s p e c i f i c grou ps o f e x p e r i e n c e s and l e s s o n s
and i d e n t i f i e d .

data

learned

analysis.

The

are categorized

F requency t a b l e s and l i s t s o f examples a r e employed

t o answer t h e r e s e a r c h q u e s t i o n s posed in C h a p t e r I.
A summary o f t h e s t u d y ,
and

reflections

C h a p t e r V.

based

on

recommendations

the

research

for fu rth er

process

are

research,

included

in

CHAPTER I I
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Introduction
The l i t e r a t u r e r e v i e w i s d i v i d e d i n t o f o u r m a j o r s e c t i o n s t h a t
r e f l e c t f o u r f i e l d s o f s t u d y b e i n g b r o u g h t t o g e t h e r in t h i s p r o j e c t .
The r e v ie w i n c l u d e s l i t e r a t u r e
developm ent,

developm ent

of

re le v a n t to th e study o f le a d e rs h ip
co m m u n it y

college

p resid en ts,

t r a n s i t i o n s / s t y l e s o f c o p i n g , and t h e use o f t h e i n t e r v i e w t e c h n i q u e
as a d a t a - g a t h e r i n g p r o c e d u r e .
L e a d e r s h i p Development
The imp etu s
developm ent.

for th is
Much

s t u d y came from t h e

tim e

and money

are

field

spent

d e v e l o p i n g p e o p l e in l e a d e r s h i p p o s i t i o n s .

of leadership

in

Gordon

train in g
(1988)

and

reported

t h a t 124,840 American o r g a n i z a t i o n s w it h 100 o r more employees would
d e l i v e r a l m o s t 1 . 2 b i l l i o n ho ur s o f formal t r a i n i n g t o 3 7 . 5 m i l l i o n
people

in

1988.

m i d d le

managers

77.8% o f a l l

The l a r g e s t
w ithin

the

organizations

supervisors

companies

with

p r o v i d e d formal

are

more

training
Gordon

would go

estim ated

to

that

w it h 100 o r more employees would t r a i n

offered
than

of th a t

organization.

some m id d le managers t h a t y e a r .
ti m e

share

100

He went on t o
training
employees

in

report th at

72.5%

and

that

of

American

executives

t r a i n i n g and deve lo pm ent o p p o r t u n i t i e s

i:

the

first­

are

in 64.5% o f

14
American com pan ies .
training

average

Gordon s t a t e d t h a t s e n i o r managers who r e c e i v e

33.6

h ou rs

of

formal

training.

When

projected

n a t i o n a l l y , t h i s means t h a t 1 .0 9 m i l l i o n s e n i o r managers r e c e i v e d

a

t o t a l o f 3 6 . 6 m i l l i o n h o u r s o f formal t r a i n i n g in 1988.
In T r a i n i n g M ag azi ne’ s I n d u s t r y R ep or t f o r 1988, Gordon s t a t e d
t h a t "management c o u r s e s a g a i n r e p r e s e n t t h e most common s p e c i e s o f
employer-sponsored

training

in t h e

U ni te d

States.

And as

usual,

s u p e r v i s o r y , t e c h n i c a l and communication s k i l l s f o l l o w c l o s e b eh in d"
(p. 5 7 ) .
Formal

train in g

experiences

for

lead ers

encompass

d i f f e r e n t c o n t e n t a r e a s and s t y l e s o f knowledge a c q u i s i t i o n .
(1988)

suggested

in clu d es

th at

such t o p i c s

h irin g /selectio n ,
m otivation,

ma na ge m e n t

sk ills/developm ent

as tim e management,

stress

delegation,

management,

conducting

The v a s t m a j o r i t y o f t h i s

lead ersh ip

listen in g ,

meetings,

Gordon

train in g
train in g ,

team b u i l d i n g ,

finance,

reported tr a in in g

many

occurs

as

and

ethics.

a result

of

e i t h e r i n t e r n a l t r a i n i n g programs o r s e m i n a r s o r c o n f e r e n c e s .
K irkpatrick
provide

only

sk ills).
because

(1988)

the

stated

"science"

He n o t e d t h a t
it

means

of

that

attending

management

applying

that

knowledge

( p. 5 9 ) .

c o a c h in g

i s what K i r k p a t r i c k meant by t h e

Th is

in f or m al

Gordon (1988)
between

(i.e .,

" t h e a r t o f management i s

results"

62).

such

to

seminars

can

knowledge

and

the real

bring

about

payoff
desired

The more in for m al t y p e o f t r a i n i n g o f o n - t h e - j o b

type of tr a i n in g e x i s t s

suggested i t

supervisors

and

"art

o f management"

(p.

in e v e r y o r g a n i z a t i o n .

takes place

regularly

em ployees,

and

among c o - w o r k e r s ,

between

manager

and

15

supervisor.

" I t o c c u r s d u r i n g t h e s im p l e a c c u m u l a t i o n o f e x p e r i e n c e

on t h e j o b .

I t ’s real,

i t ’ s v a l u a b l e , and i t r e p r e s e n t s an enormous

’ hid de n i n v e s t m e n t ’ i n t r a i n i n g and de vel opm ent "

(Gordon,

1988,

p.

52).
K irkpatrick
inform al

o n -th e-jo b

"Sometimes
62).

(1988)

it

is

train in g

effective;

Many o n - t h e - j o b

trainer

is

given

important

than

allowance

for

and G o l d s t e i n

no

not

always

programs

advanc e

training.

time

train

as

agreed,

sometimes n o t "

training

taking
error,

is

(1986)

to

pe rf or m a nc e

most

are

not

Job

the

planned,

performance
T h er e

criterion

that

effectiv e.

(K irkpatrick,

someone.
is

however,

is
for

1988,

p.

and t h e
is

more

also

no

success

( G o l d s t e i n , 198 6).
With t h i s em ph asi s on s u c c e s s , employees need t o be a b l e t o use
the s k i l l s

they acquired

in formal e d u c a t i o n and t r a i n i n g

and a l s o t o a c q u i r e new s k i l l s

in and from t h e w o r k p l a c e .

settings
Dr ucker

(1966) s u g g e s t e d t h a t many s k i l l s a r e n o t h i n g more t h a n h a b i t s o r a
complex

set

through

the

th a t the

of

practices.

process

of

These

repeated

skills

can

practice.

i n f o r m a t i o n ne ed s t o be s h a r e d

always

be

He b e l i e v e d ,

clearly

learned
however,

and o p p o r t u n i t i e s

given to people t o p r a c t i c e in th e workplace.
Drucker’s n o tio n s,
in

application

and

a l t h o u g h sound i n t h e o r y ,

reality ,

Livingston

(1971) as he t a l k e d

manager.

Livingston

management

in

b ot h

believed

universities

given th e

m ig ht be l a c k i n g

divergent

view point

of

abo ut t h e myth o f t h e w e l l - e d u c a t e d
t h a t formal
and i n d u s t r y

training
fail

to

programs

for

develop

the

16

traits,

knowledge, and s k i l l s e s s e n t i a l t o c a r e e r s u c c e s s .

He a l s o

b e l i e v e d t h a t t h e t a s k s t h a t a r e most i m p o r t a n t in g e t t i n g r e s u l t s
are l e f t

to the individual

t o be l e a r n e d on t h e j o b .

w i t h t h i s c o n c e p t i s t h a t no one t e a c h e s
L ivingston’s
formal

ideas

training

suggest

programs

the

t h e p e r s o n how t o

following

and c o u r s e s

The problem

conclusions:

fall

short

in

learn.

(a )

that

providing

the

n e c e s s a r y t o o l s f o r t h e l e a d e r t o do h i s / h e r j o b most a p p r o p r i a t e l y ;
and (b) t h a t t h e

in f o r m al

" l e a r n on t h e j o b "

notion

fails

b ec a u se

employees a r e n o t t a u g h t how t o l e a r n from t h e i r e x p e r i e n c e s and a r e
n o t g i v e n t h e ti m e t o change o l d h a b i t s o r t o d e v e l o p new s k i l l s and
knowledge.
Given t h e s e c o n c l u s i o n s ,

i t would be a m i s t a k e t o assume t h a t

no l e a r n i n g t a k e s p l a c e in e i t h e r t h e formal e d u c a t i o n a l a r e n a o r as
a result

of on-the-job

training.

However,

it

suggests

t h a t t h e p e o p l e in t h e s e p o s i t i o n s a r e r e q u i r e d t o

the

learn

notion

a lot

on

t h e i r own, t o e x t r a c t from many e x p e r i e n c e s t h e knowledge t h a t w i l l
p r e p a r e them f o r t h e n e x t
people

on

the

job

are

project

not

or

taught

p o ssib le job

how

to

learn

p r o m o t io n .
from

th eir

If
own

experiences,

as L i v i n g s t o n s u g g e s t e d , what do t h e s e p e o p l e l e a r n on

t h e i r own?

Are t h e r e

specific

projects,

job

tasks,

or

help th e se le a d e r s acq u ire the necessary inform ation to

people

to

suc ce e d on

t h e i r own?
Studies
began

to

co n d u ct ed

lo o k more

experiences

and t h e

McCall, Lombardo,

through

the

closely

at

lessons

learned

Center fo r

these

C reative

questions
from t h e s e

and M o rr iso n began s t u d y i n g

Leadership

regarding
events.

helpful
In 1982,

how managers l e a r n e d

17

to

be

executives

and

leaders.

They

in itially

interviewed

86

e x e c u t i v e s "whose deve lo pm ent had r e s u l t e d in s u c c e s s - - t h e y had made
i t to th e top l e v e l s o f t h e i r o rg a n iz a tio n "
The p u r p o s e

of

the

s t u d y was

to

find

(Lombardo, 1986, p.

out

from t h e

leaders

7).
what

e x p e r i e n c e s in t h e i r l i v e s and c a r e e r s had most c o n t r i b u t e d t o t h e i r
success.

The

leaders

were

asked

to

describe

"the

i m p o r t a n t e v e n t s in t h e i r development as l e a d e r s . . .

three

most

a description

o f t h e e v e n t . . . and a s t a t e m e n t o f what t h e y had l e a r n e d from t h e
e v e n t " (p. 7 ) .
In a d d i t i o n t o t h e i n i t i a l
from 79 were u s ed ;
studies

using

an

L i n d se y ,

86 e x e c u t i v e s i n t e r v i e w e d

Homes,

op en- end ed

& McCall,

survey

1987 ),

developed

three

further

the

in itial

from

i n t e r v i e w s a c q u i r e d d a t a on 112 o t h e r l e a d e r s .

(the data

A fter a ll

the data

were combined, Lindsey e t a l . grouped t h e key e v e n t s i n t o f o u r ma jor
categories:

(a) d e ve lo p m en ta l a s s i g n m e n t s ;

(b) h a r d s h i p s ;

(c ) o t h e r

p e o p l e ; and (d) o t h e r s i g n i f i c a n t e v e n t s .
Five
i m p o r ta n c e

types

of

for

the

assignm ents,

lin e

a s s ig n m e n t

events

leaders.

"They

to

staff

were
were

sw itches,

found
the

h o ld

special

project/task

start-u p s,

a s s i g n m e n t s i n v o l v i n g a m a jo r change in scope"
7).

to

force

fix -its

(Lombardo,

and

1986,

p.

The key e v e n t s i n v o l v i n g o t h e r p e o p l e - - g o o d and bad b o s s e s and

r o l e m o d e l s - - a l s o f o c u s e d on " s h o r t - l i v e d e v e n t s i n v o l v i n g a p e r s o n
.

.

. do in g something t o

impact"
series

( Li nd se y e t
of

events

a l .,
"values

an o th er person
1987,

p.

playing

161).
out."

.

.

. that

had a v i s i b l e

The a u t h o r s
The

called

events

this

involving

18

hardships
jo b s,"

included

business

subordinate

Finally,

the

failures/m istakes,

perform ance

category

called

problem s,

other

co ur s ew or k, e a r l y work e x p e r i e n c e s ,
in v o l v e d a " d i v e r s e
al.,

array

de m o tio n s

and

or

personal

significant

" lo u s y
traum a.

events

included

and p u r e l y p e r s o n a l e v e n t s

of off-the-job

experiences"

that

(Lindsey

et

1987, p. 1 75 ) .
Li nd se y e t a l . n o t o n l y asked t h e l e a d e r s f o r s p e c i f i c e v e n t s

but

also

for

a description

l e a r n e d from t h e e v e n t ( s ) .
34

lessons,

agenda

which

settin g ;

were
(b)

of

what

people

said

they

had

From t h e 16 major e v e n t s i d e n t i f i e d came
clustered

handling

e x e c u t i v e te mp era m en t;

these

and

(e)

into

five

general

relatio n sh ip s;
personal

(c)

aw are ne ss

areas:

(a)

values;

(d)

(McCall

et

al.,

1988 ).
Lindse y
agenda
were

setting,

elicited

values

et

al.

found

handling

by d ev el o p m en t al

a result

in

general,

relationships,

came f r o m o t h e r

d e v e l o p e d as

that,

and

assignments;

people;

and

of hardships.

lessons

contained

executive
the

in

temperament

lessons

in

basic

p e rs o n a l - awarenes s le s s o n s
(The f o u r t h c a t e g o r y ,

"other

s i g n i f i c a n t e v e n t s , " has n o t been e l a b o r a t e d on a s much a s t h e more
c a r e e r - o r i e n t e d c a t e g o r i e s a lre a d y mentioned.)
In t h e i r book The Lessons o f E x p e r i e n c e . McCall e t a l .
continued with th e th r e e
other people,

and h a r d s h i p s )

from t h e s e e x p e r i e n c e s .
research.
of

th eir

clusters

o f key e v e n t s

(job

and e l a b o r a t e d on t h e

(1988)

assignments,

lessons

learned

The a u t h o r s s t a t e d two o t h e r g o a l s o f t h e i r

They b e l i e v e d i t
own de v e l o p m e n t .

i s im portant f o r le a d e r s t o ta k e charge
"By u n d e r s t a n d i n g

the

rich

variety

of

19

experience

.

.

.

[leaders]

can

make

better

decisions

c a r e e r moves and make b e t t e r use o f t h e l e s s o n s

their

regarding
experiences

o f f e r t o them" (p. 1 3 ) .
McCall
business

et

to

a l . realized,

develop

however,

people.

that

Therefore,

businesses
the

second

are

not

goal

of

in
the

r e s e a r c h was t o " h e l p o r g a n i z a t i o n s do a b e t t e r j o b o f devel opment
by making more e f f i c i e n t

and t h o u g h t f u l

experiences

offer

13).
its

t h e y have t o

For example,

it

is

th eir

experiences,

a

th at,

de v el o p m en t ,
challenges

by

specific

They a l s o found t h a t ,

jobs

d ev el o p m en t al
managers"

o t h e r w i s e , managers w i l l

(p.

asking

list

of

leaders

not

et

a l . found

from

about

critical

job

d ev el op me nt al

by e v a l u a t i n g t h e j o b s

presented,

probably

McCall

t h e y were a b l e t o g e t a b e t t e r
the

the

high-potential

them o r l e a r n much from them.

research

of

i m p o r t a n t f o r t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n t o enhance

to le ra n c e fo r mistakes;

admit t o

th eir

use

as

well

as

jobs

was

identified

derived.
as key to

idea

of the

the

specific

kinds

of

lessons

learned.
McCall
de v e l o p m e n t a l

et

al .

were

experiences.

not

ju st

supportive

They found t h a t

of

the

specific

inform al

courses

that

proved t o be most h e l p f u l were u n d e r t a k e n l a t e r in a l e a d e r ’ s l i f e ,
were a t t e n d e d v o l u n t a r i l y , and u s u a l l y d e a l t w i t h g e n e r a l management
and b u s i n e s s i s s u e s o r s e l f - a n a l y s i s .
c o u r s e s a s a kind o f t e s t

Participants

saw h i g h - i m p a c t

("Am I as good as e x e c u t i v e s from ________

company?"; McCall e t a l . , 1988, p. 1 8 2 ) .

The c h a l l e n g e , t h e n ,

is to

20
make b e t t e r use o f o n - t h e - j o b e x p e r i e n c e s

in o r d e r t o h e l p l e a d e r s

l e a r n from t h e i r f a i l u r e s and o t h e r p a s t e v e n t s .

and

L e a rn in g from t h e p a s t i s one o f t h e f i v e

"key e v e n t s "

Nanus

Leaders.

research,

(1985)
they

described

studied

F o rtu n e’ s top-200

list.

60

in

their

chief

book,

executive

The a u t h o r s

officers

were

Bennis

In

their

(CEOs)

interested

in

from

learning

s e l f - p e r c e i v e d s t r e n g t h s and w e a k n e s s e s , i d e n t i f y i n g any e x p e r i e n c e s
in t h e CEO’ s l i f e

that

significantly

influenced

philosophy/style,

and i d e n t i f y i n g ma jor d e c i s i o n

CEO’ s c a r e e r and h i s / h e r c u r r e n t f e e l i n g s
th e ir research,

h i s / h e r management
points

during

the

a bo u t t h o s e c h o i c e s .

In

Bennis and Nanus i d e n t i f i e d t r a i t s

o f an e f f e c t i v e

l e a d e r and t h e n e c e s s a r y s k i l l s t h a t e f f e c t i v e l e a d e r s need t o u s e:
(a ) a c c e p t p e o p l e as t h e y a r e ;

(b) d ea l w it h p r o b l e m s / p e o p l e in t h e

p r e s e n t b u t be w i l l i n g t o l e a r n from t h e p a s t ;
courteous a t t e n t i o n ;

(c ) t r e a t o t h e r s w it h

(d) t r u s t o t h e r s ; and (e) be a b l e t o do w i t h o u t

c o n s t a n t ap p r o v al from o t h e r s .
Bennis
m aintaining

and

Nanus

a positive

r e p o r t e d on
self-regard.

the

i m p o r ta n c e

Effective

o f hav in g

leaders

t h e i r own s t r e n g t h s and compensate f o r w e a k n e s s e s .

professional

behaviors.

An e f f e c t i v e

le ad er’s

f a i l u r e i s t o s e e t h e f a i l u r e as a new b e g i n n i n g .

recognize

They a r e e a g e r

t o r e c e i v e f e e d b a c k as t h e y c o n t i n u e t o make a d j u s t m e n t s
their

and

regarding

response

F ailure

is

to

seen

as a c h a l l e n g e and an o p p o r t u n i t y t o s u c c e e d .
Lea der s

by Bennis

l e a d e r s h i p de v el o p m en t ,
traits

and

sk ills

the

and Nanus has

added much t o

the

field

of

not j u s t because o f th e l i s t o f " e f f e c t i v e "
authors described

but

also

because

they

21

contributed to the f ie l d
all

the r e a liz a tio n

l e v e l s in an o r g a n i z a t i o n l e a r n .

take

advantage o f o p p o r t u n i t i e s

w illingness

to

learn

to

from o t h e r s ,

that effective

leaders

They l e a r n from t h e p a s t and
learn
a b ou t

about

them selves.

oneself

is

learning

more

This

inform al,

the e f f e c t i v e

it

appears

t o be gu id e d

d e s i r e t o l e a r n and n o t t o
Rand all
th e ir

(1967)

own

grow th,

developm ent
pr ogr am s,

of

be i n t i m i d a t e d by

suggested t h a t
both

and

leaders

p ro fessio n ally

lead ers

courses,

by

is

done

seminars;

(a)
(b)

Th is

and o t h e r s ,

ma jor component o f l e a d e r s h i p d e v e l o p m e n t .
but

at

is

a

le a d e r’s

t h e p o s s i b l e outcomes.
take r e s p o n s ib ility

for

and p e r s o n a l l y .

form ally,
inform ally,

through
with

The
degree

on-the-job

t r a i n i n g ; and (c ) t h r o u g h s e l f - d i r e c t e d l e a r n i n g based on e v e n t s and
experiences.
Development o f Community C o l l e g e P r e s i d e n t s
A v oi d

exists

professional

in

the

deve lo pm ent

literatu re

for

surrounding

community c o l l e g e

the

subject

presidents.

i n f e r e n c e s had t o be drawn when c o m p i l i n g t h i s r e v i e w .

of

Thus,

Much o f t h e

r e s e a r c h o n l y h i n t e d a t t h e em ph asis o f t h e c u r r e n t p r o j e c t o r d e a l t
w it h u n i v e r s i t y , n o t community c o l l e g e , p r e s i d e n t s .
Vaughan

(1986)

stated

that,

community c o l l e g e movement, l i t t l e
who s e r v e d

"in s p i t e

of the

vastness of the

i s known a b ou t t h e men and women

in t h e movement’ s van guard"

(p.

1).

He went on t o

say

t h a t "a s t a r t i n g p l a c e f o r s t u d y i n g t h e community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n c y
i s a c l o s e r e x a m i n a t i o n o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l s who occupy t h e p o s i t i o n "
(p. 9 ) .

Vaughan w r o te t h a t community c o l l e g e s a r e i n t o t h e i r second

22

generation

of

presidents

in t h e i r c u r r e n t j o b s f o r f i v e y e a r s

are

presidents;

today’s

p residents

more

and

than

how

50% o f

do

the

they

CEOs

have

or l e s s .

been

So,

develop

and

who
grow

professionally?
When f o c u s i n g on t h e p r e p a r a t i o n and dev el o pm en t o f community
co lleg e

p residents,

several

negative perceptions.
provided

for

u niversity

people

(or

researchers

have

expressed

fairly

Kauffman (1980) s a i d t h a t no p r e p a r a t i o n
go in g

community

into

the

college).

position
L ah ti

of

president

(1973)

of

suggested

is
a

that

i n d u s t r i a l o r g a n i z a t i o n s c o u l d s e r v e as a model f o r h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n
r e g a r d i n g t h e t r a i n i n g o f p o t e n t i a l management t a l e n t ,

by

p r o v i d i n g e x t e n s i v e i n - s e r v i c e devel opm ent . . . r e q u i r i n g
commitment in te rm s o f o r g a n i z a t i o n a l p r i o r i t i e s and r e s o u r c e s .
H igh er e d u c a t i o n has l a r g e l y i g n o r e d t h i s c o n c e p t ; t h e p r im ar y
s o u r c e f o r f i l l i n g key m a n a g e r ia l p o s i t i o n s i s u n t r a i n e d ,
u p w a r d l y m o b i l e a c a d e m i c i a n s who t a k e t h e i r t u r n i n t h e
c l a s s r o o m and th e n become a p a r t o f t h e h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n
establishm ent.
T h i s s o u r c e o f l e a d e r s h i p l e a v e s much t o be
d e s i r e d and r e s u l t s in a d m i n i s t r a t i o n who come t o t h e i r p o s t s
as a m a t e u r s , l a c k i n g management s k i l l s and t h e knowledge of
a p p l i c a t i o n t o management s y s t e m s , (p. 34)
To d ea l w i t h t h i s
(1950)

l a c k o f knowledge and e x p e r i e n c e ,

suggested a p a r t i a l

solution.

recruited

from t h e academic r a n k s ,

the

of

role

full-tim e
(1975)

adm inistrators,

summer s e s s i o n s

suggested

some

Because p r e s i d e n t s
with

little

in-service

and i n s t i t u t e s

specific

Henderson

progr ams ,

such

o r no t r a i n i n g
programs

could
as

are often

as

well

be o f f e r e d .
the

Institute

for
as

Irw in
for

E d u c a t i o n a l Management, t h e Academy f o r E d u c a t i o n a l Development, t h e
C o lle g e A d m i n i s t r a t o r Development
adm inistrative

train in g

programs

Program,

(including

and

other

planning,

advanced
management

23

sk ills,

decision

making,

policy

making,

mo de rn m a n a g e m e n t

and

s u p e r v i s i o n , and e x e c u t i v e g r i d management t r a i n i n g ) .
Henderson
w ell

(1960)

also

believed

that

postdoctoral

a s s p e c i f i c workshops can s e r v e a u s e f u l

o f f e r e d in a t i m e l y f a s h i o n .
aware o f ,

however,

p ro fessio n al
attended.

is

from t h e

that

purpose

programs
if

as

they are

One m a jo r drawback t h a t Henderson was
the

formal

role

of

president

can

train in g

programs

a nd

divert

the

in stitu tes

He w r o t e :

The n o n s c h o l a r l y a c t i v i t i e s o f fund r a i s i n g , p l a n t e r e c t i o n and
p u b l i c r e l a t i o n s a r e i n t e g r a l t o t h e f u n c t i o n o f e d u c a t i n g , bu t
t h e y consume enormous amounts o f ne rv o us e n e r g y and i n t e r f e r e
s e r i o u s l y w i t h t h e p er f o r m a n c e o f t h e r o l e as ch ai rm an and
leader of the facu lty .
P r e v i o u s s c h o l a r s h i p in L a t i n o r in
c h e m i s t r y does n o t p r e p a r e a man t o work w i t h a r c h i t e c t s o r t o
s e l l b u d g e t a r y d e f i c i t s t o donor s o r l e g i s l a t o r s .
Nor does i t
p r e p a r e him t o d e a l e f f e c t i v e l y w i t h t e m p e r a m e n t a l and
cantankerous f a c u lty .
Although s u c c e s s in t h e s e a s p e c t s o f
a d m i n i s t r a t i o n may o f t e n be t h e r e s u l t o f s p e c i a l q u a l i t i e s o f
p e r s o n a l i t y , t h e h ig h r a t e o f t u r n o v e r in p r e s i d e n c i e s may in
part
be c a u s e d by f u m b l i n g d ue i n t u r n
to
lack
of
a d m i n i s t r a t i v e t r a i n i n g o r e x p e r i e n c e , (p. 19)
Formal t r a i n i n g , which would r e f l e c t both b r e a d t h and d e p t h o f
education

as

s ym bol iz ed by t h e

possession

of

the

doctorate,

is

a

n e c e s s a r y b u t n o t a s u f f i c i e n t c o n d i t i o n f o r t h e p e r s o n in t h e r o l e
o f community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t .

L ah ti (1973) b e l i e v e d t h a t t h e two-

y e a r c o l l e g e needs l e a d e r s w it h p e r s o n a l e x p e r i e n c e sup pl em en te d by
a th o r o u g h knowledge o f t h e t h e o r e t i c a l r e s e a r c h .
can be a p p l i e d t o
opportunities.

specific

Such

situations,

"teachable

based

moments"

n e c e s s a r y t o make t h e r e q u i r e d d e c i s i o n s .

M an ag eri al s k i l l s

on p r e v i o u s

provide

the

learning

experience

24
A tt e m p ts have been made t o s u g g e s t s p e c i f i c

qualifications

and

k in ds o f knowledge o r e x p e r i e n c e s t h a t s h o u ld be r e q u i r e d of p e o p l e
holding
(1960)

the

position

suggested

of

that

community

the

college

individual

c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t must be a l e r t t o

in

president.
the

role

Henderson
of

community

and u n d e r s t a n d t h e problems o f

h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n , be a c q u a i n t e d w i t h c u r r i c u l u m d e s i g n , have s t u d i e d
some

special

area

adm in istratio n ,

of

have

human

acquired

relatio n s
some

including

knowledge

devel op men t and f i n a n c i n g o f h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n ,

in

and

personnel

the
have

area

of

a working

u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f o r g a n i z a t i o n s and an a b i l i t y t o c o o r d i n a t e s p e c i a l
programs a c r o s s t h e campus.
Lahti

(1973)

suggested

th at

some

of

the

necessary

q u a l if ic a tio n s fo r the c h ie f a d m in is tra to r include:
power w it h p e o p l e , i n t e l l i g e n c e , f l e x i b i l i t y , g u t s , i n t e g r i t y ,
c o n f i d e n c e , and i n n e r d r i v e .
He must be a b l e t o l e a r n , t h i n k
and u n d e r s t a n d q u i c k l y ; make s o u n d j u d g e m e n t s ;
.
communicate e f f e c t i v e l y ; . . . r e a c t q u i c k l y ; . . . and g e t
t h i n g s done t h r o u g h o t h e r s .
He must be a b l e t o l e a d , p l a n ,
o r g a n i z e . . . [show] empathy . . . and ch a r i s m a o r p e r s o n a l
charm. . . . [He must be] a g e n e r a l i s t , . . . c r e a t i v e , a b l e t o
b e n e f i t from e x p e r i e n c e , . . . d e l e g a t e [ a n d ] remain inform ed,
(p . 39)
Rouche, Baker, and Rose (1988) a l s o d i s c u s s e d s e v e r a l
the

effective

c o m m u n it y

The community c o l l e g e

able to help o th e rs understand the v is io n s
environment.

human

behavior.

a

"must p o s s e s s t h e s y n e r g y t o c r e a t e some thin g new o u t o f
50).

influence

being

individual

(p.

to

inclu d in g

and

o ld "

able

president,

visio n ary

s omething

being

college

tr a i t s of

president

The

must be

and how t h e y a f f e c t t h e

The p r e s i d e n t must a l s o be an e f f e c t i v e

communicator

who f a c i l i t a t e s t h e t r a n s i t i o n from t h e p a s t toward t h e new v i s i o n .

25

These

stu d ies,

as

in terestin g

and

valuable

as

they

are,

n e g l e c t e d t o me ntion how a community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t a c q u i r e s t h e
sk ills,

knowledge b a s e , and t a l e n t s n e c e s s a r y t o be e f f e c t i v e w i t h i n

th a t adm inistrative role.
of study,

White (1957) p o i n t e d o u t t h a t "no c o u r s e

even p a r t i c i p a t i o n

in

in stitu tes,

t h e e d u c a t i o n t h a t comes from e x p e r i e n c e .
t h a t can n e v e r be

can t a k e t h e p l a c e o f

And, t h a t i s an e d u c a t i o n

f i n i s h e d no m a t t e r how long o n e ’ s a d m i n i s t r a t i v e

e x p e r i e n c e s may be" (pp. 1 0 - 1 1 ) .
Few a t t e m p t s
experiences
college
(1978)
kinds

have been made t o i d e n t i f y g e n e r a l

that

provide

presidents.
discussed

opportunities

Vaughan

some o f

of pressures

that

(1985),

the

for

learning

Peterson

experiences,

by

(1972),

critical

community c o l l e g e

patterns

of

community

and Ashmore

incidents,

presidents

endure

or

on

a

regular basis.
Vaughan
successes,
successes

(1985)

focused

professional
involved

accessib le
participation

to

such

older
in

on t h e

failu res,
areas

as

ad u lts,

t h e g ov e rn a n c e

self-reported
and p e r s o n a l

hav in g

giving

the
the

process,

and

perceptions
failu res.

to

all

The

community c o l l e g e

be

facu lty

of

b ei n g

a
able

sense
to

share

knowledge a b ou t t h e community c o l l e g e w i t h o t h e r i n d i v i d u a l s
th e country.

of

across

P r o f e s s i o n a l f a i l u r e s i n c l u d e d t r y i n g t o be a l l t h i n g s

people,

promising

too

much

and

not d e l i v e r i n g ,

and

an

i n a b i l i t y t o s t a t e c l e a r l y t h e m i s s i o n o f t h e community c o l l e g e t o
the public.
special

Personal

interest

failures

g ro up s

i n c l u d e d such t h i n g s as n o t g e t t i n g

together,

lettin g

personal

dreams

fall

26

th r o u g h

the

cracks,

allowing

li s t e n in g to oth er people,
Vaughan’ s l i s t s

far

too

many

student

failures,

and ca v in g in t o c o l l e c t i v e

were v e r y g e n e r a l ,

not

bargaining.

and i t was q u e s t i o n a b l e w h e th e r

t h e it em s had been c a t e g o r i z e d a p p r o p r i a t e l y .
Peterson

(1972)

dissertation.
that

undertook

a more

He was i n t e r e s t e d

affected

a s e l f - r e p o r t procedure.

also

according

categorized

college

or

governing

identifying

new and e x p e r i e n c e d p r e s i d e n t s

and u n i v e r s i t i e s in t h e Midwest.

ineffective,

in

rigorous

the

critical

of

for

his

incidents

selected

colleges

He i n t e r v i e w e d 26 p r e s i d e n t s u s i n g

He i d e n t i f i e d e v e n t s as be in g e f f e c t i v e o r
to

the

presidents’

incidents

u n iv ersity

boards)

endeavor

as

be in g

(stu d en ts,

or external

to

perceptions.
either

facu lty ,

the

Peterson

internal

to

the

ad m in istratio n,

school

(local

citizens,

or
the

p ress, or the s t a t e ) .
P eterso n ’s
categories,

resu lts

including finance,

co n tro llin g ,

governing

in effectiv en ess,
relations.

uncovered

sp ecific

campus u n r e s t ,

board,

public

student r e la tio n s ,

These

critical

problems

critica l

staffing,

problem

governance,

relatio n s,

subordinate

com pensation,

and e m p l o y e e

provided

l e a r n i n g and p e r h a p s s e r v e d as d e s i r a b l e

opportunities

preparation

for

f o r e nh an c in g

presidential effectiveness.
Ashmore
P residents

(1978)
in

1977,

presented
focusing

a

paper
on

at

some

the
of

Summer

the

Council

pressures

of

th at

p r e s i d e n t s o f c o l l e g e s and u n i v e r s i t i e s a r e f a c i n g now t h a t d i d n o t
e x i s t t o t h i s e x t e n t 25 y e a r s ago.

His l i s t o f p r e s s u r e s

working c l o s e l y w i t h v e s t e d - i n t e r e s t g r o u p s ,

included

declining enrollm ents,

27

s h r i n k i n g b u d g e t s , p r e s s u r e s t o a c h i e v e more w i t h l e s s ,

com petition

for

government

nongovernm ental

(regulations,
age

of

funds,

f o rm s,

reports,

unions,
visits,

questioning/suspicion,

disliked.

and

the

federal

quotas),

an

t h e news med ia,

increased

feeling

of

the

being

These r e p o r t e d e v e n t s a r e bound t o a f f e c t t h e community

college

president,

as

experiences discussed.

are

the

other

c ritical

in cid en ts

and

(F or a more p e r s o n a l d a i l y a c c o u n t o f e v e n t s

and p r e s s u r e s e x p e r i e n c e d by a u n i v e r s i t y p r e s i d e n t ,

see Berendzen’s

(1986) book, Is My Armor S t r a i g h t . 1
When a p r e s i d e n t e x p e r i e n c e s d i f f e r e n t p r e s s u r e s and p r ob le m s ,
o p p o rtu n ities
dev el o p m en t .

occur

for

inform al

learn in g

How do p r e s i d e n t s choos e t o l e a r n

and

professional

from t h e s e e v e n t s ,

and what new knowledge do t h e p r e s i d e n t s t a k e w i t h them as a r e s u l t
of

hav in g

experienced

the

incidents?

Carbone

(1981),

Kauffman

( 1 9 8 0 ) , Brown ( 1 9 7 9 ) , and Borland (1976) a d d r e s s e d t h i s s u b j e c t .
In

his

established

research
career

role of president.
and d i s c u s s e d
learned.
("experience

on p r e s i d e n t i a l

ladders

for

passages,

individuals

who p r o g r e s s e d

is

(1981)
to

the

He i d e n t i f i e d p o s t - p r e s i d e n t t r e n d s o r p o s i t i o n s

s p e c i f i c ways in which p r e s i d e n t s

The

Carbone

p resid en ts
a good

said

teacher,"

they
p.

learn ed

67),

reported

how t h e y

from

the

past

from m e n t o r s

and

solid

f a c u l t y members, and from s p e c i f i c a d m i n i s t r a t i v e e x p e r i e n c e s .
presid en ts

learned

several

lesso n s

r e p o r t e d l e a r n i n g t o be f l e x i b l e ,

from

these

tough-skinned,

sources.

The
They

and in c o n t r o l

of

28

t h e i r egos.

They a l s o l e a r n e d t o r e a l i z e t h a t ,

as p r e s i d e n t ,

"you

w i l l n e v e r make a ’ r i g h t ’ d e c i s i o n in t h e eyes o f a t l e a s t a p a r t o f
y o u r p u b l i c and employees" (p. 6 7 ) .
Kauffman (1980) was i n t e r e s t e d
t h e new p r e s i d e n t ,
ropes"

of the

as w ell

position.

person

as

much

how t h e

He t h o u g h t

needed t o have an a c t i v e
th at

as

in t h e

interest

as

predecessor’s e ffe c t

new p r e s i d e n t
that

the

board

in t h e p r e s i d e n t

possible.

"learned

K au ff m an

of

on
the

directors

and t o

support

id en tified

three

mechanisms o f h e l p i n g t o p r e p a r e p e o p l e f o r t h e r o l e o f p r e s i d e n t .
These mechanisms
sponsoring
entail

were

someone

a fairly

mentoring,

w ithin

active

the

grooming

likely

organization.

in fo rm al

learning

candidates,

These

and

suggestions

process but o f f e r

a wide

v a r i e t y o f d e ve lo p m en ta l o p p o r t u n i t i e s .
Brown

(1978)

described

rev italizatio n strategies.
w ithin

an o r g a n i z a t i o n ,

f r e s h and e f f e c t i v e .
opportunities

for

developm ental

o p p ortu n ities

Because change and growth a r e c o n s t a n t s

Brown b e l i e v e d

it

was

im perative

"the

institution

supervision

obligation

than

to

the

maintain t h e i r v i t a l i t y
"Most

leaders

technique

and

coaching.

for

A ls o ,

individual

copy

an

idea
scho ol

c o l l e a g u e s become o ur f a c u l t y "

(p.

36).

understands

falls
(p.

by h a v in g r o l e mode ls,

consciously
another.

leader"

the

adviser

stay

the

circumstance

35).

less

to

the

Presidents

one

later

colleague,
learning,

When an i n d i v i d u a l
and

for

usually colleagues.

from
of

monies

Brown s t a t e d t h a t ,

revitalization

In

an

from

to

S e l f - g r o w t h i s i m p o r t a n t b e c a u s e t h e r e a r e few

i n s t i t u t e s and c o n f e r e n c e s a r e ha r d t o j u s t i f y .
instead,

as

then

a
ou r

thinks

recommends

a

29

decision,
thus

that

feels

individual

greater

feels

h e / s h e can t a k e

m otivation.

A third

factor

v i t a l i t y i s hav in g a c c e s s t o t h e r o l e mo de ls.
critical

risks

pursuit

of

explicit

l e a r n i n g , " p. 3 6 ) .
self-learning.
recognition

is

activ ities

to

S u p p o r t n et wo rk s a r e

th r o u g h

that

and

contributing

a s t h e s e p e o p l e o f t e n as k t h e " p e n e t r a t i n g q u e s t i o n s . "

f o u r t h means f o r m a i n t a i n i n g v i t a l i t y
("the

greater

habit

will

The

and

intent

stim ulate

self­

R o u t i n e , t h e r e f o r e , a c c o r d i n g t o Brown, enhances

The f i f t h means o f en h an c in g v i t a l i t y i s t h r o u g h t h e

and use o f

specifics.

Specific

failures

or

specific

a c t i o n s promote t h e c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f a l t e r n a t i v e s and new t h e o r i e s .
Brown

id en tified

reading,

getting

national

associations,

bosses,

12

away

exercising

rev italizatio n

(travel

or

observing

regularly,

strateg ies,

sabbatical),
role

including

participating

m odels--especially

attending

wo rkshops,

drafting

in

fo rm er
ma jor

s p e e c h e s o r r e p o r t s , kee p in g up i n s c h o l a r l y d i s c i p l i n e , m a i n t a i n i n g
s u p p o r t o f p r o f e s s i o n a l n e t w o r k s , m a i n t a i n i n g a c u l t u r a l l i f e beyond
the

job,

getting

involved

periodic evaluations.
for learning.

in

o f f- c a m p u s

projects,

and

u n de r go in g

These s u g g e s t i o n s p r o v i d e many o p p o r t u n i t i e s

The s t r a t e g i e s

o f being a s e l f - d i r e c t e d

s u g g e s t t h e im p o r ta n c e o f t h e n o t i o n

learner.

Brown emphasized t h e

im po rt an ce

of o th e r people fo r le a rn in g to ta ke p lace.
B or la n d (1976) a l s o

id e n tif i e d the

im p o r ta n c e o f p e o p l e al o ng

w i t h e v e n t s in f a c i l i t a t i n g t h e a c q u i s i t i o n o f c e r t a i n p r e s i d e n t i a l
career

positions

whom B o r l a n d

in

Michigan

interview ed

community c o l l e g e s .

id en tified

several

The p r e s i d e n t s
experiences

th at

30

a f f e c t e d them f o r y e a r s t o come, b o th p e r s o n a l l y and p r o f e s s i o n a l l y .
Several
" G re at
w ithout
depend

p r e s i d e n t s r e p o r t e d growing up d u r i n g d i f f i c u l t
War"

and t h e

m aterial
on

depression

comforts

others

and

to

years).

while
work

They were

growing

up,

together.

and

They

i m p o r ta n c e o f r i s k b e h a v i o r ( t o n o t p l a y i t

forced

they
also

safe);

times

(the
to

do

learned

to

learned

the

and many o f t h e

p r e s i d e n t s d e v e l o p e d e a r l y in l i f e a d e s i r e t o be a l e a d e r .
Sometimes a s p e c i f i c p e r s o n was i d e n t i f i e d
the

growth

of

the

individual

co-worker or s u p e r v is o r ,
adm inistrators,

president.

as w ell

proved t o

education a d m in is tra tio n .

as c o n t r i b u t i n g

Encouragement

a s bad e x p e r i e n c e s

be e v e n t s

with

t h a t moved p e o p l e

from

to
a

specific

into

higher

B or la nd s t a t e d ,

The r e s p o n d e n t s i n d i c a t e d t h a t w h i l e working in p o s i t i o n s o f
l e a d e r s h i p , t h e y were v i s i b l e t o t h e i r s u p e r i o r s and, in t u r n ,
t h e i r s u p e r i o r s were v i s i b l e t o them.
Th is r e l a t i o n s h i p o f t e n
provided th e o p p o rtu n ity f o r th e respondents to observe s t y l e s
o f management, t h e n a t u r e o f t h e j o b , and t h e c h a r a c t e r o f t h e
p r e s i d e n t occup yin g t h e p o s i t i o n , ( p . 247)
Much
resu lt

learning

of

th is

Respondents
in stilled

occurred

kind

id en tified

positive,

asso ciatio n
certain

some

and

values

"all

people

negative)

personal

and

in them when yo u n g er b u t t h a t s t i l l

them on a d a i l y b a s i s .
work,

of

(much

as

a

in flu en ces.

b eliefs

th at

were

a f f e c t e d and m o t i v a t e d

These v a l u e s i n c l u d e d t h e im p o r t a n c e o f hard
are

good,"

in teg rity ,

perseverance,

r e s p o n s i b i l i t y , be in g u n s e l f i s h , t h e Golden Rule , p o s i t i v e t h i n k i n g ,
self-confidence,
people.

com petitiveness,

and

the

desire

to

help

other

Borland s t a t e d t h a t "Michigan community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t s

indicated

th at,

to

a great

extent,

th eir

beliefs

and

values

31

orientations

have been

influenced

by t h e i r

early

experiences"

D if f e r e n t people ( p r o f e s s o r s ,

teachers,

coaches,

(p.

2 7 1) .

community c o l l e g e s ,
superiors

in

influential,
religious

resp on d en ts’ spouses,

the

job

situ atio n )

were

as were o t h e r c i r c u m s t a n c e s ,

training,

and meager f a m i l y

p re sid e n ts of

f a m i l y members,
reported

as

being

such as r u r a l

finances.

or other
very

ba ckg ro und ,

These s i t u a t i o n s

a r e a l l exam ples o f p o s s i b l e e v e n t s t h a t co u ld have an i n f l u e n c e on
t h e community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t .

B or la nd looke d

e v e n t s / e x p e r i e n c e s and t h e l e s s o n s l e a r n e d b u t

briefly

at

these

was more i n t e r e s t e d

in o t h e r c a r e e r p e r c e p t i o n s and s t r a t e g i e s o f t h e community c o l l e g e
presidents.
The l i t e r a t u r e i s s p a r s e on community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t s in t h e
a r e a s o f a d m i n i s t r a t i v e deve lo pm ent t h r o u g h 1 i f e - e x p e r i e n c e a n a l y s i s
and a l s o c o n c e r n i n g s e l f - r e p o r t r e f l e c t i o n s on l e s s o n s l e a r n e d from
those

events,

b ot h

professional

and p e r s o n a l .

No formal

studies

have been c o n d u c t e d w it h s p e c i a l emphasis being p l a c e d on community
college

presidents’

lessons learned.

identification

of

learned

w ill

most

l e v e l o f d i s c o m f o r t , p a i n , and s t r e s s .
the

community

experience
dealing

stress

w ith

the

and

subsequent

Borland (1976) p o i n t e d o u t in h i s s t u d y t h a t much

o f what a d m i n i s t r a t o r s

that

experiences

college
on

the

union,

president

job
ro le

(b o ar d

probably

in

some

Vaughan (1986) a l s o r e p o r t e d
has
versus

am biguity,

v a c a t i o n s , and p oor f a c u l t y a t t i t u d e s ) .

result

many

opportunities

president
not

having

to

conflicts,
tim e

for

32
The

next

section

focuses

on t h e

p e rta in s to the c u rre n t study.
literatu re

in

the

areas

of

notion

of

resilience

as

it

B r i e f me ntion i s made o f s u p p o r t i v e
transitions

and

life

experiences

as

opportunities for learning.
T r a n s i t i o n s / S t y l e s o f Coping
Periods

o f ch an ge ,

including

life

experiences,

are

stressful

b ec a u se each i n v o l v e s a c o n f l i c t between a f o r c e t h a t i s working t o
keep t h i n g s t h e way t h e y have been and a n o t h e r f o r c e t h a t i s p u s h in g
the

individual

to

move

fo rw ar d

and

embrace

the

new

conditions.

Acco rd ing t o F la c h ( 1 9 88 ) ,
The p s y c h o l o g i c a l c h a n g e s t h a t a c c o m p a n y s t r e s s r e a c t i o n s
s h o u ld l e a d t o a new, more complex and a d a p t i v e s t r u c t u r e t h a t
i s . . . d i f f e r e n t from t h a t which pr e c e d e d i t . . . . W e s h o u ld
have l e a r n e d som eth ing from what we have been t h r o u g h .
We
s h o u l d e m e r g e . . . more q u a l i f i e d t o d e a l w i t h l i f e ’ s
c h a l l e n g e s b ec a u se o f ou r e x p e r i e n c e s , (p . 5)
F la c h was
moves,

new

interaction
g row th.

suggesting

job

tasks,

with

The

mentors,

natural

that

life

experiences,

failu res,

successes,

promote

process

of

including

prom otions,

opportunities
resilience

career

for

change

includes

an

and
and

in itial

b r e a k i n g down o f what was, which i s a n e c e s s a r y p r e l u d e t o p e r s o n a l
renewal,

g r o w th ,

t i m e we have t o

and knowledge a c q u i s i t i o n .
learn

something

im portant

Flac h
that

stated,

goes

"Every

against

some

p r e s u m p t io n we p r e v i o u s l y h e l d d e a r , d i s r u p t i o n must o c c u r " (p . 1 6 ) .
As t h e i n d i v i d u a l d e a l s w it h t h e s e p o i n t s o r moments o f e x tr e m e
change ( c a l l e d b i f u r c a t i o n p o i n t s ) ,
meet

new

individual

stresses

that

who g r o w s

he/she is preparing the s e l f to

un d o u b te d ly

from t h e s e

lie

ahe a d .

experiences

The

resilien t

acquires

specific

33

personality

traits,

self-insight,
it

such

as

self-respect,

a tolerance
an a b i l i t y

to

is diminished or te m p o rarily l o s t ,

"a p e r s p e c t i v e
within

which

on l i f e
we

can

that

some

pain

restore

and

discom fort,

s e l f - e s t e e m when

a capacity fo r le arn in g ,

offers

discover

for

a

v ital,

measure

evolving
of

and

philosophy

personal

meaning"

( F l a c h , 1988, p. x i i ) .
Did

p residents

"bifurcation
ladders?

points"

What

of

co m m u n it y

(stressors)

lessons

were

as

colleges
they

learned

experience

moved

from

up

their

th eir

early

career

years

p r e s i d e n t t h a t c o n t i n u e d t o h e l p l a t e r in t h e i r p r o f e s s i o n a l
It

is

also

possible

that

other

experiences,

not

these

work

as

lives?

related,

p r o v i d e d many o f t h e l e s s o n s t h a t c o u l d have been i n c o r p o r a t e d
use back in t h e w o r k p l a c e .

for

Of i n t e r e s t in t h i s s t u d y were k i n d s o f

e x p e r i e n c e s t h a t a f f e c t e d community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t s ,
t h e k in d s o f l e s s o n s l e a r n e d and r e s u l t a n t b e h a v i o r a l

as w ell
ch an ge s

as

that

occurred.
Schlossberg
tran sitio n s.
change"

(p.

(1984)

described

"A t r a n s i t i o n
43).

is

T ransitions

changes as o b t a i n i n g a new j o b ,

these

events

an e v e n t
include

or

experiences

o r n o n ev en t

not only

marriage,

such

as

resulting
o b v io u s

or bereavement,

in

life

but also

s u b t l e ch ang es l i k e t h e l o s s o f c a r e e r a s p i r a t i o n s o r an a n t i c i p a t e d
promo tion t h a t n e v e r o c c u r r e d .

Levinson (1979)

saw t r a n s i t i o n s

as

" t u r n i n g p o i n t s between s t a b l e p e r i o d s " (p. 4 9 ) .
In s t u d y i n g t r a n s i t i o n s o r e v e n t s ,

it

is

i m p o r t a n t t o keep in

mind t h e d i f f e r e n t t y p e s o f t r a n s i t i o n s t h a t S c h l o s s b e r g i d e n t i f i e d .

34

She d e s c r i b e d f o u r t y p e s o f t r a n s i t i o n s :

those a n tic ip a te d

individual,

hassles,

those

unanticipated,

chronic

and

by t h e

nonevents.

The a n t i c i p a t e d t r a n s i t i o n s i n c l u d e " g a i n s o r l o s s e s " o r ch an ge s in
roles

that

" p red ictab ly occur

in t h e c o u r s e o f t h e u n f o l d i n g

life

c y c l e " ( P e a r l i n & Leiberman, 1979, p. 2 20 ).
The se cond kind o f t r a n s i t i o n d i s c u s s e d by S c h l o s s b e r g was t h e
unanticipated tr a n s i tio n ,

which i n c l u d e s

in

described

life.

P ea r l in

unanticipated
demoted,

tran sitio n s.

hav in g

promoted,

and

separation,

(1980)

to

give

leaving

These

the

"nonscheduled

several

kinds

include

" b e in g

up work b ec a u se

of

one

b etter

job

for

a

. . . p r e m a t u r e d e a t h o f a sp o us e

e v e n t s in t h e p a r e n t a l

arena"

(p.

1 8 0) .

of

w ork-related

fired

illness

.

.

. . .
.

one.
.

events"

.

or
bei ng

D ivorce,

. represent

such

Some o f t h e s e e v e n t s were

s i m i l a r t o t h o s e r e s e a r c h e d by Holmes and Rahe (1967) and Gunderson
and Rahe (1979) as t h e y p e r t a i n e d t o f u t u r e p h y s i c a l

i l l n e s s and t h e

continued s t r e s s response.
The

third

kind

of

tran sitio n

chronic-hassle tr a n s itio n ,

which

Schlossberg

described

included r e c u r r i n g

work and p e r s o n a l l y ( L a z a r u s , 1981, 1984 ).

was

themes b o th

the
at

Personality c o n flic ts at

work, m i s p l a c i n g o b j e c t s , and c o n ce r n o v e r o n e ’ s w e i g h t a r e examples
o f c h r o n i c h a s s l e s ( L a z a r u s , 1981).
The f o u r t h t r a n s i t i o n was t h e n o n e v e n t , in which t h e i n d i v i d u a l
has

come

to

expect

som ething

to

happen

but

it

never

occurs.

S c h l o s s b e r g gave such examples as t h e p rom ot ion t h a t d oes n o t o c c u r ,
"the

child

that

was

m e t a s t a s i z e " (p . 4 6 ) .

never

born

[or]

the

cancer

that

did

not

35

The d i f f e r e n t k in d s o f t r a n s i t i o n s e l a b o r a t e d on by S c h l o s s b e r g
and

also

by

B r id g e s

th eo retical

(1980) were

framework,

S chlossberg.

These

conducting

present

the

as

used

were

guiding

as

other

of

points

p rin cip les

research.

part

were

an

brought
kept

Schlossberg

in

pointed

example, t h a t ma jor l i f e e v e n t s c o u l d c r e a t e h a s s l e s - - a s
’ r i p p l e e f f e c t ’ " (p. 4 6 ) .

extensive
out

by

mind

in

out,

for

"a kind o f

The same t r a n s i t i o n e v e n t c o u l d a l s o have

d i f f e r e n t meanings f o r d i f f e r e n t p e o p l e and f o r t h e same p e r s o n a t
different

tim es.

Schlossberg

t r a n s i t i o n o n ly i f
( p.

44).

which

She

it

tran sitio n

tran sitio n

[personal,

which

ec on o m ic s ] "

(p.

researchers

takes

tran sitio n

A ls o ,

t r a n s i t i o n on t h e i n d i v i d u a l
or her d a ily l i f e " ? )

in

influences

In o t h e r words,

[self,

the

to

identify

the

"relationship

community];
fam ily,

what was t h e

im m obilization,

is

of

[and]

friends,
perceived

a
it"

context

in

person

to

the

setting

work,

health,

effect

of

the

(how much d i d t h e t r a n s i t i o n " a l t e r h i s

mind

that

th e perceived

length
effect

o f ti m e s i n c e
for

the

the

(b) d e n i a l ,

event

individual.
is another

S c h l o s s b e r g r e p o r t e d on a model d e v e l o p e d

Adams, Hayes, and Hopson in 1976,

t e s t in g out,

transition

the person’ s response to the t r a n s i t i o n

fa c to r to consider.

(a)

"a

(p. 5 2 ) .

I t must be k e p t
occurred also

place,

interpersonal,
occurs

47).

that

so d e f i n e d by t h e p e r s o n e x p e r i e n c i n g

en co ur ag ed

the

in

is

stated

by

involving a sev en -stag e p ro cess;

(c ) s e l f - d o u b t ,

(d) l e t t i n g go,

( f ) s e a r c h f o r meaning in which " t h e i n d i v i d u a l

t o as k "What d i d I l e a r n from t h e e x p e r i e n c e ? " and (g)

(e )

begins

integration.

36
The im p o r ta n c e o f t h e s e n o t i o n s f o r t h e p r e s e n t s t u d y i n v o l v e d
attempting

to

regarding the
presidents
process

recognize

the

stage

in

which

specific tran sitio n /ev en t.

were

in

some

of

and were not a b l e

the

to

president

was,

I t was p o s s i b l e t h a t

earlier

identify

the

stages

the

of

the

lessons

the

transition

learned.

Thi s

a p p e a r e d t o be an i n h e r e n t weakness o f t h e s t u d y .
In summary, l i f e e x p e r i e n c e s and t r a n s i t i o n s promote s t r e s s and
provide

o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r change and gr ow th.

process,

people are able to

learn

At some t i m e

from t h e t r a n s i t i o n

in th e

and be more

r e s i l i e n t t o and b e t t e r equi ppe d t o ha n d l e f u t u r e chang es o r e v e n t s .
The s t u d y was d e s i g n e d w i t h t h e i n t e n t o f i d e n t i f y i n g some o f t h e s e
experiences
was

and t r a n s i t i o n s

focused

on

for

identifying

community c o l l e g e

a

pattern

of

presidents,

lessons

and

learned

from

p a r t i c i p a t i n g in t h e e v e n t s .
To

identify

these

events

and

the

lessons

learned

from

the

e x p e r i e n c e s , t h e n e c e s s a r y i n f o r m a t i o n was o b t a i n e d u s i n g

interview

techniques.

interview

procedures

In

the

following

section,

the

issue

of

is d i s c u s s e d and a c a s e made f o r t h e use o f t h a t

data-

collection t o o l .
The I n t e r v i e w P ro ce s s
The i n t e r v i e w ,
face

interpersonal

interview er,
questions
problem"

role

48 1) .

to

K erlinger

situation

asks a person

designed
(p.

according to

obtain
Bogdan

being

w h ic h

interview ed,

answers
and

in

(1 97 3) ,

pertinent

B ik l e n

(1982)

is

one
the
to

"a

face-to-

person,

the

respondent,
the

stated

research
that

the

37
i n t e r v i e w i s o f t e n used t o " g a t h e r d e s c r i p t i v e d a t a in t h e s u b j e c t s ’
own

words,

so

that

the

researcher

can

develop

insight

on

how

s u b j e c t s i n t e r p r e t some p i e c e o f t h e world" (p . 1 3 5 ) .
Sundberg (1977)

stated

that

the

interview

common and most e f f e c t i v e means o f c o l l e c t i n g
life

changes.

usually

able

points"

(p.

to

identify

a

a number o f

The key i s t o

chan ce

to

share

in t h e a r e a o f

course

important

find

one o f t h e most

data

"A p er s o n l o o k i n g back o v e r t h e

95).

individual

is

of

sh ifts

or

a technique t h a t

those

points,

1ike

life

choice

allows

the

is

the

interview

method.
B or la nd
gathering

(1976) found t h e i n t e r v i e w method t o be a v i t a l

procedure

col l e g e p r e s i d e n t s
also

used

the

for

his

s tu d y

and t h e i r

career

interview

as

the

involving

Michigan

perceptions.

main

community

Eckhardt

data-collection

data-

tool

(1978)
as

he

f o c u s e d on community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t s and t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p between
task

performance

community

structural

col 1 e g e .

u n iv ersity
critical

and

P eterson

presid en ts

incidents

as

that

he

characteristics
(1972)

focused

influenced

interview ed
on

the

of

the

the

specific

col 1ege

id en tificatio n

effectiveness

of

new

and
of
and

experienced p re s id e n ts.
Arman (1986)
d a t a on t h e t o p i c

used

an open-ended

needed

opportunity

to

process

to

collect

of career preparation of college p resid en ts

c h i e f academic o f f i c e r s .
u sefu l,

interview

to

be

provide

f or m at t h e y d e s i r e d .

He th o u g h t t h a t t h e q u e s t i o n s ,
op e n
as

ended

much

Putman

to

perm it

inform ation

(1986)

used t h e

as

t o be most

p articip an ts
possible,

interview

and

in

an
any

as a prime

38

d e s c r i p t i v e - s t u d y t e c h n i q u e when she s t u d i e d t h e r o l e , f u n c t i o n ,
influence

of

d istrict

adm inistrators

on

curricular

change

and

in

a

m u l t i - c o l l e g e community c o l l e g e d i s t r i c t .
Besides th e d i s s e r t a t i o n s

in which t h e

interview

process

has

e f f e c t i v e l y been u s e d , o t h e r r e s e a r c h has a l s o s u c c e s s f u l l y employed
th a t technique.

V aillant

(1977) d e s c r i b e d h i s d e c i s i o n t o use t h e

i n t e r v i e w p r o c e s s and d e s c r i p t i v e / q u a l i t a t i v e r e s e a r c h as f o l l o w s :
While d e s c r i b i n g t h e a d a p t i v e maneuvers o f t h e s e men, I was
r e p e a t e d l y r e m i n d e d t h a t t h e i r l i v e s w e r e t o o human f o r
s c i e n c e , t o o b e a u t i f u l f o r numbers, t o o sad f o r d i a g n o s i s , and
t o o immortal f o r bound j o u r n a l s .
Human b e i n g s need s c i e n c e ,
b u t s c i e n c e n e v e r does human b e i n g s j u s t i c e .
The .
s u b j e c t s d e s e r v e b e t t e r th a n t o be r e g a r d e d as g u i n e a p i g s . (p.

11 )
V a illa n t talked of his r e s p o n s ib il ity to his

interview ees

and t h u s

the choice of d a t a - c o ll e c ti o n devices.
Merton, F i s k e , and Kendall (1956) used t h e i n t e r v i e w " t o e l i c i t
t h e r e s p o n d e n t ’ s own frame o f r e f e r e n c e and s u b j e c t i v e p e r s p e c t i v e s "
(p. 2 47 ) .

Bennis and Nanus ( 1 9 85 ) , in d e s c r i b i n g t h e i r methodo logy ,

s t a t e d t h a t t h e t h r e e i n t e r v i e w q u e s t i o n s asked o f t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s
"were t h e

pivots

they e l i c i t e d

around which t h e

rich,

lively,

entire

discussion

and j u i c y r e s p o n s e s .

revolved

and

T h e r e ’ s no o t h e r

way t o d e s c r i b e them" (p. 24 ).
Therefore,

in

this

apprehend

all

the

summarized

the

positive

study,

"juicy"

the

interview

responses

aspects

of

the

process

po ssib le.
interview

was
Young

method

used

to

(1966)
of

data

c o l l e c t i o n as f o l l o w s :
The o b j e c t i v e s o f t h e i n t e r v i e w may be exchange o f i d e a s
and e x p e r i e n c e s , e l i c i t i n g o f i n f o r m a t i o n p e r t a i n i n g t o a wide

39
r a n g e o f d a t a in which t h e i n t e r v i e w e e may wish t o . . . d e f i n e
h i s p r e s e n t . . . . Every v e r b a l r e s p o n s e and no n ve rb al r e a c t i o n
may be an "eye o pe ne r " f o r a whole new t r a i n o f t h o u g h t .
An
answer may n o t be o n ly a r e s p o n s e t o a q u e s t i o n b u t a l s o a
stim ulus to a p ro g ressiv e s e r ie s of o th e r re le v a n t statem ents.
For p u r p o s e s o f o b t a i n i n g . . .
an i n t i m a t e f u l l a c c o u n t
o f a p e r s o n ’ s e x p e r i e n c e , a t t i t u d e s , and v a l u e s . . .
i t is
i m p o r t a n t t o g a i n a " p o r t r a i t o f human p e r s o n a l i t y " which i s
bro ad enough t o encompass t h e s o c i a l background t h a t g o v e r n s
h i s p r e s e n t scheme o f l i f e , and deep enough t o r e v e a l i n n e r
s t r i v i n g s , t e n s i o n s , w i s h e s and chang es i n h i s b e h a v i o r a l
relations.
In f r e e f lo w in g a c c o u n t s , i n t e r v i e w e e s may s u g g e s t
e x p l a n a t i o n s o f t h e i r b e h a v i o r which may a c c o u n t f o r t h e i r
m o t i v a t i o n s and a c t i o n s and p r o v i d e new i n s i g h t s n o t a f f o r d e d
by o t h e r e x p l o r a t o r y t e c h n i q u e s , (pp. 215-16)
Much
interview
popular

invaluable
process

inform ation

f o r ma jor

literatu re

also

has

research

contains

been

collected

studies

its

share

and

also

1988; T e r k e l , 1974,
exist

when

1988 ).

considering

the

of

an

interview

The

generated

1978; Sheehy,

Problems and s p e c i a l
use

the

textbooks.

of m aterial

from t h e use o f t h e i n t e r v i e w t e c h n i q u e (Gould,
1981,

by u s i n g

1976,

precautions
procedure.

These c o n s i d e r a t i o n s a r e d i s c u s s e d in more d e p t h in t h e methodology
chapter.

C h a p t e r Summary
Four a r e a s o f s t u d y were r ev ie we d in t h i s c h a p t e r .

Each a r e a

i s a m a jo r component as i t a p p l i e s t o t h e c u r r e n t r e s e a r c h p r o j e c t .
The

leadership-developm ent

literature

Bennis and Nanus, McCall e t a l . ,
groundwork

for

this

study.

reflected

the

findings

of

and Lindsey e t a l . , which l a i d t h e
Resea rc h

on

the

community

college

p r e s i d e n t r e f l e c t e d a gap in t h e a r e a o f a d m i n i s t r a t i v e dev el op me nt
as a r e s u l t

of on-the-job

formal t r a i n i n g ,

training.

Much has

been w r i t t e n

abo ut

b u t t h e f i e l d i s l a c k i n g in s t u d i e s r e f l e c t i n g t h e

40
b e n e f i t s o f a more in f o rm al t r a i n i n g p r o c e s s .

P residents experience

many e v e n t s in t h e r o l e o f c h i e f academic o f f i c e r and a l s o in o t h e r
professional

roles,

as

w el l

as

events

in

a more p e r s o n a l

realm.

These e x p e r i e n c e s p r o v i d e o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r l e a r n i n g .
The t h i r d component f o r t h i s s t u d y i n v o l v e d r e s i l i e n c e and l i f e
tran sitio n s.
experiences

Presidents
as

future.

The

technique

of

they
fourth

can u s e what t h e y have l e a r n e d

d ea l

with

area

interview ing.

of
It

new c h a l l e n g e s
in terest
was

was

believed

from l i f e

and

ch an ge s

in

the

the

data-collection

that

this

procedure

would enh ance t h e q u a l i t y o f d a t a c o l l e c t e d and e n r i c h t h e f i n d i n g s
of the study.
C h a p t e r I I I c o v e r s t h e r e s e a r c h method olog y and t h e p r o c e d u r e s
t h a t were used in t h e s t u d y .

CHAPTER I I I
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND PROCEDURES
Introduction
The

design

of

this

study

I n t e r v i e w p r o c e d u r e s were used
w riter

investigated

personal,

the

life

was

descriptive

and

for data-collection
experiences,

b o th

exploratory.

purposes.

professional

t h a t most a f f e c t e d t h e community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t .

p articip an ts

were

asked

not

only

to

reflect

on

th eir

The
and
The
life

e x p e r i e n c e s b u t a l s o t o o f f e r o p i n i o n s as t o what " l e s s o n s " t h e y had
l e a r n e d from hav in g e x p e r i e n c e d t h o s e e v e n t s .
The p o p u l a t i o n f o r t h i s s t u d y c o n s i s t e d o f t h e p r e s i d e n t s from
the

29 Michigan

community

colleges.

Presidents

were

called

and

asked t o v o l u n t e e r f o r t h i s s t u d y .

Every a t t e m p t was made t o o b t a i n

a stratified

representing

sample o f p r e s i d e n t s

large,

medium,

and

i n t e r v i e w q u e s t i o n s was d e v e l o p e d f o r

use

small i n s t i t u t i o n s .
A set of structured
in

this

study.

The

interview s

consisted

of

a

series

of

guiding

q u e s t i o n s t h a t a l lo w e d t h e i n t e r v i e w e e freedom t o r e s p o n d in an open
fashion.

Follow -u p q u e s t i o n s were used a t a p p r o p r i a t e t i m e s t o g a i n

more s p e c i f i c i n f o r m a t i o n .
the

acquisition

of

specific

I t was found t h a t t h e p r o b e s a s s i s t e d in
ex am pl es ,

data.

41

which

were

considered

rich

42
Each

in terv iew

was

scheduled

analysis.

P e r m i s s io n was o b t a i n e d

researcher

also

took notes

and t a p e - r e c o r d e d
to

during

the

use

a tape

interview

for

later

recorder.

and

The

recorded

key

phrases f o r re fe re n c e to follow-up q u estio n s

and i d e n t i f i c a t i o n

no n ve r b al

source

im pressions.

As

an

additional

of

data,

of
the

p r e s i d e n t s were asked t o sub mit a copy o f a r e c e n t v i t a .
In t h e r e m a in in g s e c t i o n s o f t h i s c h a p t e r , t h e f o l l o w i n g t o p i c s
are covered:

s u b je c ts o f th e study (in d iv id u a l

p ro je c t design;

d a t a - c o l 1e c t i o n

procedures;

the

and i n s t i t u t i o n a l ) ;
interview

process;

and t h e d a t a - a n a l y s i s p r o c e d u r e s used in t h e s t u d y .
Subjects
The
Michigan
contacted
their

population
community

from which
college

and asked t o

selection

sample

presidents.

participate

in v o l v e d v a r i a b l e s

in te r v ie w e e ’ s school,
presidents.

the

as well

was

taken

F o u r te e n

in t h i s

was

the

presidents

study.

The b a s i s

such as e n r o l l m e n t

size

of

29

were
for
the

as g e n d e r and r a c e o f t h e d i f f e r e n t

S u b j e c t i v e p r o j e c t i o n s were a l s o made c o n s i d e r i n g

p r e s id e n ts ’ w illingness to p a r tic ip a te .

the

Twelve p r e s i d e n t s r e s p o n d e d

p o s i t i v e l y t o t h e i n v i t a t i o n and t o o k p a r t in t h e i n t e r v i e w p r o c e s s .
The 12 p r e s i d e n t s who p a r t i c i p a t e d in t h e s t u d y were g u a r a n t e e d
anonymity and were promised t h a t t h e i r s p e c i f i c r e s p o n s e s would n o t
be c r e d i t e d t o them by name.
data pertaining

Therefore,

some s p e c i f i c d e s c r i p t i v e

t o t h e p r e s i d e n t s c a n n o t be s h a r e d .

t h e a v e r a g e age o f t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s was 50 y e a r s .
of

ages

can

be

shared

for

fear

of

breaching

For exam ple,

However, no r a n g e
the

participants’

43
confidentiality.

Most p r e s i d e n t s

were between t h e

ages

of 46 and

55.
R ega rd in g
racial-m inority
sample

of

12

gender

and

and two

race

representation,

Michi gan

has

two

fem a le community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t s .

p resid en ts

stu d ied

in

th is

pro ject

The

fairly

and

a c c u r a t e l y r e p r e s e n t e d b o th g r o u p s .
The a v e r a g e number o f y e a r s o f b e i n g p r e s i d e n t o f t h e c u r r e n t
community c o l l e g e
presidents
years.

(in

interview ed

the

current

had been

study)

in t h i s

was e i g h t

years.

position for

Most

l e s s t h a n 10

The v a s t m a j o r i t y o f t h e p r e s i d e n t s i n t e r v i e w e d had been t h e

p r e s i d e n t o f o n ly one i n s t i t u t i o n .
in t h e c u r r e n t

institution

The a v e r a g e l e n g t h o f t i m e s p e n t

was 1 1 . 5 y e a r s .

Most p a r t i c i p a n t s

s e r v e d in some c a p a c i t y a t t h e c u r r e n t community c o l l e g e

had

somewhere

between 4 and 15 y e a r s .
The p r e s i d e n t s

sampled d i d r e p r e s e n t

a stratified

s am p li n g o f

t h e community c o l l e g e s in Michigan when e n r o l l m e n t was t h e v a r i a b l e .
Tabl e

3.1

represents

the

classification

of

te rm s o f th o u s a n d s o f s t u d e n t s f o r t h e F a l l

community

1988 e n r o l l m e n t

and t h e number o f i n s t i t u t i o n s t h a t were r e p r e s e n t e d
S i x t e e n Michigan community c o l l e g e s
enrollment

o f between 1, 0 0 0

and 5 , 0 0 0

s c h o o l s (25%) to o k p a r t i n t h i s
sample.

s t u d y and a c c o un te d

in

period

in t h i s s t u d y .

(55%) had a F al l
students.

Six Michigan community c o l l e g e s

colleges

Term 1988

Four o f

the

16

f o r 33% of t h e

(21%) had a F al l

Term 1988

e n r o l l m e n t o f between 5, 0 0 0 and 10 ,0 00 s t u d e n t s , which a c c o u n t e d f o r
42% o f
colleges

the

colleges

took p a r t

in

the

in t h i s

current
study).

study

(five

Likewise,

four

out

of

the

six

(14%) Michigan

44

community

colleges

had

enrollm ents

s t u d e n t s F a l l Term 1988.
in t h e

sample f o r t h i s

Finally,

three

students

Fall

schools

of

between

1 0 ,0 0 0

and

20,000

Two o f t h e f o u r s c h o o l s were r e p r e s e n t e d
study,

which was 17% o f t h e

(10%) had a p o p u l a t i o n

Term 1988.

One o f t h e

three

total

greater

than

(33%) w i t h

sample.
20,000

more th a n

2 0 ,0 0 0 s t u d e n t s t o o k p a r t in t h i s s t u d y and a c c o u n t e d f o r 8% o f t h e
s am pl e.

T a b l e 3 . 1 . -- M ic h ig a n community c o l l e g e s and r e p r e s e n t a t i o n in
c u rre n t study.
E n r o l lm e n t
Size
( i n 1 ,0 0 0 s )
F a l l 1988

Number o f
Sch o ol s in
Michigan

1-5
5-10
10-20
20+

16
6
4
3
29

It

% of
Sample

o f Sc ho ol s
by S i z e That
Took P a r t in
C u r r e n t Study

55%
21%
14%
10%

4
5
2
1

33%
42%
17%
8%

25%
. 83%
50%
33%

100%

12

100%

%

T ot al
S o u r ce :

Number o f
Sc h oo ls
in Sample

% Tot al
Michigan
Sch o ol s

S t a t i s t i c s com pil ed by Michigan Department o f E d u c a t i o n ,
" F a l l P o s t s e c o n d a r y E n r o l lm e n t R ep o r t" ( L a n s i n g : Michigan
Department o f E d u c a t i o n , December 22, 198 8) .

is

evident

that

represent

the

community c o l l e g e s w i t h e n r o l l m e n t s o f 1 , 0 0 0 t o 5 , 0 0 0 s t u d e n t s

and

t h o s e w it h e n r o l l m e n t s
tim e

co n strain ts

an d

this

study did

o f 5, 00 0 t o
peer

not eq u ally

10,00 0

selectio n

students.
practices

Presidential
im p e d e d

a c q u i s i t i o n o f a r e p r e s e n t a t i v e sampling b e i n g a c q u i r e d .

the

The o t h e r

45
two c l a s s i f i c a t i o n s o f community c o l l e g e s in Michigan a p p e a r e d t o be
f a i r l y well r e p r e s e n t e d in t h e s t u d y .
P r o j e c t Design
This

descriptive

Q ualitative

method

in terp retiv e

is

"an

techniques,

otherw ise

enhance

occurring

phenomena

M intzberg

study

(1979)

the

is

considered

umbrella
most

of

meaning,

in

the

te rm
which

not

social

warned a g a i n s t

q u alitativ e

the

covering

many

describe,

of

(Putman,

1986,

research

designs

t h a t a r e " s i g n i f i c a n t o n ly in t h e s t a t i s t i c a l

w or d"

(p.

organizational

Sim ple

m ethodologies

(individual)

term s

are

different

frequency,

world"

nature.

translate,

results

583).

in

naturally
p.

that

98).

produce

sense of the

m easured

preferred.

or

in

This

real
means,

however, a c c o r d i n g t o M in tz b e r g , " f i r s t o f a l l , g e t t i n g o u t i n t o t h e
r e a l o r g a n i z a t i o n s and i n t e r a c t i n g w i t h t h e r e a l p e o p l e w i t h i n t h o s e
i n s t i t u t i o n s / organizations"

(p. 5 8 3 ) .

The ti m e i s r i g h t t o r e t u r n

t o an em phasis on more open-ended d a t a and t o c o n s i d e r t h e v a l u e o f
such a l t e r n a t i v e methods.

M int zb erg

cautioned,

chosen methodology be complementary t o t h e o v e r a l l

however,

that

the

focus,

form,

and

emphasis o f t h e s t u d y .
The f o c u s o f t h i s s t u d y was on en h an c in g t h e knowledge b a s e on
t h e community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t p o p u l a t i o n in M ich ig an .
was made t o d e s i g n a more i n - d e p t h
that

could

have o f f e r e d

o n ly

phenomena unde r i n v e s t i g a t i o n .

investigation

a more s u r f a c e

as opposed t o one

understanding

of the

The open-en ded i n t e r v i e w p r o c e s s was

seen as t h e means t o a c q u i r e t h e most u s e f u l
allotted.

A decision

i n f o r m a t i o n in t h e t i m e

46

D ata-C o llec tio n Procedures
The goal f o r t h i s s t u d y was t o i n t e r v i e w 12 o f t h e 29 community
college

p resid en ts

p articip an ts
presidents

could

consideration.

such

demands f o r t h e i r
of th is

acceptance
Given

these

of

It

was

represent

believed

the

population

such as s i z e o f i n s t i t u t i o n
as

race

and

gender,

th at

12

of

29

and p r e s i d e n t i a l

were

all

taken

into

T h i s i n v e s t i g a t o r was a l s o working un d er t h e pr em i s e

community c o l l e g e

success

M ichigan.

adequately

i f factors

ch aracteristics,

that

in

presidents

are

very

ti m e p l a c e d on them.
research

the

to

project

assumptions,

find
as

it

people with

was

im portant

a means o f g a i n i n g

early

was

It

busy

as

possible

decided

to

in

forego

many

for

the

presidential
the

the

process.
notion

random s am pl ing and t o s e e k p a r t i c i p a t i o n , a t l e a s t i n i t i a l l y ,

of

based

on s p e c i f i c i n v i t a t i o n o f f e r e d t o s p e c i f i c p r e s i d e n t s .
One f a c u l t y member who was s e r v i n g on t h e r e s e a r c h e r ’ s d o c t o r a l
comm it tee knew s e v e r a l o f t h e Michigan community col l e g e p r e s i d e n t s
and v o l u n t e e r e d t o make t h e i n i t i a l
purpose o f th e stu d y .
three c r i t e r i a :
to

in itially

study;

(b)

these

in

presidents

case

P r e s i d e n t s were s e l e c t e d ,

to ex p lain the

based

in p a r t

on

(a ) i t was b e l i e v e d t h a t t h e s e p e o p l e would be more

in clin ed

feedback

telephone c a l l s

accept

presidents

the

invitation

would be w i l l i n g

pr oblems were i d e n t i f i e d ;

would be w i l l i n g

to

to o ffe r

the

and

p articipate
to

(c ) t h i s

names o f o t h e r

community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t s who t h e y t h o u g h t would
t h e s t u d y and who would a l s o

provide

in

helpful
gr oup o f
Michigan

p articipate

p r o s p e r from t h e e x p e r i e n c e .

the

in

Once t h e

47

a s s u m p t i o n s were i d e n t i f i e d and t h e i n i t i a l

c r i t e r i a established for

e a r l y i n v i t a t i o n , t h e d a t a - c o l l e c t i o n p r o c e s s began.
Data w e re c o l l e c t e d between J a n u a r y and March 1989.

In t o t a l ,

14 p r e s i d e n t s were c o n t a c t e d and as ke d t o p a r t i c i p a t e in t h e s t u d y .
Twelve a g r e e d t o be i n t e r v i e w e d .
The a f o r e m e n t i o n e d f a c u l t y member made i n i t i a l
five

M ichigan

p articipate
general

c o m m u n it y

in the

college

study.

presid en ts

(Before

the

o u tlin e of points to discuss

detailed

outline

of

the

Appendix

A.)

appears

in

read ily

agreed

to

Four

p articip ate

to

phone

of

to

the

in

the

to

were made,

Study

Contact

presidents

study.

to

th e m

was d e v e l o p e d .

the
five

ask

calls

in t h e c a l l

Introduction

phone c a l l s

The

a
A

Form

contacted
researcher

c o n t a c t e d two o t h e r p r e s i d e n t s whose names had been f u r n i s h e d t o him
by t h e f a c u l t y member.

Both p r e s i d e n t s ag re e d t o p a r t i c i p a t e in t h e

study.
Sim ilar

content

was

shared

in

the

in itial

both t h e f a c u l t y member and t h e i n v e s t i g a t o r .
was

th at

researcher

when

the

faculty

member

made

the

fo ll o w ed up w i t h a n o t h e r phone c a l l

conversations

for

The main d i f f e r e n c e
in itial

contact,

the

( w i t h i n two days o f

t h e f a c u l t y phone c o n t a c t ) t o c l a r i f y any q u e s t i o n s and t o s c h e d u l e
the interview .
When s c h e d u l i n g t h e i n t e r v i e w s , i t was s t a t e d t h a t t h e m e e ti n g s
were

designed

to

1a s t

a maximum o f

two

hours.

Some

presidents

r e s p o n d e d t h a t th e y co u ld n o t t a k e t h a t amount o f ti m e and asked i f
a one-hour
It

or o n e - a n d - a - h a l f - h o u r

was d e c i d e d

that,

at

the

risk

i n t e r v i e w would be s a t i s f a c t o r y .
of

losing

the

ability

to

as k

48

follow-up q u e stio n s

and g a i n more d a t a ,

an ho ur and o n e - h a l f w ith

t h e p r e s i d e n t would s t i l l

be a " r i c h " o p p o r t u n i t y t o g a t h e r u s e f u l

inform ation.

associated

interview s,
discussed

(Problems
as

well

as

with

interruptions

in more d e p t h

in t h e

the

scheduling

during

the

Recommendations

of

the

interview s,

are

section

o f Chapter

V.)
A fter the d a te , time,
was

asked

if

he/she

and l o c a t i o n were s e c u r e d , t h e p r e s i d e n t

would

send

a

vita,

which

i n t e r v i e w e r o b t a i n some background i n f o r m a t i o n t o
the

questioning

presidents
were

in t h e

received

around

those

in itial

w ithin

group

three

specific
agreed

days

of

to

the

would

help

"tailor"

experiences.
send

a vita

in itial

the

some o f
All

(all

six
vitae

request).

Also

r e q u e s t e d was p e r m i s s i o n t o a u d i o - t a p e t h e i n t e r v i e w t o e n s u r e t h a t
a l l t h e d a t a would be c a p t u r e d f o r f u t u r e a n a l y s i s .
was d i s c u s s e d ,

C onfidentiality

and t h e p r e s i d e n t s were reminded how t h e d a t a would

be a n a l y z e d and p r e s e n t e d i n t h e d i s s e r t a t i o n .

Several

presidents

e x p r e s s e d t h e i r a p p r e c i a t i o n o v e r t h e c o nc e r n a b o u t c o n f i d e n t i a l i t y ,
and a l l

o f them gave t h e i r p e r m i s s i o n t o be t a p e d .

The t a p e s were

used t o v e r i f y and r e c h e c k i n t e r v i e w r e s p o n s e s a t a l a t e r t i m e .
interview er

took

notes

to

record

immediate

observations

The

and

to

enhance t h e l i k e l i h o o d o f a p p r o p r i a t e f o l l o w - u p q u e s t i o n s .
A f t e r t h e phone c o n t a c t ,

a letter

of confirm ation

t i m e , and l o c a t i o n was s e n t t o t h e p r e s i d e n t
copy o f t h e c o n f i r m a t i o n l e t t e r ) ,

with

date,

( s e e Appendix B f o r a

as well as a l i s t o f t h e q u e s t i o n s

49
t h a t would be used d u r i n g t h e

interview .

All

presidents

received

t h e q u e s t i o n s a t l e a s t one week b e f o r e t h e i n t e r v i e w .
One

interview

weather.

had

Beca use o f

to

no n e

of

the

of

inclement

interview

had t o

were

interviews"

be

Sudman (1967) fou nd , a f t e r comparing d a t a

experim ents

resu lts

personal

b ec a u se

i n t e r v i e w s w ith t e l e p h o n e i n t e r v i e w r e s u l t s ,

these

telephone

rescheduled

schedule c o n f l i c t s ,

c o n d u c t e d over t h e phone.
from p e r s o n a l

be

was

less

(p.

there

any

satisfactory

67 ).

indication

th a n

Upon a n a l y z i n g

those
the

that
that

the

obtained

recorded

"in

by

data,

t h i s i n v e s t i g a t o r c o n c u r r e d w it h Sudman’ s r e s u l t s .
At t h e

c o n c l u s i o n o f t h e i n t e r v i e w p r o c e s s (which i s d i s c u s s e d

in more d e p t h

in

t h e y would

w illing

be

the

next
to

section),
identify

might be w i l l i n g t o go t h r o u g h t h e

the

presidents

other

were

presidents

same p r o c e s s .

as ked

they

if

thought

Most p r e s i d e n t s

were w i l l i n g t o me nt io n one o r two o t h e r p r e s i d e n t s

(some o f whom

had a l r e a d y been c a l l e d i n t h e f i r s t phas e o f t h e p r o c e s s ) .

A 1ist

c o n t a i n i n g f i v e new names was o b t a i n e d t h r o u g h t h i s p r o c e s s , and was
f u r n i s h e d t o t h e f a c u l t y member so t h a t some d e g r e e o f c o n s i s t e n c y
c o u l d p r e v a i 1.
contacts,
study.

and

A s i m i l a r p r o c e s s was f o l l o w e d in t h e i n i t i a l
all

The same

five

presidents

procedures

were

ag r e e d
used

to

w it h

p articipate
this

g ro up

phone
in

the

regarding

f o l l o w - u p phone c a l l s , s c h e d u l i n g , and t h e a c t u a l i n t e r v i e w p r o c e s s .
Upon

c o m p l e t i on

presidents
These names

of

thi s

volunteered

the

"second
names

wave"
of

two

of

interview ing,

additional

were s u p p l i e d t o t h e f a c u l t y member,

who,

two

presidents.
once a g a i n ,

50

made i n i t i a l c o n t a c t w it h t h e p r e s i d e n t s .

One o f t h e two p r e s i d e n t s

a g r e e d t o be i n t e r v i e w e d , and t h e same p r o c e d u r e f o l l o w e d .
In

all,

14 p r e s i d e n t s

interview ed.

The

not appear

promote

to

were

" t h r e e waves"

contacted,

and

of p articipant

differences

in

12

agreed

to

id en tificatio n

types o f

responses

be
did

or

the

number o f r e s p o n s e s s h a r e d .
The

interview

questions

were

developed to

r e s e a r c h q u e s t i o n s posed in C h a p t e r I .
the

it em s o r i g i n a t e d from McCall

of

Experience.

(1985) L e a d e r s .

help

answer

the

The im p et u s f o r s e v e r a l

e t a l . ’ s (1988) book,

of

The Lessons

O th er it em s were d e v e l o p e d from Bennis and Nanus’ s
The q u e s t i o n s used d u r i n g t h e i n t e r v i e w p r o c e s s a r e

as f o l l o w s :
1.

What p a s t e v e n t s ( e i t h e r p r o f e s s i o n a l o r p e r s o n a l ) have had t h e
m o s t i m p a c t on you i n y o u r r o l e as a c o m m u n i t y c o l l e g e
president?

2.

What " l e s s o n s " have you l e a r n e d from

3.

Receiving helpful feedback regarding one’ s p r o f e s s io n a l perform ­
ance can c e r t a i n l y i n f l u e n c e f u t u r e b e h a v i o r in t h e w o r k p l a c e .
P l e a s e t a l k about t h e kind o f f e e d b a c k you r e c e i v e from o t h e r s .
I s i t h e l p f u l fee db a ck ?
Who g i v e s you most o f y o u r fe e d b a c k ?
What would you change abo ut t h e f e e d b a c k you r e c e i v e from
others?

4.

When you r e f l e c t back ov er t h e p e o p l e who have had an e f f e c t on
y o u - - w h ic h pe o p l e i n f l u e n c e d you t h e mos t, i . e . , who t a u g h t you
t h e most?
How d id t h a t p er s o n ( o r t h o s e p e o p l e ) t e a c h you?
Would you c a l l t h e s e p e o p l e m e nto rs ?

5.

How do you t h i n k you have changed o v e r
t e n u r e as a community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t ?

6.

What p a r t have e v e n t s
growth as a l e a d e r ?

7.

What has been most "f un" f o r you in y o u r r o l e as p r e s i d e n t ?
P l e a s e g i v e examples o f s i t u a t i o n s you have e n j o y e d t h e most.

in

your

those experiences?

personal

the years

life

during your

played

in

yo u r

51

8.

What i s t h e most s i g n i f i c a n t t h i n g you have l e a r n e d as an a d u l t
- - t h e one t h i n g you would p a s s on t o a n o t h e r p e r s o n i f you
could?
The I n t e r v i e w P r o c e s s
An i n t e r v i e w

schedule

was

chos en

i n t e r v i e w i s f l e x i b l e and a d a p t a b l e ,
I s a a c and Michael

(1982)

for

several

reasons.

The

and l e a d s can be f o l l o w e d up.

suggested t h a t

the

interview

model

co u l d

h e l p e s t a b l i s h r a p p o r t and a l s o be used as a means o f a s s u r i n g t h e
effectiv en ess

o f com m unication

interview er.

K erlinger

"supply

a frame o f

(1973)

between t h e
stated

reference for

that

respondent

and

ope n- en d e d

questions

re s p o n d e n ts ’ answers, but put

minimum o f r e s t r a i n t on t h e answers and t h e i r e x p r e s s i o n "
The

responses

p o ssib ilities
"R espondents

to

open-ended

of re la tio n s
w ill

questions

and h y p o t h e s e s .

sometimes g iv e

kind

The use o f
of

interview

Borg and Gall

follow-up
procedure

(1983)

called

stated

that

suggest

K erlin g er

stated,

unexpected answ erst h a t

questions

reflects

the

the

may

anticipated"
a fairly

sem i-structured

sem i-structured

" g e n e r a l l y most a p p r o p r i a t e f o r i n t e r v i e w s t u d i e s

a

( p. 4 8 3 ) .

could

in d i c a te th e e x is te n c e of r e l a t i o n s not o r i g i n a l l y
484).

the

(p.

specific
interview .

interview

in e d u c a t i o n .

is
It

p r o v i d e s a d e s i r a b l e c o m b i n a t i o n o f o b j e c t i v i t y and d e p t h and o f t e n
permits

gathering

valuable

data

that

would

not

be

successfully

o b t a i n e d by any o t h e r a p pr o ac h " (p. 44 2) .
Borg
present

and
in

Gall

the

discussed three

interview

c o n s i d e r a t i o n when d e v e l o p i n g

process
the

potential
th at

interview

sources

should

be

questions.

of

error

taken

into

The f i r s t

52
source
Th is

of

error

includes

concerns

the

predispositions

su sp icio n about th e r e s e a r c h ,

predispositions

of

the

lack

cooperate, a d e s ire to please the in terv iew er,
o n e s e l f in f a v o r a b l e t e r m s .

of

respondent.

o f m otivation

o r a wish t o p r e s e n t

The second s o u r c e o f e r r o r r e l a t e s

the

interview er,

to

which

include

to

being

u n c o m fo r t a b l e w i t h t h e p e o p l e b ei ng i n t e r v i e w e d ,

o n e ’ s own o p i n i o n s

i n f l u e n c i n g what

establish

is

heard/recorded,

and hav in g s t e r e o t y p e d e x p e c t a t i o n s
third
the

failure

to

f o r what w i l l

rapport,

be s h a r e d .

The

s o u r c e o f e r r o r r e l a t e s t o t h e p r o c e d u r e s used in c o n d u c t i n g
study.

Examples

include

how t h e

study

is

explained

r e s p o n d e n t , methods used f o r g a i n i n g c o o p e r a t i o n ,
interview ,

and where t h e i n t e r v i e w t a k e s p l a c e .

interview ,

and

at

the

ti m e

of

data

the

th e len g th of the
These f a c t o r s were

t a k e n i n t o c o n s i d e r a t i o n when t h e q u e s t i o n s were d e v e l o p e d ,
the

to

analysis.

during

Taping

the

i n t e r v i e w s s e r v e d as a means o f i d e n t i f y i n g any s o u r c e s o f e r r o r in
the

interview

collector,

process.

counselor,

The
and

in v e stig a to r’s

consultant

also

experience
helped

as

to

a

reduce

data
the

l i k e l i h o o d o f ma jor i n t e r v i e w e r e r r o r t a k i n g p l a c e .
A n ot h er way t o compensate f o r t h e

inherent

w ea k n es s es

of

the

i n t e r v i e w p r o c e d u r e was t o p r o v i d e an o p p o r t u n i t y f o r

participants

to

face-to-face

re s p o n d

interview .
were

to

several

interview ,

such

times

or

(day

interview

I s a a c and Michael

achievable

offers

a telephone

u s in g
other
as

either

night),

approach.

costs,

greater

of

the

(1982) b e l i e v e d t h a t

sp ecific

lo w er

instead

The

advantages
more

access

telephone

interview

over

personal

flex ib ility
to

the

sim ilar resu lts

the
of

ap p o i n tm en t

population,

and

the

53

r e s p o n d e n t ’ s e a s e in h i s / h e r own home o r o f f i c e .

As s t a t e d e a r l i e r ,

a t e l e p h o n e i n t e r v i e w was c o n d u c t e d w it h one p r e s i d e n t .
The i n t e r v i e w q u e s t i o n s were used as a p o i n t o f r e f e r e n c e f o r
the discu ssio n .

Pr ob in g f o l l o w - u p q u e s t i o n s w ere u s e d when deemed

a p p r o p r i a t e and w r i t t e n down as a m a t t e r of r e c o r d .
was t o l d

in advance

recorder

be

discussion.

that

turned o f f

if

h e / s h e had t h e r i g h t
it

was

believed

to

The i n t e r v i e w e e

to ask t h a t th e tape
be

h i n d e r i n g open

The i n t e r v i e w e e s were a l s o t o l d t h a t th e y coul d end t h e

i n t e r v i e w a t any t i m e .

Data A n a l y s i s
Nine o f t h e 12 i n t e r v i e w s t o o k p l a c e in t h e p r e s i d e n t s ’ o f f i c e s
(this

i n c l u d e d t h e one t e l e p h o n e

interview ).

Two

interview s

took

p l a c e in a h o t e l where t h e p r e s i d e n t s were s t a y i n g f o r a c o n f e r e n c e ,
and

the

other

interview

took

place

in

a

facility

where

another

p r e s i d e n t ’ s c o n f e r e n c e was s c h e d u l e d .
The

length

of the

interview svaried

i n t e r v i e w d i d n o t always c o n c u r w i t h

(and

the

length

of

the

t h e ti m e s c h e d u l e d f o r i t ) from

55 m i n ut es (two p r e s i d e n t s ) t o 2 ho ur s and 40 m i n u t e s .

The a v e r a g e

l e n g t h o f an i n t e r v i e w was 1 hour and 32 m i n u t e s .
The i n t e r v i e w e r u s u a l l y

arrived

at

the s i t e

30 m i n u t e s e a r l y

and t w i c e was e s c o r t e d in t o s e e t h e p r e s i d e n t a t t h e e a r l i e r t i m e .
( I n both i n s t a n c e s t h e o r i g i n a l
hour, but with th e e a r l y a r r i v a l
h a lf hours.)

i n t e r v i e w had been s c h e d u l e d f o r one
the interview s la ste d

one and one-

On o n l y two o c c a s i o n s d i d t h e i n t e r v i e w e r have t o w a i t

54

beyond

the

minutes.

scheduled

appointment

door)

place

each

instance

for

15

knocks

at

(Those were b ot h t h e 5 5- m in u te i n t e r v i e w s . )

In te r r u p tio n s during
the

tim e--in

were a minor

the

interview

issue.

in p r e s i d e n t s ’ o f f i c e s ,

(phone c a l l s

Of t h e

nine

or

interview s

s i x were i n t e r r u p t e d

at

that
least

took
on ce .

Two o f t h e t h r e e i n t e r v i e w s t h a t t o o k p l a c e in a n o t h e r f a c i l i t y a l s o
were i n t e r r u p t e d .

The most i n t e r r u p t i o n s t h a t o c c u r r e d d u r i n g

i n t e r v i e w was f i v e ,
F o llo w in g t h e

b u t most p r e s i d e n t s were i n t e r r u p t e d

interruption,

one

one t i m e .

each p r e s i d e n t was a b l e t o g e t back t o

th e q u e s tio n w ithout asking f o r a reminder.
The

interview s

usually

started

with

light

discussion

on

the

chos en t o p i c a n d / o r t h e p r e s i d e n t ’ s a s k i n g t h e i n t e r v i e w e r a b ou t h i s
own

plans

after

com pletion.

Once

rapport

t a p e r e c o r d e r was t u r n e d on and t h e formal

was

established,

the

i n t e r v i e w p r o c e s s began.

For t h e most p a r t , t h e p r e s i d e n t s a p p e a r e d t o be f a i r l y r e l a x e d , and
it

appeared t h a t

president.
engaging,

some d e g r e e o f r a p p o r t was e s t a b l i s h e d w i t h each

Most

of

the

presidents

seemed

to

be

com fortable,

and open, and a t t h e same ti m e t h e y were v e r y d i r e c t

m atter-of-fact.

It

is

believed

that

an a c c u r a t e

picture

and

o f each

p r e s i d e n t , a l t h o u g h a b b r e v i a t e d , a t t i m e s , was o b t a i n e d .

Summary o f Methodology
The
chapter,
questions.
the

descriptive
w ith

nature

em phasis

on

of
the

the

study

was

developm ent

discussed
of

the

in

this

in terview

The p r o c e d u r e f o r o b t a i n i n g t h e sample o f p r e s i d e n t s and

interview process

i t s e l f were i d e n t i f i e d .

Impressions

of the

55
in terview s,

including

rapport

and

in terru p tio n s,

were

b riefly

data

obtained

explored.
In C h a p t e r
th r o u g h t h e
the

IV,

the

focus

is

interview process.

analysis

on p r e s e n t i n g

the

Because t h e d a t a

must be a p p r o p r i a t e

to

such d a t a .

are

qualitative,

Q ualitative

data

a p p e a r in words r a t h e r th a n in numbers.
They may have been
c o l l e c t e d in a v a r i e t y o f ways ( o b s e r v a t i o n s , i n t e r v i e w s , . . .
t a p e r e c o r d i n g s ) and a r e u s u a l l y " p r o c e s s e d " . . . b e f o r e t h e y
a r e r e a d y f o r use ( v i a d i c t a t i o n , t y p i n g up, e d i t i n g o r
t r a n s c r i p t i o n ) , b u t t h e y remain wo rd s, u s u a l l y o r g a n i z e d i n t o
an e x t e n d e d t e x t . ( M ile s & Huberman, 1984, p. 21)
In C h a p t e r IV,

narrative

description

t h e d a t a a c q u i r e d from t h e i n t e r v i e w s .

is

used when d i s p l a y i n g

P a t t e r n s o f e x p e r i e n c e s and

l e s s o n s l e a r n e d have been combined i n t o c a t e g o r i e s .

B a s ic r e s p o n s e

f r e q u e n c y t a b u l a t i o n s and f r e q u e n c y p e r c e n t a g e s have been c a l c u l a t e d
for

items

and

total

responses

d e s c rip tiv e nature of th i s
were used.

for

study,

the

survey.

no o t h e r

Because

statistical

of

the

techniques

CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS

Introduction
L i t t l e r e s e a r c h has been done w i t h community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t s
and t h e e f f e c t o f e x p e r i e n c e s
the professional
collated

growth o f t h e a d m i n i s t r a t o r s .

em p h a si z in g

before taking

(both p ro fe s s io n a l

the

the c u rre n t

"lessons

of

identify

events

development o f t h e
were a l s o
such

or

were

as

noted.

experience"

learned
the

either
present

The p u r p o s e o f t h i s s t u d y was
that

community c o l l e g e

identified,

patterns

experiences

on

Few d a t a have been

academic p o s i t i o n o r d u r i n g

t e n u r e o f t h e c h i e f academic o f f i c e r .
to

and p e r s o n a l )

affected

the

presidents.

were c l u s t e r s

of events

Self-report

professional

Lessons

learned

and l e s s o n s ,

procedures

were

used

if
to

i d e n t i f y t h o s e e x p e r i e n c e s and l e s s o n s l e a r n e d t h a t were t h o u g h t t o
h e l p p r e p a r e t h e community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t s f o r t h e i r r o l e i n t h e
organization.
The f o l l o w i n g r e s e a r c h q u e s t i o n s were s t u d i e d :
1.

What e f f e c t d i d work and l i f e e x p e r i e n c e s have on t h e p r o ­

f e s s i o n a l deve lo pm ent o f community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t s ?
2.

What e x p e r i e n c e s

college presid en ts:

(a)

had t h e g r e a t e s t

e f f e c t on t h e community

formal

(b)

training;

informal

tr a i n i n g e x p erien ces; or (c) personal l i f e experiences?

56

on-the-job

57

3.
ences

What l e s s o n s were l e a r n e d from t h e s e p r o f e s s i o n a l
that

b etter

prepared

the

adm inistrators

for

the

experi­

job

tasks

a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e r o l e o f community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t ?
4.
kinds

Did
of

certain

patterns

experiences

or

the

or

themes

lessons

arise

pertaining

learned

for

the

to

the

gro up

of

p r e s i d e n t s sampled?
5.
effect

I f p a tte rn s of experiences or lessons
could

these

data

have f o r

the

learned

professional

arose,

what

d ev el op m en t

of

p r o s p e c t i v e l e a d e r s in t h e community c o l l e g e e n v i ro n m e n t?
T hi s c h a p t e r p r e s e n t s an a n a l y s i s o f t h e d a t a g a t h e r e d
study.

Each r e s e a r c h

question

and r e s u l t s a r e d i s c u s s e d .

is

restated,

in t h e

and t h e r e l e v a n t

data

(R es ear ch Q u e s ti o n 5 d e a l s w i t h t h e more

g e n e r a l n o t i o n o f p r o f e s s i o n a l devel opment f o r p r o s p e c t i v e community
l e a d e r s and i s d e a l t w i t h in more d e p t h in C h a p t e r V.)

Re sea rc h Q u e s ti o n 1
What e f f e c t do work and l i f e e x p e r i e n c e s have on t h e
f e s s i o n a l dev el op me n t o f community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t s ?

pro­

The

they

12

p resid en ts

id en tified

74

"experiences"

b e l i e v e d had a f f e c t e d t h e i r p r o f e s s i o n a l d ev el o p m en t .
experiences

accounted

for

experiences

33

personal

life

reflects

t h e work and p e r s o n a l

t h e 12 p r e s i d e n t s .

were

of

the

reported

identified
experiences

41

th at

S p e c i f i c work

experiences,
tim es.

as r e p o r t e d

T ab l e

and
4.1

by each o f

P r e s i d e n t s ’ names were n o t used in t h i s

study.

Each p r e s i d e n t was randomly a s s i g n e d a l e t t e r o f t h e a l p h a b e t , which
i s used c o n s i s t e n t l y t h r o u g h o u t t h e d i s s e r t a t i o n .

58

Events

were

id e n tified

reported

hav in g

g ro w th .

Life experiences

place

outside

experienced

the

as

w ork

them as

related

part

were d e f i n e d

workplace.

(The

of

as

if

his/her

those

events

the

were

presid en t

professional

events

that

took

id en tified

and

c a t e g o r i z e d by each p r e s i d e n t d u r i n g t h e i n t e r v i e w p r o c e s s . )

Ta bl e 4 . 1 . --Number o f e x p e r i e n c e s a f f e c t i n g p r o f e s s i o n a l dev el o pm en t
o f Michigan community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t s .

Type o f E x p e r i e n c e
President
Professional
(Work)
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L

1
4
5

specific
However,

3
2
3

8

3
4
10
9
7
3
9
10
3
3
2
11

33

41

74

-

5
9
4
2
6
2
3

3
1
3
8
-

can

be

seen

experiences

T o t a l by
President

2

-

T o t a l by t y p e

As

Personal
(Life)

from

-

Ta b le

affecting

4.1,

his/her

each

president

professional

identified
development.

o nl y seven (58%) o f t h e p r e s i d e n t s v e r b a l i z e d e v e n t s

both g e n e r a l

domains

( p r o f e s s i o n a l / w o r k and p e r s o n a l / 1 i f e ) .

from
Three

59
(25%)

o f the

related

presidents

experiences,

focused ex c lu siv e ly

and

two

(17%)

on

discussed

professional/w orkp erso n al/life

event

items.
Professional/w ork

experiences

irv./.ved

those

situations

that

took p la c e befo re th e a c q u i s i t i o n of th e p o s i t i o n o f p r e s i d e n t ,
w ell

as

those

that

occurred

after

securing

P residents reported th a t e a rly p o sitio n s
in

the

academic

learning.
teacher,

arena

or

presidency.

in t h e i r c a r e e r s ,

offered

many

w h e th e r

opportunities

for

S e v e r a l p r e s i d e n t s t a l k e d a b o u t t h e i m p o r ta n c e o f b ei ng a
de a n ,

or v ic e -p re s id e n t o r the

b e i n g g i v e n new p r o j e c t s
talked

not,

the

as

about

how some

challenges ass o c ia te d

to coordinate.

p o s i t i o n s had

not

Some o f t h e
met

their

w ith

interview ees
needs

or

how

r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s had been t a k e n away from them.
A

few

exam ples

of

com me nts

made

by

presidents

citin g

p rofessional/w ork experiences before acquiring the ro le o f p resid en t
follow:
I was depended on by a p r e s i d e n t t o do more and more o f h i s j o b
f o r him.
I was e f f e c t i v e a t i t , t o o !
My f i r s t j o b o u t o f c o l l e g e was t h a t of t e a c h e r .
l e a r n i n g how t o t r e a t o t h e r p e o p l e a t t h a t ti m e .
I worked in an o r g a n i z a t i o n t h a t
rules.
I needed o u t .

I started

was h e a v i l y i n t o c o n t r o l

and

I c o n s t a n t l y f a l l ba ck on my e x p e r i e n c e s in t h e armed s e r v i c e
when I am f a c e d w i t h s i t u a t i o n s a s p r e s i d e n t .

Professional
being

vital

in

experiences
the

ongoing

as p r e s i d e n t were a l s o
development

of

the

id en tified

president.

as
The

i n t e r v i e w e e s t a l k e d a b o u t t h e c l i m a t e of t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n when t h e y

60

took over,
union,

i n t e r a c t i o n s w i t h t h e board o f t r u s t e e s , d e a l i n g w i t h t h e

and o u t r e a c h a c t i v i t i e s w it h d i f f e r e n t segments o f t h e

host

community a s p ro m ot in g many l e a r n i n g o p p o r t u n i t i e s .
E x a m p le s
professional

of

com me nts

experiences

made

by

encountered

the
as

p residents
president

regarding

that

promoted

se lf-g ro w th follow:
G e ttin g in v o lv ed in union
challenge.
I t r e a l l y i s fun!
Having t o
challenge.

n egotiations

has

been

a

real

p r e p a r e t h e s t a f f f o r change has been a
Some o f t h e s t a f f f i g h t change t o o t h and n a i l .

big

I ’ ve l e a r n e d so much from i n t e r a c t i o n w i t h my b o a r d .
When I f i r s t became p r e s i d e n t ,
s t e p p e d on l o t s o f t o e s .

I made a l o t

of mistakes

L i f e e x p e r i e n c e s were a l s o r e p o r t e d as f a c i l i t a t i n g
many o f t h e p r e s i d e n t s .

for

the

expectations

from

people/mentors

is

Question 4 .)

growth f o r

Many o f t h e e a r l y l i f e e x p e r i e n c e s c e n t e r e d

on s u c c e s s e s i n s c h o o l , l e a d e r s h i p r o l e s ,
"experiences"

and

presid en ts

sig n ifican t

analyzed

and f a m i l y e v e n t s .

involved

o th ers.

in more d e p t h

reco llectio n s
(This

in

O th e r

response

category
to

of
of

Re s ea rc h

Examples o f e a r l y l i f e e x p e r i e n c e s t h a t were r e p o r t e d

by t h e gr o up o f p r e s i d e n t s as a f f e c t i n g t h e i r c u r r e n t

professional

dev el o pm en t a r e :
I a t t e n d e d a small e l e m e n t a r y school w it h o n l y one t e a c h e r .
I
n o t o nl y l e a r n e d from t h e t e a c h e r b u t a l s o from t h e o t h e r k i d s .
I was p r e t t y
general" fo r
t a l e n t , but I
in t h e m s e l v e s

good i n a t h l e t i c s in s c h o o l .
I was t h e " f i e l d
t h e b a s k e t b a l l team.
O th er p e o p l e had more
k e p t t h e gr oup t o g e t h e r and g o t them t o b e l i e v e
and each o t h e r .

61
I t was u n d e r s t o o d from t h e v e r y b e g i n n i n g t h a t I was go in g t o
succeed.
I knew I was g o in g t o c o l l e g e and beyond v er y e a r l y
in 1i f e .
L a t e r p e r s o n a l e x p e r i e n c e s a l s o promoted l e a r n i n g o p p o r t u n i t i e s
for

a group

significant
be in g

of

the

losses,

triggering

experiences

that

presidents.
successes,

events
were

in

Several
and

introspective

their

identified

presidents

lives.
as

talked

abo ut

realizations

Examples

facilitatin g

of

as

personal

growth

in

the

community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t s a r e :
I ’ ve l e a r n e d so much ab out o t h e r p e o p l e and m y s e l f from having
my own c h i l d r e n .
My d i v o r c e t a u g h t me t h e im p o r ta n c e o f b e i n g h o n e s t w i t h m y s e l f
and o t h e r p e o p l e .
I moved from a c i t y I r e a l l y
i m p o r t a n t a s u p p o r t group i s .

love d

and

I ’ m l e a r n i n g a l o t a b ou t c o m p u te r s .

Research

Q uestion

4.

A com plete

more now how

I n e v e r th o u g h t I would.

P atterns of experiences are described
to

realize

in more d e p t h

list

of

all

in answer

qu o tatio n s,

c a t e g o r i z e d by t y p e o f e x p e r i e n c e , can be found in Appendix D.
There
experiences

was

certain ly

identified

as

p r o f e s s i o n a l d ev el o p m en t .
reported experiences.
least

All

variance
be i n g

in

term s

significant

of
in

the
the

nu m b e r

of

presidents’

The r a n g e o f r e s p o n s e s was from 2 t o 11
12 p r e s i d e n t s were a b l e t o

two w o r k / l i f e e x p e r i e n c e s

t h a t they

said

affected

id en tify

at

their

own

p r o f e s s i o n a l d ev el op m en t.
Therefore,
that

the

was

d efin itely

in r e s p o n s e t o Resea rc h Q u e s t i o n 1, i t can be s t a t e d

professional

dev el op me nt

affected

by

o f community

th e ir

college

presidents

professional/w ork

and/or

62

life/p erso n al
experiences,
as

experiences.

either

contributing

to

The p r e s i d e n t s

professional
their

or personal,

growth

as

leaders

could

recall

t h a t they
w ithin

past

id en tified

the

academic

arena.
As

a

point

of

summary

regarding

R es ear ch

Q u e s ti o n

1,

the

following qu o ta tio n s are c ite d :
E v e r y o n e i n l i f e e n t e r s t h e S c h o o l o f Ha rd
E x p e r i e n c e ; however, o n ly t h e " s u r v i v o r s " g r a d u a t e .
Each new j o b I t a k e on t e a c h e s me new s k i l l s
now on.

Kn ock s

I will

of

use from

The more e x p e r i e n c e s a p e r s o n h a s , t h e fewer s u r p r i s e s
w i l l have in l i f e .

[he/she]

Re s ea rc h Q u e s t i o n 2
What e x p e r i e n c e s have t h e g r e a t e s t e f f e c t on t h e community
college p resid en ts:
(a ) formal t r a i n i n g ; (b) in f o r m al o n - t h e j o b t r a i n i n g e x p e r i e n c e s ; o r (c) p e r s o n a l l i f e e x p e r i e n c e s ?
To begi n t o answer t h i s

question,

t h e r e s e a r c h e r assumed t h a t

t h e fr e q u e n c y o f e x p e r i e n c e s r e c a l l e d would s u g g e s t some d e g r e e o f
i m p or ta n ce

associated

identified.

Formal

prog ram s,

seminars,

w it h

training

and o t h e r

knowledge

acquisition.

include

b ei n g

put

s p en di ng

classifications
include

sessions,

programs o f f e r i n g

specific

on-the-job

in

of

charge

ti m e w it h

peers

or

events
academic

in stitu tes,

opportunities

training

a new p r o j e c t ,

responsibilities

of

specific

conferences,

Informal,

p r o g r e s s i v e l y more c h a l l e n g i n g
an o r g a n i z a t i o n ,

three

experiences

in-service

workshops,

could

the

for

experiences
being

g iv e n

i n a d e p a r t m e n t or
supervisors

learning

a bo ut s p e c i f i c j o b t a s k s , o r i n t e r a c t i n g w it h o t h e r p e o p l e e i t h e r as

63

an o b s e r v e r (men to r) o r r e a c h i n g o u t t o
network

fashion.

Personal

life

a co-worker in a sup p o rt-

experiences

would

include

those

e v e n t s o c c u r r i n g o u t s i d e t h e w o r k p la ce t h a t in some way a f f e c t e d t h e
p re s id e n t’ s leadership sty le .
The numbers o f academic e x p e r i e n c e s r e p o r t e d by t h e p r e s i d e n t s
a s ha v i n g a f f e c t e d t h e i r p r o f e s s i o n a l devel opm ent a r e shown in Ta b l e
4.2.

T a b l e 4 . 2 . - - F r e q u e n c y d i s t r i b u t i o n o f a c a d e m i c /f o r m a l t r a i n i n g
e x p e r i e n c e s f o r t h e community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t s .

President

Number o f Academic
E x p e r i e n c e s Reported

C u m u la ti v e Frequency

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L

1
2
2
2
2
1
3
1
0
1
1
1

1
3
5
7
9
10
13
14
14
15
16
17

Eleven o f t h e p r e s i d e n t s r e p o r t e d a s i g n i f i c a n t e v e n t b e i n g an
ac ad em ic e x p e r i e n c e .
m ultiple
Table 4.3 .
be a

academic

F iv e o f t h e p r e s i d e n t s were a b l e t o

experiences.

Those

experiences

are

identify

listed

in

The c o m p l e t i o n o f ma jor p r o j e c t s o r programs a p p e a r e d t o

significant

experience

for

several

of

the

presidents.

The

p r e s i d e n t s r e p o r t e d l e a r n i n g much from t h e c o n t e n t o f t h e c o u r s e s o r

64

Ta b le 4 . 3 . --Academic e x p e r i e n c e s o f Michigan community c o l l e g e
presidents.
[ O b t a i n i n g a m a s t e r ’ s d e g r e e ] - - I t h e l p s me t o b e t t e r u n d e r s t a n d t h e
d a y - t o - d a y f u n c t i o n s o f t h e community c o l l e g e .
[ L e a d e r s h i p p r o g r a m ] - - I l e a r n e d t o b e l i e v e in m y s e l f .
r e a l l y h e l p e d me a l o t .

One p r o f e s s o r

D o c to r a l co ur s ew or k p r o v i d e d me w i t h i m p o r t a n t c h a l l e n g e s
i n v a l u a b l e t h e o r e t i c a l bac kg ro u nd .
(2 r e s p o n d e n t s )
The d i s s e r t a t i o n p r o c e s s t a u g h t me a l o t a bo ut m y s e l f .
[ P r o f e s s o r ] f o r much o f t h a t .
(2 r e s p o n d e n t s )
F i n i s h i n g t h e Ph.D. b o l s t e r e d my s e l f - c o n f i d e n c e .
I was seen e a r l y in school as a r e b e l .
bloom er."

Later,

and

an

I can th a n k

(2 r e s p o n d e n t s )

I was l a b e l e d a " l a t e

I l e a r n e d a l o t from my ti m e s p e n t as a s t u d e n t a t a community
college.
Of c o u r s e , I was a d v i s e d t o go t h e r e b ec a u se "community
c o l l e g e s a c c e p t an yo ne ."
The t r a i n i n g t h a t new community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t s go t h r o u g h was
v er y h e l p f u l .
I l e a r n e d n o t o n ly s p e c i f i c c o n t e n t b u t a l s o whom I
co ul d c a l l when I had q u e s t i o n s .
Being a b u s i n e s s ma jor in c o l l e g e has proved t o be v e r y h e l p f u l .
As a s t u d e n t t e a c h e r ,

I l e a r n e d how t o m o t i v a t e o t h e r s .

Being a g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t gave me an o p p o r t u n i t y
t h a t I s t i l l f a l l back on as a p r e s i d e n t .

to

In my u n d e r g r a d u a t e e x p e r i e n c e I had gone t o a small
e x c e l l e n c e was e x p e c t e d .

learn

c o l l e g e where

Our s t a f f i s going t h r o u g h some t e a m - b u i l d i n g t r a i n i n g ,
i t w i l l h e l p us a l l g r e a t l y .
Ken B la n c h a r d t a l k i n g
staff.

about

supervision

was h e l p f u l

so much

to

and I t h i n k
me and my

65

workshops, b u t t h e y a l s o r e l a t e d an enhanced s e l f - e s t e e m as a r e s u l t
of p r o j e c t c o m p l e t i o n .

S p e c i f i c i n s t r u c t o r s o r p r e s e n t e r s were a l s o

i d e n t i f i e d as be in g i n f l u e n t i a l .
A nother
ap pea red

to

T hirty-three
professional

in flu en tial
be

the

events

inform al,
were

grow th

of

frequency d i s t r i b u t i o n
experiences,

15

set

of experiences
on-the-job

identified
the

as

for

training
being

p resid en t.

the

opportunities.

im portant

Table

4.4

fo r the o n -the-job experiences.

(46%)

occurred

before

p resid en t of the c u rren t i n s t i t u t i o n .

the

presidents

to

the

provides
Of t h e

p articip an t

a
33

beca me

E i g h t e e n (54%) o f t h e e v e n t s

t o ok p l a c e a f t e r t h e i n t e r v i e w e e t o o k o f f i c e .

Table 4 . 4 . - - F r e q u e n c y d i s t r i b u t i o n o f in f o r m al o n - t h e - j o b t r a i n i n g
e x p e r i e n c e s f o r Michigan community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t s .
O n-the-Job Training Experiences
President
B ef o re C u r r e n t
Position

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
Tot al

As P r e s i d e n t
(Current P o sitio n )

1
3
1
0
1
0
0
7
0
1
1
0

0
1
4
0
2
1
3
1
1
1
1
3

15

18

Total
C u m u l at i v e
F requency

1
5
10
10
13
14
17
25
26
28
30
33

66

Ta b le 4 . 5 . - - O n - t h e - j o b t r a i n i n g e x p e r i e n c e s f o r community c o l l e g e
presidents.

O n - t h e - J o b T r a i n i n g in O t h e r P o s i t i o n s (Not C u r r e n t P r e s i d e n c y )
I worked f o u r p a r t - t i m e j o b s and lo v e d i t .
I was c h ar g e d w it h t h e t a s k o f b u i l d i n g a new program from s c r a t c h .
(2 r e s p o n d e n t s )
The r o l e o f t e a c h e r h e l p e d me l e a r n a b o u t o t h e r p e o p l e .
ents)

(2 r e s p o n d ­

I was a r o o k i e thrown i n t o a s i t u a t i o n w i t h an e x p e r i e n c e d s t a f f .
I worked in an i n s t i t u t i o n t h a t was h e a v i l y i n t o c o n t r o l
(2 r e s p o n d e n t s )

and r u l e s .

I worked in a s t a t e d e p a r t m e n t o f e d u c a t i o n .
Being v i c e - p r e s i d e n t was r e w a r d in g b ec a u se
the fa c u lty .

I worked d i r e c t l y

with

I was in c h a r g e o f c o n t i n u i n g e d u c a t i o n and t h e co- o p program.
In my p r e v i o u s j o b , p e o p l e t h a t made
O pportunities arose fo r the su rv iv o rs.

m istakes d id n ’ t l a s t .

I t r e a l l y h u r t a l o t when a p a r t o f my j o b was t a k e n from me.
d i d n ’ t m a t t e r t o me t h a t t h e r e a s o n was b e c a u s e t h e c o l l e g e
growing t o o r a p i d l y .
I was depended upon by a p r e s i d e n t t o do h i s j o b .
in t h a t r o l e .

It
was

I was e f f e c t i v e

I came from a l a r g e , p r o g r e s s i v e school t o a s m a l l e r i n s t i t u t i o n .
l e a r n e d a l o t a bo ut m y s e l f from t h a t move.

I

O n - t h e - J o b T r a i n i n g As P r e s i d e n t ( I n C u r r e n t P o s i t i o n )
As t h e new p r e s i d e n t , I was g i v e n t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o s e t p o l i c y and
develop procedures.
The Board asked my o p i n i o n on what I t h o u g h t
s h ou ld be done.
I f o ll o w e d a p r e s i d e n t who had made a l l t h e d e c i s i o n s .
I wanted t o
change t h a t p r o c e d u r e q u i c k l y , b u t I was s t r u c k by r e a l i t y t h a t many
o f t h e s t a f f were now c o m f o r t a b l e w i t h t h a t s t y l e and saw my d e s i r e
f o r o b t a i n i n g t h e i r i n p u t as a means o f " r o c k i n g t h e b o a t . " Many o f
my i d e a s were n o t met w i t h open arms!

67

Ta b l e 4 . 5 . - - C o n t i n u e d .
I had o p p o r t u n i t i e s t o s t a r t many new programs and a l s o c l o s i n g down
o l d e r programs t h a t were o u t d a t e d .
I had t o l e a r n how t o c o n f r o n t employees and t e a c h them t o t a k e on
more r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s .
I needed t o h i r e a few p e o p l e and q u i c k l y l e a r n e d how t o
and t o i d e n t i f y in o t h e r s t h e s k i l l s I was d e s i r i n g .
I went t h r o u g h a union n e g o t i a t i o n ,
b a r g a i n i n g and how t o l i s t e n .

which

taught

interview

me a l o t

a bo ut

I was chewed o u t by my Board once f o r t a k i n g so me th ing t o them t o
work on t h a t I s h ou ld have done m y s e l f .
You’d b e t t e r b e l i e v e I
n e v e r made t h a t m i s t a k e a g a i n !
I am f o r c i n g m y s e l f t o f i n d new ways t o h e l p o t h e r s become p r e p a r e d
f o r i n e v i t a b l e changes in t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n .
Pe op le j u s t d o n ’ t
embrace change as I do.
I ’ ve had some i n t e r a c t i o n s w it h t h e p r e s s ,
lot.

which have t a u g h t me a

The more I i n t e r a c t w i t h t h e B o a r d , t h e more I r e a l i z e t h e
i m p o r ta n c e o f d e v e l o p i n g a win-win r e l a t i o n s h i p .
I t is e s s e n tia l.
Every day I c a l l o r t a l k w it h a n o t h e r p r e s i d e n t from around t h e
c o u n t r y f i n d i n g o u t how t h e y han d le d a s p e c i f i c problem o r s h a r i n g
how I i n t e r p r e t a new p o l i c y o r s o m et h in g .
I l e a r n a l o t from my
p e e r s , and i t f e e l s good t o be a b l e t o as k f o r h e l p .
Being i n v o l v e d in community programs and s e r v i n g on b o a r d s t e a c h e s
me a l o t a b ou t g e t t i n g i n f o r m a t i o n and on how t o " t e s t t h e w a t e r s "
r e g a r d i n g programs a t t h e community c o l l e g e .
Many o f t h e c u r r e n t p r o j e c t s I ’m working on r i g h t now o f f e r many
learning o p portunities.
I f e e l s t r e t c h e d t a k i n g on new p r o j e c t s f o r
the c o lle g e .
I am an a d v i s o r f o r a n a t i o n a l c o n f e r e n c e , and I am l e a r n i n g a l o t
by s o r t i n g th r o u g h d i f f e r e n t programs and s p e a k e r s .
E a r l y in my p r e s i d e n c y , I made many m i s t a k e s , some s u c c e s s e s ,
But I ’ ve t r i e d t o l e a r n from a l l t h o s e s i t u a t i o n s .

too.

68

Ta bl e 4 . 5 . - - C o n t i n u e d .
I i n h e r i t e d a s t a f f t h a t found change v e r y d i f f i c u l t .
Being on t h e s p e a k i n g c i r c u i t i s r e a l l y o n - t h e - j o b t r a i n i n g
each t o p i c o r gr oup i s d i f f e r e n t .
I t ’ s a challenge.

b ec a u se

I s e e m y s e l f as a change a g e n t .
No d e g r e e program o r c o u r s e can
t e a c h you how t o do t h a t .
You l e a r n by t r y i n g t h i n g s o u t , g o in g
w ith g u t r e a c t i o n s , and b e i n g f l e x i b l e enough t o change i f i t
d o e s n ’ t work o u t .

Five

of

certainly

interview ees

helpful,

framework,

but

opportunities
talked

the

abo ut

questions

especially

that
for

the

on

in

to

academic

learning."
basic

handle

programs

were

a

general

theoretical

of

the

job

offer

Some

of

the

events

bac k on t h e i r
how

that

setting

day-to-day

"hands-on

falling

arose

stated

personality

specific

more

presidents
traits

when

situ atio n s.

The

p r e s i d e n t s t h o u g h t t h a t t h e p e r s o n a l i t y t r a i t s were e s t a b l i s h e d
d ev el op ed

fairly

early

in

life.

Some

of

the

presidents

and

could

i d e n t i f y s i t u a t i o n s / e x p e r i e n c e s t h a t had a f f e c t e d t h e d e ve l o pm en t o f
th a t personality c h a r a c te r is tic .
th ird

and

final

g ro up

of

Those p e r s o n a l e x p e r i e n c e s a r e t h e

experiences

analyzed

in

response

to

im portant

function

in

Q ue s ti o n 2.
The a c a d e m i c

experiences

enh an ci n g o n - t h e - j o b
however,

the

experiences.

personal

base from which t o work.
sports,

and t h e

served

experiences

an

For s e v e r a l
identified

of the
provided

presidents,
a

stronger

Many o f t h e e x p e r i e n c e s d e a l t w it h s c h o o l ,

acquisition

of leadership

sk ills

and

being

given

69

g r e a te r degrees
others.

of responsibility,

Other

experiences

( w h e th e r v e r b a l i z e d

r e f le c te d the

or not)

that

s u cc ee d a t w h a t e v e r was t r i e d ,
life
by

goals.

Table 4.6 i s

p resid en t,

the

n o t o n ly

the

for s e lf

but a l s o

expectation

interview ee

for

from o t h e r s

was good,

co u l d

and would go on and ac c o m p li sh many

a cumulative frequency c h a r t r e f l e c t i n g ,

n um be r

of

personal

experiences

th at

were

i d e n t i f i e d as h a v i n g had some l a s t i n g e f f e c t on t h e i n t e r v i e w e e .

T a b l e 4 . 6 . - - F r e q u e n c y d i s t r i b u t i o n o f p e r s o n a l e x p e r i e n c e s most
a f f e c t i n g t h e community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t s .

President

Number o f P e rs o n a l
E x p e r i e n c e s Reported

Cum ul ati ve Frequency

2
1
4
9
4
2
6
2
3
0
0
8

2
3
7
16
20
22
28
30
33
33
33
41

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L

Upon f u r t h e r a n a l y s i s o f t h e e x p e r i e n c e s i d e n t i f i e d ,
apparent th a t

specific

ma jor

of

groups

A pproxim ately

patterns

personal

80% o f

of experiences

experiences

the

i d e n t i f i e d by t h e s e p a t t e r n s .

personal

are

emerged.

listed

experiences

in
(33

it

became

The f o u r
T ab l e

4.7.

item s)

are

D i f f e r e n t k i n d s o f sch ool e x p e r i e n c e s

a c c o u n te d f o r t h e g r e a t e s t number o f e v e n t s i d e n t i f i e d ,

f o l l o w e d by

70

s i g n i f i c a n t lo s s e s experienced over the y e a r s .
a negative

light

experience

of

was p e r c e i v e d

h a vi n g

children

as

a m otivator

helped

the

Being r e c o g n i z e d in
to

overcome.

presidents

redefine

The
the

notion of p atie n c e .

O t h e r p r e s i d e n t s p e r c e i v e d t h e need t o r e d e f i n e

th eir priority l i s t ,

and s t i l l

a b ou t

how t o

parenting.

relate
(The

to

o t h e r s t h o u g h t t h e y had l e a r n e d much

other

lessons

people

learned

an s w er in g R es ear ch Q u e s t i o n 3 . )

are

through

the

experience

of

discussed

in

more d e p t h

in

A c om p le te l i s t o f t h e 41 p e r s o n a l

e x p e r i e n c e s a f f e c t i n g community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t s

can be found

in

Appendix C.
Ta b l e 4 . 7 . - - P a t t e r n s o f p e r s o n a l e x p e r i e n c e s a f f e c t i n g community
college presidents.

Type o f E x p e r i e n c e R ep or te d

Losses ( d e a t h , d i v o r c e )

Frequency

% o f All P e r s o n a l
Experiences
Identified

7

17.0%

5
5

12.0%
12.0%

School ( e l e m e n t a r y , high s c h o o l ,
college)
Being i n v o l v e d in school
activ ities
" S c h o o l / l e a r n i n g was ea sy "
L e a d e r s h i p r o l e in school
activ ities
B e n e fits /c o sts of attending
small school

5

12.0%

3

7.0%

Having c h i l d r e n

5

12.0%

Having " n e g a t i v e l a b e l s " a t t a c h e d
to o n e s e l f e a r l y in l i f e

3

7.0%

Total

33

79.0%a

a Column does n o t add up t o 80% due t o r o u n d in g e r r o r .

71

In summary,

all

three

inform al

o n-the-job

appeared

to

presidents.
found

it

have

of experiences

train in g ,

an

effect

and

on

personal

the

group

(fo rmal
life

of

training,

experiences)

community

college

The s e l f - r e p o r t i n t e r v i e w r e f l e c t e d t h a t t h e p r e s i d e n t s

easier

experiences

types

than

to

identify

they

did

on-the-job

formal

experiences

training

and

experiences

personal

(see Table

4.8).

T ab l e 4 . 8 . - - E x p e r i e n c e s a f f e c t i n g community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t s
professionally.
Type o f E x p e r i e n c e

F req u en cy R e p o r t e d

Formal t r a i n i n g
On-the-job tr a in in g
Personal l i f e

17
33
41

To answer R es ear ch Q u e s ti o n 2, t h e r e f o r e ,
all

three

types

of

college presidents
to

recall

personal

experiences
interview ed.
and

affected

the

g r ou p

of

community

The i n t e r v i e w e e s w ere more l i k e l y

on-the-job

were academic e x p e r i e n c e s .

i t can be s t a t e d t h a t

training

experiences

th a n

they

T h i s , however, do es n o t n e c e s s a r i l y mean

t h a t p e r s o n a l e x p e r i e n c e s a r e most i m p o r t a n t o r me ani ng fu l .
The

next

question

events experienced.

focuses

on

the

lessons

As a p o i n t o f t r a n s i t i o n ,

learned

from

the

a few q u o t a t i o n s from

th e p r e s id e n ts are shared here.
The e x p e r i e n c e i t s e l f d oes n o t a f f e c t me [ t h e p r e s i d e n t ]
l o ng run as much as what I l e a r n e d from t h a t e x p e r i e n c e .

in t h e

72

I s e e e x p e r i e n c e s a s s i t u a t i o n s t o be h a n d l e d .
I see the
l e s s o n s l e a r n e d from e x p e r i e n c i n g t h o s e s i t u a t i o n s as be in g t h e
a c t u a l dev el op me n t o f my l i f e p h i l o s o p h y .
I can t a l k more e a s i l y abo ut my l e s s o n s l e a r n e d b e c a u s e I c a n ’ t
always i d e n t i f y t h e s p e c i f i c s i t u a t i o n I e x p e r i e n c e d .
So much
o f l i f e is cum ulative.
R e s ea rc h Q u e s ti o n 3
What l e s s o n s were l e a r n e d from t h e s e p r o f e s s i o n a l e x p e r i e n c e s
t h a t b e t t e r prepared these ad m in istrato rs fo r th e job tasks
a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e r o l e o f community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t ?

For t h e p u r p o s e o f t h i s
define

a

"lesson"

as

being

project,

t h e p r e s i d e n t s were asked t o

som ething

th at

was

learned

from

e x p e r i e n c i n g some e v e n t o r s i t u a t i o n .

The " l e s s o n s o f e x p e r i e n c e "

are

that

turned

into

beliefs

and

values

make

up

a

management

p h i l o s o p h y and a f f e c t o n e ’ s d e c i s i o n s and b e h a v i o r s on a d a y - t o - d a y
basis.

Common themes f o r each group o f l e s s o n s l e a r n e d a r e s h a r e d

in t h i s s e c t i o n , w i t h q u o t a t i o n s o f f e r e d as examples f o r each theme.
A f u l l l i s t o f t h e l e s s o n s l e a r n e d can be found in Appendix E.
number o f p r e s i d e n t s who c o n t r i b u t e d
is in d icated ,

insights

for a sp ec ific

as well as r e c o g n i t i o n o f t h e t o t a l

The
group

number o f l e s s o n s

id e n tif i e d fo r th a t category.
P r o f e s s i o n a l E x p e r i e n c e L es s o n s : Before
Current P re sid e n tia l P osition
Four

themes

emerged

from t h e

38 l e s s o n s

reported

by t h e

10

presidents

in t h i s

category.

Some p r e s i d e n t s made recommendations

on how t o

lo o k a t

situations

and how t o m a i n t a i n

b a l a n c e in o n e ’ s l i f e .

a psychological

O t h e r p r e s i d e n t s t a l k e d a b o u t t h e im p o r ta n c e

73
o f t a k i n g ad v a n t a g e o f s i t u a t i o n s t h a t a r i s e and what can be g a i n e d
by b e i n g a c t i v e in t h e r o l e o f p r e s i d e n t .
Examples

of

lessons

pertaining

to

looking

at

life

situations

other

people’s

include:
I t is important
reactions.

to

be

perceptive

and

watch

A p e r s o n must be a b l e t o a c c e p t r e a l i t y b e f o r e [ h e / s h e ]
t o make c h a n g e s .
Try t o n o t t r e a t e v e r y i n c i d e n t as a d i s a s t e r and t r y
most d i s a s t e r s as i n c i d e n t s .

Examples

of

lessons

pertaining

to

kee pi n g

a

is able
to

see

psychological

balance include:
Be f l e x i b l e in l i f e .

Learn t o bend.

L i f e i s n o t always f a i r .

No one s a i d i t would be.

Don’ t g e t to o i n v o l v e d in t h e j o b .

Examples o f l e s s o n s t h a t a r e a p p l i c a b l e t o t a k i n g a d v a n t a g e o f
o p p o rtu n itie s include:
Bloom where you a r e p l a n t e d .
Try t o f i n d o p p o r t u n i t i e s in e v e r y s i t u a t i o n you e n c o u n t e r .
Take t h i n g s as t h e y come.

Examples

of

lessons

pertaining

to

be in g

an

active

president

include:
Go i n t o a me eti ng p r e p a r e d .
We m u s t l i s t e n
anywhere.

to

Open c o m m u n i c a t i o n
organization.

other

is

people

v ital

if

for

we

the

intend

on

success

g ettin g

of

any

74

P r o f e s s i o n a l E x p e r i e n c e Le ss on s:
During C u r r e n t P r e s i d e n c y
When
presidents,

analyzing
four

the

themes

42

lessons

emerged.

id en tified

The p r e s i d e n t s

also

talked

a b ou t

how t o

be

a

successful

the

learned

t h a t p e r t a i n e d t o m o t i v a t i n g o t h e r s and how t o d e a l
They

by

nine

lessons

w i t h pr o bl em s .
leader

and

the

im p o r t a n c e o f kee pi ng in mind t h a t t h e p r e s i d e n t i s human.
Examples o f l e s s o n s p e r t a i n i n g t o t h e

p r e s i d e n t ’ s be i n g

human

include:
There can be a l o t o f p a i n in be in g p r e s i d e n t .
I am n o t always r i g h t .
You w i l l n o t be l i k e d by e v e r y o n e .

Examples

of

lessons

pertaining

to

taking

care

of

problems

include:
Set p r i o r i t i e s .
I want t o en co u r a g e p e o p l e t o t a k e f u l l
pr ob le m s .

o w n e r s h ip o f t h e i r own

Deal w i t h problems b e f o r e t h e y become unmanageable.

The f o l l o w i n g a r e examples o f l e s s o n s p e r t a i n i n g t o m o t i v a t i n g
a staff:
Keep no s e c r e t s from t h e s t a f f - - e s p e c i a l l y d u r i n g n e g o t i a t i o n s .
Pe o pl e want t o g e t e v e n - - g i v e them p o s i t i v e s ,
1ikewise.

and t h e y w i l l

do

Pe o pl e w i l l t a k e more r i s k s when t h e y t r u s t t h e i r s u p e r v i s o r s .

75
Examples o f l e s s o n s t h a t d e s c r i b e how t o be a s u c c e s s f u l l e a d e r
include:
I must l i v e in t h e p r e s e n t t o g e t t h i n g s a c c o m p l i s h e d .
Reduce s u r p r i s e s by w a lk i n g around and s t a y i n g in f or m ed .
Su rr ou nd y o u r s e l f w i t h p e o p l e who w i l l t e l l you t h e t r u t h .
Besides th e p ro fe s s io n a l

e x p e r i e n c e s and l e s s o n s

learned,

the

p r e s i d e n t s a l s o t a l k e d a b o u t p e r s o n a l e x p e r i e n c e s and t h e s u b s e q u e n t
lessons

learned.

These

lessons

are

further

analyzed

by when t h e

e v e n t s t o o k p l a c e ( b e f o r e t h e age o f 18 o r a f t e r t h e age o f 18 ).
P e r s o n a l E x p e r i e n c e Le ss o ns :
A cq ui re d B ef o r e Age 18
The 23 r e p o r t e d

lessons

g e n e r a t e d two broad

d i s c u s s e d in t h i s c a t e g o r y by e i g h t p r e s i d e n t s .
on t h e n o t i o n s o f p o t e n t i a l

themes

that

were

The l e s s o n s f o c u s e d

in p e o p l e , e i t h e r t h e m s e l v e s o r o t h e r s ,

and a s e r i e s o f s u g g e s t i o n s f o r making t h e most o f o n e ’ s own l i f e .
(A f u l l

list

of th is

g rou p o f l e s s o n s

learned

appears

in Appendix

D.)
Examples
potential

of

lessons

focusing

on

accepting

and

identifying

s t r e n g t h s in a l l p e o p l e i n c l u d e :

Be i n c l u s i v e o f a l l

k in d s o f p e o p l e - - a c c e p t d i v e r s i t y .

I s h o u ld r e s p e c t any power o r a u t h o r i t y I p o s s e s s .
We must r e c o g n i z e and a c c e p t o ur own w ea k ne ss es and b u i l d on
our s tre n g th s.

The f o l l o w i n g
1 iving:

are

examples

of lesso n s

pertaining to

tip s

on

76

Look f o r t h e p o s i t i v e around you.
I d o n ’ t t r e a t a l l p e o p l e t h e same.
Be h o n e s t w i t h a l l p e o p l e , i n c l u d i n g y o u r s e l f .
Set g o a ls.
P er s o n al E x p e r i e n c e Les so ns :
Acq uired A f t e r Age 18
The 20 r e p o r t e d l e s s o n s g e n e r a t e d t h r e e m a jo r themes t h a t were
discussed

by

eight

presidents.

pertaining

to

t h e use o f t i m e ,

The

lessons

guidelines

and i s s u e s in r e s p e c t t o t h e s e l f .

reflected

for rela tin g

(A f u l l

list

to

beliefs
others,

o f t h e 20 l e s s o n s

i s r e p o r t e d in Appendix D.)
Examples o f l e s s o n s r e l a t i n g t o t h e t r e a t m e n t o f t i m e

include

the following:
Time i s t o o v a l u a b l e t o w a s t e .
C a p t u r e t h e moment and make t h e most o f i t .
You must s e t g o a l s f o r y o u r s e l f i f you want t o s u c c e e d .

The f o l l o w i n g a r e examples o f l e s s o n s p e r t a i n i n g t o g u i d e l i n e s
fo r r e la tin g to others:
Leave k i d s a l o n e .

Let them grow on t h e i r own.

Help o t h e r p e o p l e .
L i s t e n t o what p e o p l e t h i n k t h e y can do.

Examples o f l e s s o n s p e r t a i n i n g t o i s s u e s in r e s p e c t t o t h e s e l f
include:
I ’ ve l e a r n e d t o be v e r y s e l f - d i s c i p l i n e d .
I g e t a l o t a c c om pl is h e d t h i s way.

I enjoy t h i s because

77
I t i s i m p o r t a n t t o be autonomous.
I know I can improve on m y s e l f .

I depend o n l y on m y s e l f .
I ’m s u r e n o t p e r f e c t .

Lessons Learned From Academic E x p e r i e n c e s
Th ree
presidents

themes
in

emerged

this

category.

l e a r n i n g was a p r i v i l e g e
O th e r

presidents

attem pt

to

those

the

23

Several

lessons

reported

presidents

that

people

in d iv id u als

can

relate

grow.

to

by

thought

and s h o u ld be a h ig h p r i o r i t y

learned

help

from

10
that

for others.

others

in

Acknowledging

an

one’s

l i m i t a t i o n s was n o t a weakness f o r some p r e s i d e n t s .
The

following

are

examples

of

lessons

pertaining

to

pe op le

sk ills:
Teach p e o p l e t o make t h e i r own d e c i s i o n s .

Empower o t h e r s .

P o s i t i v e f e e d b a c k r e a l l y h e l p s c e r t a i n p e o p l e grow.
P eo p le s k i l l s a r e so v e r y i m p o r t a n t .
You must be d i r e c t w i t h p e o p l e t o g e t t a s k s a c c o m p l i s h e d .

Examples o f l e s s o n s p e r t a i n i n g t o t h e g i f t o f l e a r n i n g

include

the follow ing:
There i s no s u b s t i t u t e f o r knowledge.

Read a l l you can.

The p r e s i d e n t can l e a r n from a s u b o r d i n a t e .
Some c h o i c e s I made e a r l i e r in my l i f e mi gh t have made s en s e
t h e n , b u t now t h e y lo o k p r e t t y s t u p i d .
Learn from p a s t
m i s t a k e s and c o n t i n u e making c h o i c e s .

Examples

of

lesso n s

th at

center

on

acknow ledging

one’ s

li m it a ti o n s include:
I might q u e s t i o n some o f my own d e c i s i o n s , b u t I d o n ’ t q u e s t i o n
me.

78

Be w i l l i n g t o l e a r n a b o u t y o u r s e l f .
you can r e a l l y grow.

I t i s n o t al ways f u n , b u t

I now r e a l i z e I c a n n o t c o n t r o l o t h e r p e o p l e .
t h e y need t o do.

They w i l l do what

I r e a l i z e t h a t some t h i n g s in l i f e I c a n n o t change.
I c a n n o t be a l l t h i n g s t o a l l p e o p l e .

To summarize t h e r e s p o n s e t o R es ear ch Q u e s ti o n 3, a v a r i e t y o f
lessons

were

learned

by

the

presidents

as

experienced d i f f e r e n t s itu a tio n s or events.

a

result

A total

of

havi ng

o f 146 l e s s o n s

were r e p o r t e d by t h e p r e s i d e n t s as hav in g he l p e d t o p r e p a r e them f o r
the

sp ecific

professional

organizational
and

personal

in

job
nature

task s.

The

lesso n s

and were

further

were

categorized

i n t o themes by i d e n t i f y i n g c o m m o n a l i t i e s s h a r e d as a r e s u l t o f t h e
i n s i g h t s o f th e group.

The l i s t o f l e s s o n themes a p p e a r s below.

Lessons Based on P r o f e s s i o n a l E x p e r i e n c e s Befo re C u r r e n t P r e s i d e n c y
Looking a t l i f e s i t u a t i o n s
Keeping a p s y c h o l o g i c a l b a l a n c e
Taking a d v a n t a g e o f o p p o r t u n i t i e s
Being an a c t i v e p r e s i d e n t
Lessons Based on P r o f e s s i o n a l E x p e r i e n c e s During P r e s i d e n c y
The p r e s i d e n t i s human
Taking c a r e o f problems
M otivating a s t a f f
How t o be a s u c c e s s f u l l e a d e r
Lessons Based on P er s o n al E x p e r i e n c e s Be fo re Age 18
A c c e p t in g and i d e n t i f y i n g t h e p o t e n t i a l
T i p s on l i v i n g

in a l l p e o p l e

79
Lessons Based on P e r s o n a l E x p e r i e n c e s A f t e r Age 18
Time i s s u e s
Guidelines fo r r e l a t i n g to others
Issues regarding the s e l f
Lessons Based on Academic E x p e r i e n c e s
P eo pl e s k i l l s
The g i f t o f l e a r n i n g
Acknowledging o n e ’ s l i m i t a t i o n s
B e s i d e s t h e themes t h a t have a l r e a d y been i d e n t i f i e d , t h e i s s u e
o f m a jo r p a t t e r n s o f e x p e r i e n c e s and l e s s o n s l e a r n e d

also

emerged.

T hi s i s t h e b a s i s f o r R es ear ch Q ue s ti o n 4.

(Other groups of le sso n s

learned

R es ear ch Q u e s t i o n

are discussed

in more d e p t h a f t e r

5,

in

the S ubsidiary Analysis s e c tio n of t h i s c h a p t e r .)

Resea rc h Q u e s ti o n 4
Do c e r t a i n p a t t e r n s o r themes a r i s e p e r t a i n i n g t o t h e k i n d s o f
e x p e r i e n c e s o r t h e l e s s o n s l e a r n e d f o r t h e gr ou p o f p r e s i d e n t s
sampled?

This
Rese arc h

question

was

Questions

e x p e r i e n c e s were

answered,

2 and

3.

identified,

l e s s o n s were s t a t e d .

In

in

part,

Q u e s ti o n

by
2,

the

responses

to

specific

g r o up s

of

and in Q u e s ti o n 3 s p e c i f i c

themes

of

To answer Resea rc h Q u e s ti o n 4 more f u l l y ,

the

t y p e s o f e x p e r i e n c e s and l e s s o n s a r e c a t e g o r i z e d and a d e f i n i t i o n o f
each p a t t e r n found i s s h a r e d .

P a tte r n s o f Experiences
Experiences

were d e f i n e d

as

situ atio n s

that

l e a d e r s h i p s t y l e o f t h e community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t s :
tasks;

in teractio n s

w ith

sp ecific

people;

affected

the

s p e c i f i c job

hardships;

or

other

80

s ig n if ic a n t periods or tr a n s i tio n s

( co u r s e w o r k , e a r l y j o b s , p e r s o n a l

e x p e r i e n c e s , and so o n ) .
S ix

m a jo r

categories

of

experiences

evolved,

ba se d

on

the

i n s i g h t s and i n p u t o f t h e i n t e r v i e w e e s .

The s i x p a t t e r n s have been

entitled

to

(a )

experiences

personal
after

age 18,

cu rre n t presidency,
academic

experiences

(d)

experiences,

mentors.

(c)

up

professional

professional

and

Each p a t t e r n

(f)

age

18,

of experiences

personal

experiences

experiences

experiences

(b)

before

as p r e s i d e n t ,

involving

other

is defined

in t h e

18.

of

(e)

people/

following

paragraphs.
Personal

experiences

f o c u s e d on u p b r i n g i n g ,
sch ool

experiences.

to

up

age

Many

these

family t r a d i t i o n s or e x p e c ta tio n s ,
Leadership

opportunities

in

sports

events

and e a r l y
or

social

c l u b s were a l s o subsumed un de r t h i s c a t e g o r y .
Personal

experiences

a f t e r age 1 8 .

These e x p e r i e n c e s

fo c u s e d

on ch ang e, such as t h r o u g h d e a t h o f a s i g n i f i c a n t o t h e r , d i v o r c e , o r
h a v in g c h i l d r e n .

Participation

in s o c i a l

organizations

(perhaps

a

c o n t i n u a t i o n o f t h e s e s o c i a l gr o up s s t a r t e d when y o un ge r) as well as
specific

realizations

regarding

one’s

own

life

were

examples

of

e x p e r i e n c e s t h a t a p p e a r e d in t h i s g ro u p .
Professional
experiences
career

included

ladder

identified

experiences

for

often,

"first

the
as

m e n ti o n e d , as w e l l .

jobs,"

president.

were

w ithin the org an izatio n .

before

"start

current
as

well

J ob
ups"

presidency.
as

tasks
and

Early successes

These

positions
and

on

projects

redefinition

of

and n e a r s u c c e s s e s

the
were

roles
were

81

P rofessional

experiences

as p r e s i d e n t .

These e x p e r i e n c e s

i n c l u d e d s p e c i f i c j o b t a s k s and t h e i d e n t i f i c a t i o n o f new r o l e s ( f o r
t h e new p r e s i d e n t ) .
or s ta r t in g

Some o f t h e new r o l e s i n v o l v e d c u t t i n g programs

up new p r o j e c t s .

I n t e r a c t i n g w i t h d i f f e r e n t gr o up s o f

p e o p l e (community, u n i o n s , p o l i t i c a l f i g u r e s , and so o n ) , as well as
f o l l o w i n g t h e p r e d e c e s s o r , were o f t e n i d e n t i f i e d .
Academic e x p e r i e n c e s .
as well

These i n c l u d e d c o l l e g e d e g r e e s

as s p e c i f i c pr o gr am s , workshops,

attended

after

discussions

com pleting

pertained

to

the

high

c o m p le ti n g

earned,

and c o n f e r e n c e s t h a t were
school

the

diplom a.

doctorate

or

Several
the

actual

w r i t i n g o f t h e d i s s e r t a t i o n as bei ng s i g n i f i c a n t .
Other p e o p le /m e n to rs.
id en tified
included

in

more d e p t h

parents,

and c h i l d r e n .
frequently.

Thi s

teachers,

in

pattern

the

of experiences

S ubsidiary

college

(which

A nalysis

presidents,

is

section)

coaches,

spouses,

S i b l i n g s , p e e r s , and s p e c i f i c f r i e n d s were a l s o named
Several

p r e s i d e n t s mentioned t h a t t h e r e were ve r y few

p e o p l e from whom t h e y had n o t l e a r n e d .
The s i x c a t e g o r i e s

o f experiences

provided

op portunity to d escrib e d i f f e r e n t lessons learned .
d e f i n e d as l e a d e r s h i p s k i l l s
result

of the

events

presidents

experienced.

The l e s s o n s were

The m a jo r p a t t e r n s

of

subdivided

into

lessons

(b) b a s i c management

(c) l e a d e r s h i p s t y l e , and (d) p e r s o n a l a w a r e n e s s .

o f t h e s e c a t e g o r i e s were

an

o r p a t t e r n s o f t h i n k i n g a c q u i r e d as a

were i d e n t i f i e d as (a) b a s i c v a l u e s o r b e l i e f s ,
philosophy,

the

more s p e c i f i c

Three

groupings.

B as ic management p h i l o s o p h y l e s s o n s were n o t f u r t h e r s u b d i v i d e d .

82

A nother
patterns.

group

of

lesso n s

elicited

a

series

of

secondary

The s e c o n d a r y p a t t e r n s o f l e s s o n s l e a r n e d d e a l t w i t h such

t o p i c s as d e a l i n g w it h o t h e r p e o p l e , c o p in g w i t h a d v e r s i t y , f e e d b a c k
(giving

and

political

receiving),

lessons,

i n t e r a c t i n g w it h

lessons

involving

the

Board

community

of

Trustees,

colleges

sp ecifi­

c a l l y , and t h e n o t i o n o f s u p p o r t f o r t h e p r e s i d e n t .
In

the

identified

follow ing
and

paragraphs,

defined,

each

supporting the

group

notion

of

1e s s o n s

is

patterns

of

statem ents

of

that

l e s s o n s o f e x p e r i e n c e s do e x i s t .
B as ic

v alues/beliefs.

These

lessons

involved

i n s i g h t o r r e f l e c t i o n d e a l i n g m o s t l y w it h c o n c e p t s r e l a t e d
and o t h e r p e o p l e .
of one’s l i f e
"stretch in g
discussed

to

life

S u g g e s t i o n s were made on how t o g e t t h e most o u t

and t h e i m p o r ta n c e a s s o c i a t e d w it h s e t t i n g g o a l s and
oneself"

sayings

psychologically.

and p h r a s e s

that

they

t h r o u g h t h e tough times (views o f l i f e ) .

The

interview ees

had l e a r n e d

to

help

also
them

S u g g e s t i o n s were a l s o made

on how t o t r e a t o t h e r p e o p l e .
B as ic management p h i l o s o p h y .
reflected

b eliefs

professional
"pool

of

S p e c i fi c le sso n s in t h i s c a teg o ry

r e s p o n d e n t s d e p e n d e d upon when d e a l i n g

situations.

knowledge"

to

Th is gr oup o f l e s s o n s

served

resort

with

t o when

faced

w ith

as a m a jo r
professional

incidents.
Leadership s t y l e .

T h i s group o f l e s s o n s i n v o l v e d t h e b e h a v i o r s

c a l l e d on from t h e a r e n a o f management p h i l o s o p h y t o c a r r y o u t t h e
action plan.

The p r e s i d e n t s i d e n t i f i e d t h e a c t i o n s n e c e s s a r y t o be

p e r c e i v e d as an e f f e c t i v e l e a d e r , as well as t h e e s s e n t i a l a t t i t u d e s

83

endorsed

by t h e

p resid en ts.

O ther

presidential

in sig h ts

are

i n c l u d e d in t h i s c a t e g o r y a l s o .
Personal
issu es

of

strengths
with

awareness.

self-grow th
and

others.

T h i s group o f l e s s o n s l e a r n e d
and

lim itatio n s,
These

self-co n fid en ce,
and

lessons

suggestions

appeared

to

focused

id en tificatio n

regarding

relate

on
of

interactions

t o many d i f f e r e n t

s i t u a t i o n s , n o t j u s t p r o f e s s i o n a l de v el o p m en t .
D eveloping

vour

people.

de ve lo p m en t and how t h e

These

president

lesso n s

focused

can en co u ra g e

on

individual

staff
growth

w ithin the organization.
D ealing

w ith

o th ers.

These

lesso n s

provided

a

general

framework from which t h e p r e s i d e n t s co u l d i n t e r a c t w i t h o t h e r s i n a
p o sitiv e fashion.
Coping w ith

ad v ersity .

These

lesso n s

id en tified

several

re a c tio n s to the s t r e s s response.
Feedback

(giving

and

receiv in g ).

This

group

of

lesso n s

i n c l u d e d t h e means by which t h e p r e s i d e n t s s o ug ht i n f o r m a t i o n a bo ut
p r og r am s ,

the

s c h o o l ’ s o r t h e i r own p e r f o r m a n c e ,

or other

t h a t r e f l e c t e d t h e p r e s i d e n t ’ s d e s i r e and a b i l i t y t o

share

lessons
his/her

p o i n t o f view w i t h someone e l s e .
Le sson s i n v o l v i n g t h e B o a r d .

These l e s s o n s were s p e c i f i c as t o

what t h e p r e s i d e n t s had l e a r n e d from i n t e r a c t i n g w it h t h e Board f o r
varying

amounts

of

tim e.

The

p resid en ts

talk ed

about

the

r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h t h e Board, as well as d i s c u s s i n g s p e c i f i c ways o f
k e e p i n g ea ch o t h e r inform ed and pr om ot ing t r u s t in t h e g r o u p .

84

Political

lessons.

T h i s group o f l e s s o n s f o c u s e d on r e l a t i n g

t o p e o p l e who were a p a r t o f t h e p o l i t i c a l

s ys te m and t h e im p or ta n ce

o f en h an c in g o n e ’ s aw are n es s o f t h e power s t r u c t u r e t h a t e x i s t s

(at

t h e c o l l e g e , in t h e community, and around t h e s t a t e ) .
Specific
served

the

lessons

for

president

on

the

community

a day-to-day

college.

basis

as

These

he/she

lessons

dealt

w it h

organizational events.
Support.
n et w o r k in g

Lessons in t h i s c a t e g o r y r e f l e c t e d t h e i m p o r ta n c e of

w it h

other

presidents

in

the

state

or

nationally

at

c o n f e r e n c e s o r on t h e t e l e p h o n e .
The p a t t e r n s o f l e s s o n s

id en tified

are c e r t a in l y

not mutually

e x c l u s i v e but s e r v e as a r e m i n d e r t h a t p a t t e r n s o f e x p e r i e n c e s and
l e s s o n s l e a r n e d do e x i s t .
lessons

learned,

based

Appendix D c o n t a i n l i s t s
on

the

categories

of the s p e c ific

outlined

in

Research

Q u e s ti o n 4.

Resea rc h Q u e s ti o n 5
I f p a t t e r n s o f e x p e r i e n c e s o r l e s s o n s l e a r n e d a r i s e , what
e f f e c t c o u l d t h e s e d a t a have f o r t h e p r o f e s s i o n a l develo pme nt
o f p r o s p e c t i v e l e a d e r s in t h e community c o l l e g e en v i ro n m e n t?

This q u estio n c a l l e d

for

interpretation

of data

outcomes f o r p r o s p e c t i v e l e a d e r s and i s d i s c u s s e d

and p o s s i b l e

in more d e p t h

in

C h a p t e r V.
O th e r

data

were

college p resid en ts.

obtained

from t h e

The n e x t s e c t i o n ,

interview s

with

community

Subsidiary A nalysis,

t o i d e n t i f y t h e t o p i c s and t o s h a r e s i g n i f i c a n t d a t a .

i s used

85

S u b sid iary Analysis
In t h i s

section,

additional

on a m a jo r gr oup o f e x p e r i e n c e s

analyses

are

identified

r o l e o f o t h e r p e o p l e a n d / o r m e n to rs

introduced,

focusing

by t h e p r e s i d e n t s

in t h e i r

lives)

v a r i e t y o f o t h e r l e s s o n s l e a r n e d by t h e p r e s i d e n t s ,

as w el l

(the
as

a

including those

l e s s o n s t h a t a r e s p e c i f i c t o t h e p r o c e s s o f f e e d b a c k , t h e Board, and
community

colleges.

A section

is

dedicated

l e a r n i n g s as r e p o r t e d by t h e p r e s i d e n t s .

to

the

The l a s t

significant

section

chapter i d e n t i f i e s responses to th re e o th e r questions

in t h i s

asked d u r i n g

t h e i n t e r v i e w p r o c e s s (What has been most "fun" f o r you in y o u r r o l e
as p r e s i d e n t ?

How have you changed d u r i n g y o u r t e n u r e as p r e s i d e n t ?

What i s n e x t f o r you a f t e r t h e c u r r e n t p r e s i d e n c y ? )
E x p e r i e n c e s A f f e c t i n g You in Your Role
as P r e s i d e n t : O t h e r P e o p le /M e n to r s
All

12

significant

presidents
effect

identified

on them as

were more i n f l u e n t i a l

specific

individuals.

people

existence)

had

Some o f t h e s e

in t h e p r e s i d e n t ’ s p e r s o n a l

a ffe c ts t h e i r professional

who

life

and a r e l i s t e d

had

a

people

(which s t i l l
by group w i t h

examples o f l e s s o n s l e a r n e d :
1.

Parents:

Be h o n e s t , work h a r d ,

" I t ’ s o k a y , " " L i f e i s kind

o f f u n n y , " "Don’ t t a k e a d v a n t a g e o f o t h e r s . "
2.

Spouse:

3.

Children:

Being s u p p o r t i v e and o u t g o i n g .
"I l e a r n a l o t from my k i d s . "

86

4.

Teachers:

"Must

gain

kindness, confronted the

other

people’s

r e s p e c t , " modeled

p r e s i d e n t by s a y i n g , "Get y o u r a c t

together."
5.

Clergy:

E s t a b l i s h e d h ig h v a l u e s / b e l i e f s .

O th e r p e o p l e were c o n s i d e r e d more l i k e m e n t o r s .

The p r e s i d e n t s

d e f i n e d a mentor as b e i n g "a p e r s o n w i t h s h a r e d v a l u e s l i k e m i n e . "
"A mentor i s someone who i s an o p t i m i s t i c problem s o l v e r . "

" I f our

s t y l e s o f l e a d e r s h i p were s i m i l a r , h e / s h e would p r o b a b l y be a me nt o r
f o r me."
1.

P r o f e s s o r s in u n d e r g r a d u a t e o r g r a d u a t e s c h o o l : "This

per­

son h e l p e d me s e e my p o t e n t i a l . "
2.

Past p re s id e n ts/p re d e c e ss o rs :

"I l e a r n e d hown o t

p r e s i d e n t by w a tc h i n g ________."
d reams.
3.

t o be

a

"We t a l k e d a bo ut g o a l s and

He t a u g h t me a l o t . "

Supervisors:
w a tc h i n g
talking

"I

learned

________."

"I

w i t h ______ ."

how

to

d ea l

learned

a

"I

’c o a c h e d ’

was

lo t

with

about

others

by

politics

by

by

.

He

s u p p o r t e d and groomed me f o r t h i s p o s i t i o n . "
4.

S p e c i f i c Board members:

"He was always a b l e t o keep h i s

cool d u r i n g tough t i m e s . "

"We s h a r e a l o t o f t h o u g h t s , and

he h e l p s me s t a y in f o r m e d . "
5.

Peers

(current

port."

presidents):

"They p r o v i d e

a lot

of

sup­

"I l e a r n a l o t from my p e e r s e v e r y d a y . "

Pe opl e have p la y e d a s i g n i f i c a n t
presidents.

Several

people t h a t

I haven’ t

presidents
learned

said,

fr o m . "

role

in t h e

"There

life

have

One p r e s i d e n t

of all

been

very

said,

"It

the
few
is

87

i m p o r t a n t t o watch t h e p e o p l e you work f o r and a n a l y z e why d i d what
they

do work,

or

not

work,

and

then

file

that

inform ation

away

m entally."
Experiencing
opportunity

for

certain

the

people

presidents

to

in

one’s

learn

life

many

provided

lessons

the

involving

i n t e r p e r s o n a l r e l a t i o n s as well as i n s i g h t s i n t o s e l f - e s t e e m .

Other

l e s s o n s i n v o l v e d t h e p r o c e s s o f fe e d b a c k ( g i v i n g and r e c e i v i n g ) .
Lessons o f E x p e r i e n c e :
and R e c e i v i n g Feedback

Giving

The f e e d b a c k p r o c e s s

is

seen as a communication t o o l

device fo r m otivating people.
through th e
learned

acquisition

Peop le l e a r n a b ou t t h e i r p e r f o r m a n c e

o f helpful

by e x p e r i e n c i n g

and as a

feedback.

feedback.

A lso,

Many l e s s o n s
th is

can be

researcher

was

i n t e r e s t e d in t h e kind o f f e e d b a c k r e c e i v e d by t h e p r e s i d e n t s .
Feedback: s e n d i n g .

The p r e s i d e n t s t a l k e d about t h e im p o r t a n c e

o f s e n d i n g p o s i t i v e f e e d b a c k o f t e n (some r e p o r t e d bei ng weak in t h i s
a r e a ) , as w e ll as be in g d i r e c t and s p e c i f i c w i t h t h e f e e d b a c k .
presidents

talked

n ew sletters.
"Praise

a bo ut

the

im p o r t a n c e

O t h e r com m en ts r e g a r d i n g

in p u b l i c . "

"Silence,

f o r me,

is

of

g ifts,

sending
truly

bonuses,
feedback

golden."

Some
and
were:

"I give

f e e d b a c k t o p e o p l e based on t h e i r ac c o m p li s h m e n ts , n o t t h e i r g o a l s . "
"Compliment o t h e r s o f t e n , so we can work c l o s e l y t o g e t h e r . "
Besides seeing
builds

tru st,

fe e d b a c k as a n e c e s s i t y and

several

presidents

enough p o s i t i v e f e e d b a c k .

realized

that

as
they

so me th ing t h a t
did

not give

The p r e s i d e n t s saw t h e f e e d b a c k p r o c e s s

88
as

b ei ng

a

feedback,

two-way

but

they

street.
also

They

knew t h e

realized

they

im po rt an ce

needed

to

of

receiving

p residents

believed

give

helpful

feedback.
Feedback:

receiv in g .

Several

in

the

i m p o r t a n c e o f h e a r i n g from o t h e r p e o p l e "how t h e y a r e p e r c e i v e d and
how t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n
" as

you

i s v ie w e d . "

move down t h e

I t was r e c o g n i z e d ,

institutional

sy stem

p r e s i d e n t o f t e n t i m e s becomes s o f t e r . "
th at

it

is

difficu lt

receiving

the

Several

feedback

however,

feedback

that

to

the

p re s id e n ts believed

from o n e ’ s

subordinates.

The p r e s i d e n t s o f t e n s o ug h t f e e d b a c k from t h e Board o r t h e community
or

from o t h e r

around t h e

presidents.

campus

p r o v id e d

necessary feedback.

O th er

S taff

meetings,

a variety

of

p r e s i d e n t s , in

retreats,

and w al k i n g

opportunities
talking

to

receive

about re c e iv in g

feedback, said:
I f I lo o k a t my
w i l l h e l p me se e

own w e ak ne s s es , I hope I ’m mode lin g
my weaknes se s and t h e i r s t o o .

so o t h e r s

The f e e d b a c k I g e t i s o f t e n n e g a t i v e .
You g e t t h e j o b done b u t
are c r it ic i z e d
f o r how yo u do t h e j o b . I t s ee m s t h a t
s t a g n a t i o n and i n a c t i v i t y r e c e i v e l e s s c r i t i c i s m t h a n pr om ot in g
ch ang e.
I have t o g i v e m y s e l f f e e d b a c k f r e q u e n t l y .
I do t h i s
q u i e t t i m e s o f r e f l e c t i o n and d u r i n g v a c a t i o n s .

The group o f p r e s i d e n t s

saw a need f o r r e c e i v i n g

through

f e e d b a c k so

t h a t pr oblems c o u l d be c o r r e c t e d and t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n c o u l d c o n t i n u e
gr ow in g .

An oth er

way t h a t

the

presidents

thought

c o l l e g e c o u l d grow was t h r o u g h t h e development
positive

working r e l a t i o n s h i p s

with

the

Board

the

community

and m a i n t e n a n c e
of

Trustees.

of

Most

89

p r e s i d e n t s made comments a b o u t t h e i r r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h t h e i r Board,
which a r e r e f l e c t e d in t h e f o l l o w i n g s e c t i o n .
I n t e r a c t i o n s With t h e Board
Most

presidents

talked

t h e y had w it h t h e i r Board.

a bo ut

the

very

positive

relationship

They a l s o s u g g e s t e d ways t o m a i n t a i n and

en hance t h a t p o s i t i v e r e l a t i o n s h i p :
Ask t h e Board f o r t h e i r s u p p o r t .
Keep t h e Board in fo rm ed .
Make s u r e t h e Board i s accustomed t o s u c c e s s .
Be d i r e c t and u p - f r o n t w i t h t h e Board.
Meet w it h members
reduce s u r p r i s e s .

of

the

Board

on

a

regular

basis

to

h el p

I f t h e r e a r e q u e s t i o n s abo ut an up-coming i t e m on t h e agenda,
make s u r e t h e board member c a l l s b e f o r e t h e m e e t i n g .
I don’t
l i k e s u r p r i s e s in Board m e e t i n g s e i t h e r .
P r o v i d e y o u r Board w i t h l o t s o f TLC.

The k in d s o f i n s i g h t s
carried

over

to

specific

the p resid en ts
lessons

learned

had r e g a r d i n g

the

regarding

community

the

Board

college.

Lessons o f E x p e r i e n c e Regar din g
Community C o l l e g e s
In

th is

category

s t u d e n t gr o u p s
community.

and t h e

Presidents

the

presidents

focused

on

i m p o r ta n c e o f m o n i t o r i n g
saw a need t o

h o s t community in a t i m e l y manner.

provide

helping
the

ne ed s

new programs

specific
o f the
to

the

Other p r e s id e n ts sa id :

In t h e b e g i n n i n g o f a p r e s i d e n c y , spend more t i m e w i t h school
a c t i v i t i e s and g e t t h e s t a f f i n p l a c e .

90

Try t o make d r a m a t i c chang es e a r l y in y o u r t e n u r e
on t h e j o b .
I f you
d o n ’t , p e o p l e w i l l t h i n k i t i s j u s t more o f t h e same.
V i c t o r i e s a r e needed e a r l y t o r a i s e s t a f f m o r a l e .
In
learned,

addition
the

learning"

to

being

participants

asked
were

about

asked

(s o m et hi n g t h e y would l i k e

The f o l l o w i n g

section

section

Chapter

in

identifies

the

V focuses

to
to

experiences
identify

"significant

p as s on t o o t h e r p e o p l e ) .

significant

on

a

and l e s s o n s

the e ff e c t

learnings,
of

and a

the lesso n s

identified.

S i g n i f i c a n t Lessons Learned
The l i s t o f s i g n i f i c a n t l e s s o n s l e a r n e d i s a gr oup o f i n s i g h t s ,
beliefs,

and s a y i n g s t h a t

the p re s id e n ts

p r o f e s s i o n a l l y and p e r s o n a l l y .

use

in t h e i r

lives,

both

Ta bl e 4 . 9 p r o v i d e s a c o m p le te l i s t

of the s i g n i f i c a n t lessons learned.

T ab l e 4 . 9 . - - S i g n i f i c a n t l e s s o n s l e a r n e d by community c o l l e g e
presidents.

Empower o t h e r s .
respondents)

Teach

people

to

make

th eir

own d e c i s i o n s .

(2

We must grow o u r own f u t u r e l e a d e r s .
Be p a t i e n t w i t h o t h e r s .
Give them an o p p o r t u n i t y t o grow i n t o who
t h e y can become.
(3 r e s p o n d e n t s )
Praise others reg u la rly .
Let go o f problems in t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n so t h a t o t h e r s can do t h e i r
own j o b .
V alid ate o th e r p e o p le ’ s okayness.

91
Table 4 . 9 . --C o n tin u e d .

Build on s t r e n g t h s o f p e o p l e .
Demand t h a t o t h e r s s e t t h e i r own g o a l s .
Res pec t p e o p l e .
R e a l i z e t h a t p e o p l e w i l l do what t h e y need t o do.
o th e r people.

You c a n ’ t c o n t r o l

D i f f e r e n c e s between p e o p l e a r e okay.
are.
(2 r e s p o n d e n t s )

We must a c c e p t o t h e r s as t h e y

Live in t h e p r e s e n t moment; t h e now!

(2 r e s p o n d e n t s )

Try n o t t o t r e a t
as i n c i d e n t s .

incidents

as d i s a s t e r s ;

t r y t o s e e most d i s a s t e r s

Choose yo u r b a t t l e s c a r e f u l l y .
Be an o p t i m i s t .
Feed t h e i m a g i n a t i o n .

Have a dream.

Find o p p o r t u n i t i e s i n a l l o f l i f e ’ s s i t u a t i o n s .
Be invo lv ed in t h e world o f i d e a s .
Be open t o o t h e r p o s s i b i l i t i e s and t o new i d e a s .
Bloom where you a r e p l a n t e d .

(Make an in v e s t m e n t w h e r e v e r you a r e . )

Spend y o u r t i m e l o o k i n g a t t h e f u t u r e .
Trust people.
I want t o do t h i n g s
work.

so my p e o p l e w i l l

lo o k

fo rw ar d t o

coming t o

E du ca ti on i s a p r o c e s s , n o t a d e s t i n a t i o n .
L i f e i s good.
People a r e e i t h e r growing o r
e m o t i o n a l l y , and s p i r i t u a l l y .
You d o n ’t f i n d y o u r s e l f .
Ch oices e x i s t .

dy in g

physically,

You d e s i g n y o u r s e l f .

intellectu ally ,

92
Table 4 . 9 . --C o n tin u e d .

We c a n ’ t p r e d i c t t h e f u t u r e , b u t we can shape i t .
Life i s too s h o r t .

Don’ t h ol d g r u d g e s .

You r e a p what you sow.
You c a n ’ t p l e a s e e ve r yo ne a l l t h e t i m e ; d o n ’ t even t r y .
P eo pl e a r e bu sy , so d o n ’t w a s te t h e i r t i m e .
When t h e s t a f f r e c o g n i z e t h e i r
p r e s i d e n t ’ s j o b i s much e a s i e r .

own s t r e n g t h s

and w e a k n e s s e s ,

the

There a r e many ways t o do t h i n g s .
I n d i v i d u a l s do make a d i f f e r e n c e .
We must h e l p o t h e r s t a k e c a r e o f t h e m s e l v e s .
Every group s h o u ld s t r i v e toward a team n o t i o n .
The team must be
a b l e t o t a k e in new p e o p l e , and p a r t i c i p a n t s must be a b l e t o a d a p t
and change r o l e s when n e c e s s a r y .
Keep an e m ot io n al b a l a n c e .
The school w i l l s u r v i v e w i t h o u t me.
L i t t l e t h i n g s make a b ig d i f f e r e n c e s t o p e o p l e .
All p e o p l e a r e r a c e h o r s e s .
are in.
Manage ch ang e.

(2 r e s p o n d e n t s )

We j u s t have t o f i n d o u t what r a c e t h e y

Don’ t be a v i c t i m t o i t .

P a i r t h e l e g i t i m a t e o p p o r t u n i t y up w i t h t h e n a t u r a l champion.
Reduce s u r p r i s e s by w al k i n g around and kee p in g o t h e r s inf or m ed.
Face r e a l i t y .
Listen to people.
Shar e t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n a l v i s i o n w i t h o t h e r s .
Be l i k a b l e and c o m p e te n t .
Be h o n e s t and d i r e c t w it h p e o p l e .

93
Table 4 . 9 . --C o n tin u e d .

Don’ t t a k e t h i n g s so s e r i o u s l y .
Be w i l l i n g t o improve on o n e s e l f .
Learn from y o u r m i s t a k e s .
L ea r ni n g i s a p r i v i l e g e .
Be k in d t o y o u r s e l f .
Know t h y s e l f .
The n e x t e v e n t in l i f e i s most e x c i t i n g t o me.
I l o o k for wa rd to each da y .

In t h e f i n a l

New e x p e r i e n c e s p r e s e n t t h e m s e l v e s .

section of th is chapter,

p r e s i d e n t s ’ responses to

t h r e e i n t e r v i e w q u e s t i o n s a r e p r e s e n t e d , w it h p a t t e r n s
i d e n t i f i e d and sample q u o t a t i o n s o f f e r e d as ex am p le s .

of responses
A full

list

o f r e s p o n s e s , i n c l u d i n g f r e q u e n c i e s , may be found in Appendix E.
The i n t e r v i e w e e s were as ke d, What has been most " f u n "
in y o u r r o l e as p r e s i d e n t ?
such

ideas

as

witnessing

community c o l l e g e ,

f o r you

The p r e s i d e n t s were i n c l i n e d t o d i s c u s s
staff

of

the

p u b l i c r e l a t i o n s , w al k in g around t h e campus,

and

seeing enrollment in c re a s e s .

g ro w th,

seeing

the

growth

The p a r t i c i p a n t s b e l i e v e d t h e r o l e o f

p r e s i d e n t i s v a r i e d and t h a t c h a l l e n g e s a r e e v e r p r e s e n t .

Examples

o f " p r e s i d e n t i a l fun" r e s p o n s e s f o l l o w :
P i c k i n g p e o p l e from w i t h i n t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n who I know w i l l
a b l e t o grow and t a k e on a d d i t i o n a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s .
Watching p e o p l e make ma jor c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o t h e c o l l e g e .

be

94

I enjoy
college.

going

out

and

seeking

community

support

for

the

I t i s e x c i t i n g t o watch t h e c o l l e g e grow.
I n t e r v i e w e e s were a l s o a s k e d , How have you changed d u r i n g y o u r
t e n u r e as p r e s i d e n t ?
id e n tif ie d several
Some

talked

situ atio n s

a bo ut
to

In r e s p o n s e t o t h i s

question,

the p resid en ts

s o u r c e s o f change as b e i n g s i g n i f i c a n t
b ei ng

fight

"w iser,"

for

and

in

which

the senseo f
ones

to

to

knowing

let

go.

them.
what

Several

p r e s i d e n t s r e p o r t e d l i s t e n i n g more t o t h e p e o p l e around them.

Many

talked

"no"

a bo ut

knowing t h e i r

much more e a s i l y .

own l i m i t s and b e i n g a b l e

say

As a g r o u p , t h e y r e p o r t e d b e i n g more c o n f i d e n t in

t h e i r d e c i s i o n making.

Reaching o u t t o d i f f e r e n t r e s o u r c e s , w h e th e r

i t be o t h e r p r e s i d e n t s o r p e o p l e who had a s k i l l
n o t have ,

to

th e p r e s i d e n t did

a p p ea r ed t o be e a s i e r now f o r some p r e s i d e n t s .

Examples

o f chang es made by t h e p r e s i d e n t s i n c l u d e :
I ’m l e a r n i n g t h e im p o rt a n c e o f b u i l d i n g r e l a t i o n s h i p s w i t h t h e
community.
I now have more t r u s t in t h e p e o p l e t h a t work f o r me.
I can s i t back and r e l a x more now.
I

now r e a l i z e I c a n ’ t do i t a l l by F r i d a y .

I ’m a s k i n g b e t t e r q u e s t i o n s o f o t h e r p e o p l e now.
I am more w i l l i n g t o s ee k r e s o u r c e s t o f i l l
do.
I d o n ’ t ju d g e o t h e r s as much o r as q u i c k l y .

in f o r what I c a n ’ t

95

Finally,
position?
exact

p r e s i d e n t s were a s k e d , What’ s n e x t f o r you a f t e r t h i s

S e v e r a l p r e s i d e n t s a d m i t t e d t o hav in g t h o u g h t a b ou t t h a t

notion

and n o t

hav in g come t o

any d e f i n i t e

ans w er.

A few

p r e s i d e n t s t a l k e d a b o u t be i n g t o o busy w i t h c u r r e n t a f f a i r s even t o
th in k about th e f u tu r e .
future

holds

great

O th e r p r e s i d e n t s s t a t e d t h a t t h e y know t h e

things

f o r them.

Several

participants

a b ou t go in g back t o t e a c h i n g o r p o s s i b l y g e t t i n g
becoming p r e s i d e n t o f a n o t h e r i n s t i t u t i o n .

they

talk ed

activ ities.

freely

about

business

or

Some p r e s i d e n t s b e l i e v e d

t h e y would f i n i s h o u t t h e i r c a r e e r a t t h e c u r r e n t
then

into

talked

th eir

in stitution,

retirem ent

and

and

leisure

Examples o f r e s p o n s e s t o " w h a t’ s n e x t ? " i n c l u d e :

I ’m n o t s u r e and, you know, t h a t ’ s okay f o r me t o n o t know.
I know some thin g w i l l happen in t h e f u t u r e t h a t w i l l
interest.
I ’ l l w a i t and see and have fu n .

t a k e my

I ’d l i k e t o w r i t e a book and t e a c h .
T here a r e t o o many e x c i t i n g t h i n g s happening in t h e community
t h a t I r e a l l y d o n ’t want t o even t h i n k a bo ut l e a v i n g .
I m ig ht t r y t o become t h e p r e s i d e n t o f a l a r g e r i n s t i t u t i o n .
I ’ l l always be a l e a r n e r .
w i t h world e v e n t s .

I ’ll

always r e a d and t r y t o keep up

C h a p t e r Summary
The f i n d i n g s
The r e s e a r c h
analyses

are

questions

were

interview s.

of the

r e s e a r c h were p r e s e n t e d

were

provided

addressed,

for

and

additional

in

results
data

this
of

chapter.

subsidiary

obtained

in

the

A summary o f t h e s t u d y and d i s c u s s i o n o f t h e f i n d i n g s

presented

in

Chapter

V.

CHAPTER V
RESULTS, CONCLUSIONS, DISCUSSION, IMPLICATIONS,
AND REFLECTIONS

Introduction
In

this

chapter,

im p licatio n s
elaborating
Personal

and

on

a

summary

suggestions

a prop os ed

reflections

are

of

for

the
fu tu re

"preparation
shared,

and d i s c l o s i n g s p e c i f i c p e r s o n a l

study

is

made,

research.

program"

summarizing

is

the

as

are

A design

also

offered.

research

process

insights.

Results
Resear ch Q ue s ti o n 1 : What e f f e c t d i d work and l i f e e x p e r i e n c e s
have on t h e p r o f e s s i o n a l deve lo pm ent o f community c o l l e g e
presidents?

Work and l i f e e x p e r i e n c e s were r e p o r t e d by a l l
affectin g

th eir

own p r o f e s s i o n a l

personal

life

experiences

th a n

reported

as

co ntributing

to

12 p r e s i d e n t s as

developm ent.

professional
th eir

S lig h tly

more

work e x p e r i e n c e s

were

grow th

(personal

1 i f e — 40,

p ro fe s s io n a l work--33).
S ev en
contrib u tin g
id e n tified

p residents
to
only

th eir

reported

events

professional

p ro fessio n al

p r e s i d e n t s r e p o r t e d o n ly p e r s o n a l

w or k
life

t h e i r p r o f e s s i o n a l growth.
96

in

grow th.

both

domains

Three

experiences,
experiences

p resid en ts

whereas
as

as

two

facilitatin g

97

The

work

understanding

and

life

experiences

enhanced

in such a r e a s as s e l f - e s t e e m ,

skill

knowledge

and

acquisition,

and

interpersonal r e la tio n s .
Re s ea rc h Q u e s t i o n 2 : What e x p e r i e n c e s had t h e g r e a t e s t e f f e c t
on t h e community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t s :
( a ) formal t r a i n i n g ; (b)
in f o r m a l o n - t h e - j o b t r a i n i n g e x p e r i e n c e s ; o r (c ) p e r s o n a l l i f e
experiences?
Personal

experiences

were r e p o r t e d most f r e q u e n t l y

t h e g r e a t e s t e f f e c t on community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t s .
the-job

training

personal

experiences

experiences

were

b u t more o f t e n

reported
th a n

less

as

h av in g

In f o r m al

frequently

formal

onth a n

academic

training

the

president

included

p la ce d

on t h e

e x p e r i e n c e s f o r hav in g an e f f e c t on t h e p r e s i d e n t .
Early
school

personal

activ ities

(w hether

experiences

affecting

and hav in g e x p e c t a t i o n s

p o sitiv e,

realistic,

or

n o t).

Major

adult

individual
personal

e x p e r i e n c e s i n c l u d e d e x p e r i e n c i n g l o s s e s and h av i n g c h i l d r e n .
The p r e s i d e n t s
th e ir current

identified

position

more o n - t h e - j o b

as c o n t r i b u t i n g

to t h e i r

experiences
growth

than

within
those

e x p e r i e n c e s ha ppe ni ng in p r e v i o u s l y h e l d p o s i t i o n s .
R es ear ch Q u e s t i o n 3 :
What l e s s o n s were l e a r n e d from t h e s e
p rofessional
experiences
that
b etter
prepared
the
a d m i n i s t r a t o r s f o r th e jo b ta s k s a s s o c ia te d with th e r o l e of
community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t ?

The 146 " l e s s o n s " r e p o r t e d by t h e p r e s i d e n t s f o c u s e d on a wide
variety

of

topics,

ranging

specific

on

how t o

an

balance

on

the job.

O t h e r l e s s o n s c o n t r i b u t i n g t o t h e p r e s i d e n t s ’ management
problem -solving

a psychological

be

adm inistrator

included

m aintaining

ideas

effective

philosophy

to

from

sk ills,

tim e

management,

98

m otivation,

being

an o p p o r t u n i s t ,

r e l a t i o n s in t h e w o r k p l a c e .

and e n h a n c i n g

in terp erso n al

The p r e s i d e n t s a l s o i d e n t i f i e d

several

l e s s o n s t h a t en co ur a g ed s e l f - a w a r e n e s s and i n t r o s p e c t i o n , as w el l as
a c c e p t a n c e o f o n e ’ s l i m i t a t i o n s and humanness.
R es ear ch Q u e s ti o n 4 :
Did c e r t a i n p a t t e r n s o r themes a r i s e
p e r t a i n i n g t o t h e k in d s o f e x p e r i e n c e s o r t h e l e s s o n s l e a r n e d
f o r t h e group o f p r e s i d e n t s sampled?
P a tte r n s o f Experiences
- Personal e x p erien ces
Be fo re age 18
A f t e r age 18
- Professional experiences
Be fo re c u r r e n t p r e s i d e n c y
As p r e s i d e n t ( i n c u r r e n t j o b )
- Formal academic e x p e r i e n c e s
- Experiences involving o th e r people/mentors
P a t t e r n s o f Lessons Learned
- Bas ic y a l u e s / b e l i e f s
- B as ic management p h i l o s o p h y
- Leadership s t y l e
- P e r s o n a l aw are nes s

A s e c o n d a r y p a t t e r n o f l e s s o n s l e a r n e d emerged, which i n c l u d e d
themes i n v o l v i n g d e a l i n g w i t h o t h e r p e o p l e ,

co p i n g w i t h

adversity,

i n t e r a c t i n g w ith t h e Board o f T r u s t e e s , t h e p r o c e s s o f f e e d b a c k , and
t h e im po r ta nc e o f a s u p p o r t net work f o r p r e s i d e n t s .

99
R es ea r c h Q u e s t i o n
the

research

findings

5 calls
and

is

for

speculation

addressed

fully

and
in

application

the

of

im plications

section of th is chapter.

C o n e ! u s io n s
In

attem pting

to

answer

the

research

questions,

it

became

a p p a r e n t t h a t some o f t h e " d e f i n i t i o n a l q u e r i e s " l e n t t h e m s e l v e s t o
d i f f e r e n t degrees of response.
br oa d

and

could

collected.

only

Questions

provided

the

m ajor

R es ear ch

Q u e s ti o n

revolved

around

pattern s

observed.

4
the

be

I t was found t h a t Q u e s t i o n 1 was t o o

answered

2

and

3

in

were

part,
answered

stru ctu re

for

presented

several

developm ent
Q uestion

5

the

of

ba se d

the

data

satisfactorily

entire
p ro b le m s ,

categ o ries

provided

on

an

research
most
and

and

study.

of

which

lab els

for

opportunity

for

s p e c u l a t i o n and f u t u r e p l a n n i n g o f new programs d e s i g n e d t o enh anc e
t h e dev el o pm en t o f community c o l l e g e l e a d e r s .
Based on t h e f i n d i n g s of t h i s s t u d y ,
have

been

supported

and

assist

in

the

th e following
understanding

conclusions
of

Michigan

community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t s and t h e i r p r o f e s s i o n a l d e v e l o p m e n t .
1.

P e rs o n a l

life

experiences

contribute

s ig n ific a n tly to

the

growth and deve lo pm ent o f Michigan community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t s .
2.

Community c o l l e g e

presidents

interviewed

appear

to

learn

much a bo ut t h e i r j o b w h i l e s e r v i n g i n t h e p o s i t i o n as c h i e f academic
officer.
3.

P reviously held p ro fe s s io n a l experiences provide "lessons"

t h a t p r e s i d e n t s use in t h e i r c u r r e n t p o s i t i o n .

100

4.
less

to

Formal
the

academic

experiences,

professional

while

deve lo pm ent

of

im portant,

the

contribute

presidents

than

do

in f o rm al o n - t h e - j o b t r a i n i n g e x p e r i e n c e s and p e r s o n a l e v e n t s .
5.

P r e s i d e n t s l e a r n much from o t h e r p e o p l e .

and t e a c h e r s
lives

p r o v i d e many o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r l e a r n i n g

o f most

presidents.

the ro le of p resid e n t),
stim ulation,

P a ren ts, coaches,

Instructors,

spouses,

early

in

the

predecessors

(in

and p e e r s ( o t h e r c u r r e n t p r e s i d e n t s ) p r o v i d e

knowledge,

and

support

for

the

Michigan

community

college presid en ts.
6.
beliefs

All p r e s i d e n t s i n t e r v i e w e d have s p e c i f i c
or

"significant

learnings"

t h a t guide

th eir

p h ilo so p h ical
decisions

and

a c t i o n s in t h e w o r k p la c e .
7.

Experiences

and

people

perceived

as n e g a t i v e s

( p r o m o ti n g

p a i n o r d i s c o m f o r t ) p r o d u c e a s many l e s s o n s l e a r n e d as do " p o s i t i v e "
e x p e r i e n c e s and p e o p l e .
8.

D ifferent

p r e s i d e n t s can

experience

sim ilar

events

and

r e p o r t h av i n g l e a r n e d d i f f e r e n t l e s s o n s .
9.

Most community c o l l e g e

p r e s i d e n t s can r e f l e c t on and i d e n ­

t i f y p a s t e x p e r i e n c e s t h a t were s i g n i f i c a n t

to them.

This behav io r,

however, i s n o t t h e n a t u r a l s t y l e f o r a l l Michigan community c o l l e g e
presidents.

Some p r e s i d e n t s

a r e more i n c l i n e d t o f o c u s on what i s

g oin g t o happen n e x t .
10.
events

Some " l e s s o n s
or

presidents.

experiences

learned"
in

the

c a n n o t be a s s o c i a t e d w i t h
liv es

of

the

c o m m u n it y

specific
college

101
D i s c u s s i o n o f R e s u l t s and C o n c l u s i o n s
The r e s u l t s

of

this

study

suggest

that

life

experiences

do

a f f e c t t h e p r o f e s s i o n a l develo pme nt o f community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t s
in M ichi gan.

In 1981,

Carbone found t h a t

experience

t e a c h e r " f o r t h e group o f p r e s i d e n t s he s t u d i e d .

was

Borland,

a "good
in 1976,

s t a t e d t h a t t h e v a l u e s and b e l i e f s o f t h e p r e s i d e n t s he s t u d i e d were
influenced,
life.

in

part,

He n o t e d

presidents)

by t h e

th at

situations

people

and background

they

(coaches,

situations

encountered

professors,

all

influenced

early
and

the

in

other

g rou p o f

p residents studied.
In

the

current

id en tified

study,

two m a j o r

community c o l l e g e

a

kinds

more
of

president.

detailed

situ atio n s

Personal

early

research

relationships

success.

The

presidents,

participants.
with

parents

expectation

became

experiences

in flu en ced
that

experiences

resultant

internalized

of

them.

Sports,

clubs,

coaches,

and f r i e n d s )

also

influenced

included

expectations

for

by

the

many

of

and

other

the

people

interview ees.

(teachers,
P er s o n al

e x p e r i e n c e s as an a d u l t a l s o were r e p o r t e d as b e i n g s i g n i f i c a n t
t h e devel opment o f t h e p r e s i d e n t .

growing

all

and t h e y began t o e x p e c t o f t h e m s e l v e s what o t h e r s had

expected

children,

the

occurred

on -th e-jo b experiences

Personal
and

that

at

experiences

o u t s i d e t h e w o rk p la ce and p r o f e s s i o n a l ,
affected the

look

and
up)

all

losses

(death,

provided

Events such as m a r r i a g e s ,

divorce,

opportunities

relocation,
for

growth

and
and

O ften p a i n was a s s o c i a t e d w it h many o f t h e s e s i t u a t i o n s .

in

havi ng

children
challenge.

102

Professional,
grow th

and

on-the-job

developm ent

of

training
the

situations

c o m m u n it y

also

college

enhanced

presidents.

E x p e r i e n c e s were r e c a l l e d t h a t had t a k e n p l a c e b e f o r e t h e p r e s i d e n t
acquired the c u rren t p o s itio n .

Some e x p e r i e n c e s i n v o l v e d d e v e l o p i n g

programs from s c r a t c h , w h er ea s o t h e r p r e s i d e n t s t a l k e d a bo ut havi ng
job

responsibilities

change

and

taken

grow th.

away

W atching

as

their

the

organizations

president

who

underwent

w o u ld

become

p re d e c e sso r helped th e in te rv ie w e e s in deciding whether to m aintain
the e x i s t in g

le a d e r s h ip p a t t e r n or to endorse d i f f e r e n t degrees

of

change w i t h i n t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n .
S i t u a t i o n s t h a t o c c u r r e d w h i l e t h e p r e s i d e n t was in o f f i c e a l s o
provided o p p o r t u n i t i e s

for

learning

to take place.

Fisher

(1978)

s u g g e s t e d t h a t f i r s t - h a n d e x p e r i e n c e may be t h e b e s t way t o l e a r n an
adm inistrative ro le.
starting
closely
g ro w th .

new
with

Many s i t u a t i o n s ,

pr o gr am s,
the

Board

interacting
of

with

Trustees,

the

union,

provided

and

p ro gr am s,
working

opportunities

for

Some o f t h e s e same k in d s o f e x p e r i e n c e s were d i s c u s s e d by

Lindse y e t a l . (1987)
executives.
influenced
assignments

in t h e i r s t u d y o f key e v e n t s

They i d e n t i f i e d
the

dev el o pm en t

included

in t h e l i v e s o f

f o u r ma jor gro up s o f e x p e r i e n c e s
of

starting

business
projects

f i x i n g s i t u a t i o n s when prob lems a r o s e .
failures

including c u ttin g

leaders.
from

that

Developmental

scratch,

as

well

as

H ar d s h ip s i n v o l v e d b u s i n e s s

and d e a l i n g w i t h s u b o r d i n a t e s ’ pe rf or m a nc e p ro b le m s .

The

t h i r d g r ou p c o n s i s t e d o f o t h e r p e o p l e who i n f l u e n c e d t h e l e a d e r , and
the

fourth

experiences

category
and

described

"purely

other

personal"

events

such

situations.

as

early

Lind sey

et

work
al.

103

categorized experiences

by t h e t y p e o f e v e n t e n c o u n t e r e d .

current

were

study,

denom inator
experiences

events
(personal

after

age

classified

experiences
18,

with

time

being

before

age

18,

professional

situations

In t h e
a

main

personal

before

current

p o s i t i o n , and p r o f e s s i o n a l s i t u a t i o n s as p r e s i d e n t ) .
One ma jor e x p e r i e n c e t h a t was more l i k e l y t o t a k e p l a c e i n t h e
professional-experience
through
(1987)
other

interacting
and Brown

role

also

dealt

with

the

d ev el op m en t

w i t h m en tor s and r o l e m o d e ls .

(1978)

models,

s t u d y were

arena

discussed

and

quick

social
to

the

identify

L in dse y e t

im p o r ta n c e

networks.

The

people

in

acquired
al.

of predecessors,

presidents
th eir

lives

in

this

who

had

i n f l u e n c e d them, e i t h e r p o s i t i v e l y o r n e g a t i v e l y .
Pe o pl e and o t h e r e v e n t s he lp ed p r e s i d e n t s l e a r n
facilitated
officer.

their

success

within

the

position

the d i f f e r e n t p r e s id e n ts .
of le sso n s,
prepared,"
current

into

four

management

chief

including

" d e a l i n g w it h p e o p l e , "

"management m o d e l s ,"
study,
ma jor

145 l e s s o n s

themes

philosophy,

of the acquired d ata.
lessons,

including

needs,

(basic
and

35 c a t e g o r i e s

and "how t h e b u s i n e s s

values,

leadership
identified

which

personal
style).

which

and d e s i r e s f o r

"standing

were r e p o r t e d ,

that

academic

systems,

Lindsey e t a l . i d e n t i f i e d

s e c o n d a r y themes were a l s o

of

of

The l e s s o n s l e a r n e d dev el op ed i n t o b e l i e f

t h e n l e d t o a c t i o n s and s t a t e m e n t s o f g o a l s ,

the

"lessons"

alone,"

"be

works."

In

were

divided

awareness,
Eight

t o enhanc e t h e

basic

additional

understanding

McCall e t a l . (1988) i d e n t i f i e d f i v e c l u s t e r s
setting

and

im plementing

agendas,

handling

104
relationships,
aw a r e n e s s .

basic
Many

values,

of

the

executive

findings

tempe ram ent,

from

this

and

study

personal

support

the

r e s e a r c h e x p l o r e d in t h e McCall e t a l . s t u d y .
Many o f t h e l e s s o n s l e a r n e d t h a t were d e s c r i b e d i n t h i s
focused

on

management

philosophy

and

style

of

study

leadership.

In

a d d i t i o n t o McCall e t a l . and Lind sey e t a l . , a n o t h e r r e s e a r c h s t u d y
that
was

id entified specific q u alities
Bennis

authors

and

described

w illingness
learn)

Nanus’ s

to

(1985)

"personal

take

risks,

and " e n t h u s i a s t i c

it

study

presidents

in

accept

of

in

Leaders.

leaders"

losses,

leaders"

(persistence,

and havi ng

( b e in g open t o

this

study.

be w i l l i n g t o t a k e r i s k s .
persistent

As

a desire

new e x p e r i e n c e s ,

fo r self-improvement,

and bei ng

a

gr o up ,

they

talked

a b ou t

encourage

the

The p r e s i d e n t s a l s o t a l k e d a b o u t f e e d b a c k

with

other

people.

and s e v e r a l

Bennis

and Nanus t a l k e d

presidents

em phasized t h e

im p o rt a n c e o f h e l p i n g s t a f f t a k e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r what i s
to

to

and havi ng pe o p l e around them who would

ab ou t empowerment o f o t h e r s ,

and

The

The same k in d s o f q u a l i t i e s were d i s c u s s e d by t h e

im p o rt a n c e o f t a k i n g r i s k s

and b e i n g

discussed

qualities

t r e a t i n g m i s t a k e s as o p p o r t u n i t i e s
open t o a d v i c e ) .

t a k e s t o run an o r g a n i z a t i o n

problem

solving

at

the

low est

point

theirs
in

the

organization.
The
Nanus,

leaders

Li nd sey e t

interviewed
a l .,

in

McCall

et

the
al.)

a s s o c ia t e d with e f f e c t i v e le a d e r s h ip .
of

58

significant

lessons

id e n t i f i e d elsewhere.

different

learned

studies

described

traits

(B ennis
that

In t h e c u r r e n t s t u d y ,
reflected

many

of

the

&

were

a list
it em s

Many o f t h e s i g n i f i c a n t l e s s o n s i d e n t i f i e d by

105

t h e p r e s i d e n t s were v a l u e s ,

beliefs,

o r t r u i s m s t h a t c o u l d s e r v e as

an c h o r s t o h e l p t h e p r e s i d e n t r i d e o u t t h e st o rm o f t h e s t r e s s o r on
t h e open s e a s .

The f a v o r i t e s a y i n g s a p p e a r e d t o h e l p t h e p r e s i d e n t

keep an eye on t h e d e s i r e d goal and t o f i n d ways t o ac c o m p li sh what
was n e c e s s a r y in o r d e r t o

be s u c c e s s f u l .

Many o f t h e

significant

l e s s o n s t h a t t h e p r e s i d e n t s c a r r i e d w i t h them i n v o l v e d f i n d i n g ways
of helping
talked
feel

o t h e r pe o p l e grow and s u c c e e d .

a b ou t

the

more l i k e

im p or ta n ce

"winners."

of finding

All

ways t o

The p r e s i d e n t s ,

as

of

the

presidents

make t h e i r
a group,

people

wanted

to

f a c i l i t a t e growth in o t h e r s , as well as t o c o n t i n u e growing on t h e i r
own.

Most o f t h e

self-d iscip lin ed

presidents
when

it

came

to

and

learn in g

"We t r y

dealing

w ith

d i s a s t e r s , and t r y t o s e e most d i s a s t e r s as i n c i d e n t s . "
t h e p r e s i d e n t s knew t h a t t h e y

to

treat

had a s i g n i f i c a n t e f f e c t

bu t t h e y b a l a n c e d t h i s n o t i o n w i t h t h e r e a l i z a t i o n

college w ill

s u r v i v e without, me,"

They

f a i r l y h e a l t h y s e n s e o f s e l f and were w i l l i n g
life

not

be

i n c i d e n t s as

"the

best:

(or

appeared t o

One

on o t h e r s ,

said i t

knowledge

problems).

Most o f

president

craved

s i t u a t i o n s or themselves.

a p p e a re d

to

that

have

a

and a b l e t o l a u g h a t

The p r e s i d e n t s

interviewed

talked

abou t t e a c h i n g p e o p l e t o make t h e i r own d e c i s i o n s and b ei n g p a t i e n t
w it h o t h e r s .
and t h a t

it

They r e a l i z e d t h a t d i v e r s i t y
is

i m p o r t a n t t o be i n v o l v e d

in

in o t h e r s
the

is

a strength

"world o f

ideas".

Many o f t h e p r e s i d e n t s d e s c r i b e d t h e im p o r t a n c e o f l e a r n i n g from t h e
p a s t and p l a n n i n g f o r t h e
fu llest.

future

while

1iving

the

present

to

the

106
Many o f t h e p r e s i d e n t s
making m i s t a k e s .
th eir

mistakes

m istakes).

(as

they

Flach’ s

situ atio n s

challenges

life

learned

(1988)

notion

attitude

which

from w a t c h i n g
the

people

One-fourth

to
of

people

resilien t

by e n c o u r a g i n g

q u alify

provides.

of

other

people
deal

the

had f o u g h t o f f

"survivors."

labels

or early

to

experience

more

sample

w ith

the

interviewed

experiences

A n ot h er gr ou p o f p r e s i d e n t s was s ee n as

make

personality

ap p e a r e d t o know how i t f e l t t o have t o d e a l w i t h a d v e r s i t y .
individuals

to

But t h e y were q u i c k t o add t h a t th e y l e a r n e d from

ec h o e s much o f t h i s
life

i n t e r v i e w e d t o o k r i s k s and a d m i t t e d

and

These
became

"succeeders"

b e ca us e t h e y had been e x p e c t e d t o suc cee d and now e x p e c t e d t h a t from
themselves.
Some o f t h e

significant

i m p o r t a n t t o be o p t i m i s t i c ,
look

forw ard

to

what

learnings

also

suggested

that

t o l o o k f o r t h e good in o t h e r s ,

experiences

m ight

occur

each

it

is

and t o

day.

The

p r e s i d e n t s a l s o d i s c u s s e d be in g w i l l i n g t o improve o n e s e l f , g e t t i n g
t o know o n e s e l f ,

and k e e p i n g

These p o i n t s run p a r a l l e l
in

Bennis

co m p e te n c e ,"
errors,

& Nanus,
which

responding

to the

1985).

involves
to

in b a l a n c e

the

by bei ng

ideas suggested
M ichael

talked

acknowledging
fu tu re,

kind

to

oneself.

by Michael
about

uncertainty,

becoming

the

(cited
"new

em bracing

in terp erso n ally

co m p e te n t , and g a i n i n g s e l f - k n o w l e d g e .
Much o f t h e v a l u a b l e i n f o r m a t i o n t h a t has been a c q u i r e d i s n o t
n e c e s s a r i l y a p a r t o f any p a t t e r n b u t e x i s t s on i t s
q u o t a t i o n in a l i s t .

The i n d i v i d u a l p o i n t s ,

own m e r i t a s a

i d e a s , and e x p e r i e n c e s

107

that

the

presidents

shared

increased

one’ s

understanding

of

the

presidents

had

s p e c i f i c p e o p l e i n t h e p o s i t i o n o f c h i e f academic o f f i c e r .
In

summary,

the

Michigan

community

college

l e a r n e d how t o grow and d e v e l o p both p r o f e s s i o n a l l y and p e r s o n a l l y .
They were e q ui pp ed e a r l y in l i f e w i t h a b e l i e f s yst em t h a t
a s e l f - e x p e c t a t i o n t o suc ce e d and an a b i l i t y t o de al
no m a t t e r what happened.
drawn

to

the

i m p o r ta n c e

future

d i r e c t w it h o t h e r s .

with r e a l i t y ,

Most o f t h e p r e s i d e n t s s e t g o a l s and were

and

of treatin g

included

what

people

could

be.

fairly

and

They
being

had

learned

the

open,

honest,

and

They r e a l i z e d t h e y needed t h a t same d i r e c t n e s s

and h o n e s t y from o t h e r s

and went a b o u t f i n d i n g

p e o p l e ar oun d them

who were a b l e t o p r o v i d e such f e e d b a c k .
Because most o f t h e p r e s i d e n t s l i v e d in t h e p r e s e n t ,
able

to

s ee

situations

before

they

became c r i s e s

and

t h e y were
used

p r o b l e m - s o l v i n g a b i l i t y t o d e f u s e e v e n t s on a r e g u l a r b a s i s .
problem d i d o c c u r ,

t h e y t r i e d t o keep i t

in p e r s p e c t i v e ,

a g ro u p ,

also

learned

from t h e

situation,

t h e i r problem-solving s k i l l s fo r the fu tu r e .

When a

using the

t a l e n t s o f t h e p e o p l e on t h e s t a f f t o r e s o l v e t h e c h a l l e n g e .
as

their

They,

which would enh anc e
T h e i r a b i l i t y t o keep

an open mind, combined w i t h a s t r o n g need t o l e a r n , h e l p e d them grow
and d e v e l o p d a i l y .

They t o o k r i s k s and used t h e i r s e n s e o f humor t o

m a i n t a i n b a l a n c e in t h e i r l i v e s .

L i m i t a t i o n s o f t h e Study
L im itations
procedures,

involving

the

interview

process,

self-rep o rt

and s e l e c t i v e memory were d i s c u s s e d in C h a p t e r I .

The

108

p u r p o s e o f t h i s s e c t i o n i s t o o f f e r g u i d a n c e f o r r e s e a r c h e r s who a r e
considering studying a s im ila r population.
The l e n g t h o f t h e i n t e r v i e w s v a r i e d from 55 m i n u te s t o 2 hours
and 40 m i n u t e s .

It

i s p o s s i b le t h a t th e lo n g e r in te rv ie w s provided

t h e p r e s i d e n t s more o p p o r t u n i t y t o

s h a r e g r e a t e r amounts o f d a t a .

Responses f o r t h e gro up c o u l d be p e r c e i v e d a s b e i n g skewed in t h e
d irectio n

of

interview s.

the

p resid en ts

who t o o k

a

longer

tim e

w ith

The s h o r t e r i n t e r v i e w s p r e v e n t e d t h e i n v e s t i g a t o r from

asking follow-up q u e s tio n s .

The d e p t h o f d i s c l o s u r e and r i c h n e s s o f

r e s p o n s e were b e l i e v e d t o be a f f e c t e d by t h e a b b r e v i a t e d
(all

the

interview s

i n t e r v i e w s were supposed t o be two ho ur s in l e n g t h , b u t n o t a l l

p r e s i d e n t s c o u l d d o n a t e t h a t amount o f t i m e ) .
I n t e r r u p t i o n s o f t h e i n t e r v i e w p r o c e s s o c c u r r e d in t h e m a j o r i t y
of sessions.

The p r e s i d e n t s were a b l e t o answer t h e phones o r t a l k

t o p e o p l e a t t h e d o o r , b u t i t i s p o s s i b l e t h a t t h e i n t e r v i e w e e s th e n
became p r e o c c u p i e d w i t h t h e o t h e r i n f o r m a t i o n s h a r e d .
The

interview

discussion.

(The

dev el o p me nt

questions
questions

literature

and Bennis & Nanus,

1981;

and

process,

the

questions

to

were

1 9 76 ) .

a springboard

a l.,

based

on

1987;

McCall

for

the

managementet

a l .,

1985; and from d i s s e r t a t i o n s by Carbone,
In

the

questions

a p p e a re d

help

presidents

the

as

developed

from Lind sey e t

1988;

B o r la n d ,

served

to

time
be
stay

frame

too

of

broad.

fo c u s e d

this
More

co u l d

interview
specific

have

had

a

p o s i t i v e e f f e c t on t h e q u a l i t y o f t h e d a t a c o l l e c t e d .
I t was e x p e c t e d t h a t t h e p r e s i d e n t s would e x p e r i e n c e s e l e c t i v e
perception

and n o t be a b l e t o

remember e v e r y

experience

or lesson

109

l e a r n e d r e g a r d i n g a s p e c i f i c ti m e in t h e i r l i v e s .
however,

that

an a b s e n c e o f

a r e s p o n s e does

that

no e x p e r i e n c e s o r l e s s o n s

data

signified,

presidents

would choose

other facto rs
being

s im p l y ,

that
not

(time l e f t

unim portant

or

occurred.
no

to

data

Instead,

se en

as

too

t h e a b s en ce o f

discussed.

in g r e a t

in t h e i n t e r v i e w ,

is believed,

n o t n e c e s s a r i l y mean

were

r e s po nd

It

Sometimes

depth

bec a u se

of

i n f o r m a t i o n p e r c e i v e d as

personal).

The s i g n i f i c a n c e

t h i s s t u d y s h o u ld be weighed on t h e m e r i t s o f what was s a i d ,

of

n o t by

what was l e f t unspoken.
Some o f t h e l i m i t a t i o n s
the

design

or d ata -c o lle c tio n

specific

tendencies

dures.

It

collected
data

i d e n t i f i e d do n o t imply we akn es ses

associated

is believed,

o u tw e i g h s

that

were

theoretical

procedures
with

however,

some o f t h e

collected,

and p r a c t i c a l .

but

reflect,

self-report

that

the

lim itations

specific

instead,

interview

richness

of

proce­

the

identified.

im plications

in

data

From t h e

surfaced,

both

Those i m p l i c a t i o n a r e d i s c u s s e d n e x t .

I m p l i c a t i o n s f o r F u t u r e Resea rc h
Some

of

the

p resid en ts

experiences

and

com fortable

in a t t a c h i n g c e r t a i n

th eir lives.

lessons

O thers,

found

learned.

it

easy

to

Some p r e s i d e n t s
lessons to

id en tify
a p p ea r ed

specific

both
to

be

situations

in

however, had d i f f i c u l t y in combining s p e c i f i c

e x p e r i e n c e s and l e s s o n s l e a r n e d .

The q u e s t i o n a r i s e s :

how imp or­

t a n t i s i t t o have t h e i n t e r v i e w e r t r y t o c o n n e c t l e s s o n s t o e x p e r i ­
ences?

I t is po ssib le th a t the lesson

management de v el o p m en t ,

itself

i s t h e key t o f u t u r e

and how t h e p e r s o n g o t

there

is,

perhaps,

110

n o t as i m p o r t a n t .
lessons)

would

asked f o r .

It

is

have

a l s o p o s s i b l e t h a t more l e s s o n s

been

Asking f o r

lessons

p a rtic ip a n ts to id e n tify
t h e y had l e a r n e d t h a t

identified

if

learned

experiences
first

( o r f ew er

had

and t h e n

not

been

asking

the

(a s b e s t t h e y c o u l d ) where ( o r from whom)

l e s s o n would p e r h a p s

provide

different

data

w i t h which t o work.
Some p r e s i d e n t s found i t d i f f i c u l t t o go i n t o t h e p a s t
experiences

dw ell)

possibility

would

and
be

id en tify

to

focus

sp ecific
on

the

situ atio n s.

im portant

or

(where

A nother
significant

l e s s o n s l e a r n e d and i d e n t i f y c u r r e n t b e h a v i o r s t h a t a r e e m i t t e d as a
r e s u l t o f holding th e se b e l i e f s (lesso n s of e x p e rie n c e ).
Peo ple were i d e n t i f i e d by each p r e s i d e n t
t o t h e i r de ve lo p me n t.

What s p e c i f i c a l l y

as b e i n g

significant

d i d t h e s e p e o p l e do?

It

would be i n t e r e s t i n g t o i n t e r v i e w some o f t h e p e o p l e t h e p r e s i d e n t s
identified

as m e n t o r s .

How i m p o r t a n t

did

they

see

their

role

as

be in g in t h e p r o f e s s i o n a l devel opment o f t h e s p e c i f i c p r e s i d e n t ?
Each p r e s i d e n t has a s p e c i a l p e r s o n a l i t y , and o n e ’ s p e r s o n a l i t y
affects

his/her

professional
Assessing

leadership

role.

developm ent,

community c o l l e g e

his/h er

president

perso n ality

presidents’

f o r p a t t e r n s would be i n t e r e s t i n g .
as well

When t h e

is

personalities

Identifying

experiences
involved.
and

personality

lo o k i n g
traits

as e x p e r i e n c e s and l e s s o n s l e a r n e d would p r o v i d e more d a t a

regarding t h i s s p e c i f i c group.
would i n c l u d e Haan’ s (1977)
S h o s tr o m ’ s

(1966)

P e rs o n a l

P o s s i b l e m e as ur e s f o r c o n s i d e r a t i o n

Ego Development i n s t r u m e n t ,
O rientation

Inventory,

which

as w el l

as

would,

in

Ill

part,

verify

(present,

a

future).

insight
A ls o ,

where

into

more

person

spends

his/her

The M yer s- Br igg s Type

favorite

management

theoretical

I n d i c a t o r would

styles

consideration

psychological

used

co ul d

by

the

time

provide

president.

be g i v e n ,

focusing

on

c u r r e n t s t a g e s o f devel opm ent as an a d u l t .
A nother

dim ension

p ersonality.

person ality

concerns

Have community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t s

more r e s i l i e n t ?
aware

of

that

the

learned

How d i d t h e y l e a r n t h i s co p i n g s k i l l ,

they

use

that

healthy

copi ng

resilien t
how t o

be

and a r e t h e y

process?

It

would

be

i n t e r e s t i n g t o f o cu s on s t r e s s o r s o f t h e p r e s i d e n t s and t o i d e n t i f y
their

styles

d ifferently

of

Do p r e s i d e n t s

of

long

tenure

from a group o f p e o p l e who were p r e s i d e n t s

s h o r t ti m e?
discussed

responding.

cope

f o r only

a

How do t h e p r e s i d e n t s e x p e r i e n c e t h e b i f u r c a t i o n p o i n t s

by

Flac h

c o u l d be h e l p f u l

(1 98 8) ?

If

patterns

exist,

this

f o r id e n t if y i n g people a t d i f f e r e n t

inform ation

levels

w ithin

t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n who would p r o b a b l y cope in an e f f e c t i v e

way when

stressed.

p ea ks "

and

"low

talk

about

the

would

be

valleys"

Having
in

their

the

presidents

lives

experiences

and

th eir

inform ative.

A lifelin e

and

th e n

reactio n s

identify
asking
to

chart f ille d

"high
them

the

to

situ atio n s

in by t h e p r e s i d e n t and t h e n

v e r b a l d i s c u s s i o n o f t h e main p o i n t s would p r o v i d e more i n f o r m a t i o n
on t h e

c o pi ng

process.

(More n e g a t i v e

e v e n t s would

be d i s c u s s e d

t h a n what a p p e a r e d in t h e c u r r e n t s t u d y . )
It

would

encouraging

the

be

helpful

presidents

to
not

define
to

further

ju st

state

the

experiences

th at,

" b e in g a t e a c h e r was a s i g n i f i c a n t e x p e r i e n c e , " b u t ,

for

by

exam ple,

in a d d i t i o n , t o

112
discuss

what c o n t r i b u t e d

experience.

to

that

ev en t’s

T h i s em pha sis c o u l d h e l p

being

a

sig n ifican t

in th e r e s e a r c h

involved

in

b e t t e r understanding the c a re e r ladders o f p r e s id e n ts .
It

is

suggested

that

research

be

broadened

to

community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t s from around t h e c o u n t r y .
national

encompass

When a l a r g e r

sample i s t a k e n , more s p e c i f i c t r e n d s and p a t t e r n s can be

i d e n t i f i e d by s i z e o f s c h o o l ,

length o f te n u re ,

identification.

and d i f f e r e n c e s

S im ilarities

gender,
could

and r a c i a l

be

identified

f o r i n d i v i d u a l p r e s i d e n t s as well as g r o u p s o f p r e s i d e n t s .
I t a p p e a r s t h a t community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t s
feel

overwhelmed

by r e q u e s t s

to

be

t a l k e d a bo ut t h r o w in g away l e t t e r s

studied.

are beginning

Several

presidents

o f i n t r o d u c t i o n and i n q u i r y

r e s e a r c h bec a us e t h e y d i d n o t t h i n k t h e y had t h e t i m e .
in

p rio rities

support

of

w ill

the

make

it

community

more
college

p o s s i b l e t h a t o t h e r gr o u p s w i l l
the

p residents

participate
others

in

find

understand

prospective

leaders

the
in

studies.
community
the

a

challenge

president

for

This s h i f t

to

acquire

population.

It

the
is

have t o be sampled and a n a l y z e d i f

them selves

specific

of

to

overwhelmed

w ith

One such gr oup
college

community

college

requests

that

situ atio n
movement.

could
w o u ld
At

to
help
be
this

p o i n t , Resea rc h Q u e s ti o n 5 w i l l be r e s t a t e d and answ ere d.
Rese arc h Q ue s ti o n 5 :
I f p a tte rn s o f experiences or lessons
l e a r n e d a r i s e , what e f f e c t c o u l d t h e s e d a t a have f o r t h e
p r o f e s s i o n a l developm ent o f p r o s p e c t i v e le a d e r s in th e
community c o l l e g e e n v i ro n m e n t?

Patterns

of experiences

and l e s s o n s

learned

were

identified.

The i d e n t i f i e d p a t t e r n s c o u l d be used in c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h t h e d a t a

113

from

career

ladder

studies,

and

f u t u r e l e a d e r s c o u l d be g a i n e d .
a d ea n ,

f o r example,

more

in-depth

understanding

of

B e s i d e s knowing t h a t t h e p e r s o n was

i n f o r m a t i o n c o u l d be a c q u i r e d on what h e / s h e

l e a r n e d w h i l e b e i n g in t h a t p o s i t i o n .

That i n f o r m a t i o n would he l p

r e d u c e t h e l i k e l i h o o d o f hav in g t o assume t h a t ,

since the candidate

was a " d e a n , " c e r t a i n s k i l l s had been a c q u i r e d .
Much o n - t h e - j o b t r a i n i n g i s
given

some

guidelines

specific projects,

on

inform al.

how t h e y

can

and from o t h e r p e o p l e .

t o academic l e a d e r s ,

F u t u r e l e a d e r s c o u l d be
learn

from

others,

from

A c l a s s c o u l d be o f f e r e d

in which t h e y l e a r n how t o s t r u c t u r e s i t u a t i o n s

t o enh ance t h e i r knowledge b a s e .
c h i e f academic o f f i c e r s

could

S u pp or t gr o u p s f o r t h e p o t e n t i a l

be d e v e l o p e d ,

and r e s e a r c h

could

be

c o n d u ct ed on t h i s p o p u l a t i o n o f p o t e n t i a l l e a d e r s , p e r h a p s in a more
l o n g i t u d i n a l manner.
college presiden t)

The s u p p o r t g r o up s ( p e r h a p s l e d by a community
could

provide

opportunities

for

open and

frank

d i s c u s s i o n s and be a t r a i n i n g ground f o r p r o b l e m - s o l v i n g s k i l l s

and

interpersonal re la tio n s.
A forum c o u l d
w i t h t h e main t o p i c
."

also

be d e v e l o p e d

revolving

The gr ou p o f

around

presidents

for

current

presidents,

"major l e a r n i n g s

in t h e y e a r

could

the

prepare

papers

and p r e s e n t

some o f t h e i n f o r m a t i o n t o t h e i r p e e r s and o t h e r academic l e a d e r s .
The c o n t e n t s o f t h e c o n f e r e n c e would be worthy o f s t u d y , which co ul d
l e a d t o o t h e r new t o p i c s f o r f u t u r e r e s e a r c h .
also

provide

some

of

the

presidents

an

The c o n f e r e n c e might

opportunity

for

a

r e s p i t e (an o p p o r t u n i t y t o e s t a b l i s h a b a l a n c e in o n e ’ s l i f e ) .

brief

114
P r e s i d e n t s c o u l d a l s o be c h a r g e d w i t h t h e t a s k o f
potential
these

identifying

l e a d e r s i n t h e i r o r g a n i z a t i o n s and t h e n making s u r e t h a t

people

facilitate

are
the

provided

with

acq u isitio n

tasks

of

and

experiences

th at

"lessons"

needed

sp ecific

would
for

p r o v i d i n g t h e background f o r t h e f u t u r e community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t .
If

certain

lessons

were

identified

as

being

prerequisites

f o r f u t u r e d ev el o p m en t , em ph as is c o u l d be p l a c e d on t h e a c q u i s i t i o n
o f t h a t i n f o r m a t i o n by i n d i v i d u a l s in l e a d e r s h i p r o l e s .
At t h i s p o i n t , however, i t s h o u ld be s t a t e d t h a t t h e r e s u l t s o f
t h i s study suggest t h a t th e r e

i s no one r i g h t p a t h t o t h e p o s i t i o n

o f community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t .
a

wide

v a r i e t y of

lessons

Many d i f f e r e n t e x p e r i e n c e s p r o v i d e d
w h ic h ,

when

combined,

develop men t o f t h e community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t .
in f o r m al

training

designed

to

help

the

fostered

the

It is possible th a t

future

leader

develop

s t r o n g e r s e l f - e s t e e m and t o want t o en co u ra g e h o n e s t d i s c u s s i o n ,

a
for

example, would meet w it h g r e a t e r l e v e l s o f s u c c e s s .
It

is

also

possible

that,

based

on

the

findings

from

this

i n v e s t i g a t i o n , a program o f s t u d y c o u l d be d e v i s e d t h a t would f o s t e r
professional

de v el o p m en t .

C haracteristics

of

such

a program

are

discussed next.
A pr o po s ed

model

of

a

lead ers,

psychologically,

president

would

include

program
for

(but

the
not

designedto
ro le

be

of

prepare

future

community

lim ited to)

the

college
following

topics:
1.
regular

E n do r s in g t h e n o t i o n t h a t t i m e needs t o be a l l o c a t e d , on a
basis,

for

self-reflection.

These

retrospective

mental

115

i n v e n t o r i e s would a i d t h e

leader

in

" s t a y i n g on c o u r s e "

" p l o t s a p a s s a g e " f o r h i s / h e r own p r o f e s s i o n a l

as

he/she

dev el o pm en t t h r o u g h

the attainm ent o f s p e c if ic goals.
2.

Future le a d e r s w ill

be g i v e n o p p o r t u n i t i e s

to

realize

the

im p o r ta n c e o f t h e " p r o c e s s " d u r i n g t h e t i m e o f t h e t r a n s i t i o n ,

no t

j u s t o f r e a c h i n g t h e d e s t i n a t i o n o r end.
3.
tion

P a r t i c i p a n t s i n t h i s program w i l l w r e s t l e w i t h t h e r e a l i z a ­

of

th eir

own

humanness.

l i m i t a t i o n s and s t r e n g t h s
of th e i r stren g th s.
lim itations,
accepting

is"

evoke

id en tify

personal

I t i s a l s o p o s s i b l e t h a t by a c c e p t i n g o n e ’ s own

can

perception of the s e l f .
sometimes

w ill

and s p e c i f i c a l l y f o c u s on t h e enhancement

new r e s o u r c e s

"what

They

pain,

will

be

reflect

discovered.

a

striving

Even though t h i s
it

also

can

lead

The

process

toward

an

of

accurate

accurate perception
to

healthy

can

adaptation.

V a i l l a n t (1977) s u g g e s t e d t h a t " s u c c e s s f u l a d a p t a t i o n l e a v e s t h e way
open f o r f u t u r e growth"
4.

Studies

cou ld

take h ealth y r i s k s

( p. 2 7 ) .
be deve lo ped t o e n c o u r a g e l e a d e r s

to:

(a)

i n s t e a d o f b ei n g s a f e p s y c h o l o g i c a l l y ;

(b)

lo o k

at r e a l ity

i n s t e a d o f f o c u s i n g o n l y on hopes and w i s h e s ;

(c)

cope

w it h

situations

life

defending

and

and

"closing

be open

to

new " a d v e n t u r e s "

down" m e n t a l l y

by

protecting

instead
oneself;

of
(d)

t r u s t o t h e r s i n s t e a d of m i s t r u s t i n g ; and (e ) be h o n e s t w i t h s e l f and
others
these

instead
ideas

o f deceiving

are

sim ilar

in

o r de n y i n g
content

to

that
the

which
notions

Kobasa [1979] r e g a r d i n g p s y c h o l o g i c a l h a r d i n e s s . )

is.

(Many o f

discussed

by

116

5.
six

A l e a d e r s h i p - d e v e l o p m e n t program c o u l d a l s o

general

features

associated

with

mental

em ph asi ze t h e

health

that

(1959) d i s c u s s e d , which s u p p o r t t h e f i n d i n g s from t h i s
six

themes

feelin g s;

are,
(b)

to

be:

(a)

study.

The

identity

and

stress;

(d)

in to u c h w i t h o n e ’ s own

fu tu re-o rien ted ;

(c)

resistan t

autonomous and aware o f o n e ’ s own n e e d s ;

to

Jaho da

(e ) p e r c e p t i v e o f r e a l i t y ;

and ( f ) a b l e t o work, l o v e , and p l a y .
6.
logical
the

use

Finally,
attributes
of

a p r e p a r a t o r y program f o c u s i n g on h e a l t h y p s y c h o ­
o f community c o l l e g e

d ifferen t

adaptive

anticipation--"realistic

eg o

anticipation

p r e s i d e n t s would e n c o u r a g e

mechanism s,
of

future

such

inner

as:

(a)

discom fort";

(b) a l t r u i s m - - " g e t t i n g p l e a s u r e from g i v i n g t o o t h e r s what one would
lik e to receiv e";

(c ) h u m o r - - o v e r t e x p r e s s i o n o f i d e a s and f e e l i n g s

w i t h o u t d i s c o m f o r t f o r s e l f o r u n p l e a s a n t e f f e c t s on o t h e r s ; and (d)
suppression--"postpone
co n flict."

Look f o r

V a i l l a n t , 1977, p. 3 8 6 ) .

pay in g
the

attention

to

a conscious

"silv er-1 in in g s"

(m ostly

im pu lse
taken

of

from

117

Reflections
I would l i k e
some

of

my

to

take

thoughts

advantage o f t h i s

about

this

research

sampled, and t h e r e s u l t s o b t a i n e d .
who a l lo w e d me t o g e t

opportunity
study,

I am g r a t e f u l

the

to

share

population

to the p re sid e n ts

i n t o t h e i r w o rl d s f o r a b r i e f p e r i o d .

They

r e s p o n d e d in a t i m e l y manner and t r e a t e d me as an equa l o r p e e r .
realize

how busy t h e y

are

and how p r e c i o u s

their

ti m e

is.

I

They

somehow found ti m e f o r t h e i n t e r v i e w .
I f ti m e had p e r m i t t e d ,
presidents

to

p articipate

I would have l i k e d
in

the

study.

I

to

am c u r i o u s

p r e s i d e n t s would have a g r e e d t o be i n t e r v i e w e d .
to

i n t e r v i e w more o f t h e

invite

all

the

how many

I would have l i k e d

" f i r s t generation" p re s id e n ts

as t h e y a r e

A ls o , w i t h a l a r g e r sample,

I would have

preparing fo r retirem e n t.

been in a b e t t e r p o s i t i o n t o compare g r ou ps (by school

size,

and so

on) more e f f e c t i v e l y .
The d a t a - a n a l y s i s
categorizing

process

o f experiences

was f r u s t r a t i n g

and l e s s o n s ,

because

and t h e

d i s t i n c t c a t e g o r i e s d i d n o t always emerge.

fact

of

that

the

clear,

I wondered, a t t i m e s ,

if

I was s a y i n g t h e same t h i n g o n ly in a s l i g h t l y d i f f e r e n t way.
In my o p i n i o n ,
involve th e

t h e two most i m p o r t a n t f i n d i n g s from t h e s tu d y

significant

lessons

l e a r n e d and t h e

notion

that

since

l i f e i s a c u l m i n a t i o n o f e x p e r i e n c e s , a pe rs on c a n n o t always c l e a r l y
i d e n t i f y t h e e v e n t t h a t f a c i l i t a t e d t h e devel opment o f a p a r t i c u l a r
lesson.

I found i t

inform ative

a b ou t t h e i r

significant

philosophy,

leadership s k i l l s ,

to

learnings.

listen

to

the

presidents

talk

A whole segment on management

and i n t e r p e r s o n a l

relations

emerged.

118
The d i s c u s s i o n

on s i g n i f i c a n t

notion th a t on-the-job
practices

need t o

training

lessons

learned reaffirm ed

the

is very im portant. Adult le a r n in g

be emphasized more

in b u s i n e s s

and

industry

so

more l e a r n i n g can t a k e p l a c e bec a us e o f t h e p e o p l e in o r g a n i z a t i o n s ,
not

in

spite

effective

o f them.

Many p e o p l e

( m en t o r s)

could

be even

more

i f t h e i r r o l e s were l e g i t i m i z e d w i t h i n t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n .

( I f p e o p l e knew t h e y were e x p e c t e d t o t r a i n o t h e r s , maybe t h e y would
do a b e t t e r j o b o f t r a i n i n g p e o p l e . )
Face-to-face

i n t e r v i e w s were more r e w a r d in g

telephone c o n ta c ts .

for

much a b ou t

were

I had a chance t o se e most o f t h e p r e s i d e n t s on

t h e i r "home t u r f , " where t h e y f e l t most c o m f o r t a b l e .
learn

me t h a n

a pe rs on

by o b s e r v i n g

the

I was a b l e t o

decoration

of

his/her

office.
I believe
several

most

of the

presidents

enj o ye d

the

interview ,

and

r e p o r t e d t h a t t h e y l e a r n e d a b ou t t h e m s e l v e s b e c a u s e o f t h e

in teractio n .

Several

r e c e i v i n g a summary o f
The s t u d y was an

of

the

p a r tic ip a n ts expressed

interest

in

the r e s u lts .
important

e x p e r i e n c e f o r me

because

of

the

o p p o r t u n i t y I had t o meet t h e p e o p l e , l i s t e n t o a p a r t o f t h e i r l i f e
histories,

and a c q u i r e i n s i g h t s i n t o t h e i r management p h i l o s o p h i e s .

I e n j oy ed me etin g t h e p r e s i d e n t s ’ s t a f f s

and hav in g t h e c h an c e t o

l e a r n more a b o u t t h e communities and t h e school c l i m a t e t h a t e x i s t e d
w ithin the o rganization.
I t was i n t e r e s t i n g t o t a l k w it h t h e p r e s i d e n t s and t o f i n d o u t
what t h e y loo ke d f o r in o t h e r s
them s u c c e e d ) .

(what t h e y needed in o t h e r s t o h e l p

119

Finally,

I was g l a d

I was a b l e t o

t h e members o f t h i s p o p u l a t i o n .
respect.
long t i m e .
ten

secure the

i n t e r v i e w s w it h

They t r e a t e d me w i t h k i n d n e s s and

The c o n t e n t o f t h e i n t e r v i e w s w i l l

rema in w i t h me f o r a

I would l i k e t o go back t o t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s

years

and

questions.

I

see

how t h e y

am c e r t a i n

would

the

regarding the "lessons le a rn e d ."

respond

answ ers

to

would

the

in f i v e o r

same

ch a n g e ,

set

of

especially

APPENDICES

APPENDIX A

INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY CONTACT

120

INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY BY TELEPHONE CONTACT
DONE BY A FACULTY MEMBER

INTRODUCTION: H e l l o , my name i s ___________ . I am a f a c u l t y member a t
Michigan S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y , and I am c a l l i n g on b e h a l f o f one o f my
d o c t o r a l c a n d i d a t e s , Lewis D o t t e r e r .
He has d e s i g n e d a r e s e a r c h s t u d y
t h a t mi ght be o f i n t e r e s t t o you.
GOAL OF CONVERSATION: I would l i k e t o t a k e a few m i n u t e s o f y o u r ti m e
t o e x p l a i n t h e p r o c e s s and s e e i f you mi ght have an i n t e r e s t in
v o l u n t e e r i n g y o u r time t o p a r t i c i p a t e in t h e s t u d y .
CHOICE OF PRESIDENT:
At t h i s p o i n t , t h e p r e s i d e n t would have t o t a l
c o n t r o l and be a b l e t o s a y , "Yes I ’ l l l i s t e n , " o r "No, I ’m n o t i n t e r ­
e s t e d . " Depending upon t h e r e s p o n s e , t h e f a c u l t y member would res p on d
p o s i t i v e l y and e i t h e r go ahead and e x p l a i n t h e s t u d y o r s a y , "Thank
you f o r y o u r t i m e , g o o d - b y e . "
No a t t e m p t would be made t o t r y t o
change t h e mind o f any o f t h e p r e s i d e n t s ( i f th e y say t h e y a r e to o
busy t o p a r t i c i p a t e , I b e l i e v e t h e y a r e t o o busy t o p a r t i c i p a t e ) .
EXPLANATION OF THE STUDY:
I f t h e answer i s "Yes," t h e f o l l o w i n g would
be e x p l a i n e d . Th is i s a s t u d y t h a t d e a l s w it h c r e a t i v e l e a d e r s h i p and
f o c u s e s on t h e p o p u l a t i o n o f Michigan community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t s .
Lewis i s i n t e r e s t e d in s t u d y i n g t h e d i f f e r e n t k in d s o f nonacademic
s i g n i f i c a n t e v e n t s / e x p e r i e n c e s t h a t you f e e l have had t h e most e f f e c t
on y o u - - t h e community col l e g e p r e s i d e n t .
He i s a l s o i n t e r e s t e d in
what you f e e l you l e a r n e d from t h o s e e x p e r i e n c e s .
The means o f d a t a
c o l l e c t i o n f o r t h i s s tu d y w i l l be done t h r o u g h an in f o r m a l i n t e r v i e w
process.
He i s i n t e r e s t e d s o l e l y in y o u r p e r c e p t i o n s / r e f l e c t i o n s o f
your p a st experiences.
CONFIDENTIALITY/CONTROL:
I want you t o know t h a t Lewis has s e r i o u s l y
taken in t o c o n s id e r a tio n th e n o tio n s of c o n f i d e n t i a l i t y
and
c h o i c e / c o n t r o l ov er t h e i n t e r v i e w p r o c e s s . The i n t e r v i e w s a r e t o t a l l y
confidential.
N e i t h e r t h e p r e s i d e n t ’ s name no r t h e name o f t h e
i n s t i t u t i o n w i l l be used in c o n j u n c t i o n w it h any s p e c i f i c q u o t a t i o n
d e s c r i b e d in t h e d i s s e r t a t i o n .
No one e l s e b e s i d e s t h e r e s e a r c h e r
w i l l have a c c e s s t o t h e t a p e s o r n o t e s t a k e n d u r i n g t h e i n t e r v i e w .
I t i s a l s o i m p o r t a n t f o r Lewis t h a t t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s f e e l t h a t t h i s
process is t o t a l l y voluntary.
He w a n ts t o make s u r e you f e e l no
c o e r c i o n t o p a r t i c i p a t e and t h a t you a l so have c o n t r o l d u r i n g t h e
interview process.
Even though Lewis w i l l be a s k i n g t h e q u e s t i o n s
(which you w i l l r e c e i v e a t l e a s t one week p r i o r t o t h e i n t e r v i e w ) , you
w i l l have e v e r y r i g h t t o d e c l i n e a n s w e r in g any o f t h e q u e s t i o n s ;
r e q u e s t t h a t t h e t a p e r e c o r d e r be t u r n e d o f f ; o r , i f n e c e s s a r y ,
r e q u e s t t h a t t h e i n t e r v i e w be t e r m i n a t e d i m m e d i a te l y .
No q u e s t i o n s
w i l l be a s k e d , and y o u r r e q u e s t w i l l be ho n o r e d .
No "harm" w i l l come

121

t o you i f you make such a c h o i c e .
(Bec au se o f t h e n a t u r e o f
r e s e a r c h , however, y o u r f u l l c o o p e r a t i o n i s c e r t a i n l y r e q u e s t e d . )

the

QUESTIONS:
Do you u n d e r s t a n d t h e n o t i o n s o f c o n f i d e n t i a l i t y and
choice/control?
Do you have any q u e s t i o n s r e g a r d i n g any component o f
t h e s t u d y ? Does t h e p r o j e c t sound l i k e so me th ing you would be w i l l i n g
t o v o l u n t e e r two ho ur s o f y o u r
t i m e to w ar d f o r an i n t e r v i e w ?
(If
yes):
I w ill
t h e n g i v e y o u r name and t e l e p h o n e number o f Lewis
D o t t e r e r , who w i l l c a l l y ou
a t y o u r c o n v e n i e n c e t o a n s w e r any
q u e s t i o n s you may have and t h e n s c h e d u l e an i n t e r v i e w t i m e , a l s o a t
your convenience.
Thank you f o r y o u r ti m e and c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f t h i s r e s e a r c h .

Good-bye.

APPENDIX B

CORRESPONDENCE

122

Date
Dear _______________________ ,
I am w r i t i n g t o you t o d a y as a f o l l o w - u p t o o u r phone c o n v e r s a t i o n on
________.
I r e a l l y a p p r e c i a t e y o u r w i l l i n g n e s s t o p a r t i c i p a t e in my
s t u d y i n v e s t i g a t i n g t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p between c r e a t i v e l e a d e r s h i p and
community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t s .
I am l o o k i n g f o r w a r d t o o u r ti m e
t o g e t h e r d u r i n g t h e i n t e r v i e w p r o c e s s , which has been s c h e d u l e d f o r
I am c e r t a i n t h a t I w i l l l e a r n much from t h i s i n t e r a c t i o n .
E n c l o s e d , p l e a s e f i n d a l i s t o f q u e s t i o n s we w i l l use as a " s p r i n g ­
b oar d" f o r ou r d i s c u s s i o n .
Follow-up q u e s t i o n s w i l l a l s o be u t i l i z e d ,
when a p p r o p r i a t e , in an a t t e m p t t o c o l l e c t as much d a t a as p o s s i b l e .
As was s t a t e d d u r i n g o ur phone c o n t a c t , t h e i n t e r v i e w s w i l l be t r e a t e d
in a p r o f e s s i o n a l and c o n f i d e n t i a l manner.
( Q u o t a t i o n s w i l l n o t be
i d e n t i f i e d w i t h a p e r s o n o r a s c h o o l when d i s c u s s e d
in
the
dissertation.
A ls o , t h i s r e s e a r c h e r w i l l be t h e o n l y p e r s o n t o have
a c c e s s t o t a p e s and w r i t t e n n o t e s a c q u i r e d d u r i n g t h e i n t e r v i e w . )
The
i n t e r v i e w w i l l be t a p e r e c o r d e d , w i t h y o u r p e r m i s s i o n , t o e n s u r e t h a t
a l l o f t h e d a t a made a v a i l a b l e t o t h i s r e s e a r c h e r a r e c a p t u r e d f o r
future reference.
( I f , however, you f e e l
uncomfortable with the
r e c o r d e r on, i t w i l l be t u r n e d o f f . )
A ls o , you may ch oo s e n o t t o
answer any q u e s t i o n asked o f you.
You can a l s o ch oo se t o end t h e
i n t e r v i e w a t any p o i n t you f e e l t h e ne ed .
Your d e c i s i o n t o end t h e
i n t e r v i e w w i l l t h e r e f o r e be ho nored.
Thank you a g a i n f o r y o u r f u l l p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n t h i s s t u d y .
If a
problem s h o u ld a r i s e as t o o ur s c h e d u l e d a p p o i n t m e n t , p l e a s e c o n t a c t
me a t y o u r e a r l i e s t c o n v e n i e n c e (phone numbers:
work 51 7 /3 7 1 -2 0 0 6 ;
home 5 1 7 /3 3 9 - 9 0 8 6 ) .
I am l o o k i n g f o r w ar d t o o u r m ee tin g i n t h e v e r y n e a r f u t u r e .
Sincerely,

Lewis L. D o t t e r e r
enclosure

123

Date
Date ________________________ ,
The d a t a f o r t h e s t u d y i n v o l v i n g p a s t e x p e r i e n c e s and l e s s o n s l e a r n e d
f o r t h e Michigan community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t s i s c u r r e n t l y b ei ng
c o l l e c t e d and w i l l be a n a l y z e d and i n t e r p r e t e d i n e a r l y March o f 1989.
I wanted t o t a k e t h i s o p p o r t u n i t y t o t h a n k you f o r y o u r s u p p o r t o f and
p a r t i c i p a t i o n in t h i s r e s e a r c h s t u d y .
Your h o n e s t , d i r e c t , and
t h o u g h t f u l r e s p o n s e s added much t o t h e r i c h n e s s o f t h e d a t a c o l l e c t e d .
I l e a r n e d a g r e a t d e a l from o ur ti m e t o g e t h e r and t h o r o u g h l y e n j o ye d
the interview .
I hope you f e l t t h a t i t was "worth i t " t o go t h r o u g h t h e p r o c e s s .
If
t h e i n t e r v i e w t r i g g e r e d any o t h e r t h o u g h t s f o r yo u, p l e a s e f e e l f r e e
t o c o n t a c t me a t y o u r c o n v e n i e n c e .
I would be happy t o " l e n d an e a r "
t o you .
A ls o , when I have compiled t h e d a t a f o r t h e d i s s e r t a t i o n , I
p l a n t o send you a copy o f t h e summary o f t h e f i n d i n g s as a way t o
t h a n k you f o r y o u r t i m e and t h o u g h t f u l n e s s .
I w i l l always t h i n k t h a t you c o n t r i b u t e d much t o
you gave o f y o u r s e l f .
Thank you v e r y much.
Sincerely,

Lewis L. D o t t e r e r

this

study because

APPENDIX C
RESPONSES TO INTERVIEW QUESTIONS REGARDING TYPE
OF EXPERIENCE

124

RESPONSES TO INTERVIEW QUESTIONS REGARDING TYPE OF EXPERIENCE

On-the-job tra in in g in other p osition s (not current presidency)
I worked f o u r p a r t - t i m e j o b s and l o v e d i t .
I was c h a r g e d w i t h t h e t a s k o f b u i I d i n g a new program from s c r a t c h
[2 r e s p o n s e s ] .
The r o l e o f
responses].

teacher

helped

me

learn

about

other

people

[2

I was a r o o k i e thrown i n t o a s i t u a t i o n w it h an e x p e r i e n c e d s t a f f .
I worked in an i n s t i t u t i o n t h a t was h e a v i l y i n t o c o n t r o l and r u l e s
[2 r e s p o n s e s ] .
I worked in a s t a t e d e p a r t m e n t o f e d u c a t i o n .
Being v i c e - p r e s i d e n t was r e w a r d in g bec au se I worked d i r e c t l y w it h
the fa c u lty .
I was in c h a r g e o f c o n t i n u i n g e d u c a t i o n and t h e c o - o p pr ogram.
In my p r e v i o u s j o b , p e o p l e t h a t made
O pportunities arose f o r the surv iv o rs.

mistakes

didn’t

last.

I t r e a l l y h u r t a l o t when a p a r t o f my j o b was t a k e n from me.
It
d i d n ’ t m a t t e r t o me t h a t t h e r e a s o n was b e c a u s e t h e c o l l e g e was
growing t o o r a p i d l y .
I was depended upon by a p r e s i d e n t t o do h i s j o b .
in t h a t r o l e .

I was e f f e c t i v e

I came from a l a r g e , p r o g r e s s i v e school t o a s m a l l e r i n s t i t u t i o n .
I l e a r n e d a l o t a b o u t m y s e l f from t h a t move.

On-the-job train in g :

As president (in current p o sitio n )

As t h e new p r e s i d e n t , I was g i v e n t h e o p p o r t u n i t y to
and d e v e l o p p r o c e d u r e s .
The Board as ked my o p i n i o n
t h o u g h t s h o u ld be done.

set policy
on what I

I f o l l o w e d a p r e s i d e n t who had made a l l t h e d e c i s i o n s .
I wanted
t o change t h a t p r o c e d u r e q u i c k l y , but I was s t r u c k by r e a l i t y t h a t
many o f t h e s t a f f were now c o m f o r t a b l e w it h t h a t s t y l e and saw my
d e s i r e f o r o b t a i n i n g t h e i r i n p u t as a means of " r o c k i n g t h e b o a t . "

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Many o f my i d e a s were n o t met w i t h open arms!
I had o p p o r t u n i t i e s t o s t a r t many new programs
down o l d e r programs t h a t were o u t d a t e d .

and a l s o

closing

I had t o l e a r n how t o c o n f r o n t employees and t e a c h them t o t a k e on
more r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s .
I needed t o h i r e a few p e o p l e and q u i c k l y l e a r n e d how t o i n t e r v i e w
and t o i d e n t i f y in o t h e r s t h e s k i l l s I was d e s i r i n g .
I went t h r o u g h a union n e g o t i a t i o n
b a r g a i n i n g and how t o l i s t e n .

which t a u g h t me a l o t

abo ut

I was chewed o u t by my Board once f o r t a k i n g so me th ing t o them t o
work on t h a t I s h o u ld have done m y s e l f .
You b e t t e r b e l i e v e I
n e v e r made t h a t m i s t a k e a g a i n !
I am f o r c i n g m y s e l f t o f i n d new ways t o h e l p o t h e r s become
p r e p a r e d f o r i n e v i t a b l e chang es i n t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n .
Pe op le j u s t
d o n ’ t embrace change as I do.
I ’ ve had some i n t e r a c t i o n s w it h t h e p r e s s ,
lot.

which has t a u g h t me a

The more I i n t e r a c t w it h t h e Board, t h e more I r e a l i z e t h e im po r­
t a n c e o f d e v e l o p i n g a win-win r e l a t i o n s h i p .
I t is e s s e n ti a l.
Every day I c a l l
o r t a l k w it h
country, finding
o u t how t h e y
ing how I i n t e r p r e t a new p o l i c y
my p e e r s , and i t
f e e l s good t o

another p re sid e n t
h a n dl ed a s p e c i f i c
o r s o m et h in g .
I
be a b l e t o as k f o r

from around
the
problem o r s h a r ­
l e a r n a l o t from
help.

B e i n g i n v o l v e d i n c o m m u n it y p r o g r a m s and s e r v i n g on B o a r d s
t e a c h e s me a l o t a bo ut g e t t i n g i n f o r m a t i o n and on how t o " t e s t t h e
w a t e r s " r e g a r d i n g programs a t t h e community c o l l e g e .
Many o f t h e c u r r e n t p r o j e c t s I ’ m working on r i g h t now o f f e r many
learning o p portunities.
I f e e l s t r e t c h e d t a k i n g on new p r o j e c t s
for the college.
I am an a d v i s o r f o r a n a t i o n a l c o n f e r e n c e and I am l e a r n i n g a l o t
by s o r t i n g t h r o u g h d i f f e r e n t programs and s p e a k e r s .
E a r l y in my p r e s i d e n c y , I made many m i s t a k e s .
Some s u c c e s s e s ,
t o o , b u t I ’ ve t r i e d t o l e a r n from a l l t h o s e s i t u a t i o n s .
I i n h e r i t e d a s t a f f t h a t found change v e r y d i f f i c u l t .
Being on t h e s p e a k i n g c i r c u i t i s r e a l l y o n - t h e - j o b t r a i n i n g
b ec a u se each t o p i c o r group i s d i f f e r e n t .
I t ’ s a challenge.

126

I s e e m y s e l f as a change a g e n t .
No d e g r e e program o r c o u r s e can
t e a c h you how t o do t h a t .
You l e a r n by t r y i n g t h i n g s o u t , going
w i t h g u t r e a c t i o n s , and be in g f l e x i b l e enough t o change i f i t
d o e s n ’ t work o u t .

Personal Experiences A ffecting Community College Presidents
(Before Age 18)
I a t t e n d e d a small e l e m e n t a r y school

[2 r e s p o n s e s ] .

I was good in s p o r t s [3 r e s p o n s e s ] .
School was e a s y f o r me [3 r e s p o n s e s ] .
I was e x p e c t e d t o l e a d o t h e r s - - t h e y were u s u a l l y yo u n g er th a n me
[2 r e s p o n s e s ] .
I f e l t l i k e an o u t s i d e r .

I was n o t p a r t o f t h e m a in s tr e a m .

I was a c t i v e in high sch oo l

[3 r e s p o n s e s ] .

I was c a l l e d a " l a t e b l o o m e r ."
I grew up in a r u r a l
responses].

area.

Neighbors depended on each o t h e r

[2

My p a r e n t s were w o r k i n g - c l a s s p e o p l e [2 r e s p o n s e s ] .
My b i r t h o r d e r p la y e d a p a r t in my u p b r i n g i n g .
Not h av i n g both p a r e n t s in t h e home had an e f f e c t on me.
I t o o k on r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s e a r l y i n l i f e .
myself.

I was t a u g h t t o s t r e t c h

Personal experiences after age 18
Having c h i l d r e n was an e x c i t i n g time f o r me [3 r e s p o n s e s ] .
A divorce is a painful experience.
I was a l e a d e r in c o l l e g e a c t i v i t i e s

I l e a r n e d a l o t [3 r e s p o n s e s ] .
[2 r e s p o n s e s ] .

I was s ee n as a r e b e l i n c o l l e g e .
I

moved from a c i t y I r e a l l y l o v e d .

[R ealization]:

I ’ ve l i v e d l o n g e r t h a n I w i l l l i v e .

127

I hav e e x p e r i e n c e d some i s o l a t i o n i n l i f e .

I t ’ s n o t a l l bad.

I changed jobs on a regular b asis.
[R ealization]:

My c h i l d r e n a r e growing up w i t h o u t my i n p u t .

I make s u r e I t a k e my v a c a t i o n s t o r e s t o r e m y s e l f .
I was a good s t u d e n t i n c o l l e g e .
I v o l u n t e e r e d f o r community p r o j e c t s .
When my p a r e n t s d i e d ,
Getting
tion.

in v o l v e d

I lost a lot.

in a l e a d e r s h i p

position

in

a social

organiza­

Academic E xp eriences
[Obtaining a m a s t e r ’ s d e g re e ]:
I t h e l p s me t o b e t t e r u n d e r s t a n d
t h e d a y - t o - d a y f u n c t i o n s o f t h e community c o l l e g e .
[Leadership program]:
I learned
p r o f e s s o r r e a l l y h e l p e d me a l o t .

to

believe

in

myself.

D oct ora l cou rs ew or k p r o v i d e d me w i t h i m p o r t a n t c h a l l e n g e s
i n v a l u a b l e t h e o r e t i c a l background [2 r e s p o n s e s ] .
The d i s s e r t a t i o n p r o c e s s t a u g h t me a l o t a b ou t
tha nk [ p r o f e s s o r ] f o r much o f t h a t [2 r e s p o n s e s ] .

myself.

One

and an
I

can

F i n i s h i n g t h e Ph.D. b o l s t e r e d my s e l f - c o n f i d e n c e [2 r e s p o n s e s ] .
I was seen e a r l y
" l a t e b lo om er ."

in school

as a r e b e l .

Later,

I was l a b e l e d

a

I l e a r n e d a l o t from my time s p e n t as a s t u d e n t a t a community
college.
Of c o u r s e , I was a d v i s e d t o go t h e r e b ec a u se "community
c o lle g e s accept anyone."
The t r a i n i n g t h a t new community c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t s go t h r o u g h was
very h e l p f u l .
I l e a r n e d n o t o n ly s p e c i f i c c o n t e n t b u t a l s o whom I
coul d c a l l when I had q u e s t i o n s .
Being a b u s i n e s s m a jo r in c o l l e g e has prov ed t o be v e r y h e l p f u l .
As a s t u d e n t t e a c h e r ,

I l e a r n e d how t o m o t i v a t e o t h e r s .

128

Being a g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t gave me an o p p o r t u n i t y t o l e a r n so much
t h a t I s t i l l f a l l back on as a p r e s i d e n t .
In my u n d e r g r a d u a t e e x p e r i e n c e I had gone t o a small c o l l e g e where
e x c e l l e n c e was e x p e c t e d .
Our s t a f f i s g o in g t h r o u g h some
t h i n k i t w i l l h e l p us a l l g r e a t l y .
Ken B la n ch ar d t a l k i n g
staff.

team -building

training,

a b ou t s u p e r v i s i o n was h e l p f u l

and

I

t o me and my

APPENDIX D
RESPONSES TO INTERVIEW QUESTIONS REGARDING LESSONS LEARNED

129

RESPONSES TO INTERVIEW QUESTIONS REGARDING LESSONS LEARNED

Lessons Learned Based on Professional Experiences Encountered
Before Accepting the Current Presidential Position
Ten p r e s i d e n t s i d e n t i f i e d t h e f o l l o w i n g 38 i t e m s in t h i s c a t e g o r y .
I l e a r n e d t o make d e c i s i o n s q u i c k l y .
I learned
position.

my d i r e c t

leadership

style

while

We d o n ’ t have time t o f e e d p ro b le m s -- w e
nurture so lu tio n s.

work ing

in

another

j u s t have enough ti m e t o

I must have r i s k t a k e r s around me f o r t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n t o p r o s p e r .
Communication between d e p a r t m e n t s i s v i t a l .
We must l o o k a t r e a l i t y .
I t is important to
tions .

be p e r c e p t i v e

and watch o t h e r p e o p l e ’ s r e a c ­

A p e rs o n must be a b l e t o a c c e p t r e a l i t y b e f o r e [ h e / s h e i s ] a b l e t o
make ch an g e s.
Be f l e x i b l e in l i f e .

Learn t o bend.

Bureaucracies are th e re f o r a purpose.
them.

We must l e a r n t o work w it h

There a r e many ways t o do t h i n g s .
T e l l a p e r s o n t h e end g o a l - - h o w t h e y g e t t h e r e i s up t o them.
Be more i n t e r a c t i v e and l e s s a u t o c r a t i c .
We have t o work hard
subordinates.

at

getting

honest

human

interactions

with

Go i n t o a me eting p r e p a r e d .
We must l i s t e n t o o t h e r p e o p l e i f we i n t e n d on g e t t i n g anywhere.
Be c o n s i s t e n t w ith p e o p l e .
There i s h a r s h n e s s in t h e w o r ld .

130

L i f e i s n o t always f a i r .
A p e r s o n has t o f e e l
w ell t o o t h e r s .

No one s a i d i t would be.

good a b o u t h i m / h e r s e l f t o be a b l e t o r e l a t e

Be a b l e t o d e l e g a t e j o b t a s k s .
We must t r u s t o t h e r p e o p l e - - g i v e them room t o s u c c e e d .
The needs o f t h e community a r e t h e d r i v i n g f o r c e o f t h e community
college.
Try t o n o t t r e a t e v e r y i n c i d e n t a s a d i s a s t e r and t r y t o s e e most
d i s a s t e r s as i n c i d e n t s .
Don’ t g e t t o o i n v o l v e d in t h e j o b .
Change i s i m p o r t a n t and e x c i t i n g and n e c e s s a r y f o r s e l f - g r o w t h as
well as o r g a n i z a t i o n a l gro wth.
Try t o f i n d o p p o r t u n i t i e s in e v e r y s i t u a t i o n you e n c o u n t e r .
Pe op le s k i l l s a r e v i t a l - - m o s t s u c c e s s f u l p e o p l e a r e l i k a b l e .
Bloom where you a r e p l a n t e d .
Give o t h e r p e o p l e t h e c r e d i t f o r s o l u t i o n s , when p o s s i b l e .
Ask p e o p l e q u e s t i o n s i n s t e a d o f t e l l i n g them what t o do.
Enjoy y o u r s e l f as you e x p e r i e n c e l i f e ’ s j o u r n e y .
Take t h i n g s as t h e y come.
The p r e s i d e n t must do t h e j o b ; w h a te v e r needs t o be done.
T reat a l l people e q u a lly .
Open communication i s v i t a l

f o r t h e s u c c e s s o f any o r g a n i z a t i o n .

To a c c o m p li s h g o a l s , h ol d s e l f and o t h e r s a c c o u n t a b l e .
I need p e o p l e on my s t a f f who a r e comp ete nt and l o y a l
the org an izatio n .

t o me and

131

Lessons Learned Based on Professional Experiences Encountered During
the Current Presidency
Nine p r e s i d e n t s i d e n t i f i e d t h e f o l l o w i n g 42 i t e m s .
I am n o t always r i g h t .
I want t o en co u ra g e p e o p l e
p r o bl em s .

to

take

full

o w n e r s h ip o f

their

own

Some p e o p l e w i l l q u e s t i o n any d e c i s i o n made by t h e p r e s i d e n t .
O th e r p e o p l e ’ s s t y l e o f l e a d e r s h i p must be c o n s i s t e n t w i t h t h a t o f
the p re sid e n t.
The p r e s i d e n t must be w i l l i n g t o use h i n d s i g h t t o l e a r n .
My s t a f f must be r e s p o n s i b l e enough t o t a k e r i s k s and make t h e i r
own d e c i s i o n s .
I f I have t o make t h e i r d e c i s i o n s f o r them, why do
I need them on my s t a f f ?
L o n g ev i ty on my s t a f f means a h i g h e r s t a n d a r d o f work p e r f o r m a n c e .
Don’ t p a n i c - - t h i s s i t u a t i o n w i l l work o u t .
Keep no s e c r e t s from s t a f f ,
Peo ple want
1 ikewise.

to

get

e s p e c ia lly during n e g o tia tio n s .

even--give

P r o te c t your committees.
p r e s i d e n t s h o u ld make.

them p o s i t i v e s

Don’ t

as k them t o

and

they

w ill

make d e c i s i o n s

The p r e s i d e n t ’ s j o b i s t o h e l p p e o p l e r e a c h t h e i r g o a l s .
Good t h i n g s

happen when you a l l o w them t o happen.

Pe o pl e w i l l

t a k e more r i s k s when t h e y t r u s t

Realize the

im p o r ta n c e o f a good s e c r e t a r y .

th e ir supervisors.

You w i l l n o t be l i k e d by e v e r y o n e .
Set p r i o r i t i e s .
The c o l l e g e w i l l s u r v i v e w i t h o u t me.
I must l e a r n my own l i m i t s .
L i t t l e t h i n g s make a b i g d i f f e r e n c e t o p e o p l e .

do

the

132

I have t o g e t o t h e r p e o p l e ’ s i n p u t .
Be p e r c e p t i v e
t h i s way.

when around

p e o p l e - -s o m e

problems

can

be

avo id ed

Deal w i t h problems b e f o r e t h e y become unmanageable.
I must minimize my w ea k n e s s e s .
I ’ ve l e a r n e d t o keep my ego o u t o f t h e p r e s i d e n c y .
Get p e o p l e i n v o l v e d i n some p r o j e c t .
I must l i v e in t h e p r e s e n t t o g e t t h i n g s a c c o m p li s h e d .
Not e v e r y o n e i s on t h e c u t t i n g edge o f ch ang e.
Some days I c a n ’ t p l e a s e anyone.
Learn t o l i v e w i t h s u c c e s s and f a i l u r e .
M a i n t a i n empathy tow ard o t h e r s .
There can be a l o t o f p a i n in b e i n g p r e s i d e n t .
Be w i s e i n c h o o s i n g o n e ’ s b a t t l e s .
Be s e l e c t i v e in o n e ’ s c a r e e r moves.
Keep y o u r Board aware.
I must own my own m i s t a k e s .
Try t o make d r a m a t i c ch an g e s e a r l y in y o u r t e n u r e as p r e s i d e n t .
S ur ro un d y o u r s e l f w i t h p e o p l e who w i l l t e l l you t h e t r u t h .
Take one s t e p a t a ti m e r e g a r d i n g y o u r c a r e e r l a d d e r .
Don’ t miss
t o o many ru ng s on y o u r l a d d e r , o r p e o p l e won’ t r e s p e c t you.
To do l o n g - r a n g e p l a n n i n g , p u t i t on t h e c a l e n d a r , meet w i t h o t h e r
p e o p l e , and do i t .
Develop y o u r s o c i a l network --ma ke s u r e o t h e r p e o p l e know what you
a r e good a t .
Reduce s u r p r i s e s by w al k i n g around and s t a y i n g inf o rm ed .

133

Lessons learned based on personal experiences before the age o f 18
E i g h t p r e s i d e n t s i d e n t i f i e d t h e f o l l o w i n g 23 i t e m s .
I s h o u ld always do my b e s t .
Everyone makes a d i f f e r e n c e [2 r e s p o n s e s ] .
To s u c c e e d ,

I need t o g a i n p e o p l e ’ s r e s p e c t .

Look f o r t h e p o s i t i v e around you.
I d o n ’ t t r e a t a l l p e o p l e t h e same.
Deal w i t h problems q u i c k l y .
Be i n c l u s i v e o f a l l

k in d s o f p e o p l e - - a c c e p t d i v e r s i t y .

I l e a r n e d t h a t I can make a d i f f e r e n c e .
I s h o u ld r e s p e c t any power o r a u t h o r i t y I p o s s e s s .
I ’m a s u r v i v o r - - I ’ ve made i t t h r o u g h some tough t i m e s .
We a l l make m i s t a k e s - - l e t ’ s l e a r n from them.
All p e o p l e have p o t e n t i a l .
Let p e o p l e l e a d t h e i r own l i v e s .
We must r e c o g n i z e and a c c e p t o u r own w ea kn es s es and b u i l d on ou r
s t r e n g t h s [2 r e s p o n s e s ] .
I know how t o be a good f o l l o w e r .
Be h o n e s t w i t h a l l p e o p l e , i n c l u d i n g y o u r s e l f [2 r e s p o n s e s ] .
We can l e a r n from anybody.
Live l i f e t o t h e f u l l e s t .
S et g o a l s .
Be r e s p o n s i b l e .

Live now!

134

Lessons learned based on personal experiences occurring a fte r age 18
Ei g h t p r e s i d e n t s i d e n t i f i e d t h e f o l l o w i n g 20 l e s s o n s .
I ’ ve l e a r n e d t o be v e r y s e l f - d i s c i p l i n e d .
g e t a l o t acc om pl is h e d t h i s way.

I enjoy t h i s because I

Time i s to o v a l u a b l e t o w a s t e .
I t i s i m p o r t a n t t o be a u t o n o m o u s - -I depend o n l y on m y s e l f .
I am l e a r n i n g t o be p a t i e n t w i t h p e o p l e .
I know I can improve on m y s e l f .

I ’m s u r e n o t p e r f e c t .

Everyone has a r i g h t t o t h e i r own o p i n i o n .
I ’ ve l e a r n e d how t o i n t e r a c t w it h o t h e r s w i t h o u t p l a y i n g games.
Use humor in l i f e s i t u a t i o n s .
Leave k i d s a l o n e - - l e t them grow on t h e i r own.
Pe op le make c h o i c e s - - t h e r e i s no room f o r b la m in g .
C a p t u r e t h e moment and make t h e most o f i t .
Help o t h e r p e o p l e .
I need o t h e r p e o p l e around me who can s h o r e up my w e a k n e s s e s .
Be kind t o y o u r s e l f and th e n t o o t h e r s .
You must s e t g o a l s f o r y o u r s e l f i f you want t o s u c c e e d .
Find ways t o b a l a n c e y o u r own l i f e

[2 r e s p o n s e s ] .

L i s t e n t o what pe o p l e t h i n k t h e y can do.
I have j u s t r e c e n t l y l e a r n e d what i t means t o be f r e e .
Be h o n e s t w it h y o u r s e l f and w i t h o t h e r s

135

Lessons learned from academic experiences
Ten p r e s i d e n t s i d e n t i f i e d t h e f o l l o w i n g 23 l e s s o n s .
T her e i s no s u b s t i t u t e f o r k n o w l e d g e - - r e a d a l l you can.
Teach p e o p l e t o make t h e i r own d e c i s i o n s .

Empower o t h e r s .

The p r e s i d e n t can l e a r n from a s u b o r d i n a t e .
People’ s time i s v a lu a b le .

Don’ t w a s te t i m e .

I mi gh t q u e s t i o n some o f my own d e c i s i o n s ,
me.

I don’t

question

They w i l l

do what

Be w i l l i n g t o l e a r n a b o u t y o u r s e l f - - i t i s n o t always fu n ,
can r e a l l y grow.

but you

I now r e a l i z e I c a n n o t c o n t r o l
t h e y need t o do.

but

o th e r people.

I ’ ve l e a r n e d t h a t I ’m a good p e r s o n .

Feed t h e i m a g i n a t i o n .
I ’m s m a r t .

Reach t ow ar ds y o u r dr eams.

I can ac c o m p li s h a n y t h i n g I d e s i r e .

Some c h o i c e s I made e a r l i e r in l i f e might have made s e n s e t h e n ,
b u t t h e y l o o k p r e t t y s t u p i d now.
Learn from p a s t m i s t a k e s and
c o n t i n u e making c h o i c e s .
Sometimes we have t o
going.

jump t h r o u g h

hoops t o g e t

to

where

we a r e

Live in t h e p r e s e n t moment.
I r e a l i z e t h a t some t h i n g s in l i f e

I c a n n o t chang e.

P o s i t i v e f e e d b a c k r e a l l y h e l p s c e r t a i n p e o p l e grow.
I c a n n o t be a l l t h i n g s t o a l l p e o p l e .
I learned about a l o t o f s p e c i f i c a d m in is tr a tiv e r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s
while f i n i s h i n g th e d o c t o r a te .
Accept y o u r own s t r e n g t h s and we akn ess es and t h o s e o f o t h e r s .
Pe o pl e s k i l l s a r e so v e r y i m p o r t a n t .
You must be d i r e c t w i t h p e o p l e t o g e t t a s k s a c c o m p l i s h e d .

136

In scho ol
ously.

I learned

how t o

Deal w i t h pr oblems when t h e y
t h e i r own.

balance
arise.

several

projects

They seldom g e t

sim ultane­
better

on

When r u n n i n g a g ro u p , f o c u s on t h e needs o f t h e m a j o r i t y .
Don’ t
i g n o r e t h e small g r o u p , but spend t h e p r e c i o u s ti m e on t h e major
pr o b le m s .

APPENDIX E

RESPONSES TO THREE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS: WHAT HAS
BEEN MOST FUN FOR YOU IN YOUR ROLE AS PRESIDENT?
HOW HAVE YOU CHANGED DURING YOUR TENURE AS
PRESIDENT? AND WHAT’S NEXT?

137

RESPONSES TO THREE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

What has been most fun for you in your role as president?
P i c k i n g p e o p l e from w i t h i n t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n who I know can grow
and t a k e on a d d i t i o n a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s .
I enjoy watching people
blossom [6 r e s p o n s e s ] .
I l i k e w a t c h i n g p e o p l e make ma jor c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o t h e c o l l e g e
responses].

[4

I e n j o y w a tc h i n g o t h e r s be c r e a t i v e in t h e w o r k p la c e .
I have fun
responses].

seeking

co m m u n it y

I l i k e t o go o u t and seek
s u p p o r t gr oup [2 r e s p o n s e s ] .

support

professional

for

the

college

acquaintances

for

[3

my

I enjoy te aching seminars.
I f e e l good when I can mentor o t h e r s .
I l i k e t o s u r r o u n d m y s e l f w ith p e o p l e who a r e on a c a r e e r l a d d e r .
They c h a l l e n g e me.
I e n j o y t h e freedom I

have t o do what I want t o do.

I 1 i k e t o walk around

and g e t t o knowo u r s t a f f [3 r e s p o n s e s ] .

Watching t h e community c o l l e g e grow i s fun [4 r e s p o n s e s ] .
I t i s r e w a r d i n g t o have companies r e a c h o u t t o t h e community
c o l l e g e b e c a u s e we do a good j o b r e s p o n d i n g t o t h e i r n e e d s .
There i s a g r e a t d i v e r s i t y o f j o b t a s k s .
I 1 ike t o see people v i s i t i n g the s c h o o l.
I feel

I can make a d i f f e r e n c e .

I 1 ik e t h a t .

I ’ l l t a l k a b o u t t h e c o l l e g e w i t h anyone t h a t
I l i k e to help
responses].

shape

ideas

and th e n

w ill 1i s t e n .

watch them t a k e

a

I l o v e t o i n t e r a c t w i t h p e o p l e bec a us e t h e y h e l p me grow.

form

[2

138
The s t u d e n t s a r e fun t o t a l k t o .
We a r e s e e i n g t h e growth o f t h e team a t o u r s c h o o l .
R eten tio n r a t e in c re a s in g i s a reward.
I e n j o y be in g i n t h e l e a d e r s h i p s p o t l i g h t [2 r e s p o n s e s ] .
I l i k e t o t e s t my own l i m i t s .
I l i k e t o s e e how h ig h I can go.
a l s o l i k e t o t e s t t h e l i m i t s o f my s t a f f - - s t r e t c h them.
Around e v e r y c o r n e r i s a new e x p e r i e n c e .
e v e r y day.

I w ill

learn

I

so me th ing

How have you changed d u r i n g yo u r t e n u r e as p r e s i d e n t ?
I have l e a r n e d how i m p o r t a n t i t
w i t h t h e community.

is to build strong re la tio n s h ip s

I ’ ve l e a r n e d t o l e t go o f t h i n g s .
I l e t o t h e r p e o p l e t a k e c a r e o f t h e i r own p r o b le m s .
Some t h i n g s a r e o u t o f my c o n t r o l .

T h a t ’ s okay.

I ’m n o t as in v o l v e d w it h t h e s t u d e n t s as I used t o be.
I t r u s t p e o p l e more now [2 r e s p o n s e s ] .
I am l e a r n i n g t o s i t back and r e l a x more [4 r e s p o n s e s ] .
I am more com petent as p r e s i d e n t .
I am much w i s e r abo ut t h e p r o c e s s o f how t o make d e c i s i o n s .
I know my l i m i t s b e t t e r now [3 r e s p o n s e s ] .
I have more p a t i e n c e w i t h o t h e r s .
I ’m a s k i n g b e t t e r q u e s t i o n s o f o t h e r s .
I r e a c h o u t t o o t h e r s more now.
I understand myself b e t t e r .
I s ee k r e s o u r c e s more now t o h e l p f i l l

in f o r what I c a n ’ t do.

I am working ha r d a t m a i n t a i n i n g a b a l a n c e w i t h i n m y s e l f .

139

I now b e l i e v e : There w i l l always be p r o b le m s , b u t t h e wo rld won’ t
end b e c a u s e o f them.
I t a k e one day a t a t i m e .
P eo p le w i l l do w e l l .

I can’t

make them do w e l l .

I ’m g i v i n g more p o s i t i v e f e e d b a c k t h a n e v e r b e f o r e .
E a s i e r t o s ay "No" t o o t h e r s .
I s e e more o f my own s t r e n g t h s .

I am more s e l f - c o n f i d e n t .

I am more c o m f o r t a b l e w i t h my c o l l e a g u e s .
I understand the s p e c if i c job ta sk s b e t t e r re:
n e g o t i a t i o n s , b ud­
g e t s , p l a n n i n g , l e g i s l a t i v e , and community r e l a t i o n s .
1 have v e r y l i t t l e f r e e t i m e .
e n j o y my work so much.

R ig h t now, t h a t

i s okay b e c a u s e

I

I ’m d oi n g more fund r a i s i n g .
I am s o f t e r in how I i n t e r a c t
I ’m w i s e r .

with o th e rs .

I t i s hard b ei ng a sage when you a r e young.

I pay more a t t e n t i o n t o l i f e .
I have more empathy f o r o t h e r s .
I ’m n o t so q u i c k t o ju d g e o t h e r s .
I b e l i e v e t h a t my b e s t y e a r s a r e s t i l l

ahead o f me.

What’ s next?
I ’m n o t s u r e .

T h a t ’ s okay [4 r e s p o n s e s ] .

I ’m t o o busy t o d a y t o l o o k ahead t o tomorrow.
I ’ l l c o n t i n u e t o t r y t o g e t more w in n e rs a t t h i s o r g a n i z a t i o n .
I ’ l l keep t a k i n g r i s k s .
In o t h e r words, I ’ l l c o n t i n u e b e i n g
m y s e l f and be h o n e s t and d i r e c t .
I ’d move on i f I needed t o .
I ’d l i k e t o t e a c h a t a u n i v e r s i t y [5 r e s p o n s e s ] .
I might go i n t o b u s i n e s s .

140

Maybe a n o t h e r
responses].

presidency,

but

at

a

larg er

in stitu tio n

[3

Possible retirem e n t.
I ’m a f r a i d o f becoming a o n e - d i m e n s i o n a l p r e s i d e n t .
I need t o
c o n t i n u e t a k i n g v a c a t i o n s , h a vi ng t h i n k t i m e s , and making s u r e I
have f r i e n d s h i p s o u t s i d e t h e academic a r e n a .
I know so me th ing w i l l happen i n t h e f u t u r e t h a t w i l l
interest.
I ’ l l w a i t and s e e and have fun [2 r e s p o n s e s ] .
I ’ll

take

rny

f o c u s more on t h e " i n n e r me."

I ’m go in g t o w r i t e a book.
There a r e so many e x c i t i n g t h i n g s h app eni ng i n t h e community t h a t
I r e a l l y d o n ’ t want t o l e a v e .
More l e i s u r e a c t i v i t i e s .
I want t o p u t t h i n g s in a b e t t e r p e r s p e c t i v e f o r m y s e l f .
More f u n d - r a i s i n g a c t i v i t i e s .

More c o n t a c t w i t h t h e community.

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